THOMASVILLE — A longtime City of Thomasville employee received the Charles H. Watt Jr., M.D. Lifetime Achievement Award for distinguished service to the community.

Nathaniel “Nate” Tyler was the 21st recipient of the award at the Thursday meeting of the club.

Tyler made his way to the podium amid a standing ovation and accepted the award from Rotarian Wallace Goodman.

Tyler, a Pavo native, is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran.

“During his tenure, Nate served at American embassies in Rome, Italy, and Montevideo, Uruguay. He obtained a top secret-crypto clearance and trained in communications, teletypes, cryptography, movement tracking systems and signal radio systems,” Goodman said in presenting the award.

Tyler retired from the Army National Guard after 28 years. 

His last assignment was with the 1148th Transportation Company, where he served as the unit communications and tracking systems sergeant. Tyler also served 18 months in Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

A Rotarian, Tyler recently retired from the City of Thomasville, where he was an integral member of Team Thomasville for more than 41 years.

Tyler spent 20 years as a member of the Thomasville Police Department, where he attained the rank of major/assistant chief. In 1998, he became the solid waste director for the city and in 2010, became landfill director. He most recently served as the director of Solid Waste and Public Works.

Tyler, an FBI National Police Academy graduate, is married to Gwen Cooper Tyler. They are parents of adult children.

The Charles H. Watt Jr. M.D. Lifetime Achievement Award is given annually to a person who has distinguished themselves in their chosen career and one who has delivered outstanding service to their community. 

The late Dr. Watt, a Rotarian and Thomasville physician, served as a captain in the U.S. Army Air Corps during and shortly after World War II. Watt joined the Archbold Memorial Hospital medical staff and began a career of service to the hospital and Thomasville that spanned more than 50 years.

Watt’s love of the outdoors led him to a personal interest in the treatment of snakebites, and he became one of the foremost snakebite experts in the U.S., treating more than 200 snakebite victims during his lifetime.

“Dr. Charlie was a cornerstone of Thomasville health care,” Goodman said. “One peer called Dr. Watt the most important Thomasville physician of the 20th century. Dr. Watt was an avid physician recruiter for the Archbold Medical System, seeking to recruit the best and brightest doctors in America to Thomasville.”

Senior reporter Patti Dozier can be reached at (229) 226-2400, ext. 1820