Harold Charles

LEADER, PEOPLE PROGRESSIVE PARTY

FIVE CAYS CANDIDATE

Entrepreneur, Innovator, Visionary, Humanitarian are just some of the adjectives that can be used to describe Harold Charles, Leader of the People Progressive Party and your candidate for the Five Cays, Providenciales Constituency or District #9.

Born in humble beginnings in poverty stricken Haiti in a family of 13, Harold Charles did not let his past dictate his future by making him another statistic; instead he allowed the hardships of his youth to fuel his dedication to success.  By dreaming big and working exceptionally hard, he has been able to overcome many challenges, climb the ladder of success and has helped many others succeed.

Before meeting and marrying Veronica ‘Ronnie’ to whom he’s been married to for over thirty-two  years, Harold Charles’ first love was airplanes.  He first expressed his desire to become a pilot at the tender age of nine.  His dreams and vision to soar the skies was the subject of laughter due to the realities of his limited means.

Less than a decade later, Harold Charles left Haiti for the Turks and Caicos Islands and found work as an airplane cleaner.  He later became a Commercial Pilot and in 1983 he purchased Provo Flying Service, the airline he once worked for and renamed it Charles Air.  In 1992 Harold Charles sold Charles Air and two years later he founded Sky King, which became the leading carrier in the Turks and Caicos Islands and was regarded as the most efficient commuter airline in the Caribbean.

Harold Charles was also responsible for establishing Caribbean Fuel Services which provided aviation fuel for commercial airlines in the Turks and Caicos Islands and full line maintenance facilities JR 145 for the major carriers for both piston and turbo prop crafts.

Subsequently, he founded a number of other companies including Professional Flight Services that provided commercial jet ground handling services for major airlines like Delta, British Airways, Air Canada, WestJet, Continental, US Airways and others.  He also founded the Sky Base FBO, which handled corporate and private executive jets.  Recognizing the importance of real estate in his commercial enterprises, Harold Charles – the master of the art of business diversification and superb negotiator – did not stop with just aviation.  He became part owner and VP of the Turks and Caicos Sporting Club on Ambergris Cay – a private island in the Turks and Caicos Islands, as well as Senior Vice President of the Ritz Carlton Hotel and Housing Development Project in West Caicos.

Harold surpassed his dreams of becoming a pilot and instead has become one of the most respected and decorated business man and philanthropist in the Caribbean, with countless awards.  His influence is so wide ranging that even an airport is named after him – the Harold Charles International Airport on Ambergris Cay.

In addition to having an international airport named after him, Harold Charles has numerous honors, achievements and accolades and is the recipient of

·         The 2002 Businessman of the Year Award – Turks and Caicos Chamber of Commerce

·         The 2006 Glass Ceiling Award – CEE Global Awards in Nassau, Bahamas

·         The 2005 Osprey Award for the best aviation company in the Turks and Caicos Islands

·         Appointed by Haitian President Michel Martelly to the Presidential Advisory Council on Economic Development, Co-Chaired by former US President Bill Clinton.

·         Featured in the June 2009 American Way Magazine and countless other editorials over the years.

Mr. Harold Charles is a philanthropist who contributes to local and regional groups including World Vision, The Hunger Project, Worldwide Village in Haiti and religious entities guiding small businesspersons in the Caribbean and United States of America.

A business development expert with a rich enviable track record, Harold Charles currently provides international consulting services and investment analysis through Harold Charles & Co. based in the Turks and Caicos Islands.

With such great success in business, one would ask why politics?  And in the same breath, one would answer, why not politics?  Once again, Harold Charles’ unselfish nature to assist others in need and speak for those that are without a voice is what began this new era in the Turks and Caicos Islands and is what the People Progressive Party is founded upon.

Though the underdog in this great political race, the People Progressive Party vision of a united Turks and Caicos Islands where employment opportunities are accessible to all.  A Turks and Caicos Islands where all children are enrolled in school, where young men can become entrepreneurs and young women comprehend the value of hard work.  This vision for the People Progressive Party will not be stifled and one that will become a reality.