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 Chickasaw Nation Governor Bill Anoatubby was recently selected as co-winner of the inaugural Native American Finance Officers Association Tribal Leader of the Year Award. He shares the award with John Feliz, Chairman of the Coyote Valley Band of Pomo Indians.
William Lomax, President of NAFOA said Gov. Anoatubby is "one of the ideal candidates" for this type of award.
"He has actually taken the tribe to a level of business that a lot of tribes aspire to," said Mr. Lomax. "He's clearly been a financial leader, and really is the kind of person we want to honor when it comes to financial leadership. With the number of businesses the Chickasaws now have outside of gaming it shows a very clear pattern of leadership coming from the top."
Jenny Trett, Administrator for the Chickasaw Nation Division of Treasury, accepted the award on behalf of Gov. Anoatubby.
Lomax said they want to honor financial leaders because they are the ones who will inspire the next generation of financial leaders.
"We think it's very important to have more people moving into the business and financial areas of the tribes," he added.
When Gov. Anoatubby was first elected governor in 1987, the Chickasaw Nation had approximately 250 employees and annual operating outlays totaled less than $11 million. Today, the Chickasaw Nation has more than 10,000 employees and capital outlays in excess of $350 million. Gov. Anoatubby has focused his administration on providing health care, education, quality housing and economic development.
"Chickasaw people have built a successful nation because we work well together," said Gov. Anoatubby. "We will continue to build on that success as long as we continue to look after the best interests of our fellow citizens."
More than 400 attended the NAFOA conference in San Diego.
The Seminole Tribe of Florida received the Deal of the Year award at the conference.
Other awards went to Jay Cholwell (Elk Valley Rancheria) for Chief Financial Officer of the Year and to the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program (Gila River Indian Community) for Financial Literacy Program of the Year.
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