3 minute read

HR

After you have dispelled these misconceptions, the industry needs to create programs that introduce youth to skilled labor since schools no longer offer introductions to shop, woodworking, and other trades. It is now up to industry leaders to introduce skilled trades. Leaders and workers must volunteer in schools and youth camps and be willing to create mentorship and internship programs. Advocate for our future!

Recruitment for skilled workers must include a campaign celebrating the work’s intrinsic value, not just the monetary benefits. During a recent engagement, a client faced a shortage of workers that resulted in delayed or canceled services. To help this client, we developed a campaign that leveraged current employees to share their experiences and to function as ambassadors to generate genuine interest, resulting in new applicants. Gone are the days of standard recruiting. Recruiting today is about campaigning for action.

more information about People AK, please visit peopleak.com. or call 907-276-5707.

For

economy to get this bridge built, and we’re reaping the benefits now.”

Sitka Mayor Steven Eisenbeisz echoed Stedman’s remarks: “We heard earlier about all of the economic activity that can happen on Japonski Island because of it, and that is on both sides of the island,” he said, referring to Baranof Island where the town center resides. “I don’t think it would be possible without this landmark here in Sitka.”

A Dedication Long Overdue

The dedication was two years overdue. Wheels were in motion for a 2020 dedication until the COVID-19 pandemic canceled all plans, travel and otherwise. The bridge’s merits were brought forth to the ASCE

Alaska Section by Nottingham, who unfortunately didn’t live long enough to see the dedication come to fruition; Nottingham died March 6, 2022.

“I’m happy to be here to bring this recognition on his behalf,” said David Gamez, the event’s emcee and a past president of the ASCE Alaska Section.

The ceremony was held beneath the bridge’s composite steel reinforced concrete superstructure, between the substructure’s piers on the east side of the bridge. While the traffic busied itself at its usual pace overhead, the O’Connell Bridge Dock gently creaked and swayed in the background, rolling with the ocean waves. It was a gorgeous day—60°F, sunny, a light breeze. The roughly two dozen folding chairs set up for the event didn’t come close to accommodating the attendance, which numbered around fifty people. Over the crowd’s right shoulder was Crescent Bay; to the left, Castle Hill. It was fitting the ceremony took place in the shadow of the Baranof Castle State Historic Site, the national historic landmark where Russian Alaska was formally handed over to the United States in 1867.

Gamez was ticking off a number of the challenges the bridge design team faced in successfully completing this project—the high seismicity, climactic conditions, the technology at hand, and the bridge’s proximity to Castle Hill not the least among them. “In my opinion, it didn’t hurt Castle Hill,” Stedman said. “It’s just part of the community. The bridge blends in very well; the designers did an excellent job.”

The bridge is a bit of an enigma. Approach it from Japonski Island in the west, and the bridge presents itself as an imposing figure in front of its Sitka Harbor and Mount Verstovia backdrop. It’s one of the first things visitors see, a striking landmark welcoming them to Sitka. Approach it from Baranof Island in the east, and the bridge humbly defers to Castle Hill and Sitka’s rich history, content to rest in the shadows. The road slowly climbs and winds its way out of town, as the bridge says “thank you for coming”. It’s a hard phenomenon to explain, even for the locals.

“A couple things come to mind when I think of this bridge, one of them is obvious and one of them is not necessarily so obvious,” said Mayor Eisenbeisz, who spoke last with impromptu remarks. “The obvious one is this bridge is in just about everybody’s pictures. It’s in one or more drawings that you’ve done in the past. This bridge really is a landmark to Sitka, and Sitkans really do gather around the image of this bridge. So, I want to thank the people who spent the time designing it and thinking of the aesthetics of this, as well, because it does blend in so well with our community. In fact, it’s a focal point on our new city seal, which was recently redesigned. So, that’s how important this bridge is to Sitkans, whether or not they think about it every day.

“Which is my other less obvious point. I don’t know how many times a day you drive across this bridge, but you just really don’t think about it. It’s just there. It just happens to be there— you drive to the hospital, you drive to the airport, you drive to the harbor, whatever your business on the other side of the island, you just cross the bridge. No big deal.”

An enigma.

“I’m going to think about that a little bit more every time I drive across this bridge now,” he said, “what a convenience and what an asset it really is to Sitka.”

This article is from: