OFF THE CUFF Amie Sommer

Sheet-pan grilled halibut with asparagus warms in the oven while Amie Sommer entertains guests in the kitchen she designed and built with her husband on the outskirts of Wasilla. He added the construction side to the environmental contracting firm she founded, Tutka LLC, named for the bay near Seldovia where she keeps a family cabin.

The Homer area happens to be where her company recently completed a major project, replacing a truss bridge over the Anchor River with a steel-girder single span. Sommer says that she’s proud of every project, but she’s especially interested in low-key environmental contracts. As a teenager, she collected hazardous waste for the Anchorage municipal landfill, which led to earning a degree in environmental science. One service Tutka provides is monitoring beluga whales for Cook Inlet development projects, which brings Sommer close to her childhood dream of becoming a wildlife biologist.

When the oven timer dings, Sommer adds bacon and parmesan cheese to the halibut and serves it with dill pickle dressing. Another heartfelt creation.

AB: What’s your best attribute and worst attribute? Sommer: I think my best attribute is numbers. And friendliness, approachability (yet stern). My worst attribute is sometimes I don’t know how to politely tell somebody off… I know how to tell them off, but sometimes I’m way too harsh, to the point… I’ve worked for years to try to get softer.

AB: Dead or alive, who would you like to see perform live in concert?

Sommer: Garth Brooks.

AB: What’s the most daring thing you’ve ever done? Sommer: Starting a business is daring. It’s still daring, and every time we have a big bid it’s daring. You get a bid and you’re worried that you messed up, so that’s, to me, probably the most daring thing I’ve ever done.

AB: Is there a skill you’re currently developing or have always wanted to learn?

Sommer: Short-term rentals… We’ve been doing a VRBO vacation rental retreat down there [in Arizona], and that’s been one of my side projects.

AB: What’s your greatest extravagance?

Alaska Business: What do you do in your free time?

Amie Sommer: Besides spending time with my family, I have a good group of girl friends. We try to get together and work out a few times a week. We do wine yoga.

AB: What’s your favorite local restaurant?

Sommer: The Grape Tap [in downtown Wasilla].

Sommer: Houses. We like to build properties and buy properties and sell properties. I like to decorate them—not lavishly, per se, but it costs money... I don’t get my nails done, let’s put it that way.