Arnie de la Porte – 2016

Arnie de la Porte

Charles A. Andre de la Porte, or Arnie de la Porte as he is known, was born and raised in the Netherlands. He is a graduate of de Kweekschool voor de Zeevaart, the oldest Nautical Academy in Europe, and a retired officer in the Royal Dutch Navy.

After his nautical career he became very active in international business first in Shell and later as Sales Director for a B. Elliot and Co., a large European machine tool company, followed by General Manager of McCulloch of Europe and In 1981, he became Vice President International of Ridge Tool and located to Elyria, Ohio. Here he Co-founded Hexon inc. where he specialized in export and turn-arounds.

In 1996 Her Majesty the Queen of The Netherlands appointed Arnie as Her Honorary Consul for the State of Ohio.

Here is a partial list of Arnie’s accomplishments:

• • Past Co-Chairman of the Cleveland Tall Ship Festival
  • Past Grand Commodore of the Ohio Commodores
  • Honorary chair of the Rotary Club of Cleveland
  • Honorary president of the Cleveland Rotary Club
  • Past Chairman of the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad
  • Past Chairman of the board of the Elyria Country Club
  • Board member northern Ohio district export council (Nominated By US Secretary of Commerce)
  • Founding Board member of the French American Chamber
  • Founding Board member of the British American Chamber of Commerce
  • Founding Board member of the Netherlands Chamber of Commerce
  • Founding Board member of the Benelux Business Association
  • Founding Board member of the German Roundtable
  • Past president of the Cleveland World Trade Association
  • Past board member of the Greater Cleveland Growth Association
  • Past board member State of Ohio economic development Council
  • Founding board member business advisory board Maine Maritime Academy, in Castine, ME
  • Founding Board member Cleveland World Trade Association Foundation
  • Founding board member North East Ohio Trade Network
  • He was awarded the “Ordre National du Mérite” by the country of France

His motto was: “Trading nations seldom go to war.”

Peter de la Porte and Ingrida Bublys

Cleveland International Hall of Fame Class of 2016

Arnie de la Porte was inducted into the 2016 Class of the Cleveland International Hall of Fame on the evening of April 26, 2016. Over 500 people attended the induction ceremony at the Marriott at Key Center. Tragically, Arnie de la Porte passed away after an accident. His son Peter de la Porte accepted the honor for his father. He was inducted by the Honorary Consul of the Republic of Lithuania Ingrida Bublys.

In the video below, Cleveland International Hall of Fame co-founder Debbie Hanson introduces Ingrida Bublys so she could induct Arnie de la Porte.

Here is a video of Ingrida Bublys inducting Arnie de la Porte into the Cleveland International Hall of Fame.

Here is the video of Peter de la Porte giving his acceptance remarks for his father Arnie.

Congratulations Arnie de la Porte and thank you Peter!

See more photos of attendees at the 2106 Cleveland International Hall of Fame inductions