Characteristics for the recipient of the Charlie Naylor Lifetime Achievement Award

“You’ve got to give something back, and we have to stand on our own two feet and provide for ourselves” This is a quote from the Late Charlie Naylor for which this award was named.

Born in 1914, Charlie Naylor was an entrepreneur from the very beginning. He believed in getting things done and that it would take hard work and prudent judgment. He had a knack for connecting the people to the project to make it reality. He was active in just about every civic organization in town through the years including a term on the Chamber board and serving as President.   Charlie was the impetus behind the Bemidji Development Corporation in the early sixties with a group of Bemidji businessmen and was the President until the end.  

The Charlie Naylor lifetime achievement award is an annual award to recognize individuals in our community that live by Charlie’s values, entrepreneurial thinking and the dedication to make Bemidji the regional hub it has become.  The Chamber selected this event as the platform to recognize individuals in this venue that have lives with the values and judgment that Charlie did-