Charles North: back to the garden

Most people who know Charlie North can”™t picture him in anything but a suit and tie. But when he”™s done with his duties as president of the Poughkeepsie Area Chamber of Commerce, chances are good you”™ll find him in a pair of faded blue jeans tending his garden.

While hippies of all ages made their way “back to the garden” to Bethel Woods”™ Hippiefest recently, North was busy making his way back to his own garden in his Poughquag home.

North originally started out in banking, where he met his wife of 25 years, Joanne. Both were employees of Barclay”™s Bank. They moved to northern Dutchess County long before it became “Nextchester” and raised two sons.  While all the Norths share a love of music and play several instruments, North developed a green thumb along the way. He can dig a mean hole and is proficient at whacking weeds that can crop up faster than you can say “dandelion.”

After a stint as Poughkeepsie chamber president from 1992 to 1996, North went back to his financial roots and joined the staff at Riverside Bank. “At the time, it was just a better family fit.” But when he was asked to come back to the chamber in 2000, he decided to stay in it for the long haul. “Joanne manages the checkbook,” he says. “I was always better at public relations and she was always the better banker. My family has been tremendously supportive of my work as chamber president, a vital key to success.”

With more than 1,600 members in the Poughkeepsie Area Chamber of Commerce, North has plenty to keep him busy during the week, weeks that often stretch into the evening and occasional weekends. “A typical day consists of 12 working hours and many long nights for various chamber functions.”  North tries to make every one of those functions. “That”™s part of being the president. It means a lot to me to be there for our members, whether it is a ribbon-cutting, a mixer or a breakfast.” Businesses also lay their problems at North”™s Civic Center doorstep, and those take time, too, “but again, that”™s part of the job. You are the spokesperson for the business community, and they depend on the chamber for support and advocacy.”

 

When the Hudson Valley”™s snow starts to melt and the freeze warnings are lifted, chances are you”™ll find North working on the myriad annual and perennial gardens he”™s cultivated on his property over the years. He likes to think of them as an extension of his home, “making the outside as lovely as my wife makes the inside. And working outdoors is a great way to relax. You really do have a chance to separate yourself from your professional life when you are digging in the dirt.”

North concentrates on flowers, creating an outdoor vista that doesn”™t tempt his many four-legged visitors. “The deer are wonderful to watch, but it sure isn”™t fun to come out and find your hard work has become a salad bar. I stopped growing vegetables a while ago and started concentrating on perennials that keep the yard blooming all summer with color.  We attract so many birds and butterflies. It really is a wonderful sight to see and to know you have created something of beauty with your own sweat equity.

“When I”™m covered with dirt and my knees are grass-stained, I might look a fright, but I can”™t tell you how relaxed and at ease I feel.  And at night, when I go to sleep after a day of working in the gardens, it”™s a relaxing kind of sleep I can”™t describe ”¦ a different kind of rest.”

North views his work as chamber president in much the same way he views his garden, a job that needs constant tending.  He approaches his chamber duties with the same attitude as he does his garden: “You had better love what you do, or don”™t do it.”

North credits the hard work his staff puts into their jobs for making the Poughkeepsie area chamber as successful as it is. “I couldn”™t manage without them. They are so dedicated and in tune with the needs of our members. Our goal to keep the business community strong and growing, not unlike a garden, just a different kind. I am fortunate to have a great group of people working for the chamber.”

While he occasionally misses the challenge of banking, he says his years in the financial field have helped “tremendously when it comes to the logistics of my job. When I came back, the chamber was not in very good shape, so my experience helped me turn that around.”

And when he”™s not turning things around for the chamber, chances are good you”™ll find North turning the soil for his next bed of perennials or strategically locating a new bird feeder. When he feels that need to get “back to the garden,” he doesn”™t have to go far; he”™s got one all his own.