Henry began his real estate career in 1956 as a salesperson in the St. Louis area, and by 1971, was president of a local real estate firm of which he owned ½ interest. During that time, Henry delivered the message of the REALTOR® Code of Ethics by teaching an ethics course in the original Missouri GRI program and then continued to teach that course into the 1980’s. He was often asked to speak at local board meetings on the Code and willingly gave his time and talent to "carry the torch."
In 1981, Henry founded the Henry Company, REALTORS® on the central concepts of honesty, integrity, competence, and fair dealing as embodied in the Preamble to the Code of Ethics. In 1997, The Henry Company merged with Prudential Metro Group, REALTORS® to form Prudential Alliance, REALTORS®. Henry served as it President until his retirement in 1998.
Throughout his career, Henry served all levels of the REALTOR® organization, chairing the Professional standards Committee for both the St. Louis Association of REALTORS® and the Missouri Association of REALTORS® (MAR). He served on the Professional Standards Committee and the Interpretations Subcommittee of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®. He was a featured speaker at the MAR annual Professional Standards Seminar for many years. In 1988, he served as the President of MAR and continued to bring those time honored ethical concepts to members in a new way.
Henry was affectionately called "Mr. Ethics" by many of the REALTORS® he taught. One of Henry’s favorite adages is often quoted: "The only excuse for not presenting an offer as quickly as possible is death…your own of course!" Simple and direct principles like this were the key to Henry’s effectiveness as a communicator of the spirit of the Code of Ethics.
The Henry J. Aydt Memorial Scholarship was established in 1998 through the efforts of Richard Mendenhall, CIPS, CRB, GRI, 1987 President of MAR and 2001 President of NAR.