by Michele Gillis
Staff Writer
Veteran market analyst Charlie Clark has been entrenched in the homebuilding industry since the 1960s. He’s won many awards in that time, but he’ll need more room for the latest honor he received at the Laurels: the Dick Baker Award.
“It was very humbling,” said Clark. “I knew Dick Baker and he was one of the finest gentlemen who ever walked this earth. I look at the list of people who have been given this award in the past and again, I’m humbled because there are some very fine people who have been given this award in Northeast Florida.
According to the Northeast Florida Builders Association, The Dick Baker Award is given for service to the building industry.
“I’m a great believer that you must give back to this industry and the way you give back is to get involved,” he said. “To get involved, you need to get on committees and work within the organization to help improve the organization.”
Advice Clark would give for others to stand out from the crowd is think different.
“I think everyone in the (Northeast Florida) Homebuilders Association or Sales and Marketing Council needs to step outside of the box and get ahead of the people around them by trying to be innovative,” said Clark. “Have a high level of credibility and do things that are different.”
Clark has been responsible for recruiting several thousands of members into various homebuilder associations around the U.S. and particularly in Northeast Florida.
“I’ve been very active on a national level with the National Association of Home Builders and have spoken all over U.S. in almost every Sales and Marketing Council in the U.S. in the 1980s and 1990s,” said Clark.
Clark started in the real estate business in the 1960s as a salesman for a homebuilder in Orlando. He moved up to sales manager and eventually partner.
“Ever since that time I have either been a homebuilder or in the business of building homes or developing lots and then I involved into consulting with developers, builders and lenders all over the U.S., Great Britain and Caribbean,” said Clark.