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AUTHORIZED RESELLER
AUTHORIZED RESELLER
10 MANUFACTURING
Making It in Alaska
Edible, adoptable, or just plain useful products
By Dimitra Lavrakas
16 MARKETING
Top of Page, Top of Mind
The artificially induced death and certain revival of SEO By
Dan Kreilkamp
22 HEALTHCARE
Statewide Suicide Prevention
Know the resources, be a resource
By Sarah Reynolds Westin
28 INSURANCE
Business Insurance Trends
Challenges and opportunities By Tracy
Barbour
36 PROFESSIONAL SERVICES
Emergency Planning
Are you flying by the seat of your pants? By Daniel P. Hoffman
44 TOURISM
Standing O
National ovation for two Alaska luxury escapes By Vanessa Orr
128 OIL & GAS
Down Under, Up There
Pikka’s promise becoming reality By Scott Rhode
134 GOVERNMENT
The Military Boost
Armed forces benefit Alaska’s economy in more ways than one
By Jamey Bradbury
140 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Authority Questioned
AIDEA defends its win/loss record
By Scott Rhode
4
122 ENGINEERING
Homer Harbor
Additional capacity
By Jenny Carroll
148 SMALL BUSINESS
A Niche Touch
Local marketing firms find success Outside by narrowing their focus By Jamey Bradbury
154 TELECOM & TECH
The Alaska Plan
Broadband upgrade funds making a difference By Alex Appel City
CHART YOUR COURSE TO SUCCESS
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Shape Your Tomorrow
Discover how First National empowers businesses like Insatiable Fisheries to thrive in Alaska’s unique economic waters.
CONTENTS SPECIAL SECTION: TOP 49ERS
90 NEW & RISING TOP 49ERS
Copper River Management Co., Grant Aviation, and NIMA Corporation
By Terri Marshall
96 EXPERIENCE AND EXPERTISE
How the Top 49ers get to the top
104 INTERIOR INDICATORS
Fairbanks Top 49ers point the way to success
By Rachael Kvapil
110 BUSINESS VALUATIONS
Appraising and enhancing a company’s worth
By Tracy Barbour
116 PERFECTING PROFESSIONALS
Honing leadership skills through physical challenges
52 THE 2024 TOP 49ERS
Local companies ranked by gross revenue
ABOUT THE COVER
A threshold is crossed. For the first time on the cover of Alaska Business , the design incorporates material procedurally generated by computer, colloquially known as AI. Art director Monica Sterchi-Lowman used Photoshop AI to combine a plain blue Top 49ers logotype with a reference image: a profile of a human face. Not a single eye or nose remains, but the portrait contributed the colored stripes resembling circuitry. Ironically, the human’s intent was to emulate “organic art” inspired by magazine covers of the ‘60s and ‘70s.
The cover strives to elevate this magazine’s usual design by using the latest tools. Processed by a machine, the graphic was refined by a human. But don’t get used to it; Sterchi-Lowman only considered the approach because of this month’s theme of “elevation.” Additional typography refinements can be found throughout this month’s special section.
Cover by Monica Sterchi-Lowman
Compiled by Tasha Anderson
Grant Aviation
Matanuska Electric Association
By Alexandra Kay
Matt Hage | Alyeska Resort
When more families have what they need to succeed in school, work and life, all of our communities will thrive!
Make United Way your way to improve lives and make a lasting impact.
FROM THE EDITOR
Shortly after stepping into the role of managing editor, I was struggling with what to write in a “Letter from the Editor,” and I was playing around with something football related. My immediate family members are not football people, but my husband is, and I had just been informed that I’m a Seahawks fan. I was trying (unsuccessfully, as it turns out) to use the experience as a metaphor; not football itself, but the idea of stepping into an unfamiliar culture and how opening myself to that experience was—in the end—rewarding and delightful.
As others on the Alaska Business team reviewed the letter, they kept getting caught up thinking that the game itself should be the metaphor, which didn’t gel with me. Others, who are far better versed in the sport than I, have written whole books on how football is a metaphor for life, business, marriage, dog grooming (probably), and a slew of other things. My voice would not be a valuable contribution to that space, so I scrapped it and moved on.
I don’t remember what I wrote, but I remember it being well-received. And that’s what I've been reflecting on recently: the process stuck with me far longer than the final product, even though the final product was successful.
I assume many of our Top 49ers can relate. As their companies have grown, they have hit multiple impressive milestones related to revenue, acquisitions, expansions, employee numbers, safety records, et cetera. However, I suspect that if you were to ask them about, say, record revenue figures, more than remembering the pride of hitting a particular million-dollar figure, they would reflect on what it took to get there: the collaboration and compromising, problem solving and panicking, waiting to hurry and hurrying up to wait. The milestone is significant, but the process is what’s meaningful.
So we arrive at our Top 49ers theme for this year, which is about elevating, refining, and perfecting. The “ings” are important, as we want to convey the idea of processes leading to an optimal result even when there really isn’t an “end goal,” just goals that serve as touchpoints in an endless process of improvement.
What’s rewarding about this issue every year is learning from the Top 49ers where they choose to operate; when they choose to enter certain markets and the challenges they overcome to be competitive in them; who they value as employees and partners; what projects they choose, and the steps they take to deliver on their obligations; and how they define success and pursue their goals. While their results speak for themselves, it’s their efforts that are inspirational.
If you’ll indulge me—just hearing the final score is never as satisfying as watching the game.
Design & Art Production Fulvia Caldei Lowe production@akbizmag.com
Web Manager Patricia Morales patricia@akbizmag.com
SALES
VP Sales & Marketing
Charles Bell 907-257-2909
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Senior Account Manager
Janis J. Plume 907-257-2917 janis@akbizmag.com
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Marketing Assistant
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BUSINESS
President
Billie Martin
VP & General Manager
Jason Martin 907-257-2905
jason@akbizmag.com
Accounting Manager
James Barnhill 907-257-2901 accounts@akbizmag.com
CONTACT
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Making It in Alaska
Edible, adoptable, or just plain useful products
By Dimitra Lavrakas
Th e expense of sourcing raw materials into Alaska and then distributing finished products out has baffled and thwarted manufacturing ventures, big and small. Yet many Alaskans have succeeded well enough to thrive in the widget-making sector.
Local material sourcing (and sometimes a side hustle or two) helps support the entrepreneur as well as their surrounding community, which benefits from a lively local economy.
The State of Alaska has the Made in Alaska program to promote products made, manufactured, or handcrafted in the state. Products that meet the program’s "51 percent or more" criteria of being produced in Alaska are allowed to display the polar bear sticker logo, signifying the item’s authenticity as Made in Alaska.
Buzz for Brewed Honey
Beard Brothers Meadery in Fairbanks can hardly keep up with demand for its lusciously named
Raspberry Glenn, Buzzed Ginger, Spicy Cyser (made from honey and cider), Scottish-themed Blue Tartan, and Dry-Hopped, referring to the process of adding hops without them bein g cooked beforehand.
Made from fermented honey, water, and yeast, mead is the first known alcoholic beverage. The mazers (mead makers) at Beard Brothers use organic fruits, roots, and berries, along with honey from their family’s land, where they also raise dairy cows and produce raw, unfiltered milk.
More than market distance or transportation costs, owner Dave Bragg says the main obstacle to growth is that people just aren’t familiar with mead. But the ancient beverage is making a comeback.
“Mead is more recently becoming recognized as an alternative to beer and wine,” says Bragg.
Just as microbrewers have tap rooms and wineries host tastings, Beard Brothers promotes mead through social events.
“Successful, to us, means providing an excuse for community to gather, and in a community, everybody has something to offer,” says Bragg. “People who meet at the meadery may otherwise never cross paths, and the community continues to expand with each friendship as we support each other in different ways.”
Beard Brothers had a busy summer with a mead tasting at the Alaska Scottish Highland Games at the Alaska State Fair grounds in Palmer.
“We enjoy participating in and attending Scottish Highland games throughout the United States, and especially in Alaska,” says Bragg. “These events traditionally have some common threads: family, community, healthy competition, and mead.”
Market penetration did not come naturally but through invention, as Bragg explains. “Our head mazer, Connor, became interested in creating craft meads and soon found a niche: mead that can be enjoyed by wine and beer enthusiasts alike—refreshing light
Milo Wrigley
meads that are not too sweet and not too dry. After creating a consistent number of recipes, we decided to share our love of mead on a larger scale, as there were no meaderies in the Fairbanks area,” he says.
How large can the scale get? Bragg says the company’s customers are helping find out.
“We currently sell only within Alaska,” he says. “As demand drives supply and distribution, we ask our loyal customers to initiate a conversation with their local stores to make this possible in more areas. We do have out-of-state visitors who buy our mead and take it to the Lower 48 and other countries.”
Grain of Truth
In 2005, Bryce Wrigley watched a news report about the damage that Hurricane Katrina left in its wake in New Orleans. It got him thinking about food security in Alaska and inspired him to launch Alaska Flour Company.
In December 2011, with fearlessness and a desire to offer healthy food, the Alaska Flour Company opened. The company grows barley in fields near the terminus of the Alaska Highway, and it mills a hulless variety for human consumption. The mill was a major capital investment.
“It was a big venture for us, for our size. We just didn’t know how people would respond,” Wrigley says. “But we did have three goals: 1) increase food security in Alaska; 2) create new markets for local farmers; and 3) prepare to pass the farm on to the next generation.”
The family grows the grain on their land and stone-burr mill it there, and the company has developed numerous products, such as packaged meals and mixes.
Burr grain mills have two stone grinding plates that fit on top of each other to grind different flour textures.
“People were not familiar with it and a little reluctant to try something new and untested,” Wrigley says. “We couldn’t get a lot of it to move, so we started making cereal and couscous, and they moved.”
With the couscous and cereal well received, the company diversified further.
Alaska Flour Company offers a variety of baked good mixes, such as the Great Alaska Pancake or Raspberry Muffin. In addition to mixes for baked goods, the company has customers covered for dinner as well, manufacturing barley risotto, beef and barley stew mix, and chicken and herb, Tuscan, and Cajun barley couscous.
The recent addition of a bakery also allows the Alaska Flour Company to offer take-out frozen treats like brownies, muffins, and biscuits.
“It’s a closed system,” Wrigley says. “And in an effort to make it successful, we don’t want to force someone to just take what we have.”
The company is now producing frozen pizza with sauce and cheese, and customers can add toppings of their choice.
While adhering to the required 51 percent for the Made in Alaska program, Wrigley partners with a spice house in Soldotna that imports the spices used in the mixes and baked goods.
With the successful expansion of the mixes and baked and frozen goods, the company felt confident enough to add another mill.
However, with farming, bad weather can strike at any time.
“Two years ago, there was an early freeze, and we lost the crops, so we sold it all as animal fodder,” Wrigley says.
Back on track after that, Wrigley says the business is running smoothly.
“We pay our bills, pay ourselves and several employees,” he says. “There’s not a lot of profit in it, but I hope to be able to donate more to the food bank.” He figures Alaska Flour Company has donated 2 to 3 tons already.
The Next Pet Rock
It’s not hard to smile while holding a Blob. And that’s the point, says Blobbify maker and owner Juliana Mi ller.
Blobs are squishy splotches of gelatinous goo, like a marshmallow, gummy bear, playdough, and fluffy pillow all in one adorable package, Miller explains.
“I started doodling them in middle school science class,” she says. “I illustrated for other people’s books, then I thought, ‘Why not make my own?’’’
Aside from selling her books, she also offers a one-stop illustration, design, and publication service, with pricing done on a book-by-book basis. Her hand-painted pet portraits are a perfect way to celebrate one of life’s most faithful companions.
But it’s the Blobs that enchant people, she says.
“With COVID coming to an end, I started to go to trade shows again,” she says. “I set up a small table of little blobs
Beard Brothers Meadery’s unique mead is made in Alaska from fermented honey, water, and yeast.
Beard Bothers Meadery
Owner and creator Juliana Miller in front of her lively Blobbify cabin in North Pole.
Juliana Miller
Alaska Plastic Recovery founder Patrick Simpson delivers Grizzly Wood to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.
Alaska Plastic Recovery
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playing by a lake, and people took them right off the diorama.”
Now she makes them to sell, but really it’s more of an adoption, complete with an official form.
“At the Tanana [Valley] State Fair, all Blobs were adopted out, and I had to make more,” Miller says. “I started making polymer clay Blobs, and with the silicone molds I can make animal blobs.”
After three years, she was able to put money back into her business and make a “meager” life from it, she says. “A lot of what I do is listen to my customers,” Miller says.
She believes Blobs help with mental health by adding sweetness to their lives. “I try to target that certain personality type who enjoys a Blob because they still have a little of their childhood in them,” she says.
As for herself, she says, “I just feel happy in my shop; sweet makes me happy.”
Waste into Wood
Growing up with a fishing father, Patrick Simpson loved to beachcomb, but over the years he saw more and more plastic wash up.
“Plastics are accumulating on our shores and in our landfills,” he says.
He estimates between 75 million and 125 million pounds of plastic
annually wash up on Alaska’s shores. So the material he collects from Alaska coastal towns and villages is 100 percent Alaska sourced.
After pilot projects last year in Seward and Palmer, Alaska Plastic Recovery is sweeping through Haines this fall. Next spring, the mobile processor sails to Yakutat with a barge holding 20-foot containers.
“There is a large portion of Alaska’s population that is passionate about reducing these plastics,” he says. “The idea was to create outdoor construction products from this material, Grizzly Wood, that can last up to fifty years.”
So far, Simpson has recovered 15,000 pounds of marine plastic, mostly in Prince William Sound. The trash becomes raw material for a transportable factory that blends the waste into Grizzly Wood, a lumber-shaped product.
Can Simpson make a living as a manufacturer?
“Too early to say,” he says. “If we can build sales channels for Grizzly Wood, this business will succeed. Key markets are outdoor home construction, trail rehabilitation, and parks and recreation.”
He is doing well enough to employ seven people.
“Right now, there’s no profit,” he says. “We are reinvesting all our sales proceeds back into the business.”
Grizzly Wood is priced the same as its primary competitors, including Trex and Bear Board. Now only selling in Alaska, Simpson looks to expand to the Lower 48, though freight costs and labor are constant issues.
Going public?
“Oh,” Simpson says, “That’s five or ten years down the road.”
Extended Manufacturing
The Alaska Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP), a UAA Business Enterprise Institute initiative, helps would-be entrepreneurs with training, consulting, collaborationfocused industry programs, as well as leveraging government, university, and economic development partnerships.
Aspiring manufacturers can get certified in the latest quality process standards set by the International Organization for Standardization or sign up for bi-monthly Thursday live interviews at noon featuring local manufacturers who share their road to success.
Through a partnership with UAA’s College of Engineering, Alaska MEP provides semester-long engineering projects to evaluate manufacturing facilities to optimize workflows, provide HVAC safety management, fluid mechanics, design optimization, automation software development, wind and hydro energy efficiencies, and more at no cost.
Beginning with an assessment on the viability of a business, Alaska MEP determines if it can help or if it can find an entity that can.
All-Alaska beverages, packaged cereals, recycled building material, and blobby pets are just the beginning of diversifying the state’s manufacturing output.
The burr grain mill at Alaska Flour company grinds barley by using two stone plates that fit on top of each other to produce different flour textures for a variety of foods.
Rhode | Alaska Business
Top of Page, Top of Mind
The artificially induced death and certain revival of SEO
By Dan Kreilkamp
Th ink back to the last time you went looking for some answers.
Maybe you needed a dog-friendly restaurant for your company party. Maybe you couldn’t quite remember how many teaspoons were in a tablespoon (it’s still three).
Whatever the question, one thing is clear: Google has the answer.
And for most queries submitted to the search engine, it has many. The page that appears after clicking return is what search engine optimization professionals refer to as the SERP, or search engine results page. How, where, and when your business shows up on the SERP can have a major impact on its ability to drive website traffic, gain new customers, and increase revenue.
These pages, coupled with the complex strategies involved in ranking higher on them, serve as the focal point of search engine optimization (SEO); they’re an undeniable snapshot at just how well your brand is faring with Google’s algorithm.
But with Google’s latest search feature, things are starting to look a little different.
I, For One, Welcome Our New AI Overview
Not long after the release of ChatGPT and the swarm of other large language models billed as Generative AI, Google began experimenting with a new feature it first called “Search Generative Experiences.”
ZVOLSKIY
In the experimental feature powered by Google’s own large language model, Gemini, certain queries would occasionally return an AI-generated response prior to organic or sponsored results.
Some of the text-based generations were sound; others suffered from hallucinations or misinformation.
In May 2024, Google confirmed its latest product officially left the testing phase, rolling out to US markets with a plan of global expansion by end of year. With the announcement, a new name: AI Overviews.
“It was definitely top of mind even back last year,” says Jackson Hille, SEO Director of 6sense, an account-based marketing platform and sales intelligence software.
“Within the executive ranks, there was already an inclination of AI’s potential to change how Google presents search moving forward and how we might need to adapt our website, our content, or our expectations in terms of how much demand we’re going to see through organic traffic.”
Apart from misinformation, the SEO community’s primary concern with AI Overviews centers around visibility: will users handed a well-crafted AIgenerated response simply end their search without clicking through to the website content that helped create it?
Experts suggest it has been a mixed bag—and in Hille’s experience, it might be too early to tell.
6sense competes in the businessto-business contact data space. The company has a variety of website content focused on technographic and firmographic pages about certain companies and their market share. Regarding searches related to this type of content, Hille says that his company’s organic traffic numbers have remained relatively static since the introduction of AI Overviews.
“If someone is online and searching for ‘adobe market share’ in the AI Overview, we are appearing as one of the top listed sources. We’re also the featured snippet,” says Hille, noting that appearing as Google’s featured snippet was previously SE RP’s highest honor.
“And then we’re also in the traditional organic search results. So we’re
appearing three different times within the span of one and a half scrolls. And I think the anticipated result of that is you would think we’d get a surge of traffic, but what I’ve seen in the data is that it just really hasn’t done anything.”
Because Google has yet to add any tracking component for AI Overviews in the Google Search Console—which is the main interface to understand
how Google perceives a site’s technical aspects—it’s difficult to draw any concrete conclusions.
To further muddy the waters, the frequency of AI Overviews in search results has SEO professionals scratching their heads. AI Overviews only trigger in specific circumstances, and a recent article from Search Engine Land suggests the instances are only decreasing, as low as 7 percent for all searches in June.
But not everyone’s experience has been so neutral.
Local & Global Perspectives
Jennifer Christensen is the Chief Marketing & Innovation Officer at Beacon Media + Marketing, an Anchorage agency with a national presence.
Her team primarily serves clients in mental health, and Christensen says they’ve seen a significant effect on organic traffic numbers over the last couple months.
“May was the big drop-off point, and we’ve seen a lot of other companies in our industry having pretty massive drops in organic search traffic,” says Christensen. “We’ve also seen some dips, but how we’ve compensated for that—and why a lot of our clients are still doing super well in the SEO world— is because we’ve basically changed our entire content plan and strategy.”
Christensen says Beacon found success by shifting strategy from indepth, long form content to creating content that addresses users’ queries more efficiently. Her team started implementing this approach more than a year ago. “And I think this makes for a better search experience in general,” she adds.
Christensen is also careful to make the distinction between AI Overviews’ impact when it comes to local and national search intent.
“Local SEO is usually for people searching for a specific service or brand... And while the AI Overviews do seem to be affecting national SEO on a pretty significant level, it doesn’t appear to be affecting local SEO that much.”
Jennifer Christensen Chief Marketing & Innovation Officer Beac on Marketing + Media
“Local SEO is usually for people searching for a specific service or brand,” Christensen explains, illustrating her point with the hypothetical query: therapist near me. “And while the AI Overviews do seem to be affecting national SEO on a pretty significant level, it doesn’t appear to be affecting local SEO that much.”
United Kingdom-based digital marketing consultant Azeem Ahmad would agree.
“Generally, if you want something near you, you will still get something near you in the results. I don’t see it having much of a noticeable change on local SEO,” says Ahmad, whose boutique consultancy Azeem Digital serves a variety of clients in diverse industries.
“We’ve certainly seen traffic numbers decrease on the national or global side, but it’s hard to attribute that directly to AI Overviews,” he says. “The industry has moved away from the model where somebody has a need, they search for it, and the need is satisfied. Nowadays, consumers are much more savvy, happy to look elsewhere, and happy to take the time to make a more informed decision.”
Ahmad says there are still a number of question marks lingering over the new feature.
“I still think it’s having some teething problems, but I’m pleasantly surprised that it has moved away from this era of misinformation and all of the things that we’ve seen going viral because of that. But would I have released it to the public in the current state that it’s in? Probably not.”
Imminent Death and Certain Revival
This isn’t the first time the SEO industry has had its pulse checked and time of death recorded. If history is anything to go by, it won’t be the last.
“SEO has been dying for what, twenty years now?” Ahmad says with a laugh.
As long as the industry has been around, SEO professionals have endured an overblown struggle for relevance. Every few years, a new software or core update to Google’s algorithm seems to spell the practice’s swift and certain demise. In the context of large language models, that cycle is simply heightened.
“I’ve always been a big advocate of the fact that, if you stand still, you’ll be left behind in this industry,” says Ahmad. “And I think the best SEOs will approach new features with an inquisitive mind rather than, ‘Is this going to take my job?’”
The initial reaction to AI Overviews could be another false alarm in the
brief history of SEO. And though it seems to have affected some verticals sectors more than others, there’s no question that the practice—and the digital marketing landscape at large—is changing. In many ways, for the better.
“One of the things I’m a big fan of and pleased to see growing is that more and more people are jumping on the train of content diversification,” says Ahmad. “People are now seeing the benefits of turning a blog post into a podcast, or into Instagram Reels, or YouTube Shorts. So those people who are building newsletters or sharing their content across multiple platforms— they’re the ones who are seeing massive growth right now.”
But there’s a method to the madness, Ahmad warns.
“I’m seeing people on almost every
approach. People are now taking the time to create content specific for the platform: strong openings on TikTok with big hooks to keep viewers in place, longer form content on YouTube broken down so people can skip to relevant chapters, podcasts with hooks and teasers that drive people back to blog posts. I’m even seeing it used in paid social,” says Ahmad, who is careful to point out that it isn’t just blog or plain text content that appears on the SERP.
“So if there’s any good that’s coming out of certain platforms ‘dying’, it’s the idea that people are now learning to diversify their output.”
Gaming the System
A winning SEO strategy doesn’t stop at naming a business “Thai Food Near Me” (which, credit where credit is due,
of keyword research, content planning, link building, and understanding how all these pieces fit into a bigger marketing picture.
These are the tactics SEOs have traditionally used to rank favorably in SERP. But for as long as SEO has been a practice, certain players have aimed to beat the algorithm by using ranking tactics that are, at best, frowned upon.
Christensen offers the example of a business with multiple websites that all link to each other. “You give Google’s algorithm the impression that your content has a bunch of domain authority, but it’s all fake,” she says.
SEO experts call this a “black hat” strategy, but according to Christensen these unsavory techniques could soon be a thing of the past.
Prior to Google’s official rollout of AI Overviews, the tech giant completed its biggest ever core update, which lasted
a whopping forty-five days and reduced low-effort or unhelpful search results by up to 40 percent.
Christensen says this update was a breath of fresh air.
“This latest update just completely wiped those guys out,” she says of parties who dabble in the dark art. “There’s just no way to really fool the system anymore, and that’s been trending this way for a long time: the cream is rising to the top, and people who have really been pushing best practices over the last decade are the ones coming out ahead.”
Producing content within the E-EA-T framework (experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness) is another industry best practice, something Google has been preaching for years.
So Christensen was surprised in March when a Google leak revealing 14,000 different ranking factors didn’t contain a single mention of E-E-A-T. “Even Google was saying ‘Hey, this is how we’re going to view the credibility of content coming forward,’ and when the leak came out there was very little talk about E-E-A-T, almost like it wasn’t really a ranking factor at all.”
Quality Over Quantity
What the leak did contain, and of particular interest to Hille, was a factor the documents referred to as “page quality.” While most of the 14,000 factors were relatively expected, Hille says this concept of page quality and effort score could be a sign that Google is fundamentally shifting the way it ranks web content.
“This means they’ve figured out a way to algorithmically score a page based on how much effort it took to create—and that goes beyond just plain text,” says Hille. “To me, that is the most salient thing to latch onto moving forward.”
“Within the executive ranks, there was already an inclination of AI’s potential to change how Google presents search moving forward and how we might need to adapt our website, our content, or our expectations in terms of how much demand we’re going to see through organic traffic.”
Jackson Hille, Dir ector of SEO, 6sense
In a time when a few clicks and prompts can produce a decent blog within minutes, ranking by effort might not be such a bad thing.
“If there are twenty different pieces of content on a topic that are all roughly the same 2,000 words—and now there’s also an AI Overview summarizing those—If I’m the user and I’ve already taken that next step beyond the AI Overview to go to someone’s website, then I probably want to hear and see some additional or unique perspective.”
“The way I think about building content moving forward is from the
unique selling point of any specialist in your company.” Hille uses the example of pulling in his product marketing team to supplement text content with screenshots, or his public relations team for live webinars or podcast snippets.
“That’s all stuff we have that nobody else has—and adding that to your content seems like a winning thing.”
The Engine Becomes the Optimizer
Other changes brewing in Google’s search universe could affect how businesses approach SEO.
For instance, Hille notes Google’s rumored interest in acquiring HubSpot, maker of marketing, sales, and customer service software. Hille observes, “To me, that’s a little bit of a sign they know that they’re going to have to compete more on the internal process part of web marketers’ jobs than before.”
In fact, shortly after the interview with Hille, Google introduced a new feature to its Search Console called “Recommendations,” which tracks with Hille’s prediction that Google will have to compete more on those internal processes than it did previously.
Kudos to Hille, who believes this and other changes could lead to Google’s revenue mix looking quite different over the next few years.
“What I imagine could happen with Google Search Console is that they probably want to evolve it to compete with the SEO tools that exist on the market,” he says, pointing to popular tools like Semrush and Ahrefs that SEO experts call on to aid in a variety of tasks from keyword planning to competitive analyses.
Therefore, Hille concludes, “If they want to protect their market share, they’re going to have to be more influential on how companies run and market their websites.”
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Statewide Suicide Prevention
Know the resources, be a resource
By Sarah Reynolds Westin
Tw o years ago, I emailed my best friend a satire that I wrote. I didn’t plan to publish the essay, but I thought it pertinent to our circumstances and wanted to share a laugh. I texted him to check his inbox.
Seconds later, our thread had an emoji representing laughter.
“You read it already?” I replied. “You thought it was funny?”
He liked my message.
“I know you’re a fast reader, but I didn’t think you were *that* fast,” I wrote. It had about 1,500 words.
“It was one word.” Ellipses blinked, followed by a screenshot of a white page with four letters in parentheses centered across the top: (null).
The copy hadn’t gone through. Instead, a Latin word meaning “not any” appeared. As linguaphiles, we often shared Greek, Latin, Old English, and German roots and derivatives. He assumed, like the ancient response implied, “If there was something to it, it’s gone now.”
From then on, (null) became our goto response for anything unexpected. Over fifteen months of ups and downs, we had opportunities to reference our inside joke. It served as a balm for our difficulties, especially when I discovered my best friend was struggling.
Years earlier, I sought residential treatment when I couldn’t stop thinking about ending my life. I reiterated how my choice turned things around for me and urged him to check-in voluntarily. He did.
When the clinic cleared my best friend to discharge, I worried it was too soon and told him. His responses to my calls and texts began dwindling. He explained the silence was because of his increased focus on routine and self-care. I accepted his justification. I wish I hadn’t.
Three weeks after coming home, my best friend shot himself.
Within hours, I learned what happened. Grief stricken and thrown deep into mourning, I found inexplicable solace in the antithesis of our former reply. I bought us both bracelets: One
for me to wear and one for him to be buried with. They said (null).
The Day to Help Someone
Too many Alaskans have considered, attempted, or committed suicide or are close to someone who has. For all of them, Alaska has a network of clinicians, first responders, and crisis counselors to consult. Their prevalence reflects the state’s ranking among the highest in the US for suicide as a leading cause of death.
This year, Alaska Behavioral Health (ABH) expects to serve about 8,000 people from offices in Anchorage, the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, and Fairbanks, making it the state’s largest mental health provider. Chief Operations Officer Joshua Arvidson acknowledges a truism circulating in his profession: the day to help to someone is the day they ask for it.
“Having been a therapist for twenty years, I’ll tell you,” he says, “when I’m meeting a patient for the first time, I
Municipality of Anchorage
often think the first day to help was months ago.” If someone’s reaching out, they’ve hurt for a while. He adds, “People are hesitant to ask.”
ABH expanded its operations and helped shape Alaska’s suicide prevention and intervention responses. “Five years ago, we only served 2,000 Alaskans,” says Arvidson. “We knew we needed to provide better access to care because so many people are struggling.”
Even though suicide is largely driven by three complex problems— anxiety, depression, and traumatic stress—other healthcare needs and environmental experiences amplify it. “We must link physical healthcare with mental healthcare,” Arvidson says. “A distinction does not exist in biology, just in language. Mental health conditions are health conditions.”
ABH uses a model that addresses the whole person by offering wraparound services. “Emerging science shows the quicker we can intervene with evidencebased treatments,” which is clinicianspeak for therapy, “the more likely we can create a revolving-door approach,” says Arvidson. This continuum empowers patients with knowledge about who to call when they’re spiraling and how to access integrated medical services, including primary care, internal medicine, mental and behavioral healthcare, therapy, and pharmacy. “We spent the last couple of years building this holistic approach,” he adds.
Given ABH’s rapid growth, the model seems to be working. “People’s profound challenges are very responsive to treatment,” Arvidson says, noting how ABH is helping more Alaskans overcome suicide ideation. “What makes me sad is others still aren’t receiving it.”
Numbers to Dial
Many explanations account for this shortfall. People have options when
they’re in crisis, but they often face inaccessibility or bad timing. They may wait long stretches to visit doctors, psychiatrists, psychologists, therapists, and counselors—particularly if they live in rural Alaska. Perhaps they don’t know which type of appointment to schedule or where to get treatment. Sometimes, cost and time, such as maintaining routine appointments, can deter them. Stigma factors in too.
These delays reinforce the importance of loved ones, friends, colleagues, and neighbors knowing how to help— especially when an escalation occurs. Organizations throughout Alaska offer immediate relief and assistance.
To ask questions and receive guidance from anywhere in Alaska during regular business hours, dial 211. The social services counterpart to dialing 911 for life-threatening emergencies, this United Way program has specialists who connect callers throughout the state with community resources and programs near them.
Alaska 211 is separate from 311, a call center in the Anchorage area that acts as a non-emergency hotline. Operators can connect or refer 311 callers to municipal departments and services, short of an immediate police or paramedic response. If a person is considering suicide, facing a psychological crisis, or concerned about someone else’s mental wellbeing, Careline Alaska provides 24/7, statewide support and can be accessed by dialing 988. It recently began partnering with Alaska 211, allowing both systems to share a database and make referrals.
Both Careline Alaska and Alaska 211 have 800-numbers listed online and offer texting. Like 911, these helplines are staffed by Alaskans.
A Call Every Fifteen Minutes
Careline operates unlike other Alaska helplines by helping people explore
solutions while screening levels of suicide risk, according to Executive Director Susanna Marchuk. Its team of trained crisis counselors answers about 100 calls every day, offers to follow-up with everyone, and helps anyone feeling suicidal or assisting someone who is. The counselors have diverse lived experiences, making them uniquely suited to support callers’ needs.
“We’re grateful to hear from someone before they’re deep in the weeds,” says Marchuk. “Maybe then they never get to thoughts of suicide.”
Careline enables callers to find a listening ear, gives them space to share what hurts and bothers them the most, and empowers them to identify resources. Together, the caller and counselor develop post-call strategies, like who to confide in, how to decompress and stabilize, or where to pursue higher levels of care, such as therapy or residential treatment.
“The person asking for support drives the call,” Marchuk emphasizes. “They help us know where to go with the conversation.” Simple questions make talking easier for the caller, help ground them, and reveal circumstances contributing to their feelings, like if they’ve gotten enough sleep and food.
“When you really focus on understanding what’s going on in someone’s world, it’s life changing,” says Marchuk. “It helps them move away from what is painful or sticky.”
Careline only dispatches on about 1 percent of calls—up to half of which occur with the caller’s consent. Dispatched helpers are often mobile crisis teams (MCT), which use traumainformed, person-centered, culturally responsible approaches. They help people receive treatment instead of being sent to jails or hospitals.
In Fairbanks, ABH runs the MCT. “We’re on standby 365 days a year,
24 hours a day,” Arvidson says. It responds about fifty times per month. Arrests or hospital stays have plummeted, he adds, occurring in less than 2 percent of cases.
“Our Fairbanks clinic has walk-in,” says Arvidson, “so often the people the MCT helps are seen the next morning, if not that night.” People are realizing they won’t face personal or legal outcomes for requesting mental health aid, which increases their likelihood of calling.
Focus on the Individual
In Anchorage, Jenn Pierce, a licensed professional counselor, and Mike Riley, a firefighter paramedic, developed and lead the fire department’s MCT.
When dispatched, Pierce assesses suicide risks and provides brief therapeutic intervention. The focus is on people’s strengths and protective factors. “I want them to see what skills they have,” she says, “so they have a safety plan in place in case there’s a next time.”
Anchorage’s MCT averages twelve calls a day, a steady increase since its start in 2021. “Right now, the team has three calls in the queue,” Pierce says during the interview.
When a request for the MCT comes in, the call center asks questions to dispatch the right resources. The team comprises a mental health clinician and a firefighter EMT/paramedic and goes to workplaces, private residences, parks and street corners, hotels and shelters—basically everywhere.
“We make sure the help we are providing is what the person wants and agrees to, which looks different for everyone,” says Pierce. She’s responded to calls that take five minutes to facilitate self-advocacy or up to three hours.
“We take all calls one at a time to focus on the individual and remain present,” she adds.
The right level of care varies, but it’s always the MCT’s priority. “The mind and body are connected,” says Pierce, which is why sometimes mental health symptoms mask physical ones. “I’ve had to convince people, ‘No, you are experiencing a medical emergency. We need to get you support right now.’”
The MCT can transport people to outpatient clinics or detox centers. For 10 percent of responses, help involves a hospital, requiring an ambulance. “A clinician rides with them to offer continuity of care,” she says. A warm handoff with a medically accurate report means the patient is more likely to receive the right services.
Pierce likens herself and other MCT members who provide therapeutic intervention to “Swiss Army knives.” They can address everything from suicide, depression, and panic attacks to substance abuse and dementia, regardless of age or background.
“We help, but we can only do so much,” she says, carrying the analogy further. “That’s when people must rely on a full toolbox.”
Mental Health First Aid
Just as civilians can learn how to handle emergencies until paramedics arrive, training can extend mental health response further into the community. For instance, Jill Ramsey has a graduate degree in psychiatric rehabilitation and experience as a clinician, yet she shares her knowhow as a Mental Health First Aid instructor for the Alaska Training Cooperative in partnership with the UAA Center for Human Development.
“We can train most anyone,” Ramsey says. “We also offer ASIST [applied suicide intervention skills training], an intensive suicide prevention course.”
“Anyone” includes workplaces that can secure certifications for
wellness programs that help mitigate mental health issues.
More than 18,000 Alaskans have received their certifications. Ramsey has traveled to thirty-five communities in the state to lead trainings. From law enforcement and educational institutions to nonprofits and businesses, workplaces are a necessary part of suicide prevention and intervention—especially considering most suicides in Alaska occur between the ages of 15 to 45, which covers students and employees.
“No matter a person’s affiliation, we can schedule trainings with their organizations,” Ramsey says, stressing that, although there are costs, she can find ways to train even if funds are limited or nonexistent. “I do make deals, and we work it out so cost isn’t a barrier.” Grants can offset expenses, in some cases.
“Many folks come to me after they’ve lost someone, which is such a sad situation,” she says, but she cautions that people need not worry over what they could’ve done yesterday. “We do the best we can with what we know.”
Training helps her clients know more next time. “You can learn suicide warning signs and become familiar with local resources,” Ramsey says. “With standard first aid, you learn how to perform CPR, not heart surgery, and stabilize someone until help arrives. Mental Health First Aid uses those principles.”
The first step is accepting that everyone struggles, which can normalize seeking help. “No passerby ignores someone dealing with a lifethreatening issue,” says Ramsey, “and mental health shouldn’t have different standards.”
Ramsey cites a finding that one in nine people thinks about suicide at any given time. “You can’t fix their mental health problem,” she says,
“but if we don’t do anything, we know what can happen.”
A Priority at Work
Workplaces across Alaska are contacting Ramsey for training—or calling 988, 211, 311, or 911—to help employees. A good business case can be made: losing staff takes a toll financially and emotionally on the rest of the organization.
“If nothing else, workplaces must prioritize the safety and sustainability of their workforce—wherever it comes from,” Ramsey says, “though I hope it stems from compassion.”
Making mental well-being part of the workday empowers people to ask for help. They cease fearing they’ll be written up or fired. Ramsey tells people in trainings:
• Call or text someone when you’re concerned. Do it even if it means annoying them.
• Err on the side of caring. You won’t regret acting.
• Ask for help. Embarrassment is better than what you’re feeling or, worse, dying.
A study conducted at Columbia University, which inspired a 2006 documentary titled The Bridge , found that 100 percent of sampled people who attempted suicide regret it. They didn’t want to die. They didn’t want pain either. However, in those moments, they couldn’t see beyond pain.
I believe my best friend would have had this perspective, too, had he survived.
Suicide ideation can be a temporary crisis. If we do nothing, it can become a forever consequence. Together, we can prevent people from isolating, which increases their self-harm and suicide risk. I know now, firsthand and devastatingly, that I’d rather have someone upset with me and alive.
(null)
You bring out the best in us.
Thank you for once again voting for Providence Alaska Medical Center the Best of Alaska hospital. We are honored to receive the platinum award.
We are also honored to be the only hospital in Alaska – and one of just 53 in the nation –recognized for both quality of care and equitable access by U.S. News & World Report. This is in addition to being rated High Performing in the treatment of six conditions.
These accolades reflect the exceptional work of all our dedicated caregivers, providers and community partners who, together, allow us to serve our community with award-winning care.
Learn more at Providence.org/PAMCawards.
Business Insurance Trends
Challenges and opportunities
By Tracy Barbour
To thrive in today’s market, companies must understand and respond to trends that can make commercial insurance more difficult and expensive to obtain— especially in Alaska.
with Parker, Smith & Feek, one of the fifty largest insurance brokerage firms in the United States.
Take property insurance, for example. For the past five years, commercial insurance buyers have generally seen significant premium increases in the property market, driven by natural catastrophes, social inflation, economic inflation, increased reinsurance costs, and higher costs of claims, according to Anna Kohler, an Anchorage-based account executive
“Insurance carriers had to do quite a bit of price correction and portfolio correction to become profitable again after many years of underwriting losses,” says Kohler, who specializes in property and casualty insurance. “Many property carriers pulled out of high-loss areas, such as Florida and California. Underwriters had to tighten terms and conditions and ask a lot more questions of prospective insureds before being willing or even able to deploy capacity.”
Alaska had more difficulty than most other parts of the country, in some ways, due to a limited number of carriers that understand the state and the risks unique to its geography, Kohler
says. Rural locations, high catastrophe exposure (such as earthquake and wildfire), and even high crime rates in Anchorage exaggerated an already hard property market.
Capacity to Compete
Property carriers are still looking for accurate valuation of property, good risk management measures, and more data around maintenance records for optimal pricing, Kohler says. But there is more capacity available in the marketplace, and carriers are starting to compete for clean accounts.
“I maintain a large book of complex property accounts, and responses from London markets specifically have indicated that loyalty and good risk management records can even lead to
Anna Kohler Parker, Smith & Feek
rate reductions in 2024,” Kohler says. “I will caveat that with the fact that the market is still vulnerable to unforeseen catastrophic events. Rural property, especially frame construction, remains difficult in Alaska, simply due to the lack of insurers willing to write in our state.”
Kohler is willing to allow for optimism in the property insurance market. “Things are looking up,” she says. “If commercial property owners are diligent about maintaining their property and work with a broker that is willing to put in the work to tell their clients’ story and broker the deal, there is coverage to be found.”
Anchorage broker Christopher Pobieglo is also seeing greater challenges securing commercial property coverage.
Some carriers are exiting the marketplace in Alaska; others in this “hard market” have become much more restrictive in their underwriting, says Pobieglo, president of Business Insurance Associates, which sells a variety of insurance products from different carriers.
Some carriers, Pobieglo says, have become more restrictive with the type of business occupying the building. “For example, in the past you could write a lessor’s risk policy,” he says. “Now some of the markets have gotten concerned with who the tenant is. If it’s an office or low-risk business, you can write it on a business owner’s policy (BOP), which includes some extra bells and whistles and auxiliary-type coverage. But an auto body business, for example, might not be eligible for a BOP; they might have to get on a package and may not get as good a coverage.”
“Insurance is a response to litigation; if there were no attorneys, there would be no insurance agents.”
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Christopher Pobieglo President
Business Insurance Associates
Christopher Pobieglo Business Insurance Associates
Another major issue for insurance carriers in Alaska is snow loads on the roofs of commercial buildings. Snow collapsed multiple buildings during the past few winters, so carriers are asking more questions about snow removal practices, Pobieglo says. They are also placing more scrutiny on general building maintenance. “These carriers want to write best-in-class businesses and buildings,” he says. “And they want to see if maintenance and upgrades have been done to four main areas: the roof, electrical, plumbing, and heating. If you have not done upgrades to these areas, you could have a difficult time getting adequate coverage.”
Commercial Auto Challenges
Commercial auto insurance is essential for companies that own or use motor vehicles, but coverage is still somewhat of a tough market
for insureds with large fleets, Kohler says. Auto carriers are subject to “nuclear verdicts” and the high cost of medical care.
“As we have continued to climb out of the pandemic era, we have more cars on the road, more distracted drivers, more incidents, and an ever-increasing cost of claims,” she explains. “To add insult to injury, many commercial operations who need a fleet to maintain their operations and/or grow are facing major staffing shortages. This can lead to a lowering of standards for new applicants, and drivers with less experience are brought on, causing an increase in numbers of accidents, pushing up the frequency and severity of auto claims.”
In addition, the evolution of electric vehicles with expensive battery components and complicated electronics in newer cars has
increased the cost of repairing or replacing a vehicle. “Even companies with decent loss records continue to see double-digit rate increases this year,” Kohler says.
The application of AI is also affecting auto insurance, even before the advent of self-driving vehicles. “Although it seems that Alaska is a bit behind the curve when it comes to technological advances, we are definitely seeing a trend of telematics among fleet owners as well as fleet management software—companies looking to control losses by monitoring drivers via dash cams, speed tracking, seatbelt usage, et cetera,” Kohler explains. “I do not personally have clients who have yet implemented any AI technologies in their fleet, but there is certainly a buzz in the industry about new AI devices that can read driver facial movements or do eyeball scans to check for exhaustion
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or impairment allowing for additional safety measures to be taken.”
Auto insurance, Pobieglo says, is definitely a “pain point” for companies, especially those with extensive fleets. Auto insurance rates have risen 5 to 10 percent every year for the last four or five years. What’s driving up the rates? It’s primarily social inflation— behavior trends that raise the likelihood of claims—and the fact that auto commercial insurance is a high loss ratio for carriers, meaning they pay more for claims than they collect in premiums. “It’s not a big moneymaking line for carriers,” he says. “If you can package your commercial auto insurance with a carrier who’s writing your other insurance, you can get a more competitive rate.”
Litigation costs are also escalating auto insurance rates, along with the cost of vehicle replacement, mechanics,
and auto body shops. In Alaska, auto coverage is a particularly tough line of business, partly because the weather and seasonal factors can hamper driving conditions. “The rates have gone up a lot, and it’s caused some owners to have fewer vehicles and go to higher deductibles,” Pobieglo says. “But making these adjustments can lower the commercial auto exposure for a business.”
Fleet insurance has always been hard to come by—and it’s not getting any easier, says independent broker Tracey Parrish. The difficulty is largely due to all the variables involved with having a fleet, from how the maintenance is being done to who’s driving the vehicles. “It’s a higher risk,” says Parrish, who owns Anchorage-based Alaska Pacific Insurance Agency (APIA), which represents various insurance companies in twenty-five states.
Commercial auto insurance is shifting, too, because of AI on the carrier’s side, which automates obtaining quotes online. Consequently, carriers are increasingly requesting verifications. “If the data on you doesn’t feel right, they will do a verification,” Parrish says. “They will want to see proof of your address, a picture of your vehicle, the title, and registration.”
Insurance carriers have been hit with a significant number of claims, and they are going through the verification process for higher-risk people. “We’re not used to this, but we get it,” Parrish says. “The carriers are trying to control their costs and risk. But it slows down our binding process.”
Tracey Parrish Alaska Pacific Insurance Agency
Photo by Sarah Trahan Umialik Employee
“These carriers want to write bestin-class businesses and buildings… And they want to see if maintenance and upgrades have been done to four main areas: the roof, electrical, plumbing, and heating. If you have not done upgrades to these areas, you could have a difficult time getting adequate coverage.”
Christopher Pobieglo President Business Insurance Associates
Commercial Landlord Trends
Not only should companies have sufficient insurance for their property, but their tenants should also carry coverage. That’s why APIA strongly encourages owners to ensure their tenants have insurance. “In our office, we try to have our landlords make sure their tenants are insured and lists them as an additional insured,” Parrish says. “This enables the landlord to know everything about that policy, such as if the tenants cancel, raise, or lower their coverage—or do not renew their policy. If there’s a claim, they don’t want to find out then that the tenant does not have a landlord’s policy.”
Unfortunately, few landlords in Alaska require their tenants to have this type of insurance. But if the tenant does have coverage and there is a claim, the landlord might not have to pay. Having a landlord policy provides double coverage. “You’ll use the tenant’s insurance first, and if you need more, you use your own,” Parrish says.
Another requirement that’s beginning to expand for landlords is the need for cyber liability insurance. According to Kohler, this trend is driven by the increase in “smart” buildings and a more creative approach to “vacancy” language in a property policy due to the recent growth of remote work or shared “rented” office spaces.
“In catastrophe-prone areas, property owners are taking a harder look at non-traditional risk financing methods, such as parametric solutions, self-insurance, and various new Insurtech products that don’t fit the bill of ‘traditional’ insurance,” Kohler says. “Ultimately, landlords need to point their focus toward continuous maintenance, disaster preparedness plans, and true property valuations, factoring in inflation, supply chain, and
labor if they want to ensure they are adequately mitigating any potential losses they may face.”
Industry Shifts and Other Influences
Cybersecurity risks have also increased demand for cyber liability coverage in the healthcare industry due to the amount of protected health information that is being stolen. “More industries outside of the tech world are looking into technology errors and omissions coverage as they start to dabble in tech-related operations,” Kohler says. “More and more organizations like my own are driven to create a technologyspecific specialty due to constant technology advancements that are hard to keep up with.”
Pobieglo says there are also notable shifts with insurance for the construction and transportation industries. “You’re seeing more requirements for pollution coverage, related to the increased regulatory environment surrounding that. It could also be related to cultural views related to the environment,” he says.
In addition, Pobieglo says there are more independent consultants requiring insurance today, possibly because of job loss from strained government budgets. Insurance needs are also increasing with the expanding presence of medical facilities and assisted living housing to serve Alaska’s aging population.
Parrish has noticed a growing number of people who work for general contractors going solo and becoming subcontractors. They know their trades, but that’s all they know; many subs don’t understand the complexities of workers compensation insurance, licensing, bonding, and other requirements of operating a
“In 2024, the biggest challenges facing the commercial insurance industry revolve around inflation, staffing and talent retention, the entrance of new technologies and AI, as well as an ever-changing geopolitical environment.”
Anna Kohler Account Executive Parker, Smith & Feek
contracting business. “They don’t have anyone to help them with their paperwork—-to make sure they are in compliance, understand insurance coverages, and can afford their insurance,” she says.
As a result, APIA diligently educates subcontractors and other clients about their basic and industry-specific insurance needs, according to Parrish. Insurance is always evolving in response to emerging risks and litigation, Pobieglo says. “Insurance is a response to litigation; if there were no attorneys, there would be no insurance agents,” he says.
Underwriters are getting better and better at assessing risk, due in large part to technology. “For example, we have a commercial auto carrier who’s getting more into technology in terms of encouraging the use of devices in vehicles that allow owners to monitor driving habits,” Pobieglo says. “It’s not for everyone (due to potential privacy concerns), but if people are open to these monitoring devices, they can save on premiums.”
Kohler also cites technology as a driver of insurance trends. “In 2024, the biggest challenges facing the commercial insurance industry revolve around inflation, staffing and talent retention, the entrance of new technologies and AI, as well as an ever-changing geopolitical environment,” she says. “Advancements in technology, big data analytics, and the need and even expectation for instant data from the insurance buyer will also lead to chang es in the industry.”
Risk Management Adjustments
There are several adjustments in coverage and other areas that Alaska businesses can make in response
to the current trends. General contractors, for example, can ensure their subcontractors have workers comp insurance and that they are listed as additional insured, Parrish says. “They should make sure they have someone in their compliance department to ensure all their subs are in compliance, their license is up to date, and their liability insurance limits match the general contractor’s limits,” she says.
Another major strategy for companies that own property, Pobieglo says, is to make sure they have appropriate replacement cost values, which have grown significantly in recent years. “The last thing you want to do is have a loss and find out you don’t have enough money to rebuild,” he says.
Commercial auto continues to be a major area where companies can refine their strategic approach. As a key tactic, they should reconsider what they actually need to operate and adjust accordingly. For instance, they can increase deductibles in auto, property, and general liability to have more skin in the game. “There’s obviously a premium benefit for a higher deductible, but you’re also not turning in a bunch of small claims,” Pobieglo says.”
Strategic adaptability is key, Kohler says. Last year’s strategy may not be ideal for this year’s economic and market environment. So, businesses should get creative. They should partner with someone creative who can look at the overall risk profile of the organization and strategize how to mitigate risk while keeping in line with the organizations’ financial goals. She says, “Insurance is not always the most exciting topic but invest your time in understanding the options so that you can make informed decisions around risk.”
Emergency Planning
Are you flying by the seat of your pants?
By Daniel P. Hoffman
Al aska is truly a special place, and amongst the environs that intertwine to form the fabric of this great state, perhaps none are more special than the isolated encampments that comprise the fly-out fishing lodges of Katmai and Bristol Bay. As a teen in the early ‘80s—and later as a young adult—I was extremely fortunate to work for several seasons in Katmai, first as a lodgekeeper at Brooks Camp and ultimately as a fly-fishing guide at Kulik Lodge. Those were some of the most meaningful and memorable summers I could ever hope to experience, and the lessons learned working there have carried me quite well throughout my professional life.
Fondly recalling my guiding days, I keenly remember the sense of immediacy, focus, and ultimate responsibility I felt towards any client I accompanied on the region’s rivers and
streams. However, if I were to be totally honest, I’d have to admit I was likely a little cocky (or at least overconfident) in my ability to handle any situation that might have arisen. Moreover, my recollections are firmly rooted within my own first-person perspective, with little recall or awareness as to how the owners and management staff of the lodges were prepared to deal with the rapid evolution of any emergency.
Fast Forward Forty Years
Fortunately, I’m not some doddering old angler simply reminiscing of days gone by. (Well, not doddering, anyway.) Having retired from two professions in the past four decades—including twenty years as a peace officer and police chief, with a subsequent career in industrial safety and risk management—I’ve had the distinct pleasure of coming full circle these past few years, returning to the
Bristol Adventures’ family of lodges to draft and implement comprehensive emergency response manuals for Brooks, Kulik, Grosvenor, and Mission lodges, as well as their umbrella transportation provider, Katmai Air. While revisiting these special places has been tremendously rewarding, it has also served to underscore the importance of true emergency preparation and planning. And while Alaska’s biggest corporations and organizations are often wellplaced to provide additional support and resources toward emergency preparation, I would argue that smaller, minimally resourced businesses are most in need of such planning activity. While it’s often a struggle for any company to appropriately prioritize and financially support emergency preparations (e.g., “Let’s not just respond to current issues
Daniel P. Hoffman
facing the company but rather spend valuable time and resources preparing for a bunch of stuff that might never happen.”), it can be done if management makes a concerted commitment to do so.
Luckily, preparing effective response materials for your business or organization doesn’t rise to the level of rocket science. Whether you’re simply auditing and verifying current contact information for key responders or assembling full-blown resource and response manuals, it’s highly likely that you possess the requisite knowledge in-house to prepare such material. Further, by assigning specific staff to periodically review and update your plans, you can rest assured knowing that information will be accurate—and highly useful—when needed.
“What Could Go Wrong?”
It may seem basic, but the first step in crafting a user-friendly response guide lies in determining those circumstances that would constitute an emergency or “highly disruptive event” for your organization. Most companies deal with an array of circumstances during any given week and have become adept in responding to outof-the-norm situations. To prevent response guides from becoming overly broad and unwieldy, senior management and administrative staff should convene and discuss the types of events that might occur, considering the relative impacts of each. Of these, your team should reach consensus on a top ten list of potentially disruptive scenarios (i.e. those things that “keep you up at night”) which you can then prepare to address.
As you work through this process, questions will undoubtedly arise relating to the principles of probability and severity. If there is
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a high probability that an event will occur but the impact is insignificant, then you’ve identified a relatively routine circumstance that you’re likely experienced in handling and which doesn’t merit inclusion in your response preparations. Conversely, if you identify a circumstance that might rarely happen but has the potential to cause severe disruption if it does, then you should strongly consider developing pre-planned response strategies and materials to deal with such an event.
As you complete the process of risk assessment and prioritization, it can be easy to get caught up in “what-if” scenarios. While one shouldn’t focus on the possibility of ridiculously low-probability events (e.g. an asteroid strike), you cannot afford to avoid preparing for events simply because they have a relatively low probability of occurring—particularly if the consequences would be significant (think a workplace activeshooter scenario). As a general rule, I would offer the following: the
lower the probability of a severe event’s occurrence, the greater the need for the availability of a userfriendly response plan, as “low probability” generally translates to staff unfamiliarity, unpreparedness, and/or complete complacency, i.e. “It could never happen here.”
Clear, Consistent, and Uniform
Most companies can easily craft their top ten list of potentially disruptive events, many of which will be dictated
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by the type of business and facilities involved. For instance, in crafting emergency response plans for remote fishing lodges, scenarios such as aircraft accidents, bear attacks, and remote medical emergencies immediately come to the fore, whereas a chemical plant located within a municipality would likely prioritize incidents such as facility fires, hazardous materials spills, et cetera.
While a specific response plan should be developed for each proposed scenario, all should be formatted in a uniform and consistent manner. I have found that the clearest plans consist of four main sections:
• PURPOSE: A concise statement articulating the hazard/scenario and the need for employees to be knowledgeable and familiar with immediate response actions.
• BACKGROUND and SCOPE: While this section won’t be used during the
actual response, it’s crucial to provide such information to managers and employees during their initial training and introduction to the plan, providing further context regarding the necessity of each operational component.
• RESPONSIBILITIES: This section comprises the “meat” of the response plan, articulating the duties and responsibilities for all levels of employees within the organization in response to an emergency event. For every tier of employees, responsibilities may include immediate actions, notifications, or documentation efforts.
• ATTACHMENTS and APPENDICES: There is nothing worse than trying to locate an emergency phone number, facility diagram, or other piece of critical information when responding to a crisis. An effective response plan should anticipate the information and materials required by employees and
company managers, as well as that needed by emergency responders, regulatory agencies, and others. Contact numbers, hazardous material safety data sheets, pertinent maps and diagrams, et cetera should all be included as necessary within each individual response plan, ensuring that information will be readily available when needed.
Putting It All Together
While it benefits organizations to develop a library of scenario-specific response plans, each detailing the immediate actions and notifications needed to minimize the impact (and prospective duration) of an emergency event, I firmly believe these plans need to reside under a larger, organizational framework. As initial response efforts must quickly transition into ongoing incident management, your company
A NIMS/ICS Primer
By Daniel P. Hoffman
NIMS is an acronym for the National Incident Management System. ICS refers to the Incident Command System. NIMS reflects the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s comprehensive framework for incident management, applicable to emergencies of all types and sizes. ICS reflects a standardized, on-scene management structure, designed to aid in the supervision of personnel during an emergency event.
NIMS and ICS processes evolved and rose to prominence in the field of wildland fire management in the Lower 48, where multiple agencies had to frequently come together in an organized, coordinated fashion to deal with region-wide emergencies. Almost all governmental and regulatory agencies now utilize NIMS/ICS protocols, as the standardized, scalable nature of these systems allow for the uniform implementation of common-sense command and control organizational structures and protocols.
For those wanting to learn more—and avail themselves of free online training—training.fema.gov/ nims. Recommended initial courses for managers and operational supervisors include:
• ICS-100: Introduction to the Incident Command System
• ICS-200: ICS for Single Resource and Initial Action Incidents
• IS-700: National Incident Management System, An Introduction
There is a major benefit for private businesses that elect to structure their response plans utilizing these same protocols: when having to deal with government agencies, either in an oversight capacity or as part of a coordinated, unified-command response, utilization of standardized NIMS/ICS practices on the part of all involved ensures that everyone is “speaking the same language,” facilitating understanding, cooperation, and coordination.
should have a standardized process for quickly forming a scalable Incident Management Team (IMT) responsible for drafting and implementing a focused Incident Action Plan (IAP).
When assembling your electronic library of crisis management materials (I’m a strong proponent of constructing hard-copy binders as backups, as computer networks are often the first casualty in a major emergency), I highly recommend structuring the initial section to reflect the organizational structure and chain of command of your organization. I further recommend providing rudimentary orientation and training to your workforce—particularly all levels of management—in basic NIMS/ICS protocols (see the “A NIMS/ ICS Primer” sidebar). Such training will help set the stage for your employees and managers, allowing them to better conceptualize the act of quickly coming together as an IMT, developing an appropriate org chart for the event, and drafting/implementing a coherent IAP to guide continuing actions as the company moves forward.
Toward that end, a solid IAP template, formatted specifically for one’s business and facilities, serves as an invaluable resource for the assembled IMT. A properly formatted IAP template will already contain all critical and necessary company information:
A brief descriptive overview of the business and facilities;
• Physical facility addresses and emergency contact information for company representatives; GPS coordinates and other applicable location identifiers;
• Access considerations, to include nearby airport information, et cetera. Following the space for a brief event synopsis, the IAP template will then walk team members through the process of considering specific factors that will
Guided by our Iñupiat Il.itqusiat
That which makes us who we are.
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17,000+ Employees 50 States 15 Countries 5 Continents
affect ongoing response efforts, to include weather forecasts, requested resources, and logistical challenges. The template will then serve to clarify overall incident objectives for the specified plan period (note: a significant or longduration event will likely be managed through a series of sequentially prepared IAP’s, each directing efforts for periods of 24 hours, 48 hours, et cetera), as well as articulating the specific response actions scheduled for implementation. The final section of the template once again serves to prompt the team, providing a checklist of potential attachments for inclusion with the resultant plan (applicable maps, radio frequency lists, supply rosters, et cetera).
In addition to providing an optimal plan to guide company operations, a properly prepared, comprehensive IAP serves two additional (and invaluable) purposes:
• If your organization is dealing with any type of governmental or regulatory entity as part of the overall emergency response, the agency may require review (and sometimes even mandate formal approval) of a formalized plan before granting authorization to proceed;
• From a liability perspective, if issues or claims arise after the fact involving your company’s response to an emergency, a well-prepared IAP will document that your actions were deliberate and well-considered and that you weren’t just “shooting from the hip.”
A Note on Training
Whether you develop your own materials in-house or bring in outside resources to assist in the process, I can guarantee one thing: a collection of completed files or binders that sit unused on a shelf, with their contents
The lower the probability of a severe event’s occurrence, the greater the need for the availability of a user-friendly response plan, as “low probability” generally translates to staff unfamiliarity, unpreparedness, and/or complete complacency, i.e.
“It could never happen here.”
unknown to managers and front-line employees, is of very little value to your organization. Once you’ve finalized your emergency management materials, it is critical that employees are familiar with their contents and are well versed in the processes involved in incident response and plan implementation.
To satisfy this final requirement, I strongly recommend that one’s workforce be taken though periodic “tabletop” exercises, where scenarios can be proposed, responses talked through, and gaps in information and/or processes identified. A good tabletop exercise should accomplish the following:
• Managers and key employees are presented with a hypothetical
occurrence, corresponding with a scenario addressed in their library of response plans;
• Team members, assisted by an exercise facilitator, review the pertinent plan and confirm all initial response actions that need to be undertaken;
• Moving from initial response to follow-up management, members develop an organization chart for an IMT to manage the ongoing situation, assigning position responsibilities as required;
• Using supplied plans, materials, and the company’s IAP template, the assembled IMT should then complete the process of creating a comprehensive IAP suitable to guide ongoing operations.
Lastly, particularly for those companies with extremely limited training time and budgets, I frequently encourage businesses to view the occurrence of real-world, low consequence situations as prime opportunities to initiate and exercise the processes of IMT activation and IAP preparation. (A piece of anticipated inventory didn’t arrive? Use it as an exercise!) As managers and employees gain comfort and familiarity in fulfilling these functions, you can expect their performance will be greatly enhanced when confronted with a true emergency.
Daniel Hoffman is the owner and principal of Hoffman Consulting in Fairbanks. When he’s not preparing emergency management materials for businesses and other organizations, he enjoys serving as a speaker and trainer, addressing topics of risk management, team building, and developmental leadership.
HR MATTERS
EMBRACING STRENGTHS-BASED DEVELOPMENT
Maximizing Team Performance
Written by Brooke Kuempel
As the saying goes, every team is the sum of its parts. Different challenges and tasks require specific abilities. Some team members excel in conflict resolution, others in maintaining focus, and some thrive building and retaining relationships. The key lies in identifying and harnessing each team member’s unique talents, which is what we call embracing strengthsbased development.
At PeopleAK, we work hard to always keep our own strengths and each other’s top of mind. To cultivate strengths-based development in any organization, we have found it is important to have easy access to your Team’s Strengths Grid. In our office, we have ours as the wallpaper on our conference room TV, which allows us to easily reference it as we strategize and collaborate as a team. We also all have our top 5 Strengths listed in our signature lines for a reminder when emailing internally with each other.
USING THE TEAM GRID TO BUILD A SALES STRATEGY
Implementing strengths-based development has endless benefits. One that has significantly impacted our success at PeopleAK is that it gives us a roadmap or tool for building an effective sales strategy. Leveraging each team member’s unique talents and capabilities maximizes performance and helps us achieve business goals.
As you may notice right away from our Team Strengths Grid, our team at PeopleAK leads in the Executing domain, which means we are eager to make things happen and see results. We find it essential to acknowledge each other’s strengths when delegating roles, tasks, and projects for our sales strategy.
Here’s an example of how we do that.
Using our Team Strengths Grid, we can identify that Team Member 3 leads with Activator, making them impatient for action and a great leader when given an important project. As Team Member 3 brings energy and momentum to the group, Team Member 2 gets excited to use their Futuristic strengths for
visionary thinking.
Team Member 10 enjoys collaborating with Team Member 2 because they can use their Strategic strength to find creative solutions for their innovative ideas. We also ensure Team Member 10 has a voice when we must tackle a problem and quickly find alternative ways to proceed.
Following the brainstorming session, we let Team Members 1, 4, and 6 use their Analytical strengths to think logically to ensure that the data supports our plan before we move forward. They have to be careful not to crush our Futuristic team members.
We want to make sure we allow Team Member 9 plenty of opportunities to nurture long-term client relationships using their Relationship-Building strengths: Developer, Empathy, Individualization, and Positivity.
In conclusion, every team member contributes something different to the sales strategy and our team’s goal, leading to increased engagement and improved sales performance. To discover how you can maximize your team performance through strengthbased development, call PeopleAK, and let’s chat!
For more information about PeopleAK, please visit peopleak.com or call 907-276-5707.
Standing O
National ovation for two Alaska luxury escapes
By Vanessa Orr
Tutka Bay Lodge
Op rah Winfrey’s ability to influence consumer purchasing choices, particularly since she launched a book club segment on her TV talk show in 1996, has been dubbed “the Oprah Effect.” A benediction from the media mogul can boost a previously little-known entity to new heights of popularity.
To bring the same Midas touch to the field of hotels and wellness resorts, her Oprah Daily magazine inaugurated the O-wards earlier this year. Honorees demonstrate the ability to transform, teach, and serve as catalysts for becoming what Winfrey calls “the person you were always meant to be.”
According to the magazine, these properties touch on every aspect of selfcare and range from accommodations that unite generations to treat-yourself spa weekends with girlfriends and spaces that welcome solo hikers.
Two of the sixty-eight places picked in North America are in Alaska: the Tutka Bay Lodge on the Kenai Peninsula and Arctic Hive in Wiseman. While both luxury escapes were extremely pleased and surprised to win the awards, they also appreciate that accolades like this are good for business.
“An award with Oprah’s name undoubtedly helps future guests find us. It takes a special person to travel seven hours from civilization, 63 miles north of the Arctic Circle, and trust that they’ll have an incredible experience,” says Mollie Busby, who owns Arctic Hive with her husband, Sean. “Every article and award builds legitimacy and helps us reach adventurous clients looking for a life-changing experience.”
“We haven’t tracked whether there is an actual uptick in business, but coverage like this does provide an opportunity for us to have a few more credentials,” agrees Kirsten Dixon,
“An award with Oprah’s name undoubtedly
future guests find us. It takes a special person to travel seven hours from civilization, 63 miles north of the Arctic Circle, and trust that they’ll have an incredible experience.”
Mollie
Busby, Co-owner, Arctic Hive
founder of Tutka Bay Lodge. “When people are researching destinations in Alaska and making decisions about how to spend their money traveling to Alaska, it’s just a little extra qualifier in some way.”
Spreading the Word
While the Hotel O-ward recognition came as a surprise to both lodge owners, it isn’t the first time that either has been sought out by the media. Tutka Bay Lodge, one of a cluster of remote lodges across Kachemak Bay from Homer, has received previous coverage in Travel + Leisure magazine, Condé Nast Traveler , CNN, Saveur , the Los Angeles Times , and more. Arctic Hive has been written up in Condé Nast Traveler , US Today’s 10 Best, CNN Travel , and US News & World Report, among others.
“I’m not sure about how they found us, though we do have a certain media presence, particularly because of our cuisine,” says Dixon of the lodge that offers cooking classes and also publishes a cookbook. “Once you swirl around and get some notoriety, you do get on their radar.”
Dixon has a theory for the lodge’s higher-than-average profile. “We do have a lot of writers stay with us; maybe two or three writers a month from various publications,” she says. “While those stays don’t necessarily convert into stories, they often do. Being generous with the opportunity for media to visit us has always been a strategy we’ve had in terms of marketing. We don’t pay for any advertising or marketing, but we do love earned media.”
Destinations may get noticed in different ways, depending on the media outlet. For Travel + Leisure, for example, guests can nominate their favorite places. Other publications encourage
In a pocket of coastal forest at the tip of the Kenai Peninsula, Tutka Bay Lodge connects guests with the wooded setting for wellness and wisdom.
Tutka Bay Lodge
nominations by industry peers, and sometimes lodges can submit their own information to a publication as a way to seek coverage.
“Part of our marketing toolkit is to shine the light on Tutka Bay Lodge in interesting ways,” says Dixon.
While media coverage is helpful, Tutka Bay lodge reaches guests mostly through travel agents who are uniquely positioned to serve the luxury tourism market. The lodge only has five guest cabins and is more expensive because of its size and very private setting, as well as the twenty-member staff that caters to cabin guests.
“It’s a pretty rarified market niche, which is why we work with travel agents who are experts in that upscale adventure travel/boutique hotel variety of tourism,” says Dixon. “And they love seeing us mentioned in Travel + Leisure, Condé Nast, and other publications.”
Arctic Hive was also surprised by the award and found out from an email “out of the blue,” according to Busby. “The magazine contacted us a month prior to inquire about photos and a few details to consider us for an award, but we weren’t sure how it would play out,” she says. “The actual feature was much bigger than we imagined. We felt really honored.”
As with Tutka Bay Lodge, Arctic Hive prefers earned media coverage. “We put most of our marketing budget toward making contacts with journalists and influencers who share our same values of adventure and wellness and a desire to preserve the wild places we’re lucky to call home,” she adds. “We offer multi-night retreat experiences instead of one-night stays, so we love providing journalists the opportunity to experience our retreats exactly as our clients do, start to finish.”
Busby adds that Explore Fairbanks and the Alaska Travel Industry
“I’m not sure about how they found us, though we do have a certain media presence, particularly because of our cuisine… Once you swirl around and get some notoriety, you do get on their radar.”
Kirsten Dixon, Foun
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der, Tutka Bay Lodge
Association (ATIA) have been invaluable partners. “We’ve been proactive about collaborating with Explore Fairbanks and ATIA whenever possible. These partnerships have been so beneficial in getting the word out about Arctic Hive and meeting others in the tourism and travel industry,” says Busby. “Alaska is a huge place—and given the distance for us to get literally anywhere, there isn’t a lot of time to meet our peers. The relationships we’ve developed at these events and media networking opportunities are priceless.”
What Sets Them Apart?
While both lodges are known for exceptional experiences, each has its own unique niche. The Tutka Bay Lodge is renowned for its cuisine and includes five chefs on staff.
“I’ve always loved to cook, and my grandmothers on both sides of the family were cooks,” says Dixon. “I studied cuisine and am still studying it forty years later. The subject is so vast and creative and varied; I never tire of it.”
One of Dixon’s daughters, Mandy, went to culinary school to become a chef and now works as the manager of the lodge. “Through the culinary world, we tell our story about who we are, why we live the way we live, and what we find so interesting about Alaska cuisine; it’s an important part of our creative expression,” says Dixon. “I am so proud of our team because the food is really remarkable. It is a passion and interest for all of us, versus just something we do for guests.”
Dixon also believes that nature heals and that everyone deserves to be in the natural world, which is why the lodge’s wellness program is designed around the lodge’s surroundings. “Before COVID, we had a traditional model of wellness, with a massage therapist and yoga classes, but we had to stop
Remote as Wiseman is, visitors must really, really want to go to Arctic Hive. That's why the O-Wards recognized the lodge as a place that tests mental and physical limits.
Arctic Hive
because of the pandemic,” says Dixon. “During that time, we started to think a lot about wellness and began thinking of wellness in terms of being outside.”
That interval of study led to alternative pathways. “We did a lot of learning about sound healing, forest nature walks, forest medication, and about bringing people into the wild,” she says about programs that take advantage of the lodge’s 40-acre property, including yoga outside on the big deck. “We have five naturalist guides with incredible interpretive skills who take our guests into remarkable places around Kachemak Bay to inspire them to respect the natural world in terms of wildlife, water, forest, et cetera. We want to provide them with that pristine experience that they won’t find anywhere else.”
According to Dixon, remaining extremely mission-driven and grounded in a sense of place has helped the lodge garner accolades and attract more guests and committed staff.
“We have a really good sense of who we are, which allows us to articulate who we are to others,” Dixon says. “We have such a strong team—a beautiful group of people working very hard to provide remarkable experiences for our guests. While it’s wonderful to be successful and to be rewarded and recognized, living with deep authenticity isn’t a business strategy to us; it’s who we really are.”
To the Limit
Arctic Hive attracts a unique clientele made up of adventurers who are willing to overcome obstacles to make it to the off-grid facility, which is hike-in only.
“We live a true off-grid, subsistence lifestyle, not just during tourist season but year-round,” says Busby, who lives with her husband on-site. “Our goal has always been to give guests an inside view of what our life is like
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“While it’s wonderful to be successful and to be rewarded and recognized, living with deep authenticity isn’t a business strategy to us; it’s who we really are.”
Kirsten Dixon, Foun der, Tutka Bay Lodge
“Sean and I find a lot of healing and spiritual connection to the land, and a lot of our guests are seeking that same type of spiritual experience,” says Busby. “The common thread among our guests is they’re searching for a connection to something bigger than themselves. The pure awe we feel while bundled up in winter—hours and hours away from the nearest streetlight, watching the northern lights dance overhead—is a really specific brand of magic that you can’t get anywhere else.”
The challenge of getting to the lodge is well worth the effort, as the couple has ensured that the destination is both comfortable and welcoming, from its plush beds to its homecooked vegetarian meals.
here.” At the far end of Wiseman’s airstrip, Arctic Hive is remote even for a settlement with barely a double-digit population, a 3-mile drive away from a Dalton Highway turnoff 271.5 miles north of Fairbanks.
“While some folks tell us they could never survive without running water or flushing toilets, the guests who make it to Arctic Hive don’t even flinch at these lifestyle adjustments,” she continues. “Once they see the views, watch the aurora with zero light pollution, or drive a dogsled into Gates of the Arctic National Park, they agree that our off-grid amenities are the perfect complement to the down-to-earth wilderness experience they receive.”
Arctic Hive was chosen in the “places that test mental and physical limits” category in the O-wards, which Busby feels is even more of an honor than inclusion alone. “This felt really special to us because it is a rite of
passage to fly to Fairbanks, ride across the Arctic Circle in a chartered vehicle with strangers who quickly become friends, and then hike into the property,” she says.
Because the lodge sits underneath the aurora oval at 67° north latitude, guests are almost guaranteed to see the northern lights when the sky is clear. Visitors can also take advantage of daily yoga classes with Busby, who has trained extensively in India and offers yoga teacher trainings twice annually. She says, “Over half our guests have never practiced yoga before in a studio setting, so experiencing their first yoga class or sound immersion in our ‘Yoga Hive’ dome with panoramic views of the Brooks Range can be life-changing.”
Depending on the retreat package, the Busbys also take guests dog mushing, snowshoeing, and hiking, as well as backcountry and cross-country skiing.
“Even though we live off the grid, we didn’t skimp on any of the amenities that we could offer,” says Busby. “Guests experience a deep rest when they’re with us and they feel taken care of; we provide a good mix of adventures and time to simply breathe and be.”
Rare Honor
“Our clients get such a sense of accomplishment visiting us,” Busby adds. “There are a lot of happy tears, which is just further evidence that this place, this wilderness, and this lifestyle can truly open people’s hearts.”
While both destinations are pleased about making the O-wards list, they are even more proud that visitors take home authentic Alaska experiences and once-in-a-lifetime memories.
“We are super honored to be on the list, and it’s a rarified space to be able to say you’re on Oprah’s radar in any regard,” says Dixon. “But what’s really special is when our guests allow themselves to relax, to get out of their own heads, and to leave the hard burdens of the world behind and just take in where they are.”
Tutka Bay Lodge can brace for a flood of visitors thanks to the "Oprah Effect."
Tutka Bay Lodge
Anna Kohl, Meeting Champion
in
The Meeting:
Annual Conference of the National Association of Environmental Professionals
May 10-14, 2026
400 Delegates
Estimated Economic Impact: $848,542
The National Association of Environmental Professionals (NAEP), an organization committed to promoting best practices, ethical standards, and professional development within the environmental industry, will hold their annual conference in Anchorage for the first time in May 2026, showcasing the Alaska Chapter and area projects. The environmental sector is vital in Alaska due to its diverse land and resource development needs. Anna Kohl’s passion for this field began with site assessments – evaluations that identify potential environmental impacts of proposed developments – and led her to join NAEP. Thanks to her efforts, Anchorage was selected for its central location, providing attendees easy access to both the conference and Alaska’s stunning natural beauty.
2024 Alaska Business TOP 49ERS
Congratulations to this year’s Top 49ers! Earning a spot in this prestigious group has never been easy, and the threshold for making the list year is higher than ever, with Everts Air Cargo | Everts Air Alaska reporting $74.9 million in gross revenue to close the ranks. At the top of the ranks, Arctic Slope Regional Corporation also set a new record, reporting $5.5 billion in gross revenue.
Overall the 2024 Top 49ers reported nearly $27 billion in gross revenue for 2023, a more than 12 percent increase over the year previous. Total employment for the group worldwide has climbed to 94,278 (an almost 5,000 increase) and, of those, 24,954 are Alaskans (about 2,400 more than last year).
Why is this significant? That answer lies in who the Top 49ers are. They are companies that were initially launched in Alaska; they maintain headquarters within the state; and they have not been acquired by an Outside company. This means that the revenue these companies generate benefits Alaska through property ownership or leasing, employment, use of local vendors and subcontractors, local partnerships and ties, an avid interest in local policy and politics, and a sense of obligation and responsibility for local communities. Note the emphasis on “local.”
While the Top 49ers operate in every major industry in Alaska, providing the gamut of products and services, they share in common a drive to develop their operations to attract and retain clients and customers: they elevate their goals, refine their services, cultivate their employees, hone their skills, enrich their company culture, polish their projects, and sharpen their focus. Other companies may complete a task—the Top 49ers strive for perfection.
Mirroring their climbing revenue figures year over year, the Top 49ers don’t sit or settle; we hope you enjoy learning more about their drive to the top.
# 1
ARCTIC SLOPE REGIONAL CORPORATION
2023 Rank: 1 | 16% Change in Revenue
2023 Revenue: $5,498,216,000
2022 Revenue: $4,752,955,000
2021 Revenue: $3,876,830,000
2020 Revenue: $3,420,602,000
2019 Revenue: $3,766,757,000
Services/Products: ASRC’s diverse operating segments— including government contract services, industrial services, petroleum refining and marketing, energy support services, and construction—give ASRC the capabilities to serve a wide range of federal, commercial, industrial, and energy customers. Noteworthy Events: For the first time in our corporation’s history, ASRC surpassed $5 billion in revenue. Our shareholder enrollment surpassed 14,000, and our employee numbers grew to more than 16,000 across all fifty states. ASRC distributed the largest combined dividend in our corporation’s history at $115 per share.
Employees: 16,633 Worldwide | 3,495 Statewide Year Founded in Alaska: 1972 Rex A. Rock Sr., Pres./CEO Utqiaġvik | 907-852-8633 | asrc.com
#1 | ARCTIC SLOPE REGIONAL CORPORATION
ASRC is proud to be an economic engine for the state and an invaluable source of support for its Iñupiaq shareholders and communities. Arctic
# 2
BRISTOL BAY NATIVE CORPORATION
2023 Rank: 2 | 16% Change in Revenue
2023 Revenue: $3,172,056,000
2022 Revenue: $2,725,190,000
2021 Revenue: $2,162,939,000
2020 Revenue: $1,690,619,000
2019 Revenue: $1,766,967,000
Services/Products: Industrial services, construction, government services, seafood, and tourism. *2023 revenue includes revenues from both continuing and discontinued operations. Noteworthy Events: BBNC, in partnership with the Alaska DMV, continued its Mobile DMV program, providing Bristol Bay residents access to driver’s licenses and REAL IDs in their communities. These items are essential for employment, travel, and more, and the program removes a barrier for rural Alaskans to access them.
Employees: 5,400 Worldwide | 1,157 Statewide Year Founded in Alaska: 1972
Jason Metrokin, Pres./CEO Anchorage | 907-278-3602 | bbnc.net
Slope Regional Corporation
Calista Corporation interns volunteer at the Calista Education and Culture, Inc. golf tournament to raise funds for Calista Shareholder and Descendant scholarships at the Moose Run Golf Course, June 2024.
Russ
| Calista Corporation
# 3
NANA REGIONAL CORPORATION
2023 Rank: 3 | 1% Change in Revenue
2023 Revenue: $2,466,731,743
2022 Revenue: $2,445,916,656
2021 Revenue: $1,769,700,000
2020 Revenue: $1,536,513,873
2019 Revenue: $1,655,322,000
Services/Products: Resource development; land management; federal contracting; engineering and design; surveying and mapping; food and facilities management; camp services; security; industrial and commercial fabrication and installation; transportation and logistics services; and civil construction at Red Dog Mine. Noteworthy Events: In late 2023 NANA shareholders voted to approve the creation of a permanent fund. As a result of the vote, net proceeds distributed to NANA from Red Dog Mine operations will be placed in a permanent fund to generate earnings intended to provide for future shareholder dividend distributions.
Employees: 17,437 Worldwide | 4,621 Statewide Year Founded in Alaska: 1972
John Aġnaaqłuk Lincoln, Pres./CEO Kotzebue | 907-442-3301 | nana.com
# 4
CHENEGA CORPORATION
2023 Rank: 5 | 9% Change in Revenue
2023 Revenue: $1,400,000,000
2022 Revenue: $1,280,000,000
2021 Revenue: $1,100,000,000
2020 Revenue: $949,000,000
2019 Revenue: $871,000,000
Services/Products: Chenega provides expertise and support to defense, intelligence, and federal civilian customers. Through our portfolio of companies, Chenega competes in 8(a), small business, and full and open markets. Noteworthy Events: Chenega continues to maximize our business opportunities, support shareholders, and develop/work on infrastructure projects in our village.
Employees: 8,343 Worldwide | 215 Statewide Year Founded in Alaska: 1974
Charles W. Totemoff, Pres./CEO Anchorage | 907-277-5706 | chenega.com
Slaten
| NANA
NANA Shareholder Relations Coordinator
Raelene Smith and High School Intern
Iris Patterson pull a fishing net on the Kobuk River.
HagePhoto | NANA
#2 | BRISTOL BAY NATIVE CORPORATION
Wild sockeye salmon supports a subsistence lifestyle in Bristol Bay.
Carmell Engebretson
#5 | LYNDEN
An Alaska West Express truck traveling along the Dalton Highway between Coldfoot and Atigun Pass. Lynden
# 5
LYNDEN
2023 Rank: 4 | 4% Change in Revenue
2023 Revenue: $1,350,000,000
2022 Revenue: $1,300,000,000
2021 Revenue: $1,080,000,000
2020 Revenue: $960,000,000
2019 Revenue: $1,075,000,000
Services/Products: The Lynden family of companies provides transportation and logistics solutions. They serve the entire state of Alaska and offer a full range of transportation options across all modes—air, land, and sea—so customers can optimize time and money when shipping to, from, or within Alaska. Noteworthy Events: In 2024, Lynden is celebrating seventy years of service to Alaska. Lynden was voted the Best Cargo/Logistics provider in the 2024 Best of Alaska Business awards. Lynden has been named a 2024 Green Supply Chain Partner by Inbound Logistics.
Employees: 2,619 Worldwide | 1,050 Statewide Year Founded in Alaska: 1954
Jim Jansen, Chairman Anchorage | 907-245-1544 | lynden.com
# 6
CALISTA CORPORATION
2023 Rank: 6 | 23% Change in Revenue
2023 Revenue: $968,700,000
2022 Revenue: $788,526,000
2021 Revenue: $722,630,000
2020 Revenue: $732,937,000
2019 Revenue: $573,299,000
Services/Products: Calista Corporation is the parent company of 30+ subsidiaries in the industries of defense contracting, construction, real estate, environmental services, natural resource development, marine transportation, oilfield services, and heavy equipment. Noteworthy Events: Calista distributions saw another record-setting year with $16.3 million going to shareholders in 2023, nearly $2 million more than the year before. Growth in revenues and in distributions to shareholders has matched the growth in shareholder enrollment, which has now reached more than 37,000 shareholders.
Employees: 3,610 Worldwide | 1,020 Statewide Year Founded in Alaska: 1972
Andrew Guy, Pres./CEO
Anchorage | 907-275-2800 | calistacorp.com
#3
KONIAG
2023 Rank: 8 | 34% Change in Revenue
2023 Revenue: $936,052,000
2022 Revenue: $699,322,000
2021 Revenue: $464,068,000
2020 Revenue: $410,730,000
2019 Revenue: $323,878,000
Services/Products: Koniag’s principal lines of business include investments in government contracting, commercial IT, energy and water, real estate, and businesses generated by the lands in our region. Noteworthy Events: Koniag has continued its trend of year-over-year growth. Koniag Government Services moved into new headquarters, Koniag’s commercial IT subsidiary rebranded as Vervint to highlight its value, and Koniag Energy & Water appointed Phil Vollands as CEO to focus on developing new opportunities.
Employees: 2,800 Worldwide | 120 Statewide Year Founded in Alaska: 1972 Ron Unger, Chairman/CEO Kodiak | 907-486-2530 | koniag.com
#2
#5
A traditional whaling crew pushes off the shorefast ice for their spring harvest
# 8
UKPEAĠVIK IÑUPIAT CORPORATION
2023 Rank: 9 | 17% Change in Revenue
2023 Revenue: $813,530,107
2022 Revenue: $693,397,740
2021 Revenue: $582,554,430
2020 Revenue: $531,383,460
2019 Revenue: $480,055,281
Services/Products: Diversified commercial, government services, government contracting, technical/professional services, logistics/support services, heavy civil/vertical construction, oil field support, architectural/engineering services, marine transportation, municipal services, and real estate management. Noteworthy Events: 2023 was UIC’s 50th anniversary and another year of record growth. Revenue increased by 18 percent over 2022, allowing for record stock distributions. UIC’s expansion strategy continued with the acquisition of HME Construction. We also welcomed 835 first-generation descendants as Class B shareholders.
Employees: 3,739 Worldwide | 626 Statewide Year Founded in Alaska: 1973
Dr. Pearl K. Brower, Pres./CEO
Utqiaġvik | 907-852-4460 | uicalaska.com
# 9
BERING STRAITS NATIVE CORPORATION
2023 Rank: 12 | 47% Change in Revenue
2023 Revenue: $799,000,000
2022 Revenue: $543,100,000
2021 Revenue: $468,215,000
2020 Revenue: $456,170,000
2019 Revenue: $378,843,000
Services/Products: Government contracting, logistics, base operations support services, aircraft and airfield services, special training and security, management and consulting services, IT services, environmental, construction and renovation, and communications. Noteworthy Events: BSNC has enhanced our ability to manage and grow our diverse business portfolio. BSNC established three new holding companies to oversee our more than 30 subsidiaries. The new holding companies are BSNC Government Services, BSNC Commercial Services, and BSNC Regional Services.
Employees: 2,467 Worldwide | 469 Statewide
Year Founded in Alaska: 1972 Cindy Massie, Pres. Anchorage | 907-563-3788 | beringstraits.com
near Utqiaġvik. Amaguq Media
ONE BRISTOL BAY
From the traditions passed down through Elders, to the salmon that sustain us, and our roots that ground us, we are connected through this remarkable place and our Native way of life. Bristol Bay Native Corporation—always more than a corporation.
INC. Fireweed Business Center
- CIRI Corporate Headquarters Anchorage.
Cook Inlet Region, Inc.
#11 | AFOGNAK NATIVE CORPORATION
The Afognak Center serves as Afognak Native Corporation’s headquarters and lights up the Kodiak coastline.
Kevin G. Smith | Afognak Native Corporation #12 | GLOBAL CREDIT UNION Global Credit Union’s Anchorage building.
# 10
CHUGACH ALASKA CORPORATION
2023 Rank: 7 | 4% Change in Revenue
2023 Revenue: $775,000,000
2022 Revenue: $745,000,000
2021 Revenue: $783,000,000
2020 Revenue: $919,000,000
2019 Revenue: $977,000,000
Services/Products: Chugach has a portfolio of complementary businesses across a range of industries including government, energy, and facilities services. Chugach also manages an investment portfolio and land and natural resource development projects in the region.
Noteworthy Events: Appointed CEO Jonathan Dalrymple, COO/Interim President Peter Andersen, and Government Division President Dirk van der Vaart; completed Chugach Naswik multi-use facility in Valdez; advanced Chugach land exchange legislation; established two nonprofits (Chugach Museum and Chugach Tribal Services).
Employees: 4,100 Worldwide | 500 Statewide Year Founded in Alaska: 1972
Sheri Buretta, Chairman of the Board
Anchorage | 907-563-8866 | chugach.com
# 11
AFOGNAK NATIVE CORPORATION
2023 Rank: 10 | -4% Change in Revenue
2023 Revenue: $624,744,000
2022 Revenue: $650,800,000
2021 Revenue: $657,600,000
2020 Revenue: $658,753,000
2019 Revenue: $618,395,000
Services/Products: Afognak Native Corporation, Alutiiq, Afognak Commercial Group, and their subsidiaries offer exceptional service in federal and commercial sectors, including leasing, timber, engineering, security, logistics, facility maintenance, retail liquor, and oilfield support.
Noteworthy Events: The 8th Annual Afognak Youth Charity Golf Tournament took place on July 11, 2024, at the Anchorage Golf Course and featured Gabby Lemieux, the first Native American to play in the US Women’s Open. The tournament has raised more than $500,000 to date for Tribal youth programs.
Employees: 2,702 Worldwide | 353 Statewide Year Founded in Alaska: 1977
Services/Products: Financial services for consumers and businesses, including deposits (such as savings, checking, money market, certificates, HSA, etc.); loans; investments; mortgage and real estate; and personal insurance.
Noteworthy Events: After a merger with Global Credit Union, one of the largest credit unions in the Pacific Northwest, we are the 19th largest credit union in the United States. Together we are stronger: benefiting our members, employees, and communities: in 5 states plus 3 branches on US military bases in Italy.
Employees: 1,962 Worldwide | 1,014 Statewide Year Founded in Alaska: 1948
Several yaakw (canoes) arrive at the traditional site of Auk Village for the kickoff of Celebration 2024.
# 13
COOK INLET REGION, INC.
2023 Rank: 13 | 4% Change in Revenue
2023 Revenue: $560,015,000
2022 Revenue: $539,777,000
2021 Revenue: $611,749,000
2020 Revenue: $477,990,000
2019 Revenue: $493,023,000
Services/Products: CIRI manages a diverse and strategic investment portfolio for the long-term benefit of CIRI shareholders, including renewable energy, infrastructure, real estate, investment securities, land and natural resources, private equity and venture funds, and government services. Noteworthy Events: new CEO Swami Iyer and President Sarah Lukin (Alutiiq) to the helm at the beginning of 2024. The Northwind Group, CIRI’s largest subsidiary, also welcomed a new CEO in late 2023.
Employees: 87 Worldwide | 86 Statewide
Year Founded in Alaska: Swami Iyer, CEO Anchorage | 907-274-8638 | ciri.com
Christian Gomez
Reaching new heights.
From Adak in the Aleutians to Juneau in the Southeast, to Elliott Highway in the Interior and in our hometown of Utqiaġvik, UIC is rising above to meet diverse business needs across Alaska. And that’s just a tip of the iceberg.
Photo Credit: Amaguq Media
#19 | DOYON, LIMITED
Doyon values its relationship to the "Place of our people: to our land, our culture, our way of life."
Greg Martin
#9 | BERING STRAITS NATIVE CORPORATION
BSNC's largest cohort of interns participated in an educational tour of three of BSNC's subsidiaries.
Bering Straits Native Corporation
#20 | TYONEK NATIVE CORPORATION
Tyonek Services Group, Inc. hangar in Huntsville, Alabama.
Tyonek Native Corporation
#15 | GOLDBELT INCORPORATED
Goldbelt is a growing business— spanning industries and the globe— united in its shared heritage, values, and purpose.
INCORPORATED
2023 Revenue: $404,211,538
2022 Revenue: $404,023,096
2021 Revenue: $497,000,000
2020 Revenue: $272,866,942
2019 Revenue: $240,646,300
Services/Products: Tourism, government contracting, cybersecurity, facility management, IT consulting, transportation, security services, logistics, engineering, and construction. Noteworthy Events: Goldbelt is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2024.
Employees: 2,172 Worldwide | 325 Statewide Year Founded in Alaska: 1974
Services/Products: Government contracting; land and resource management; technology services; operations and maintenance; training services; logistics; environmental remediation; engineering, prototyping, and manufacturing; commercial real estate; fuel and port services. Noteworthy Events: The Aleut Corporation finalized transfer of ownership of thirteen of its 8(a) subsidiaries under Aleut Federal Holding Company in four business lines which include environmental services, construction services, infrastructure, and technology services.
Employees: 1,350 Worldwide | 100 Statewide Year Founded in Alaska: 1972
Services/Products: Through superior service, safely provide reliable and competitively priced energy. Noteworthy Events: Chugach continues to provide safe, reliable, and affordable power to our more than 91,000 Alaska homes and businesses.
Employees: 450 Worldwide | 450 Statewide Year Founded in Alaska: 1948
Arthur Miller, CEO Anchorage | 907-563-7494 | chugachelectric.com
Copper River CEO Kevin McLaughlin (front) and Chief Legal Officer Sarah MacMaster (far left) with the ANGS Board of Directors at a strategy meeting in January 2024.
# 18
AHTNA, INC.
2023 Revenue: $357,395,348
2022 Revenue: $324,900,009
2021 Revenue: $324,071,788
2020 Revenue: $336,752,052
2019 Revenue: $261,104,398
Services/Products: Construction, engineering, environmental, facilities management, surveying, security, military training, janitorial, healthcare and medical records management, government contracting, land management, resource development, oil and gas pipeline services. Noteworthy Events: Ahtna launched the HOPE (Helping Our People Excel) Shareholder Program with a primary goal of getting more shareholders employed and gaining work experience. Supporting education and professional development opportunities is an important aspect of the program.
Employees: 955 Worldwide | 352 Statewide Year Founded in Alaska: 1972
Services/Products: Doyon, Limited operates a diverse family of companies in the areas of oil field services, utilities, construction, information technology, natural resource development, tourism, laundry, and real estate. Noteworthy Events: In 2023, Doyon, Limited acquired Fairweather, providing expertise in oil field support, weather, logistics, and medical services to the North Slope. The 180-person team joins the Doyon Oil Field Services pillar, which includes Doyon Drilling, Mid-Alaska Pipeline, and Doyon Associated.
Employees: 1,307 Worldwide | 838 Statewide Year Founded in Alaska: 1972
Alaska Proud with over 70 years of fast, reliable service.
We’re honored to be recognized as an Alaska top 49er, once again standing out as the only Alaska-based telecom dedicated to serving and supporting our communities across the state. Together, we’re connecting Alaska to the future.
Alaska’s Beacon of Connectivity | MTAsolutions.com
CORPORATION
Olgoonik President and CEO Hugh Patkotak Sr. at the US Department of State with longtime employee, Gregory Knight, a program manager for Olgoonik’s Professional and Technical Services Division.
Olgoonik Corporation #28 | CAPE FOX CORPORATION
Cape Fox Corporation placed a 50th anniversary totem pole, designed and built by Kenneth White, at Cape Fox Lodge.
Jacob Mosholder #46 | CRAIG TAYLOR EQUIPMENT
Craig Taylor Equipment celebrated its 70th anniversary at its new shop facility in Fairbanks.
Craig Taylor Equipment #21
# 20 TYONEK NATIVE CORPORATION
2023 Rank: 19 | 7% Change in Revenue
2023 Revenue: $330,300,000
2022 Revenue: $308,787,701
2021 Revenue: $289,709,829
2020 Revenue: $254,200,000
2019 Revenue: $218,200,000
Services/Products: TNC specializes in aerospace and defense manufacturing; aircraft maintenance, modification, and overhaul; cyber security training; land management of more than 200,000 acres in the Cook Inlet region; construction services; oil and gas services support. Noteworthy Events: Tyonek Services Group, Inc. completed the purchase of a 68,000-square-foot hangar facility in Alabama. The purchase force multiplies the company’s portfolio of state-of-the-art facilities enabling TSG to further showcase our comprehensive aircraft maintenance and modification expertise.
Employees: 1,569 Worldwide | 16 Statewide Year Founded in Alaska: 1973 Stephen Peskosky, CEO Anchorage | 907-272-0707 | tyonek.com
# 21
OLGOONIK CORPORATION
2023 Rank: 23 | 24% Change in Revenue
2023 Revenue: $325,400,000
2022 Revenue: $262,500,000
2021 Revenue: $259,700,000
2020 Revenue: $241,700,000
2019 Revenue: $241,700,000
Services/Products: Specializing in construction, logistics and operations, professional and technical services, environmental and engineering, well site plugging and remediation, and commercial electrical projects. Noteworthy Events: In our Alaska-based operations, we are in the process of building the new Thomas Training Center atop Eagle Glacier for ANTHC and APU.
Employees: 1,125 Worldwide | 106 Statewide Year Founded in Alaska: 1973
Services/Products: Information technology, cybersecurity, construction and infrastructure services, maritime manufacturing, business transformation, healthcare support services, human capital management, professional services, IT infrastructure management, next generation technology solutions, consultative services. Noteworthy Events: USA Today Top Workplace 2024 ; The Washington Post Top Workplace 2024; Military Friendly Employer 2024; Inc. 5000 2024.
Employees: 619 Worldwide | 3 Statewide Year Founded in Alaska: 2006 Kevin McLaughlin, CEO Anchorage | 703-234-9000 | copperrivermc.com
#46
#28
Chugach Electric Association employees touring the Eklutna Power Plant.
Chugach Electric Association
# 23
THREE BEARS ALASKA
2023 Rank: 16 | -23% Change in Revenue
2023 Revenue: $297,715,012
2022 Revenue: $386,814,000
2021 Revenue: $323,438,062
2020 Revenue: $278,712,835
2019 Revenue: $237,342,665
Services/Products: Retail grocery; beer, wine, and spirits; general merchandise; sporting goods; pharmacy; Ace hardware; and fuel. Noteworthy Events: Now operating twenty-nine stores in Alaska, from Fairbanks to the Mat-Su Valley and from Tok to the Kenai Peninsula and Southwest Alaska, featuring groceries; beer, wine, and spirits; general merchandise; sporting goods; pharmacy items; Ace Hardware; fuel; and wholesale meat, seafood, and cheese.
Employees: 1,989 Worldwide | 1,989 Statewide Year Founded in Alaska: 1980
David A. Weisz, Pres./CEO Wasilla | 907-357-4311 | threebearsalaska.com
# 24
FIRST NATIONAL BANK ALASKA
2023 Rank: 26 | 30% Change in Revenue
2023 Revenue: $240,244,000
2022 Revenue: $184,630,000
2021 Revenue: $171,091,000
2020 Revenue: $174,672,000
2019 Revenue: $175,467,000
Services/Products: Friendly, knowledgeable Alaskans offer convenience, service, and value with a full range of deposit, lending, and wealth management services, and online and mobile banking. With 28 locations in 19 communities and assets of more than $5.2 billion, we’re helping Alaskans shape a brighter tomorrow. Noteworthy Events: Alaska Business readers voted First National “Best of Alaska Business” in the Best Place to Work category for the ninth year in a row and Best Bank/Credit Union for the fourth time running. The bank received an “Outstanding” CRA rating from the OCC for an eighth three-year reporting period in a row.
Employees: 611 Worldwide | 611 Statewide Year Founded in Alaska: 1922 Betsy Lawer, Board Chair/CEO/Pres. Anchorage | 907-777-4362 | fnbalaska.com
#27 | CRUZ CONSTRUCTION
A Cruz Construction Inc. Manitowoc 888 crane drives sheetpile to complete a dock expansion for Santos' saltwater treatment plant installation project at Oliktok Point in March 2024.
Cruz Construction
#25 | CHOGGIUNG LTD.
Choggiung, Limited and Nushagak Electric’s NTIA TBCP Broadband Infrastructure Project “Akuluraq” under construction winter 2024. Choggiung Ltd.
#43 | UDELHOVEN OILFIELD SYSTEM SERVICES
Udelhoven is celebrating fifty-five years of operations and is looking forward to fifty-five more.
Udelhoven Oilfield System Services
# 25
CHOGGIUNG LTD.
2023 Rank: 24 | 20% Change in Revenue
2023 Revenue: $229,313,841
2022 Revenue: $191,855,472
2021 Revenue: $182,286,396
2020 Revenue: $183,200,000
2019 Revenue: $150,189,000
Services/Products: Construction, federal contracting services, hospitality (hotel and diner), apartments, commercial real estate. Noteworthy Events: The past year has been another exciting year of growth at Choggiung, Limited. We have continued growth in our various business lines, our highspeed affordable broadband infrastructure construction project commenced, and we officially issued new shares of stock to qualified descendant shareholders.
Employees: 486 Worldwide | 107 Statewide Year Founded in Alaska: 1972
Services/Products: Davis Constructors & Engineers offers complete project management services to assist with design and construction of all types of building projects. We have completed more than $2.8 billion in Alaska projects. Noteworthy Events: In 2007 Davis established an endowment, with the Alaska Community Foundation fund to support our community; to date, $492,965 has been donated to Alaska causes through the Davis Constructors & Employees Fund. The Davis committee comprises current and past Davis “10 year” employees.
Employees: 250 Worldwide | 250 Statewide Year Founded in Alaska: 1976
Luke Blomfield, Pres. Anchorage | 907-562-2336 | davisconstructors.com
CRUZ CONSTRUCTION
2023 Rank: 34 | 35% Change in Revenue
2023 Revenue: $166,494,857
2022 Revenue: $123,488,417
2021 Revenue: $89,558,663
2020 Revenue: $98,823,282
2019 Revenue: $80,884,836
Services/Products: Oil and gas operations, ice roads, snow trails, tundra transport, heavy haul, heavy-civil, equipment, marine transportation, camps, logistics, oil field exploration, engineering, and consulting. Noteworthy Events: Cruz enjoyed another diverse year throughout Alaska. We moved more than 6 million tons of material, mobilized equipment and materials thousands of miles across the tundra, constructed hundreds of miles of ice road/snow trail, barged more than 100,000 tons of aggregate, and drove pile all winter.
Employees: 550 Worldwide | 550 Statewide Year Founded in Alaska: 1981
Jeff Miller, Pres. Palmer | 907-746-3144 | cruzconstruct.com
# 28
CAPE FOX CORPORATION
2023 Revenue: $165,440,225
2022 Revenue: $166,479,451
2021 Revenue: $147,183,908
2020 Revenue: $123,724,000
2019 Revenue: $76,800,000
Services/Products: Cape Fox Corporation has two lines of business: tourism in Alaska with restaurants, a lodge, and retail; and government contracting with multiple subsidiaries that offer capabilities in IT, healthcare, professional and facilities services, construction, and event management and marketing. Noteworthy Events: 2023 marked CFC’s 50th Anniversary. To honor this milestone, CFC debuted our 50th-anniversary totem, the Love Bird totem, on display at Cape Fox Lodge. This totem pole is a long-lasting symbol of our company’s culture, strength, durability, reliance, and longevity.
Employees: 1,040 Worldwide | 321 Statewide Year Founded in Alaska: 1973
Chris Luchtefeld, CEO Ketchikan | 907-225-5163 | capefoxcorp.com
MATANUSKA ELECTRIC ASSOCIATION
2023 Revenue: $164,041,846
2022 Revenue: $160,964,943
2021 Revenue: $157,629,815
2020 Revenue: $155,401,551
2019 Revenue: $148,343,834
Services/Products: Alaska’s oldest and second largest electric cooperative, MEA powers more than 56,000 coop members and 70,000 meters in communities across the entire Mat-Su Borough, Eagle River, and Chugiak. Our mission is to provide safe, affordable, and reliable power with exceptional member service. Noteworthy Events: MEA currently produces 16 percent of its power from clean energy sources and over the last decade has reduced its carbon emissions by 28 percent.
Employees: 235 Worldwide | 235 Statewide Year Founded in Alaska: 1941
Tony Izzo, CEO Palmer | 907-761-9300 | mea.coop
| GRANT
Grant Aviation has operations in Anchorage, Bethel, Cold Bay, Dillingham, Dutch Harbor/Unalaska, Kenai, King Salmon, and in the YukonKuskokwim Delta.
Grant Aviation
#24 | FIRST NATIONAL BANK ALASKA
Employees were First National proud when Alaska Business magazine readers voted the bank Best Place to Work for the ninth year.
#23 | THREE BEARS ALASKA
Three Bears Alaska proudly showcases its Eagle River store, a beacon of community and convenience in Alaska.
Three Bears Alaska #41
# 30
CONSTRUCTION MACHINERY INDUSTRIAL
2023 Rank: 37 | 47% Change in Revenue
2023 Revenue: $159,000,000
2022 Revenue: $108,000,000
2021 Revenue: $115,000,000
2020 Revenue: $117,000,000
2019 Revenue: $102,000,000
Services/Products: Distributor of construction, mining, and logging equipment in Alaska. Representative for Volvo, Hitachi, Atlas Copco, Doosan, Metso, Link-Belt, and many other manufacturers. Noteworthy Events: Despite dealing with lead times and logistical issues that all of us are facing in today’s world, CMI is still committed to providing best customer support.
Employees: 127 Worldwide | 127 Statewide Year Founded in Alaska: 1985
Ken Gerondale, Pres./CEO Anchorage | 907-563-3822 | cmiak.com
# 31
NORTHRIM BANK
2023 Rank: 30 | 18% Change in Revenue
2023 Revenue: $158,326,000
2022 Revenue: $134,405,000
2021 Revenue: $136,869,000
2020 Revenue: -
2019 Revenue: -
Services/Products: Banking services such as deposits and loans available through our network of nineteen branches and one loan production office statewide and through robust online and mobile banking platforms. Now offering new commercial purchase card and integrated payable products. Noteworthy Events: In 2024, Northrim opened its twentieth branch, the Homer Financial Center. Mike Huston was promoted to president and CEO, while Joe Schierhorn remained Northrim’s chairman.
Employees: 499 Worldwide | 409 Statewide Year Founded in Alaska: 1990
Joseph Schierhorn, Chairman Anchorage | 907-562-0062 | northrim.com
CORPORATION
2023 Rank: 29 | 3% Change in Revenue
2023 Revenue: $148,248,000
2022 Revenue: $144,008,083
2021 Revenue: $145,579,765
2020 Revenue: $185,519,277
2019 Revenue: $172,944,639
Services/Products: Fuel storage and sales; residential and commercial real estate; financial and title services; retail; textile manufacturing. Noteworthy Events: Subsidiary SNC Technical Services is launching a new manufacturing facility design with a first-of-its-kind “employee first” concept.
Employees: 1,044 Worldwide | 97 Statewide Year Founded in Alaska: 1973 Charles Fagerstrom, CEO Nome | 907-387-1200 | snc.org
#24
#23
Members of Koniag’s Leadership Team and Board of Directors visited the Alutiiq Museum construction site in Kodiak. Koniag is proud to sponsor the museum’s renovation and expansion to help ensure future generations can share Alutiiq culture. Koniag
# 33
COLVILLE
2023 Revenue: $129,531,087
2022 Revenue: $122,812,809
2021 Revenue: $79,442,093
2020 Revenue: $96,944,395
2019 Revenue: $117,558,062
Services/Products: Colville provides a diverse range of oil field support services and supplies across the North Slope of Alaska, including fuel delivery, solid waste disposal and recycling, aviation support services, camp operations, retail hardware goods, logistics and heavy wrecker services across the state. Noteworthy Events: Colville has commenced operations at our new Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF) plant in Deadhorse and recently opened the first retail store located inside security in the Deadhorse airport. Colville has been awarded the Valdez loop haul contract, which positions us to better serve the fuel market.
Employees: 235 Worldwide | 235 Statewide Year Founded in Alaska: 1981
Dave Pfeifer, CEO Prudhoe Bay | 907-659-3198 | colvilleinc.com
# 34
VITUS ENERGY
2023 Revenue: $121,913,000
2022 Revenue: $128,779,000
2021 Revenue: $71,500,000
2020 Revenue: $58,900,000
2019 Revenue: $55,000,000
Services/Products: Fuel and freight sales in Alaska. Noteworthy Events: Expanded Railbelt locations.
Employees: 175 Worldwide | 175 Statewide Year Founded in Alaska: 2009
Justin Charon, CEO Anchorage | 907-793-9700 | vitus-energy.com
Brandye Reich #32 | SITNASUAK NATIVE CORPORATION
Sitnasuak Native Corporation remains steadfast in its mission to enhance the well-being of its Shareholders through responsible stewardship and strategic operations.
Sitnasuak Native Corporation
# 35
KIKIKTAGRUK INUPIAT CORPORATION
2023 Revenue: $117,407,463
2022 Revenue: $84,173,000
2021 Revenue: $79,307,587
2020 Revenue: $82,858,722
2019 Revenue: $68,161,437
Services/Products: Scientific/professional services support contracts, commercial and residential rental properties, retail sales portfolio, government BOS/JOC/SABER/IDIQ contracts, design-build, heavy civil, and development construction contracts. Noteworthy Events: Continued growth in the scientific/professional services sector with FDA and National Institute of Health Sciences. New awards of SABER IDIQ contracts with the DOD. BOS contract with NAVFAC in Florida.
Employees: 397 Worldwide | 29 Statewide Year Founded in Alaska: 1973
Thomas Kennedy, Pres./CEO Kotzebue | 907-277-7884 | kikiktagruk.com
2023 Revenue: $115,870,000
2022 Revenue: $108,893,000
2021 Revenue: $138,000,000
2020 Revenue: $97,200,000
2019 Revenue: $110,307,317
Services/Products: MTA provides residential and business technology solutions, such as internet and cybersecurity products. MTA provides Alaska with limitless bandwidth capacity through its AlCan ONE fiber line, and MTA partners with enterprise, government, and wholesale partners on scalable networking solutions. Noteworthy Events: MTA won ESGR Above & Beyond, Achievement in Business, and three NTCA eXcellence Awards, to name a few. Employees donated $35,000 to Battle Dawgs combat veteran organization.
Employees: 309 Worldwide | 303 Statewide Year Founded in Alaska: 1953
Michael Burke, CEO Palmer | 907-745-3211 | mtasolutions.com
#35
#32
GANA-A’ YOO,
2023 Revenue: $112,068,877
2022 Revenue: $72,056,260
2021 Revenue: $74,041,908
2020 Revenue: $81,976,088
2019 Revenue: $61,914,317
Services/Products: The Gana-A’Yoo Family of Companies continues to grow to meet both our clients’ and shareholder’s needs. We provide services in the areas of construction, demolition, operations and maintenance, IT, logistics, janitorial, camp services, food services, manufacturing, and professional services. Noteworthy Events: The GanaA’Yoo Family of Companies continues to experience year over year record growth; 2023 was again a record year for revenue and net profits. In 2024 our Six Mile NIKA JV was awarded a $159.9 million contract for Base Operations & Support Services for the US Coast Guard Base in Kodiak. Employees: 350 Worldwide | 86 Statewide Year Founded in Alaska: 1978 Dena Sommer-Pedebone, CEO Anchorage | 907-569-9599 | ganaayoo.com
The Kuskokwim Corporation has more than 4,300 shareholders living across the world who are deeply rooted in the values and teachings of its Yupiaq, Deg Xitan, and Dene ancestry.
38
THE KUSKOKWIM CORPORATION
2023 Revenue: $107,640,674
2022 Revenue: $132,542,074
2021 Revenue: $122,795,621
2020 Revenue: $73,160,209
2019 Revenue: $78,672,271
Services/Products: Construction, government services, environmental services, lighting, aerospace, aircraft maintenance and repair, real estate, and rural retail. Noteworthy Events: TKC is focused on cutting a new path for sustainability of our people and our way of life. Recognizing that status quo doesn’t meet the needs of our shareholders, we are investing in our region, focused on equalizing access to housing, water, and sewer and workforce and development.
Employees: 341 Worldwide | 40 Statewide Year Founded in Alaska: 1977
Gusty,
2023 Revenue: $97,300,000
2022 Revenue: $99,357,000
2021 Revenue: $94,300,000
2020 Revenue: $94,000,000
2019 Revenue: $89,000,000
Services/Products: Usibelli Coal Mine has been a cornerstone of energy production in Alaska since 1943, consistently providing a reliable and affordable energy source to the Railbelt and Interior Alaska. Noteworthy Events: Usibelli Coal Mine continues to explore innovative ways to reduce emissions and enhance environmental sustainability. For the last several years, it has participated in the state’s Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage Working Group.
Employees: 191 Worldwide | 157 Statewide Year Founded in Alaska: 1943
Joseph E. Usibelli Jr., Pres./CEO Fairbanks | 907-452-2625 | usibelli.com
2023 Rank: 47 | 33% Change in Revenue
2023 Revenue: $93,830,000
2022 Revenue: $70,506,878
2021 Revenue: $35,629,092
2020 Revenue: $14,095,688
2019 Revenue: $26,050,315
Services/Products: Tourism and government contracting.
Noteworthy Events: Continued expansion at Icy Strait Point. Developing new world-class ports in Juneau and Whittier. Continued partnership with Doyon, Limited through joint venture Na-Dena’. Growing federal contracting arm, HunaTek Holding, limited.
Employees: 517 Worldwide | 340 Statewide Year Founded in Alaska: 1973 Russell Dick, Pres./CEO Juneau | 907-789-8500 | hunatotem.com
Roger Hickel
Contracting, Inc.
works with Walsh Construction out of Chicago to construct a new sorting facility for FedEx Express at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport.
Karen Deason
Usibelli Coal Mine’s dragline helps expose coal that is mined and transported to Interior Alaska, delivering a reliable energy source to homes, businesses, schools, and military installations. Usibelli Coal Mine
# 41
GRANT AVIATION
2023
Services/Products: Scheduled and charter passenger and cargo air transportation. Noteworthy Events: We continued to expand our fleet and schedule to the communities we serve. Recently doubled the number of flights between Anchorage and Kenai.
Employees: 395 Worldwide | 392 Statewide Year Founded in Alaska: 1971 Gabriel Kompkoff, Pres./CEO Anchorage | 888-359-4726 | flygrant.com
CREDIT UNION 1
2023 Revenue: $92,423,998
2022 Revenue: $77,760,445
2021 Revenue: $70,736,844
2020 Revenue: $65,289,354
2019 Revenue: $69,394,584
Services/Products: Credit Union 1 is a full-service financial institution known for its affordable, personalized loans, community outreach, and cutting edge money management tools. We value accessible, “people first” lending as one of our most vital community services. Noteworthy Events: As the only Alaska-chartered credit union in the state, we’re dedicated to Alaska, and we’re proud to help grow the communities we call home. We recently announced our branch expansion, and we look forward to introducing our Wasilla Branch and Kotzebue Branch in late 2024.
Employees: 384 Worldwide | 333 Statewide Year Founded in Alaska: 1952 Mark Burgess, Pres./CEO Anchorage | 907-339-9485 | cu1.org
Employees: 359 Worldwide | 272 Statewide Year Founded in Alaska: 1970
James Udelhoven, CEO
Anchorage | 907-344-1577 | udelhoven.com
#39
A Great Northwest crew installs 70,000-pound multi-plate in Hot Cat Creek at MP 34 of the Dalton Highway, a component of the road re-route to ensure the highway is safer.
#44 | ANCHORAGE CHRYSLER DODGE CENTER
As Alaska’s hometown dealer, Anchorage Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram is also the state’s largest, with 11 acres on East Fifth Avenue.
2022 Revenue: $82,460,000
2021 Revenue: $90,038,000
2020 Revenue: $84,416,000
2019 Revenue: $82,472,439
Employees: 105 Worldwide | 105 Statewide Year Founded in Alaska: 1963 Corey Meyers, Pres. Anchorage | 907-276-1331 |#45 | GREAT NORTHWEST, INC.
Services/Products: Chrysler, Jeep, and Dodge new and used vehicle sales and service. Your hometown dealer for fortyseven years. Noteworthy Events: -
Services/Products: Heavy highway civil construction. Noteworthy Events: Great Northwest maintains safe and efficient operations and continues to successfully navigate the varying climates.
Employees: 200 Worldwide | 200 Statewide Year Founded in Alaska: 1976 A. Minder, Pres./CEO
| 907-452-5617 | grtnw.com
Olivia Ode, GNI Project Admin
Buzz Rolfing, Media Production Associates
#45
2023 Rank: 48 | 27% Change in Revenue
2023 Revenue: $86,788,000
2022 Revenue: $68,146,916
2021 Revenue: $56,109,877
2020 Revenue: -
2019 Revenue: -
Services/Products: Craig Taylor Equipment is a full-service dealership for John Deere, Peterbilt, Bobcat, Doosan, Dynapac, and many other manufacturers. Providing equipment sales, parts, service, and rental for the industries that are building Alaska’s future. Noteworthy Events: The recent completion of a new 12,500-squarefoot shop in Fairbanks has consolidated our equipment and trucking businesses onto one property and more than doubled our service capacities.
Employees: 132 Worldwide | 132 Statewide Year Founded in Alaska: 1954 Chris Devine, Pres./CEO Anchorage | 907-276-5050 | craigtaylorequipment.com
|
Chugach Naswik Suites in Valdez, under construction in January 2024.
Watterson Construction Co.
#49 | EVERTS AIR CARGO & EVERTS AIR ALASKA
The Everts team celebrates the maiden flight of Everts Air's newest addition; in 2024 it welcomed two stateof-the-art SkyCourier twin-engine aircraft to its fleet.
Jon D. McIntyre
#34 | VITUS ENERGY
Ocean tug and barge delivering clean petroleum products for Alaskans.
# 47 WATTERSON CONSTRUCTION
2023 Rank: 43 | 2% Change in Revenue
2023 Revenue: $83,300,000
2022 Revenue: $81,400,000
2021 Revenue: $51,000,000
2020 Revenue: $84,600,000
2019 Revenue: $115,300,000
Services/Products: Watterson, a full-service general contractor, specializes in helping clients navigate design and construction processes to assure projects maximize program space within budget and are aesthetically pleasing. We are honored to be named Best General Contractor in the last three “Best of Alaska Business” surveys. Noteworthy Events: Watterson is proud to be working with MyHouse, a Wasilla nonprofit, to build the 44,000-square-foot Carson Cottle Center. MyHouse provides housing and support to teens and young adults experiencing homelessness. The new facility will enable expanded services and housing resources.
Employees: 90 Worldwide | 90 Statewide Year Founded in Alaska: 1981
Jim Watterson, Pres. Anchorage | 907-563-7441 | -
# 48
ROGER HICKEL CONTRACTING
2023 Rank: 39 | -17% Change in Revenue
2023 Revenue: $81,334,658
2022 Revenue: $98,490,509
2021 Revenue: $69,204,276
2020 Revenue: $55,312,489
2019 Revenue: $37,248,153
Services/Products: General contractor of civil, industrial, and commercial projects throughout the state of Alaska. Noteworthy Events: This year Roger Hickel Contracting celebrated its 29th year in business and will remain 100 percent Alaskan owned. We are excited to be a part of the construction industry in Alaska.
Employees: 85 Worldwide | 85 Statewide Year Founded in Alaska: 1995
Sean Hickel, Pres. Anchorage | 907-279-1400 | rogerhickelcontracting.com
Nathan Spencer
EVERTS AIR CARGO | EVERTS AIR ALASKA
2023 Rank: 44 | -7% Change in Revenue
2023 Revenue: $74,900,000
2022 Revenue: $80,700,000
2021 Revenue: $75,000,000
2020 Revenue: $71,700,000
2019 Revenue: $59,190,000
Services/Products: Everts Air Cargo provides scheduled and charter air freight services in Alaska and on-demand charter services throughout North, Central, and South America, including the Caribbean. Everts Air Alaska, based in Fairbanks, provides passenger, freight, and charter service using Sky Couriers, Pilatus, and Caravans. Noteworthy Events: In the past year, Everts Air took delivery of two Cessna SkyCourier twin-engine turboprop aircraft, which can be configured in an all-cargo, all passenger, or combination configuration.
Employees: 336 Worldwide | 323 Statewide Year Founded in Alaska: 1978 Robert Everts, CEO/Owner Fairbanks | 907-450-2300 | evertsair.com
Chugachmiut Regional Health Center in Seward, AK
By Terri Marshall
Qualifying for the Top 49ers list has rarely been harder than this year. Not because Alaska-owned companies are struggling—far from it. Companies are surging, especially in the construction sector, and that raises the bar to achieve this elite status. The minimum gross revenue from 2023 reported this year is nearly $75 million, greater than four of last ye ar’s Top 49ers.
This year the Top 49ers also report the highest aggregate revenue, with the forty-nine companies’ revenue adding up to near ly $27 billion.
Two companies new to the Top 49ers list contributed to that record, and one came close. They’ve earned some extra attention.
A Different Kind of Village Corporation
Cordova is home to two corporations owned by Native villages. The Eyak Corporation, representing more than 600 shareholders, appeared on the Top 49ers list nine times, most recently in 2013. Separately, The Native Village of Eyak (NVE) exists as a statistical area annexed to the city. The 100 or so residents of NVE are represented by their own village corporation, Copper River Management Company (CRMC).
Long before Cordova was founded as a city in 1906, the site on Prince William Sound near the Copper River delta was home to Eyak, Alutiiq, Aleut, Tlingit, and Athabascan peoples for more than 10,000 years. In 1980, NVE became a federally recognized tribal government. Whereas the The Eyak Corporation is among more than 200 village corporations established through the 1971 Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, CRMC is a commercial venture of NVE, launched in 2006. www.akbizmag.com
CRMC and its sixteen subsidiaries have prospered rapidly. The company reports $318 million in gross revenue for 2023.
“We are continuing to look at our growth potential as we assess our vision for the Copper River Family of Companies,” says CRMC CEO Kevin McLaughlin. “Focusing on diversifying income is part of it, with goals of growing in industries such as IT,
healthcare, maritime, and more. Our goal is to get to $500 million in gross revenue.”
CRMC’s sixteen subsidiaries are Copper River Information Technology; Copper River Infrastructure Services; Copper River Cyber Solutions; TACG; Moss Cape; Reconcraft; Copper River Enterprise Services; Copper River Data Solutions; Coho Construction Management; Coho Technology
Westinghouse Long Duration Energy Storage
From 8 hours up to 200 hours for utility and mining applications
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Scalable — No topographical or geologic dependencies; can be built anywhere with a fully domestic supply chain.
Flexible — Modular solution that can uniquely serve high power needs at both medium and longer GWh durations (8–200+ hours). Provides grid inertia and other ancillary services.
Longest asset life —
Unlike lithium or chemical batteries, power generation equipment has no loss in capacity or capability over time.
Sustainable — No chemical, fire or safety risks; Long asset operational lifespan (50 years+); low carbon footprint and fully recyclable at end-of-life.
Proven Technology Currently Being Deployed in First Commercial Application
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Solutions; Coho Consulting Group; Copper River Technologies; Coho Integrated Solutions; ReconIndustrial; Copper River Shared Services; and Copper Ri ver Government
CRMC subsidiaries have received noteworthy recognition this year in several categories: USA Today Top Workplace 2024 ; The Washington Post Top Workplace 2024; Military Friendly Employer 2024; and Inc. 5000 2024 for Copper River Information Technology, Copper River Cyber Solutions, Copper River Infrastructure Services, and Reconcraft.
While accolades and financial goals for tribal members are important, McLaughlin believes giving back to the village is equally important. “Six months ago, the Cordova school system’s budget was cut, requiring several extracurricular courses to be cut,” explains McLaughlin. “For example, the meal program that students relied on for breakfast and lunch was cut. Through our funding, we were able to replenish the money
lost and continue to offer these valu able programs.”
Revenue generated from CRMC serves the mission of diversifying NVE’s ability to facilitate economic development, land conservation, and preservation of the tribe’s culture and heritage. The revenue also aids in funding health and social services, natural resource and environmental education, and enhancing the physical and spiritual well-being of tribal members.
Moreover, “The whole community of Cordova benefited from the donations given to the school system, and the Native Village of Eyak continually enriches the City
of Cordova with its presence and its strong sense of community,” says McLaughlin. He adds that CRMC is also able to help fund healthcare initiatives and cultural awareness programs for numerous tribes to come together and celebrate their heritage within the Native V illage of Eyak.
Intertwined with Communities
Cordova also is the hometown of Grant Aviation’s new president and CEO, Gabriel Kompkoff. That background gave him an intimate understanding about the importance of air transportation for remote communities. “We view our service as something that’s essential to life in rural areas,” says Kompkoff. “We’re part of the communities we serve, and we take that last mile essential service provider piece very seriously. It’s a privilege to do what we do for those who live in rural Alaska.”
Established in 1971 as Delta Air Services in Emmonak, Grant Aviation has grown to include operations
in Anchorage, Bethel, Cold Bay, Dillingham, Dutch Harbor/Unalaska, Kenai, and King Salmon, as well as its home territory throughout the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta. Recognizing that air travel in Alaska isn’t a luxury, it’s a necessity, Grant Aviation remains committed to meeting the transportation needs of Alaska communities, including ambulance services through a contract with LifeMed Alaska.
“We’re intertwined in the life of our communities,” says Kompkoff. “We serve as a school bus that takes the basketball team to their next game. We’re the provider of groceries and baby formula to remote communities. It’s a fun place to work because of our community-o riented focus.”
Grant Aviation continues to expand its fleet and schedule. As a result, gross revenue reached $92.9 million in 2023.
Kompkoff prefers to focus more on the service the company provides.
“One thing that comes from our growth that I’m really proud of is the ability to add more direct flights,” explains Kompkoff. “Because of our scale, we’ve been able to improve service for community members, especially when it comes to hea lthcare needs.”
The most recent expansion for Grant Aviation was along the Anchorage to Kenai route—a community the company has served for many years. “We have more than doubled our schedule on that route,” shares Kompkoff. “In the summer you’ll see an increase of tourists, sports fishermen, and whatnot. For the people that live on the Peninsula, we’ve been able to provide a more steady operation to mee t their needs.”
Grant Aviation continues to expand throughout Alaska, but that isn’t the company’s top priority. “We don’t have www.akbizmag.com
“I quickly realized that, if we were supposed to be a for-profit corporation, we needed to start expanding our profit activities beyond the original NIMA store on the island."
Terry Don President & CEO NIMA
a need to expand at all costs,” says Kompkoff. “The most important thing is to continue to improve our service to the communities by improving our turnaround times and improving the utilization of our fleet. We also hope to continue being a profitable organization that will be around fo r a long time.”
An Island Alone
Alaska has an abundance of successful companies, but not all of them made the Top 49ers in 2024. However, expect a future list to include an up-and-coming standout like NI MA Corporation.
Incorporated in July 1973 as the joint village corporation for Nunivak Island and Mekoryuk, NIMA serves as the parent, investment, and holding corporation for four companies: Etolin Strait Development Group, Integrated Training Solutions and Services, Nash Harbor Solutions, a nd NIMA Store.
The corporation reported $68.5 million in gross revenue for 2023. In any other year, that figure would’ve ranked among the Top 49ers.
With corporate headquarters in Anchorage and a local office in Mekoryuk, NIMA remains true to
its vision of being an Alaska Native corporation that is the standard for economic success, corporate growth, and cultural preservation. NIMA president and CEO Terry Don holds thos e goals close.
When NIMA was founded in 1973, Don was a little boy. “I would have been 5 at the time,” he recalls. “I noticed that there were more and more of these meetings that my parents would go to. At the time, I never honestly thought I’d end up in this position.”
While several Native villages chose to combine resources with nearby villages to form joint corporations, the Cup’ig people of Nunivak Island stood alone as the only village on the island. “While I agree it’s a good move to pool resources, we only had ourselve s,” shares Don.
Don’s road to becoming the president and CEO of NIMA began in a local school district. “I was working as a business manager for a small rural school district when people found out what I was doing for a living,” recalls Don. “The board of directors had a resignation and needed to fill the vacancy. When they approached me, I agreed to step in an d participate.”
Prior to Don’s involvement, there had been several failed attempts with expanding, which is a common story for small village corporations with limited resources. “I quickly realized that, if we were supposed to be a for-profit corporation, we needed to start expanding our profit activities beyond the original NIMA store on the isl and,” Don says.
Don served for twenty-two years as a board member and has been a NIMA employee for the last four years. During this period, NIMA has realized significant growth. But Don knows the future requires more ideas and more planning. “We have been involved in IT and training support services, which include providing helicopter training support for the [US] Department of Def ense,” he says.
On the horizon, NIMA is considering potential sustainability by educating the next generation about reindeer husbandry. “Reindeer could become a sustainable food source for Alaska residents,” explains Don. “Our tribe owns a reindeer herd on the island, and we believe passing the knowledge of reindeer husbandry to the next generation could benefit our tribe and all of Alaska.”
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building project. This allowed Watterson to work with MyHouse, the architects, and engineers to explore design options that maximize the building program within the budget of a nonprofit and still respect the design intent of the architects.
The Top 49ers include top performing companies with a diverse range of services and products. Even though approximately half the 2024 Top 49ers are Alaska Native corporations, this, too, only speaks to the diversity of ventures that can build a successful company, as they have subsidiaries and partners in every major Alaska industry. Success is not limited to any single industry; it’s about elevating services, perfecting products, and refining collaboration and communication.
This year, we asked the Top 49ers: What project have you completed, or what service do you provide, that exemplifies your expertise—and how have you refined that expertise over the years?
Here are their responses, in no particular order, edited for length and house style.
Watterson Construction Co.
MyHouse’s new Carson-Cottle Center is an example of the types of projects Watterson excels at. The project owner selected Watterson as the general contractor during the design phase for this community
Initial design concepts were significantly more than MyHouse had in its budget. Watterson was
able to help the team understand where the money was going and provide multiple options for modifications so that the team could align program, design, and budget with the project goals. The project stayed within budget, maintained the desired aesthetics, and retained all program areas to ensure the new facility will meet the project goals. Construction will begin this fall, with
Unconventional approaches.
Ingenious results.
At Littler, we’re lawyers. We’re also innovators and strategists, passionate problem solvers and creative disruptors. And we’re committed to helping our clients navigate the complex world of labor and employment law by building better solutions for their toughest challenges. Labor & Employment Law Solutions | littler.com 880 H Street, Suite 102 | Anchorage, AK 99501
building occupancy scheduled for the end of 2025.
Afognak Native Corporation
Providing government customers with exceptional services is a hallmark of Alutiiq and its subsidiaries. Alutiiq is proud to announce its successful completion of the US Department of Defense, Defense Industrial Base Cybersecurity Assessment Center (DIBCAC) Joint Surveillance Voluntary Assessment Program. DIBCAC and Redspin, a certified third-party assessment organization, completed their assessments and awarded Alutiiq a perfect score of 110 points. This DIBCAC certificate will be converted into a Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification Level 2 accreditation once the federal rulemaking process is complete.
Chugach Electric Association
Chugach Electric’s investment in the Beluga River Unit (BRU) natural gas field has saved members more than $100 million over the past eight years. Chugach Electric holds a twothirds working interest in the BRU, and the cumulative net savings from that ownership was $101.2 million at the end of June 2024.
Koniag
Koniag Government Services has earned the trust of the US government to facilitate elite performance on a variety of mission-critical IT and professional consulting services: Vervint, Koniag’s commercial IT subsidiary, helps organizations navigate the digital age by empowering people through strategy, technology, and experience. Koniag Energy & Water
uses exceptional talent, local knowhow, and modern technology to provide safe, reliable energy and water solutions. Koniag Real Estate oversees Koniag’s diverse real estate portfolio located across the United States. Koniag Region Investments, which includes the Kodiak Granite Quarry and Kodiak Brown Bear Center & Lodge, delivers on Koniag’s mission to support culture and community.
Grant Aviation
We know how essential air travel is to Alaskans, and it is our goal to provide flexible, hassle free, and friendly service for passengers and cargo. Our generous baggage policy and reliable schedule are a vital part of our service. For more than fifty years, Grant has been committed to the region, and we plan to be here for the next fifty.
NANA Regional Corporation
Diversifying our business investments strengthens resilience across all sectors, allowing us to navigate market fluctuations more effectively. This strategic approach not only safeguards our investments but also maximizes returns, delivering substantial benefits to our shareholders and contributing positively to the economic stability and growth of our region.
Three Bears Alaska
We purchased Alaska Ship Supply in Dutch Harbor in December 2023. This was an opportunity to bring the Three Bears shopping experience to the communities of Dutch Harbor and Unalaska. We have added enhanced food selections for our walk-in customers while maintaining the products
needed to support the commercial fi shing industry.
Calista Corporation
Calista subsidiary STG Incorporated received a statewide excellence in construction award from the Associated General Contractors of Alaska for the large, utility-scale wind turbine it installed to bring renewable energy to the remote western Alaska communities of Stebbins and St. Michael. STG has installed more than 100 utility-scale turbines in rural Alaska, and it also provides crane services to maintain the Kodiak Electric, Fire Island, and Eva Creek wind farms.
Craig Taylor Equipment
We strive to be a one-stop shop for all our customers’ needs, and we've continued to expand our product offerings to achieve that goal. From heavy duty trucks, construction equipment, or AG and Turf necessities to extensive parts inventory and certified service facilities—our mission is to be the most trusted and reliable source for all those who are building Alaska's future.
First National Bank Alaska
Building strong relationships has always been at the heart of First National’s success. The high interest rate environment and deposit outflow in 2023 led First National to renew our emphasis on our One Solution strategy to best serve and support customers and to sustain core earnings. From corporate credit cards and lines of credit to investment services and payroll solutions, our treasury management, lending, branch, and wealth management and trust teams were
ready to serve up the financial tools to help Alaska businesses achieve their short- and long-term goals. The bank’s local experts worked hard to gain a thorough knowledge of each business they served, allowing us to anticipate and respond to immediate personal and business financial needs.
Roger Hickel Contracting
Roger Hickel Contracting takes great pride in the way we interact with owners, designers, and clients in a team approach, working together to meet the project needs and budget.
Cook Inlet Region, Inc.
CIRI continues to work with our family of socially driven enterprises to provide educational and cultural opportunities, housing, healthcare, and social services to shareholders, descendants, and the 70,000 Alaska
Native and American Indian people who reside in the Cook Inlet region and beyond. Earlier this year, CIRI launched an executive mentorship program exclusively for our shareholders and descendants: the Yah (“grow” in Dena’ina) program was designed specifically to build executive-level skills to prepare for future executive leadership needs throughout CIRI’s ecosystem.
Everts Air Cargo & Everts Air Alaska
The key value proposition offered by Everts, beyond the exceptional service provided by our dedicated employees, lies in our demonstrated drive for continuous improvement, as evidenced by our diverse fleet, specifically selected to serve the unique needs of Alaska. Additionally, our ongoing commitment to implementing and
wise counsel
DORSEY
ATTORNEYS HAVE SERVED AS TRUSTED COUNSEL TO ALASKA CLIENTS FOR OVER
20 YEARS
With over two decades of history in the Anchorage community, Dorsey & Whitney provides full-service legal counsel to clients in the Alaska market and beyond. Backed up by the resources of an international law fi rm with over 550 attorneys across 21 offi ces, we offer global reach, local resources, and productive relationships. We understand our clients’ businesses, risks, and goals –making us a wise choice for smart businesses everywhere.
enhancing strategies, management systems, and processes to ensure we maintain the highest level of safety performance is a hallmark leading to our continued success.
Ukpeaġvik Iñupiat Corporation
Alaska’s remote coastal and upriver communities rely on companies like Bowhead Transport to support projects that require delivery of heavy equipment and construction materials to hard-toreach locations. Bowhead operates several push-boats, river and inland coastal water barges, and oceangoing sailings. Its territory ranges from Seattle to the far Aleutians, upriver in western Alaska and Bristol Bay, and all along the Alaska coast up to Kaktovik in the Arctic. Bowhead Transport’s motto, “We are of the sea,” reflects its specific company outlook and mirrors the cultural
touchpoints of parent company UIC and its Iñupiat shareholders.
With its talented team of North Slope tundra and ice travel experts, UIC Oil & Gas Support has built a reputation as a can-do, one-stop shop that continues to establish new services to meet the demands of a dynamic industry. UIC Oil & Gas Support provides a full range of onshore, near-shore, and offshore oil and gas support services, including trail scouting and building, freight hauling, remote camps, equipment rental, bear guards, spill response, and even heavy equipment repair.
Matanuska Electric Association
Through partnerships and collaboration, Alaska's two largest solar farms power our members and at no additional cost to our members.
Gana-A' Yoo, Limited
One of Gana-A’Yoo’s core strengths is design/build, and recently we were fortunate to work on a collaborative project between EPA, the General Services Administration, and the Smithsonian Institution to design/build the new National Environmental Museum and Education Center in Washington, D.C.
MTA
One of the year’s highlights was the awarding of a $12.6 million USDA ReConnect 4 grant, which will bring the Tyonek Alaska Native Village Statistical Area safe and dependable internet service. This grant will facilitate the deployment of 41 miles of fiber transport from MTA’s network at Point Mackenzie, which will feed distribution fiber to the Native Village of Tyonek. This will provide secure and reliable service capable of 100/100
Mbps—a 100 percent increase in speed compared to what is currently available.
This project, which is currently in the permitting phase with construction beginning this year, follows MTA serving the Native Village of Tyonek with telecommunications products and services for decades.
Bristol Bay Native Corporation
BBNC’s expertise is evident across our diverse business lines: industrial services, construction, government services, seafood, and tourism.
Beyond our business lines, our commitment to shareholder support and community development is a testament to our comprehensive expertise. In FY2024, we enhanced shareholder benefits through increased distributions, burial assistance, and employment
training. We engaged 613 youth in development programs, provided internships, and supported leadership training through various initiatives. Additionally, we managed more than 3 million acres of land responsibly, balancing development with environmental protection. These efforts collectively reflect BBNC’s commitment to its mission of “Enriching our Native way of life.”
Chugach Alaska Corporation
TCC, a partnership between Tatitlek Corporation, Chenega Corporation, and Chugach Alaska Corporation, celebrated its 30th anniversary in April 2024. Formed after the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill, TCC has established itself as a world-class oil spill response and prevention organization that has helped protect Prince William Sound for three decades. This expertise led
VALUES. VISION. INNOVATION.
At The Kuskokwim Corporation (TKC), the traditional values of the people of the Middle Kuskokwim are the foundation of everything we do. Those values guide our vision, which calls for innovation as we thoughtfully pursue opportunities that allow us to steward our homelands, our people, and TKC. We are proud to be recognized as one of Alaska’s Top 49 Businesses.
to a renewed, long-term contract in 2023 with Alyeska Pipeline Service Company for TCC to conduct oil spill prevention and response services protecting Prince William Sound.
Sealaska
Sealaska practices balance: stewarding lands responsibly for future generations; balancing profits with people; and providing diverse offerings to its 26,000 shareholders. These investments in shareholders, the region, and in sustainable global businesses all help restore balance to our planet.
Aleut Corporation
Aleut proudly represents more than 4,200 shareholders. We are rooted in our Unangax̂ culture and in the rich heritage of Unangam Tanangin (Aleutian and Pribilof Islands). As we journey forward,
this foundation not only embodies our respect for tradition but also our enduring commitment to progress and excellence. Our subsidiaries are the driving force behind our success and enable us to fulfill our mission to our shareholders. This unwavering dedication to our shareholders is at the heart of everything we do and who we are. We are Aleut.
Ahtna, Inc.
Renowned for delivering highquality projects that withstand the region's unique environmental conditions, the Ahtna family of companies recently embarked on a significant endeavor at Palmer Airport. This ambitious project includes constructing a new taxiway, extending an existing one, removing outdated taxiways, enhancing drainage systems, and creating an additional aircraft parking apron.
The only Alaskan place to stay for charm, culture and cuisine.
To prepare for the Palmer Airport project, Ahtna strategically invested in a diverse range of equipment. These assets not only bolster Ahtna's capabilities for this project but also affirm the company's dedication to ensuring success in future civil construction ventures in Alaska.
Tyonek Native Corporation
Tyonek provides reliable support of the US Armed Forces by meeting the rigorous and highly technical manufacturing, maintenance, repair, and readiness needs of various landbased and aircraft mission systems.
Olgoonik Corporation
Our oil well plug and abandonment (P&A) teams are hard at work on BLM Orphan Well projects in the Lower 48, where we are putting our Alaska-tested P&A experti se to the task.
DOWNTOWN ANCHORAGE
Copper River Management Company
Our industry-leading maritime manufacturing capabilities at Reconcraft meet the advanced vessel design requirements of the US Coast Guard and US Navy. At Coho Construction Management and Copper River Infrastructure Services, our construction and engineering companies are working to remediate hurricane damage to US Air Force and US Army Corps of Engineers facilities on the Gulf Coast. Through advanced information technology projects with the FDA, our companies— Copper River Enterprise Services, TACG, Copper River Cyber Solutions, and Copper River IT— demonstrate our commitment to technological innovation and modernization. We approach each opportunity as a chance to build long-term relationships with our clients.
Cape Fox Corporation
One reason CFC has stood above is because of our adaptability and creativity. In January 2023, CFC and The Village Store participated in the 3rd annual Trend Fashion Show in Anchorage. CFC had six unique designs on exhibit at the show, which contained bold, Indigenous-inspired prints adorning the ready-to-wear line. This clothing collection was designed and inspired by the Tlingit culture and presented the unique style, colors, and meanings illustrated in Alaska Native art. CFC's mission is supporting our Tlingit shareholders, celebrating and preserving the traditions of our ancestors, and showcasing to the world our unique culture of history, music, language, insights, art, a nd now fashion.
The Kuskokwim Corporation
The traditional values of the people of the Middle Kuskokwim are the foundation of everything we do at The Kuskokwim Corporation. In our pursuit of opportunities to support and provide for our shareholders, we are committed to responsibly developing and maintaining business ventures, resources, and diversification strategies. Those same values and commitments help us maintain a balanced and sustainable approach to opportunity while honoring tradition.
Usibelli Coal Mine
Our reclamation program, which restores mined lands to their natural state, has been recognized as a model in the industry. We actively seek ways to reduce our environmental footprint.
Our ongoing efforts to refine and expand our capabilities ensure we remain a leader in Alaska’s energy sector.
Arctic Slope Regional Corporation
ASRC Energy is the prime contractor for the Methane Hydrates Project. Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation, in partnership with the US Department of Energy National Energy Technology Laboratory and US Geological Survey, is implementing a long-term methane gas hydrate production test program on Alaska’s North Slope to determine the role gas hydrates may play as a future energy resource for the United States and Japan. The aim of the project is to commercialize the use of methane hydrate extracted from the country's coastal waters by March 2028.
ASRC Energy is providing electrical and mechanical engineering services to design a surface production facility and wells for the Alaska Methane Hydrate Project. In addition, the ASRC Energy team provided architecture and civil, structural, process, and fire protection engineering. ASRC Energy staff are designing the well construction, overseeing drilling activity, and, at the project conclusion, designing and executing the wells’ permanent abandonment, as well as providing process safety assurance to the test facilities.
Over the years, Usibelli Coal Mine has continuously refined its expertise through a decades-long commitment to innovation, environmental stewardship, and community engagement.
Interior businesses featured on the 2024 Top 49ers list are a cross-section of sectors vital to the thriving economy of the Fairbanks area. Everts Air Cargo | Everts Air Alaska, Great Northwest, Inc., and Doyon, Limited have all contributed to increased growth in their respective industries, a testament to their business savvy, quality services, and growing impact i n the Interior.
Sky’s the Limit
Just making the cut on this year’s Top 49ers list is Everts Air, a family-owned and operated airline providing cargo and passenger service within Alaska, the Lower 48, Canada, Mexi co, and beyond.
Fairbanks Top 49ers point the way to success
By Rachael Kvapil
“We take pride in being a vital component of the state's transportation network, ensuring the seamless movement of goods and people… As we reflect on over thirty years of operation, we appreciate the dedication of our employees whose hard work and commitment have been instrumental in our growth.”
Robert Everts Owner, President & CEO Everts Air
Its mission is to ensure the safety, reliability, and affordability of air transportation services for Alaska communities and efficient delivery of cargo and petro leum products.
Under the umbrella corporation Tatonduk Outfitters Limited, Everts Air Cargo offers scheduled and charter air freight services within Alaska, as well as on-demand charter services throughout North, Central, and South America, including the Caribbean. Everts Air Alaska provides passenger, freight, and charter services utilizing smaller aircraft—Pilatus PC-12s, Cessna 208 Grand Caravans, and Cessna 408 SkyCouriers—based in Fairbanks. With a diverse fleet, both carriers can transport a variety of cargo, including small packages, hazardous materials, oversized items, and precious cargo such a s live animals.
“We provide comprehensive transportation support services to the mining, oil and gas, tourism, and fishing industries in the state,” says Susan Hoshaw, assistant general manager for Everts Air.
The origins of Everts Air can be traced back to the border town of Eagle, where the nascent company catered to trappers, miners, and what would now be called eco-travelers.
In 1993, Robert Everts acquired the company from Mark Lynch with the goal of expanding its operations to include large aircraft. Despite facing government delays and competition, Tatonduk Outfitters successfully obtained amended authority in July 1995. The small aircraft operation, previously known as Tatonduk Flying Service, and the large aircraft operation, formerly Air Cargo Express, were rebranded as Everts Air Alaska and Everts Air Cargo in 2002. Robert Everts' aviation degree from EmbryRiddle Aeronautical University
and guidance from his father, Clifford Everts, have significantly influenced his leadership approach, as he remains the company’s owner, pres ident, and CEO.
Everts Air now operates a fleet of twenty-two aircraft. Over the past three decades, the company has evolved from operating DC-6 and C-46 aircraft to incorporating more modern jet aircraft like the Douglas MD-80. In January, Everts Air expanded its fleet by introducing the SkyCourier twin-engine turboprop aircraft, showcasing a commitment to providing appropriately sized aircraft to meet Alaska's aviation needs. Hoshaw says this cutting-edge aircraft, designed for FedEx and first flown in 2020, is known for its performance and reliability, offering three configurations: all cargo, all passenger (nineteen seats), or a combination of passengers (nine se ats) and cargo.
“The SkyCourier represents the forefront of aviation technology that enhances safety during flight,” says Hoshaw. “It will be utilized for both scheduled and charter passenger and c argo services.”
A team of 336 employees supports Everts Air operations. Most are based around Alaska, with a smaller number located in Laredo and Fredericksburg, Texas. Robert Everts says he prefers to lead by example with a hands-on approach, actively engaging with employees, personally piloting some flights, and working closely with leadership to address challeng es effectively.
“The dynamic nature of the aviation industry requires us to adapt our approach to ensure continued success as an air carrier in Alaska,” says Everts. “Recognizing the changing workforce needs driven by generational shifts, we are exploring innovative
strategies that depart from traditional busin ess practices.”
He adds that collaboration with companies involved in the development of future technologies, particularly in the unmanned aerial vehicle and drone sector, underscores Everts Air's commitment to staying ahead of industry advancements. By continuously seeking opportunities in aviation and exploring avenues for diversification, the company remains open to exploring new possibilities that align with its c ore operations.
Though Everts Air has appeared seventeen times since debuting on the Top 49ers list in 2001, Everts says his team is grateful for the recognition. He feels the success of the company can be attributed to the unwavering determination, persistence, tenacity, and innovative thinking demonstrated by all its employees. Together they work on shifting from a mindset of “we can't do this” to “how can we accomplish this,” given the numerous laws, regulations, and sta ndards in play.
“We take pride in being a vital component of the state's transportation network, ensuring the seamless movement of goods and people,” says Everts. “As we reflect on over thirty years of operation, we appreciate the dedication of our employees whose hard work and commitment have been instrumental in our growth.”
Road to Success
Making this year’s Top 49ers list at #45 is Great Northwest, Inc. (GNI), a locally owned civil contractor focused primarily on heavy highway and civil site work. Its goal is to provide a collaborative workplace where skilled staff have the support and freedom to get things done, which allows GNI to
attract and retain talented personnel who consistently deliver safe, quality projects on or ahe ad of schedule.
“Our mission is to partner with our clients to add value to their projects with our deep bench of highly skilled crew members,” says CEO Jenni fer Quakenbush.
GNI started as a small landscaping company in 1975 by John Minder. He and his partners, Randy Brand
and Tony Johansen, have grown GNI into a large civil contractor performing work throughout the Interior. Services include civil construction (including highway and road construction), site development, and underground utilities. Teams primarily work along the Interior road system, from the Canadian border to Valdez and from Denali Park to the Dalton Highway.
Depending on the season, GNI employs between 45 and 200 people.
Quakenbush says GNI is excited to make the Top 49ers list for a seventh time with its highest gross revenue since debuting in 2008. She attributes GNI’s success to people maintaining relationships, in-house and in the community, so that they can help solve problems and sha re information.
“It’s a testament to our projects and support crews coming together and rising to the challenge to accomplish more work than we’ve ever had,” she says.
The Economic Landscape
Two more Fairbanks companies made this year’s Top 49ers list. Doyon, Limited, the Alaska Native regional corporation for the Interior, ranked #19. The corporation operates a diverse family of companies in the areas of oil field services, government contracted utilities, construction, information technology, natural resources development, tourism, and real estate. Doyon employs more than 1,300 individuals in Alaska and across the nation and has more than 20,50 0 shareholders.
Also on the list is Usibelli Coal Mine (UCM). Although most of its work happens 115 miles south in Healy, UCM has an office in Fairbanks and, perhaps more importantly, it produces fuel for six Interior power plants. UCM and Doyon both appeared on the inaugural Top 49ers list in 1985. Doyon has been listed every year but one, and UCM has a clean sweep of every list for forty years. Ranked as high as #18 in 1989 when it was exporting coal to South Korea, UCM now stands at #39.
All four Fairbanks 2024 Top 49er companies represent influential
“Our mission is to partner with our clients to add value to their projects with our deep bench of highly skilled crew members.”
Jennifer Quakenbush CEO
Great Northwest, Inc
industries in the Interior. In a recent presentation to the Greater Fairbanks Chamber of Commerce, Jomo Stewart, the president and CEO of Fairbanks Economic Development Corporation, gave an updated snapshot from the Annual Economic Report 2023. Overall, Stewart says that economic trends show growth in the Fairbanks North Star Borough (FNSB) and that total job earning and Hotel-Motel Room Tax revenues were each up 10 percent from 2022. Construction and housing led employment growth at 10 percent each, with transportation and warehousing at 9.5 percent and the energy sector at 4.9 percent. Likewise, job and wage indicators showed positive trends, and the unemployment rate dropped a full 1 percentage point below the 2019 benchmark.
Stewart describes Fairbanks as a hub community that features a mix of resource rich companies and smaller companies that provide logistics and development for other regional industries that contribute significantly to Al aska's economy.
“We have a number of mines active in the Interior, like Kinross [Fort Knox
and Manh Choh], Pogo, and Usibelli,”
Stewart said in an interview following his chamber of commerce presentation. “There are also many oil companies up north that rely on the Interior for services. We are the nexus of support for where the mon ey comes from.”
Though natural resources showed flat growth in the Annual Economic Report 2023, Stewart said that this sector is likely to grow in the future because of increased production at the Manh Choh mine, ore processing at the Fort Knox mine, and increased activity at both the Willow and Pikka projects on the North Slope that rely on trucking supplies and materials from Fairbanks.
Even with growth in several sectors, government still represents a sizeable portion of the FNSB economy. Even excluding active-duty military, the government sector comprises 28 percent of the labor force, with 30 percent of the earnings. Overall, this sector dropped 1.5 percent between 2019 and 2023; however, it rebounded 1.7 percent from 2022 to 2023. This number increases drastically once active-duty military is added to the equation.
In his presentation, Stewart said the combined populations of Fort Wainwright and Eielson Air Force Base active-duty service members and their families, along with civilian employees and contractors, exceed 28,000 people. The direct economic impact exceeds $1.6 billion. Payroll for Eielson alone was slightly more than $465 million, and its spending on construction and other contracts toppe d $154 million.
Power and People
Stewart says two key influences are poised to affect the Fairbanks economy: energy and an aging workforce. Energy commodity prices
have increased from 2019 to 2023, with only electricity and natural gas showing either a decrease in cost or no change between 2022 and 2023.
Stewart says the Fairbanks community was built to be sustainable at around $1 to $1.50 per gallon of fuel oil. With prices around $4.48 per gallon in 2023, he says the cost of energy acts as a drag on the economy.
“We need to reduce and stabilize the cost of energy coupled with reducing the need,” says Stewart. “Accomplishing this will come from better building on the front end and energy efficient upgrades on the back end.”
The other economic indicator of concern is the Interior workforce.
Stewart says the percentage of working-aged people leaving the community is a long-running trend. Likewise, a growing senior population means less available working-aged adults while also increasing demand for housing and senior services. Though exactly what is contributing to statewide labor shortages is unclear, Stewart says a decline in the workforce reduces the number of younger workers who will benefit from the guidance and mentorship of seasoned colleagues. That said, 2023 was the first year in the last five years in which the FNSB experienced net in-migration to the borough fro m out of state.
Despite challenges, Stewart is confident that Interior communities can work together to find solutions.
“It's a complex system with many parts and pieces,” says Stewart, “and we have a lot of opportunity to build a succ essful future.”
The Golden Heart City’s four 2024 Top 49ers are big pieces of that system, and they are pointing the way tow ard success.
Appraising & enhancing a company’s worth
By Tracy Barbour
BUSINESS VALUATIONS
Valuation of a business—that is, determining the value of an owner's interest—isn't just about selling. “Regular valuations can help you make strategic decisions, identify areas for improvement, and ultimately build a more valuable business,” says Carlos Machuca. “It's a powerful tool for growth when u sed correctly.”
Machuca is a former head of the Alaska Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Anchorage office and the current director of its new AI Resource Center. He says, “Valuation can be a great tool when a startup young entrepreneur is planning a long-term exit strategy, and he/she wants to maximize their business development efforts in what brings the most value to the structure of t heir business.”
The most common reasons for business valuations are selling or acquiring a business; pursuing strategic capital or a business loan; resolving tax or legal issues; determining assets in the case of death, disability, disaster, or divorce; and gifting or donating company stock.
Depending on the reason, business valuation is a relatively straightforward yet meticulous process. It generally entails a qualified, third-party professional analyzing a company’s financial statements and considering similar transactions, industry-specific ratios, and diverse quantitative and qua litative data.
The professional’s goal is to make a justifiable, reasonable estimate of the company’s fair value based on generally accepted standards. In the United States, business valuations are typically conducted according to Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice, which covers all types of appraisals, including real estate, personal property, intangible assets, and busin ess valuations. Various types of professionals conduct business valuations, including business appraisers, brokers and consultants, CPAs, and merger and acquisition specialists. While certification is not mandatory for business appraisers in the United States, some people opt to become certified through organizations like the National Association of Certified Valuators and Analysts. With more than 7,000 members and certificants, the association is accredited by both the National Commission for Certifying Agencies and the American National Stand ards Institute.
Informal Valuation Resources
SBDC offers a range of informal business valuation services to support entrepreneurs and small business owners. The center’s valuations are designed to give business owners a “general idea” of their company's worth for strategic planning or decision-making. “These are not certified or formal valuations,” Machuca emphasizes. “For purposes such as securing bank loans, legal proceedings, or other official matters, entrepreneurs would need to engage a certified business appraiser or valuation professional.” SBDC can refer clients to certified appraisers, in those cases.
While SBDC’s services do not replace formal, certified valuations, they provide valuable insights, Machuca says. SBDC tailors its valuation services to give clients a practical understanding of their company’s worth and potential. The center focuses on the discounted cash flow (DCF) method, particularly for small businesses seeking funding or starting new ventures. This approach, Machuca says, is wellsuited for clients because it is futureoriented, flexible, investor-oriented, comprehensive, and adaptable.
While DCF is the Alaska SBDC’s primary focus, it is part of a broader toolkit. The center offers Vertical IQ, which employs multiplier valuation based on key financial metrics. It uses net sales and gross profits as well as earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization. Another tool, ProfitCents, can perform valuations using clients’ taxes and the DCF method. The Alaska SBDC Business Valuation Tool is a downloadable worksheet for clients to use alone or with one of the center’s advisors. The AI Valuation Tool also performs valuations using the DCF method. It analyzes financial data to project future cash flows and determine a present value fo r the business.
Business valuation is both an art and a science, Machuca says. While there are established valuation methods and helpful tools, every business is unique. “That's why it's crucial to work with experienced valuation professionals who can provide an objective perspective and navigate the complexities of valuation,” he says.
Customized, Comprehensive Valuation
A full-service business brokerage, Venture North Group helps clients prepare a company for sale. The Anchorage firm, which has served businesses for more than twenty years, also helps clients strategically locate and acq uire companies.
As one of the first steps in a client engagement, Venture North performs a thorough company valuation at no charge, according to partner Neil Gunn. The primary purpose of the valuation is to set initial seller expectations regarding how the market is likely to respond in terms of a price range. “It is quite difficult for business owners to assess the probable value of the company without working with professionals who not only have the skills to deploy the appropriate valuation model but have also actually sold several companies in the very market within which the seller operates,” he says.
Venture North completes business valuations based on Alaska-specific data—which is not readily available—instead of relying on general industry statistics. “Short of engaging a highly experienced, highvolume business broker, data on actual values at which private companies in Alaska have traded is nearly impossible to obtain,” Gunn says. “Unlike commercial real estate, there is no database that reports comparable pricing for private companies. Our firm has conducted a large and diverse number of transactions, right here in Alaska, and thus, we have a robust, private database of transaction pricing and other key non-financial deal terms to which sellers and buyer s have agreed.”
focuses on the valuation models that buyers are likely to use in their own underwriting of a deal. The most common valuation approach a private seller in Alaska will likely encounter is an income-based, multipleof-e arnings model.”
Gunn says sellers should put a great deal of thought into the expected outcomes of a company valuation. They should consider their objectives and precisely how the valuation might advance th ose objectives.
Key Considerations
A range of consequential factors flow into business valuations.
However, assessing intangible assets can be tricky. The uniqueness, volatile value, subjectivity, limited market data, and lack of physical form complicate the process. “The key is to recognize that, while intangibles are challenging to quantify, they often drive significant value and must be carefully considered in any comprehensive business valuation,” Machuca says.
The valuation process can vary for different types of businesses and industries. With a small familyowned business, for instance, a valuator might use the DCF method or focus on the adjusted book value or capitalization of earnings methods.
The most common approaches to assessing a business are income, market, and asset-based valuations, Gunn says. The income-based approach could involve a DCF analysis, capitalization of earnings, income multiplier method, dividend discount model, and earnings-b ased valuation.
Which approach does Gunn prefer? Depends on the buyer. Gunn explains, “The Venture North Group only
The assessment must account for intangibles like brand reputation, intellectual property, or customer relationships.
Intangible assets often surpass the value of tangible assets, Machuca says. Valuators can account for intangibles through various methods, including the income, market, and cost approaches. They can also use a qualitative assessment to evaluate the strength and longevity of the intangibles, their impact on competitive advantage, and their contributio n to cash flow.
“Consideration of ‘excess’ owner's salary and discretionary expenses is crucial,” Machuca says. “The personal goodwill of family members might be a signi ficant factor.”
Take, for example, a business with limited financial history, revenue, or profits. This is where SBDC often applies the DCF method to project future growth and cash flows—which is vital for startups or young businesses. The center might also consider the reproduction value to understand the cost of replicatin g the business.
Business valuations have merit for businesses small and large statewide, as they can reveal aspects of the business that detract from its overall value, offering a comprehensive view of the company's strengths and weaknesses.
Jacob Boomsma | iStock
Neil Gunn Venture North Group
For large corporations, a comprehensive valuation would typically involve multiple methods.
Market comparisons with publicly traded companies and in-depth analysis of various business units would also become more relevant.
In addition, certain industries might have specific valuation metrics or multipliers. Retail businesses might focus more on revenue multiples, while manufacturers might emphasize asset values. With professional services or knowledge-based businesses, the skills and reputation of key individuals are significant factors. And sometimes valuation is based on one year's gross revenue. “The key here is to select the method or combination of methods that best captures the value drivers of the specific business, considering its size, industry, growth stage, and unique characteristics,” Machuca says.
domestic product growth and interest rates, which can influence overall industry growth. They can also analyze the company's ability to capitalize on emerging trends and adapt to changing market conditions. “It's important to note that while these factors provide valuable insights, each business is unique, and valuations should be tailored to the specific
Several industry-specific factors can affect the valuation process. The main factors are growth prospects, the competitive landscape, and regulatory environment. Assessing growth prospects can include historical revenue and profit growth rates, market expansion opportunities, new product or service development pipelines, customer acquisition and retention rates, scalability of the business model, and management's track record of executing growth strategies. In rapidly expanding industries like technology, renewable energy, or healthcare, companies often command higher valuations due to their potential for future growth.
Valuators can also consider macrofactors, such as gross
circumstances of the company being evaluated,” Machuca says.
Assessing Financial Health and External Factors
Financial health and external factors also come into play. Venture North focuses on metrics that buyers view as most important. “First and foremost would be an assessment of historical and probable future free cash flow,”
Carlos Machuca Alaska Small Business Development Center
MISTAKES Key Mitakes for Business Owners to Avoid
Carlos Machuca of the Alaska Small Business Development Center has observed the following mistakes business owners should avoid to maximize their valuation.
OVERESTIMATING GROWTH RATES: It's easy to be overly optimistic, but unrealistic projections can inflate valuations. Always use conservative, well-supported growth estimates.
IGNORING INDUSTRY TRENDS: The broader market context is crucial. Failing to consider industry benchmarks or market conditions can lead to inaccurate valuations.
NEGLECTING RISK FACTORS: Every business faces risks, and these need to be factored into the valuation. Overlooking potential threats can result in overvaluation.
UNDERESTIMATING INTANGIBLE ASSETS: Many owners focus too much on tangible assets and overlook intangibles like brand reputation, customer relationships, or intellectual property.
RELYING ON OUTDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS: Always use the most current financial data for accurate valuations.
LACK OF PROPER DOCUMENTATION: Failing to properly document assets, liabilities, and cash flow can skew valuations significantly.
WAITING UNTIL THE LAST MINUTE: Rushing a valuation before a sale often leads to mistakes. Better to plan ahead and get regular valuations.
NOT CONSIDERING TAX IMPLICATIONS: The tax structure of a business can greatly impact its value, especially in a sale scenario.
OVERRELIANCE ON A SINGLE VALUATION METHOD: Different approaches can yield different results, so using multiple methods can generate a more comprehensive view.
NEGLECTING TO NORMALIZE FINANCIALS: Failing to adjust for one-time or non-recurring expenses can undervalue a business.
Gunn explains. “That one metric encompasses several financial aspects of a business.”
External issues that influence business valuation, and ultimately the sale of a company, tend to be the regulatory environment, interest rates, and buyers’ acces s to financing.
Market sentiment and investor mood can also have a significant impact—and even affect whether buyers pursue a business at any price. “Currently, general market sentiment for private companies is optimistic regarding industries such as renewable energy, necessary commercial/ residential services (HVAC/plumbing), transportation/logics, SaaS [software as a service], AI solutions, et cetera,” Gunn says. “Therefore, buyer interest and valuations are going to behave accordingly. Objective analysis in the world of valuing private companies ends with the financial statements. Beyond the accuracy of the financials, all other aspects of a valuation, including assessment of market sentiment, have some level of subjectivity.”
Ultimately, a valuation can reveal aspects of a business that detract from its overall value, such as inadequate financial and accounting controls, underperforming assets, and weaker operating ratios compared to its peers. The valuation process offers a comprehensive view of the company’s strengths and weaknesses.
Strategies to Enhance Valuation
What strategies can business owners implement to boost their company’s value? From Gunn’s perspective, owners should have well-maintained, readily available financial statements that comply with generally accepted accounting principles, such as a balance sheet,
income statement, and statement of cash flows. “This would include at least the last five fiscal years,” he says. “Ditto on tax returns.”
Owners should also have a formal annual budget that, on a monthly basis, compares actual results to the budget, Gunn says. Developing a three-year forecast and implementing a solid succession plan can also help. In addition, they should have readily available buyer-diligence items, such as copies of customer contracts, organization formation documents, permits , and licenses.
Enhancing a valuation, Machuca says, is a multifaceted process that requires a strategic approach. While there's no one-size-fits-all solution, business owners can choose from a variety of internal improvements and external growth initiatives to increase their company's value. A key strategy is to improve operational efficiency by streamlining processes, reducing costs, and increasing productivity to boost profitability. “We can help by configuring and helping owners write standard operating proced ures,” he says.
Other ways to maximize value are expanding market share, diversifying revenue streams, strengthening financial management, building a strong management team, enhancing brand reputation, securing long-term contracts, and implementing scalable systems. Owners can also create systems and processes that allow the business to run smoothly without their constant involvement—which tends to be a c ommon problem.
“By focusing on these areas, owners can significantly increase their company's attractiveness to potential buyers/investors/lenders, thereby enhancing its overall valuation,” M achuca says.
Honing leadership skills through physical challenges
By Alexandra Kay
| Design by Patricia
by Matt
Photo
Hage
Morales
NFL coach Vince Lombardi is famous for saying, “Leaders aren't born, they are made. And they are made just like anything else, through hard work.” While some may be born with innate leadership skills, those who plan to lead must intentionally work to hone a specific set of skills that are necessary for effective, quality leadership.
Work, though, might look like play. One way of developing leadership skills is through outdoor and adventure activities. According to a 2012 psychology study from the University of Kansas, Lawrence, spending time outdoors can help improve creative reasoning as well as other skills. Engaging in adventurous activities cultivates decision-making, problem-solving, resilience, and more.
Confronting Fears
The ability to face one’s fears is an essential leadership skill, says Duane Stutzman, Mountain General Manager for Alyeska Resort’s Veilbreaker Skybridges experience, where participants can cross bridges suspended between peaks more than 2,000 f eet in the air.
Courage is a foundational skill for professionals, as it enables effective decision-making, leadership, conflict resolution, and personal growth. It supports integrity, resilience, adaptability, and the ability to build strong, trusting relationships—qualities that are essential for success in any profes sional setting.
“Activities like rope bridges are powerful tools for building confidence and courage because they challenge participants both mentally and physically by pushing participants to confront fears, trust in themselves and others, focus on the task, and experience the empowerment
that comes with overcoming challenges,” Stutzman says.
Stutzman notes that the height and instability of rope bridges triggers fears of heights and falling, so successfully crossing these bridges requires participants to learn how to confront and manage fears as well as overcome anxiety. Courage continues to build with each step they take across a bridge as they realize they are up to the challenge.
Elliott Jackson, owner of Seward Hospitality Group—which has an aerial park, ropes course, and mud run— agrees that courage is an important leadership skill for individuals to develop. “As a leader you need courage in life in order to assess certain situations and walk yourself through your fears,” he says. “Courage is a big part of that.”
Hard Work for Soft Skills
Outdoor aerial courses also help to build essential problem-solving skills, says Jackson. “The aerial park is definitely a challenge because it’s intimidating and hard work. The course consists of sixteen different types of obstacles, and they’re both physically and mentally demanding because you have to make your way through each, thinking ahead and preparing yourself for the next challenge to see how you’re going to maneuver through it,” Jackson explains. “It’s very similar to the way we work through problems in our regular lives.” The footwork involved also resembles how a leader works through issues within an organization.
Resilience is a crucial leadership characteristic because it allows leaders to navigate challenging situations, maintain their well-being, and inspire their teams, particularly during times of adversity and change. Resilient
MENUS/TO
Preparing yourself for the next challenge to see how you’re going to maneuver through it requires creative thinking, which fosters innovation… Participants need to consider what body parts they’re actually going to use the most of and plan for that.
Elliott Jackson Owner Seward Hospitality Group
leaders are adept at remaining effective under pressure and bounce back from setbacks.
Alyeska’s rope bridges adventure can supply that pressure under controlled conditions. “If a participant stumbles or hesitates, they learn resilience by regaining composure and continuing,” says Stutzman. “This experience teaches that setbacks are part of growth and that perseverance lea ds to success.”
According to executive leadership coach Lolly Daskal’s website, “The best leaders understand that every improvement comes with stepping out of comfort zone, because for most things to change they have to be challenged.”
Good leaders must maintain equilibrium (figuratively) and balance their time and energy among a variety of situations, and they frequently must work outside of their comfort
zone. More literally, “Crossing a rope bridge requires concentration, balance, and coordination. The focus needed to keep steady fosters mental discipline and self-control,” Stutzman says. “Each successful crossing also expands the participant’s comfort zone, making them more likely to tackle other challenges with increased confidenc e and courage.”
Grace Under Pressure
Innovation is a crucial leadership skill because it allows individuals to remain relevant, adapt to change, and achieve strategic goals in a dynamic environment. It also allows a good leader to be open-minded and willing to challenge both themselves and subordinates. By fostering creativity and new ideas, innovative leaders drive organizational growth and progress, pushing boundaries to ac hieve success.
The Veilbreaker Skybridges at Alyeska Resort in Girdwood.
Matt Hage | Alyeska Resort
“Preparing yourself for the next challenge to see how you’re going to maneuver through it requires creative thinking, which fosters innovation,” says Jackson. “Participants need to consider what body parts they’re actually going to use the most of and plan for that.”
Furthermore, leaders who foster an innovative culture create an environment that encourages creativity, experimentation, and engagement am ong employees.
“Each organization has its own processes and best practices,” says Daskal’s website. “Innovative leaders are constantly challenging the ‘this is how we do it’ mindset and keep aiming higher.”
Engaging in adventurous pursuits enhances decision-making abilities because one must think quickly and clearly in high-pressure situations.
“The experience of making critical choices in high-pressure situations strengthens our judgment, risk assessment, and adaptability, skills that are transferable to our professional lives,” says Stutzman.
Know Thyself
Any good leader must possess self-awareness of self and emotional intelligence to manage their own emotions and expectations as well as those of their team. This helps to foster stronger relationships, which in turn drives positive outcomes within an organization. Some key benefits of self-awareness and emotional intelligence include the recognition of one’s strengths, weaknesses, and emotional triggers, which allows leaders to manage reactions and maintain composure under pressure. Additionally, this same awareness can help fuel empathy and connection with subordinates, enabling leaders
The experience of making critical choices in high-pressure situations strengthens our judgment, risk assessment, and adaptability, skills that are transferable to our professional lives.
Duane Stutzman, Mountain General Manager, Alyeska Resort
We have rebranded from Ampersand to Alasconnect to better reflect our dedication to Alaska and our clients. Our mission is to humanize technology by building strong relationships, fostering clear communication, and promoting seamless collaboration.
to understand and respond to the feelings and emotions of workers, which helps to foster empathy and build stronger relationships.
The ability to communicate thoughts clearly and effectively is a vital tool in the workplace. Good leaders need communication skills to establish the tone of a workplace and make their expectations understood. Communication skills are also necessary to promote collaboration and ensure any communication is open and effective as well as to provide clear, actionable feedback to subordinates on performance and goals. Finally, good communication skills help leaders to resolve conflict, boost morale, increase productivity, and build trust within an organization.
In the Alyeska ropes bridge experience, participants learn to
trust the safety gear, the structure of the rope bridge, and the instructions given by the facilitators. Stutzman says, “This trust-building process is essential in overcoming the fear o f the unknown.”
Persistence and Empowerment
Determination is a vital leadership skill because it helps fuel the commitment and persistence needed to achieve goals in the face of setbacks and obstacles. A determined leader must stay committed to their vision, pushing through any obstacles or setbacks t hey encounter.
“Determination is essential for professionals because it underpins their ability to achieve goals, overcome challenges, maintain consistency, and inspire others,” says Stutzman. “It plays a key role in personal growth, career advancement, and handling
the pressures and complexities of the profe ssional world.”
The ropes course is very challenging, so participants must be very determined to make it through to the end. Jackson says, “This is the same determination needed to work through any issues you face in a le adership role.”
Outdoor adventure activities like ropes bridges, aerial ropes courses, mud runs, and others help individuals develop the focus and control needed to be good leaders. Individuals work on maintaining balance, which provides valuable lessons. “Crossing a rope bridge requires concentration, balance, and coordination,” says Stutzman. “The focus needed to keep steady fosters mental discipline and self-control. And in taking small steps, participants learn to break down a daunting task (crossing the
Guests braving the Veilbreaker Skybridges, with the Alyeska resort in the background. Matt Hage | Alyeska Resort
Completing the challenge provides a strong sense of accomplishment, which is a confidence booster because it shows participants they can overcome difficult obstacles.
Duane Stutzman Mountain General Manager Alyeska Resort
entire bridge) into manageable steps, reinforcing the idea that big challenges can be conquered by focusing on small, achiev able actions.”
Additionally, outdoor adventure courses and activities can provide participants with a sense of accomplishment and empowerment, both of which teach valuable lessons about boosting confidence and learning to work outside of a comfort zone, which are important leaders hip qualities.
“Completing the challenge provides a strong sense of accomplishment, which is a confidence booster because it shows participants they can overcome difficult obstacles,” says Stutzman. “Each successful crossing expands the participant’s comfort zone, making them more likely to tackle other challenges with increased confidence and courage.”
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Homer Harbor
Additional capacity needed at the end of the road
By Jenny Carroll
Th e rhythmic lap of sea-green waves against weathered harbor pilings sets the backdrop for a quintessential Homer scene. A boat full of adventurous Alaskans, their XtraTufs glistening with spray, heads out to time-honored fishing grounds. The air is rich with the mingled scents of salt and fresh catch, punctuated by cheers when another halibut tugs at a line from the depths of Kachemak Bay. Homer, while proudly bearing the crown of “Halibut Fishing Capital of the World,” offers so much more than bountiful waters. It's a nexus of natural beauty, productive ecosystems, recreation, adventure, subsistence, and commerce, all connected and accessible through the City of Homer Port and Harbor.
For many, though, Homer Harbor is more than a port; it's the heart of home. The maritime industry pumps life into the regional economy, fueling everything from recreation and leisure to bustling commercial enterprises. This vital hub's circulatory system extends far beyond the local shores. A vast network of transportation and shipping routes plays a crucial role in nourishing the broader Alaska economy, facilitating the flow of goods, services, and people across the region and state.
“Homer Harbor is woven into the lifestyle of almost every Homer resident,” says Brad Anderson, executive director of the Homer Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center. “Many young people had their first job with a business connected to the harbor.”
Mako Haggerty, owner and operator of Homer-based Mako’s Water Taxi, is one example. Haggerty came to Alaska in 1982 with his heart set on fishing Dungeness crab in Kodiak. While waiting for a ferry out of Homer, he landed a job on a boat berthed in Homer Harbor that was
City of Homer
heading to fish the commercial Dungeness fishery in Kodiak.
“Been here ever since,” shares Haggerty. “Homer is an easy place to work on a boat. All the necessary trades, welding, fiberglass, hydraulics—you name it—are here and close to the harbor.”
After retiring his crab pots, Haggerty put down roots in Homer and began a charter business, transporting people across Kachemak Bay for adventures he’d always dreamed about. Operating daily year-round, Haggerty now considers the Spit his second home, a testament to the harbor’s ability to transfor m careers and lives.
Many others share this love of Homer Harbor—and while there are consistent themes upon which this love is built, the list of benefits is long and varied. Abe Porter, co-owner of
Snug Harbor Outpost, believes that Homer Harbor is the lifeline of the Kenai Peninsula. “In my opinion, Homer Harbor is a major hub for the marine world,” says Porter. “The Harbor is vital to many industries, providing access to Kachemak Bay and Cook Inlet, and countless national parks.”
Indeed, the Harbor's significance extends far beyond its immediate vicinity and plays a pivotal role in Alaska’s broader economic landscape. Homer Harbor is an essential link between the Sterling Highway and the Alaska Marine Highway System. Vessels from Homer Harbor enable freight shipping from Seattle and Asia to Alaska and serve Cook Inlet; the Eastern Aleutian Islands; Lake Clark, Lake Iliamna, and Bristol Bay; Yukon and Kuskokwim River villages; and coastal communities up to Kotzebue—nearly 150,000 square miles.
Spill Prevention Control & Countermeasure Plans (SPCC)
“Homer Harbor is woven into the lifestyle of almost every Homer resident… Many young people had their first job with a business connected to the harbor.”
Water Sample Testing & Analylis • Septic System Design & Testing
Percolation & Sample Analysis • Commercial Site Development
Subdivision Design & Platting • Right of Way/Easements
Executive Director
Homer Chamber of
Commerc e and Visitor Center
Highway to Villages
As a home base for pilot boats, Homer Harbor provides critical service for cargo and tanker vessels traveling north through Cook Inlet into the Don Young Port of Alaska at Anchorage, which handles 50 percent of all freight shipped to Alaska. More than 130 remote communities across coastal Alaska also depend on supply chains and cargo delivery services operating out of Homer Harbor, including 90 traditional Alaska Native communities extending from nearby Cook Inlet to the Bering Sea.
Haggerty’s water taxi business is just one example of the crucial role Homer Harbor plays in providing goods and services to remote communities. He delivers textbooks, household supplies, fresh produce, fuel, building materials, and more—helping to ensure that critical components of living and
The City of Homer and US Army Corps of Engineers are evaluating a possible expansion of the harbor basin to improve accommodation for large vessels.
City of Homer
running businesses in rural Alaska reach the people who need them. In 2022 alone, Mako’s delivered 125 tons of freight per month from April through June, and 80 tons per month the rest of the year. Spenard Builders Supply estimates that it sends 1 million pounds of construction materials to non-roadconnected communities in Southcentral and Southwest Alaska each year.
Homer Harbor is also a critical gateway for Bristol Bay fishermen. Bristol Bay is home to the world’s largest, most valuable wild salmon fishery. Its economic benefits exceed $2.2 billion, generating more than 15,000 jobs while feeding hundreds of thousands of people. This commercial fishery supplies as much as 57 percent
But wait, there’s more! More than 177 Homer-area commercial fishermen are involved in Bristol Bay’s short yet productive six-week season, and Homer is home port for many of the fishing vessels and commercial fish tenders working Cook Inlet, Prince William Sound, Kodiak Island, and the Alaska Peninsula.
According to Frances Bursch, program manager for Bristol Bay Regional Seafood Development, “While seemingly far away, many fishermen keep their boats in Homer for storage, maintenance projects, and services when traveling to Bristol Bay through Lake Iliamna or False Pass.” Bursch, whose family has a long history of fishing in Bristol Bay, echoes others
its central location in the Gulf of Alaska and the fact that Homer’s maritime services are accessible, convenient, and second to none in the state.
“My family, like many Bristol Bay fishermen, kept our boat in Homer to work on over the winter,” recalls Bursch. “This option supported our fishing business, and the trip from Homer through Lake Iliamna and back has become a favorite adventure for our family.”
Regional and Global Safety
Beyond connecting communities and industries to essential goods and services, Homer Harbor plays a key role in regional maritime safety. As a port of refuge and safe harbor
assistance during foul weather and awaiting ice-free conditions in the ir destination port.
Homer Harbor serves as a hub for regional oil spill response personnel and equipment and as home port to two US Coast Guard vessels in support of their coastal security and safety missions. Fast-response cutters and vessels deployed under the Coast Guard’s Arctic Security and Global Resilience missions also schedule moorage for layover, repair, and provisioning. Additionally, no one can predict where or when a natural disaster will strike, so Homer Harbor’s road connection makes it essential for food security and resiliency in Southcentral.
Closer to home, Homer Harbor’s emergency medical transfer site serves a critical role in regional health and safety, ensuring swift transport to critical care at South Peninsula Hospital for patients arriving from remote communities.
Capped Capacity
Despite being Alaska's largest singlebasin harbor, Homer Harbor struggles to meet growing demand. The harbor operates year-round, providing
roughly 92,000 vessel-days of transient moorage annually, with an additional 727 vessels occupying reserved moorage and more than 400 vessels on the stall waitlist. It supports 92 freight shipping vessels, facilitates 480 piloted cargo and tanker trips each year, and handles more than 200 daily vessel launches each summer.
Demand for moorage far exceeds the harbor’s capacity. Many people, including Porter, have been on a waiting list for a stall for years. In response, the City of Homer, in partnership with the US Army Corps of Engineers, is currently conducting a multi-year study to evaluate the feasibility of expanding the harbor basin with a focus on improving accommodation for large vessels. The expansion would relieve overcrowding and congestion in the existing harbor to improve navigational safety and access for sport and private boating.
It would also relieve overuse of the harbor’s current float systems, which puts undue strain on Homer’s docks, some of which have long surpassed their engineered lifespans. Any loss of moorage capacity would negatively impact rural communities that depend on marine transportation
and cargo delivery through increased expenses for air travel, vessel delays, and disruptions in reliable, affordable transportation of goods and people.
Anderson, Haggerty, Porter, and Bursch represent a small sample of Harbor supporters who are excited to grow in tandem with the Homer harbor.
“Homer is home to many fishermen and marine tradesmen,” says Haggerty. “Without the harbor, our quality of life would be greatly diminished.”
As Homer looks to the future, the harbor remains at the center of its identity—a lifeline connecting communities, supporting livelihoods, and embodying the spirit of coastal Alaska.
Jenny Carroll is the Special Projects and Communications Coordinator for the City of Homer. With more than thirtyfive years in public service in Alaska, she excels in community engagement, external relations, and grant development to advance sustainable infrastructure and community services in support of public health, safety, community resilience, and quality of life.
Homer Harbor’s current float systems are considered overused, which strains docks that have aged beyond their engineered lifespans.
City of Homer
Down Under, Up There
Pikka’s promise becoming reality
By Scott Rhode
Do wntown Adelaide, Australia was visible in the background of the video message Kevin Gallagher recorded for the August conference of the Alaska Oil and Gas Association (AOGA). “Alaska’s geology is great,” said the managing director and CEO of Australian energy company Santos. “We love your rocks, and as a driller (a retired driller), I love the challenge of producing from them.”
Gallagher started in the oil business on North Sea rigs off the shore of his native Scotland. With his Glaswegian accent, he recounted the challenges receding into the rearview as Santos progresses toward production from its Pikka project on the North Slope.
For instance, Cruz Construction needed just fifty-seven days to complete piledriving at a horseshoe-shaped barge facility jutting into the Beaufort Sea at Oliktok Point, the northernmost extent of industrial facilities west of Prudhoe Bay. Cruz finished ahead of schedule with a remarkable safety record, earning the Contractor of the Year Award for Safety Performance from AOGA.
Gallagher offered thanks to Cruz and all the partners at Pikka. But he couldn’t do it in person; he recorded the video in lieu of a planned visit to the conference in Anchorage. He said he hopes to return to Alaska in the near future.
Welcome to the Neighborhood
When the boss shows up, Santos staff will have a new office to show him. In July, the company moved its Alaska headquarters out of the Midtown building that Hilcorp, BP, and Arco once called home. That high-rise is now virtually empty.
Santos hung its logo on 601 West Fifth Avenue, the former KeyBank building refurbished with a glass prow and illuminated edges. Inside the starkly undecorated lobby, the building directory has yet to be finished. It would show Santos occupying seven levels, from the third floor to the top.
“You only have to look at the Downtown Anchorage skyline to see another symbol of Santos’ commitment to Alaska,” Gallagher told the AOGA conference. Santos, he said, is the first major corporate office to move Downtown in more than a decade.
The renovation allowed Santos to incorporate new technology, such as a digital twin of its North Slope operations center. The company’s Alaska executive vice president, Bruce Dingeman, explains, “We wanted to make a pretty significant investment for that capability, so we wanted a long-term lease that supported that investment.”
To handle the heavy computers, battery backup, cooling, and fire suppression system, the floor structure had to be reinforced. All that serious computing, though, looks nothing like North American Aerospace Defense Command’s Cheyenne Mountain Complex or a nuclear submarine. Staff keep watch
in a bright corner office with windows overlooking Fourth Avenue and the Don Young Port of Alaska.
Screens in other parts of the office display the remote data too. “We have a couple different points through the building where we're able to watch and monitor drilling progress realtime,” Dingeman says.
Next door to the drill monitoring station, the Process Control Center is empty. That digital twin won’t be needed until Slope construction is complete. Dingeman says, “When we start production operations, we’ll be able to have (initially) full monitoring capability of all of our facilities on the Slope. Longer term, we'd like to see that further deepened.”
Cascade of Benefits
Dingeman supervises a team of about 350 full-time employees in
Alaska. That’s grown from just 3 in 2018 when Pikka changed hands from its original developer, Armstrong Oil & Gas, to Papua New Guinea-based Oil Search. That workforce swelled to 150 by the time Santos acquired Oil Search in 2021. Dingeman expects to have about 400 on staff when Pikka begins Phase I production.
Santos workers who commute to Downtown can hardly avoid walking by the neighborhood’s homeless population. Dingeman recognizes that the company now has a greater stake in the community than ever.
“It was a conscious decision for us to move downtown and be part of the solution and see what we could do to help the community,” he says. Dingeman figures that the company’s employment, which includes a couple thousand contractors, plus revenue flowing to state and local
“Pikka is only the first in an immense portfolio of resources that will be absolutely transformative for Alaska oil production.”
Julianne Lamb Geologist Santos
governments, will improve the economic situation for everyone.
“There’s benefits that cascade through the entire community as part of that,” he says.
Neighborly overtures toward Nuiqsut, the village nearest to the Pikka unit, include a new boat launch, a bridge replacement, and a new wastewater treatment plant. Together with Repsol, the Spanish energy company that owns a 49 percent interest in Pikka, Santos pumped roughly $60 million into Nuiqsut.
Through the development phase, Pikka plans were amended to account for local concerns, everything from moving a drill site farther from the Colville River to using light fixtures that minimize skyward glare. Santos also pledged that operations would have net-zero carbo n emissions by 2040.
Dingeman says, “I think it gives our team here a further sense of purpose having those goals. It helps us with alignment of and respecting the lands of the landowners and areas we operate, so it is something that's really important to us.”
End of the Rainbow
All that money is flowing into Nuiqsut, Pikka site construction, and Downtown office renovation before Santos has seen a single cent (US, of course; Australia discontinued small change in the ‘90s) from selling a drop of Alaska oil.
“You have to invest before you get to that end of the rainbow where you're receiving the revenues that go with it,” Dingeman says.
When Oil Search bought into Pikka, the company expected first oil in 2023, based on a plan to invest $6 billion and produce 120,000 barrels per day. After crude oil prices dropped in
“I think [the pledge for net-zero carbon emissions by 2040] gives our team here a further sense of purpose having those goals. It helps us with alignment of and respecting the lands of the landowners and areas we operate, so it is something that's really important to us.”
Bruce Dingeman Alaska Exec utive Vice President Santos
Whether first oil from Pikka might arrive in 2025 depends on progress during this winter construction season.
60 Percent Constructed
Not to be confused with the rockdwelling, round-eared rabbit kin called a pika, “Pikka” is an Iñupiaq word that means “up there.” Situated northwest of ConocoPhillips Alaska’s Kuparuk River Unit, Pikka has 20 acres of gravel pads capable of reaching as much as 20,000 acres of subsurface.
Before last winter, surface construction consisted of access roads and one pad with nothing on it.
Heading into a second winter, Gallagher declares the project about 60 percent complete. That includes modules for hydrocarbon processing, the well site, and connecting infrastructure.
Dingeman adds, “We've already got the pipe racks in place, and we're putting the heaters in for the crude heaters on that pad.”
2020, the investment was halved, and Phase I was scaled down to 80,000 barrels per day by 2026.
That schedule is still holding. Gallagher reported, “We’re drilling a twelfth well; six of those wells have been stimulating, and five flowed back. Our results to date are consistent with pre-drill expectations and meet the average per-well rates required to reach full facility capacity.”
Although the middle of 2026 remains the target, “We are looking at opportunities to try to accelerate that,” Dingeman says. “We'll have a really good view of that by this time next year.”
There’s also the Nanushuk Processing Facility. “That's a separate pad where all of our incoming produced fluids from the reservoir come in. We separate water, oil, and gas; the gas goes back to reinjection, the water goes into reinjection, and the oil goes to the sales line,” Dingeman explains.
The Nanushuk Operations Pad holds the physical operating control room and the personnel camp. “NANA [Regional Corporation] has done a brilliant job fabricating all of our crew quarters and operation center, and that's over 170 modules alone,” Dingeman says, mindful of sharing praise with other team members such as Parker Wellbore.
Nanuq, a heavy civil contractor owned by Kuukpik, the Alaska Native village corporation for Nuiqsut, has maintained the Pikka roads and pads, performed summer gravel reworking on the Colville River boat launch,
and supported the movement and placement of modules.
Cruz Construction won its award for a dock that awaits a barge-borne module. “That barge facility will come into that horseshoe shaped graving dock, and then it'll ballast down to the sea floor, and then it'll be encased in gravel,” Dingeman says. “That will then draw seawater out of the Beaufort and process it using nanofiltration technology. And then that clean water will be piped and injected in the reservoir for improved recovery.”
The last site, he notes, is the “tiein pad” where processed oil flows into the common carrier pipelines, and from there to the Trans Alaska Pipeline System.
A lot of movement since Santos greenlit the Pikka investment in August 2022. Dingeman says, “A few short years ago, it was just open gravel at all those locations. Now we've got facilities at each location.”
Different Extremes
Although relatively new to Alaska, Santos celebrated its 70th anniversary this year. “Our humble roots in the great Australian Outback keep us grounded,” Gallagher told AOGA. “We forged our business in remote deserts with extreme weather, and that pioneer mentality in a land of different extremes defines what we are setting out to achieve on Alaska’s North Slope today.”
Those different extremes dictate the rhythm of activity on the North Slope.
“Certain activities can only be done in the wintertime,” Dingeman says. “Cross-country pipelines for fuel gas, for instance, or fluids into the processing facility—altogether 120 linear miles— the support members were all installed last winter.” Because pipeline corridors are away from gravel access roads,
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heavy equipment moves on ice roads to avoid damaging the tundra.
Nanuq installed 1,500 vertical support members for Pikka pipelines and installed 3,300 piles on the production pads. About 40 miles of pipe is laid, leaving 80 miles yet to install.
“We have all of our vertical support members of the pipeline in, so this winter will be able to start right out,” Dingeman says. And during the summer, “Our drilling rig is running 24/7/365, and we're trying to build well inventory.”
Laying pipelines is the main activity limited to winter construction. Other operations are on gravel and continue year-round.
Furthermore, “Our processing facility is all modular; it's not one big sealift that has to come up during a very narrow window. We're bringing this continuous stream of modules up, and then we're setting them and installing them on the Slope, so we're able to do that activity yearround,” Dingeman says. In contrast to other projects bottlenecked by
single large sealifts, “Ours is more of a sustained construction because they're continually bringing in modules and setting and hooking them up during our project execution.”
With facilities more than halfway built, he says, “The end of our Phase I construction period is within grasp.”
Rising Stars
In his message to AOGA, Gallagher took a moment to praise one of his Alaska employees, honored by the association with its Rising Star award. Julianne Lamb is a geologist, formerly working for predecessor Oil Search in New Guinea and Australia, credited with bringing GeoIsotopes analysis to Alaska.
In presenting the award, Santos Senior Vice President of External Affairs Joe Balash, a former commissioner of the Alaska Department of Natural Resources, credited Lamb’s work with spurring interest in the Nanushuk formation, discovered in 2013. “The delineation of the Nanushuk formation has allowed other operators on the
North Slope to develop it and reignite the state’s natural resource and fiscal future,” Balash said.
Accepting the award, Lamb said, “Pikka is only the first in an immense portfolio of resources that will be absolutely transformative for Alaska oil production.”
Of that transformative portfolio, Dingeman says, “We've already got the major permits in place for Phase II, and we'll hope to progress at pace as we start getting cash flow from Phase I to fund that activity,” he says.
Outside of Pikka are the nearby Quokka and Horseshoe units, still being explored. “Our aim is to level load the work so that we can seamlessly move from one to the other, and then we take a really disciplined approach where we'll fund those subsequent increments out of cash flow while still returning the healthy dividend to the corporate center,” Dingeman says.
Gallagher told AOGA, “I’m very excited about our future in Alaska. There’s plenty o f resource still to be developed.”
Bruce Dingeman brought Santos into 601 West Fifth Avenue as the refurbished building's first new tenant this spring.
Committed to Alaska for more than 50 years.
ConocoPhillips Alaska and the successes of its heritage companies date back to the greatest oil discoveries in Alaska history. Today we continue our tradition of developing, innovating and delivering value for Alaskans.
Richfield Oil Co. drills the first well in the Swanson River field and strikes oil. 1957
Alaska becomes the 49th state. 1959
ARCO discovers oil in the Prudhoe Bay field.
Sinclair Oil Co. discovers the Kuparuk River field. 1969
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The Military Boost
Armed forces benefit Alaska’s economy in more ways than one
By Jamey Bradbury
Ev en before Alaska became a state, the military was shaping its economy. World War II led to an expansion of the armed forces and created an economic boom in the state, but the military was building infrastructure that benefitted Alaska’s economy as early as the Gold Rush era. Completed in 1905, the Washington-Alaska Military Cable and Telegraph System was the first major infrastructure improvement the military made in Alaska; owned by the military but used by civilians, WAMCATS (as it was called) would eventually become AT&T Alaska.
Since then, the health of Alaska’s economy has depended upon the activity of the nine military bases across the state. Between spending on new construction, growing the state’s population, and generating jobs, the military lags only the oil industry and federal spending in generating income and jobs for the state.
According to a US Department of Defense (DOD) Readiness and
Environmental Protection Integration Program report, Alaska received $4 billion in defense spending in fiscal year 2022. The figure includes payment of personnel salaries, defense contracts, and construction of military facilities. Besides directly funneling money into Alaska’s economy, the military attracts other industries to the state. Meanwhile, the nearly 28,500 military personnel (as of 2022) and their families who make Alaska their home contribute temporarily and long-term to the health of the state’s economy.
A slew of new military projects across Alaska are bolstering an economy that has been struggling to recover since the COVID-19 pandemic—plus, new state legislation promises more economic benefits to come.
Office Commissioned
In July, Governor Mike Dunleavy signed legislation to establish the Alaska Military Affairs Commission. In addition to providing counsel and
recommendations on military issues to the governor, the job of the new commission created by House Bill 155 includes studying the state’s economic opportunities within its military sector.
“In Alaska, the defense industry has long been a key part of our social and economic landscape,” Fairbanks Representative Will Stapp wrote in his sponsor statement. “[But] many gaps exist in our knowledge of how the military impacts Alaska’s economy and in pursuing growth opportunities as our nation’s defense priorities evolve.”
One aim of the bill is to grow the presence of the military in Alaska. Bill supporters hope to expand the pool of qualified candidates for assistant adjutant general—a top leadership position (unfilled at the time of publication) at the Alaska Army National Guard—and to encourage service members to stay in the state once their active duty is over.
Keeping people in Alaska is a crucial component of improving the state’s economy: since 2013, when the
working-age population in the state numbered about 480,000, more people have been moving out than in. In 2023, the number of working-age Alaskans was down to 450,000.
The Arctic Strategy
One way to keep Alaskans in state is by creating opportunities, says John Raso, chief of military projects management for the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE)-Alaska District.
“Everyone needs engineers and architects and contracting specialists, [so] it’s a little bit of a battle to keep people here. Just reflecting on my projects, though—we’re hiring Alaskans, we’re hiring locals,” Raso says.
In July, DOD updated its Arctic Strategy, which calls for enhanced US security through increased presence in the region. The document lays out plans for increasing communications, cold weather equipment, and infrastructure; greater engagement with Arctic allies and partners; and facilitating joint force training exercises. While new infrastructure brings additional construction to Alaska—creating jobs and generating income for local contractors— additional personnel required for increased military presence will spend their income in the communities surrounding Alaska’s bases.
“The bottom line,” says USACE-Alaska District Public Affairs Specialist Cameron McLeod, “is that with the DOD, there’s a lot of investment coming into Alaska.”
Interior Improvements
One joint force training has already taken place this year at Eielson Air Force Base: Red Flag-Alaska, a simulated combat training that brought 3,100 service members from Italy, the Netherlands, and the US to Eielson to fly and maintain more than 100 aircraft.
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“Those are more jobs for folks in the community and for military spouses who can get certified to do that [work]… It’s injecting that extra workforce into the economy.”
Mark Kelliher Engineer USAC E Denali Area Office
Red Flag-Alaska is just the latest project bringing more personnel to Eielson. In 2020, the first of 2,765 new service members arrived at the base to operate and maintain fortyfour new F-35A Lightning II fighter jets. The project ultimately brought thousands of construction and associated jobs to Alaska.
In 2021, the Department of the Air Force announced plans to increase its Air National Guard KC-135 Stratotanker squadron at Eielson—bringing another 220 active-duty personnel from around the country to the base near North Pole. At the time, Senator Dan Sullivan commented, “These 220 active-duty personnel and their families, combined with the incoming 3,000 personnel and their families for the F-35s, will bring a strong and sustained economic boost to Interior communities at a time when we need it.”
Meanwhile, at Fort Wainwright near Fairbanks, several major quality-of-life projects have been underway, including the DOD’s largest child development center. In addition to providing muchneeded childcare to military families, the center is doubling its childcare staff.
“Those are more jobs for folks in the community and for military spouses who can get certified to do that [work],” says Mark Kelliher, engineer for the USACE Denali Area Office. “It’s injecting that extra workforce into the economy.”
Other quality-of-life projects at Fort Wainwright include new barracks currently under construction (with several more barracks planned for fiscal years 2025, 2026, and 2027), an aquatic center, and a new fitness center.
The military buildup that started immediately post-COVID-19 and continues today makes the Interior an outlier. While the rest of Alaska has
been losing population, the Fairbanks North Star Borough has enjoyed a slight increase in population, thanks to the influx of military families. The economic impact of these additional families comes in the form of higher demand for housing, services, and recreation.
Small Business Benefits
In Anchorage, the military’s sizeable contribution to the local economy comes from Joint Base ElmendorfRichardson (JBER). Here, troop numbers have not increased, instead remaining stable—but construction projects offer a boon for local contractors and small businesses.
An extension of the runway at JBER is one of the largest projects undertaken in the USACE- Alaska District. This project, which will be completed by September 2025, joins more qualityof-life construction on base, including
renovations of the Turnagain Hall Dormitory, a project covered by a $20.3 million contract awarded Silver Mountain Construction of Anchorage.
“Something the Corps does a good job of is making sure everyone gets a piece of the pie,” comments Raso. “There’s fair solicitation, open solicitation, and there’s checks and balances to ensure [all] the work doesn’t go to the same contractors.”
USACE-Alaska District emphasizes working with local businesses through setting aside projects, such as the quality-of-life projects at JBER, for small businesses; components of the runway expansion also include a small business element.
Kelliher adds that, even with outside contractors, Alaska’s economy benefits because those contractors are hiring locals and purchasing materials and renting equipment from Alaska vendors.
Kodiak Housing
The US Coast Guard hired Massachusetts construction firm Perini Management Services to design and build fifty housing units, in the form of twenty-five duplexes, at Nemetz Park Site on Base Kodiak. The construction is meant for service members and their families moving to base in support of four new Coast Guard cutters, expected to arrive in Kodiak in 2027.
This influx of additional residents not only increases demand on the local economy but influences Kodiak’s plans for the citywide housing market.
The Kodiak Island Borough is working on a long-term plan to increase residents’ access to affordable middleincome housing, part of which requires ensuring the necessary water and sewage infrastructure. One potential solution would involve sharing services with the Coast Guard, which
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maintains its own water and sewer infrastructure near the housing being built at Nemetz Park.
“The city [of Kodiak] has that infrastructure and the capacity. But how much more can we bear in the capacity?” said Kodiak Mayor Pat Branson in an interview with KMXT. “We have a very good working relationship with the Coast Guard here as well as in DC. So, you know, opportunities certainly might arise, and the city would be open for those discussions.”
Remote Work
Any contractor working outside of Alaska’s major population hubs will attest to the difficulties that surround remote work. Remote military bases face the same challenges, from getting supplies and materials to job sites in an efficient manner to finding workers and the cost of doing business off the road system.
Still, the work must get done, and the military is investing in improvements to several remote locations. Possibly the most challenging of these projects is a series of repairs USACE-Alaska District is supporting at several radar sites, including Eareckson Air Station at the tip of the Aleutian Chain; Sparrevohn Long Range Radar Station, situated halfway between Anchorage and Bethel; and Tin City Long Range Radar Site at the neck of the Bering Strait, closer to mainland Russia than to Nome.
“Obviously, those are super remote,” says Kelliher. “Our contractors are using local air carriers to get to some of those sites. They’re using different barging companies to get the materials up to the sites, or air carriers to bring conexes out to some of these sites.” All of those efforts, he explains, put money in the pockets of Alaska vendors.
Elsewhere, Alaska’s largest USACE civil works project is taking place
“Our contractors are using local air carriers to get to some of those sites. They’re using different barging companies to get the materials up to the sites, or air carriers to bring conexes out to some of these sites.”
Mark Kelliher Engineer
USAC E Denali Area Office
in North Pole, where construction resumed this spring on the Moose Creek Dam Safety Modification Project. This safety upgrade will increase the dam’s strength and protect the greater Fairbanks area from future flooding. Other projects along the Kenai River, in Utqiaġvik, and at the Port of Nome are either underway or planned and will bring tangible economic benefits to nearby communities. And because vital public works, especially involving streams and coastlines, are the purview of the Corps of Engineers, they stand as yet another monument to the military presence.
Keeping Workers in Alaska
All this work requires workers—a resource notably lacking in Alaska since the pandemic. According to the US Census Bureau, about one-third
of individuals aged 16 to 26 have left Anchorage, most of whom migrated not elsewhere in the state but to the Lower 48. Meanwhile, the number of families moving into Alaska has dwindled.
Kelliher, though, points to initiatives like UAA’s Construction Management program as an opportunity to keep young workers in the state.
“It seems like there’s a very renewed interest and demand for getting qualified, skilled, and experienced people into the construction communities up here in Alaska,” he says. He mentions his own son, who is currently enrolled in UAA’s Construction Management program and has received multiple offers each summer to work for local construction companies—the same opportunities that could keep other graduates of the program in Alaska, rather than migrating Outside for work.
With DOD’s additional planned investments in Alaska for the coming years, there will be no shortage of jobs that could go to local workers, including those graduates.
“Money has been flowing into Alaska through congressional inserts,” says McLeod.
He adds that many earlier projects that had been identified as a priority, but were not funded at the time, have now been financed. McLeod credits support from Senator Lisa Murkowski, in particular. “She has a number of congressional inserts for especially Air Force projects this year, where we received planning and design funds to work pre-award projects. Those will probably end up being fiscal year ’27, ’28 projects,” he says.
Whether as Alaska’s largest employer or as a major consumer of local contractor services, the military sector will remain an integral part of the state’s economy.
Greetings from Washington
Authority Questioned AIDEA defends its win/loss record
By Scott Rhode
Scribbles marred the faces of officials most Alaskans wouldn’t recognize. On flyers that arrived in mailboxes this spring, Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority (AIDEA) board members were shown as a pirate, a clown, a pig, a chicken, and a devil. The only female board member was depicted as a fanged troll while, in a gesture toward gender sensitivity, the guise of a warty witch was applied to her male colleague.
What had they done to deserve such treatment? According to the flyers, the AIDEA board members are “losers” because, under their watch, “Alaska lost out on $10 billion.”
AIDEA has been in the crosshairs before. For decades, its most notorious failed investments have been talking points for small-government conservatives opposed to state intervention in the free market. The flyer, though, is not conservative handiwork; it is sponsored by the 907 Initiative, which spent the last couple of years making sure Anchorage voters were aware of Mayor Dave Bronson’s every shortcoming, until he lost re-election in May.
After the campaign against Bronson, 907 Initiative could’ve picked any number of targets. Executive Director Aubrey Wieber set his sights on AIDEA. “AIDEA has long been a pretty egregious example of government waste and mismanagement, so that was always on my list,” he says. “Most people don’t know what it means or what AIDEA really does.”
Start with the Flyer
The defaced faces are the official portraits of AIDEA’s board members. The seven are chair J. Dana Pruhs and vice chair Bill Kendig; two members of the governor’s cabinet, Commissioner of the Department of Revenue Adam Crum and Commissioner of the Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development Julie Sande; and three other public members: Randy Eledge, Albert Fogle, and Bill Vivlamore.
Appointed by the governor and confirmed by the legislature, they meet every month or two to guide AIDEA staff in the management of the authority’s resources in fulfillment of its statutory purpose: to promote, develop, and advance the general prosperity and economic welfare of the people of the state, with particular attention to creating jobs.
Although board appointments are political positions, the members are not politicians, by and large. Fogle ran for Alaska House in 2018, and Kendig is a longtime member of the Knik-Fairview Community Council, but these figures aren’t the typical targets of attack ads.
Wieber, who spent most of his career in journalism, including a year as a political reporter for the Anchorage Daily News, admits the graphics are a bit aggressive, but the point is to catch the eye. “There isn’t an interest in personal attacks on anybody,” he says. “I think it’s important that our ads grab attention to ultimately have an effect.”
Wieber’s name is on the flyers approving the message. “It was super important that everything we did was factual and was cited,” he says. “We come at things with a perspective. I certainly don't try and hide that.”
The campaign coincided with a legislative attempt to increase AIDEA’s bonding authority, allowing the board
“Yes, we're looking at a handful of projects… We're highlighting this bad return on investment, and that's not something that they can run from.”
Aubrey Wieber, Executive Director 907 Initiative
to approve debt financing greater than $25 million. In March, a bill to raise the Alaska Railroad Corporation’s bonding authority gained an amendment to let AIDEA sell bonds up to $300 million for infrastructure related to critical mineral development.
In Wieber’s view, “That’s pretty egregious as well, and I just felt like people needed to know that.”
By May, the amendment was stripped out, and the governor ended up vetoing the railroad bonding bill on constitutional grounds. However, bonding authority was hardly the only bone of contention.
Notorious Flops
In addition to flyers, 907 Initiative set up a website titled “AIDEA Are Losers.” It declares, “For decades, they’ve played Wall Street, gambling our money on risky projects backed by their friends
at the top, then quietly falling back on state bailouts when plans go bust.”
Merely invoking the names of those gambles can elicit groans. Alaska Seafood International, a $125 million venture in value-added manufacturing, sold for $25 million in 2002 to a church. Healy Clean Coal, a $350 million power plant built in 1998, sold for $50 million in 2012 to Golden Valley Electric Association and is now slated for shutdown.
“If you talk to people in state government, yes, they're aware of it,” says Wieber. “But the problem is the public doesn't know about it.”
The 907 Initiative cites a couple of other flops. It notes the $6.9 million invested in the Seward Coal Terminal, a blue steel dragon looming over Resurrection Bay. Idle since 2016, the Alaska Railroad started contracting this year for its demolition. Another example
is AIDEA’s $94 million investment in a road, gravel pad, and production facility for the Mustang oil field on the North Slope. Part of the Southern Miluveach Unit west of ConocoPhillips Alaska’s Kuparuk River Unit, the field was in production for one month in 2019; AIDEA sold its interests earlier this year to Finnex Operating.
For a total tally of AIDEA’s win/ loss record, Wieber’s main source is the 2022 report AIDEA Cost and Financial Performance: A Long, Hard Look by Milt Barker and Gregg Erickson, with additional information from Alaska Megaprojects Update by Ginny Fay. Among its key findings:
“Of the $682 million AIDEA invested in subsidizing projects since 1987, $294 million has been written-off as worthless by AIDEA’s board.”
Thus, the authors calculate:
“Since 1980, AIDEA has received a
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net $301 million of public funds to subsidize economic development. Had those funds been appropriated to and their earnings retained in the Alaska Permanent Fund, the State savings account would be richer by $11.4 billion.”
Subtracting AIDEA’s current net worth of $1.4 billion yields the $10 billion that critics say Alaskans have lost, compared to investing in the Permanent Fund.
Why Failures Aren’t Failures
“Two totally different missions,” says AIDEA Executive Director Randy Ruaro. “I don’t see it as an either/or; I think they complement each other.”
Ruaro suggests looking at the statutory language when legislators created each endowment. “For the Permanent Fund, it’s a monetary return on royalties and funds earned from oil and gas development of
Alaska’s resources. For AIDEA, they were very clear that the main concern was to create jobs, especially in rural Alaska,” he says.
Economic development is a service, like public transit or postal delivery, which sometimes loses money for the greater good.
As an example, when AIDEA acquired the Snettisham Hydroelectric Project in 1998 from the federal government for $100 million, the goal was to ensure reliable, low-cost power for Juneau.
The operator, Alaska Electric Light & Power, has an agreement to buy the whole works for $1 in about a decade, when AIDEA’s bonds are paid off. The capital city will continue to benefit from cheap, renewable energy.
Meanwhile, decarbonization of energy halted exports from the Seward Coal Terminal. Japan, South Korea, and Chile stopped buying Alaska coal because
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• Tourism is powered by small businesses and entrepreneurs
“We’re constantly trying to improve. If there’s reasonable suggestions, we’re open to hearing those.”
ALASKA TRAVEL INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION
Learn more at AlaskaTIA.org/Tourism-Works-For-Alaska
Randy Ruaro Executive Director
Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority
Built by the state in the '80s, ownership of the Ketchikan Shipyard transferred to AIDEA in 1997. Operated by Vigor Alaska, the shipyard launched the new state ferry M/V Hubbard in 2023 and completed the first US Coast Guard maintenance contract since 2011.
of global market conditions. Global energy markets likewise torpedoed the Mustang project, when oil prices dipped in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ruaro believes AIDEA can’t be blamed in some other cases.
“Sometimes it’s not an AIDEA-initiated effort that doesn’t work out. Sometimes it’s ‘we want you to do this,’ and it doesn’t work out,” he says, citing Healy Clean Coal, begun as a federally funded demonstration project.
As Ruaro puts it, “It’s not always just us making an error.”
The Other Side of the Ledger
Notable by its absence from 907 Initiative’s flyers or website is any mention of AIDEA’s successes. For instance, the public corporation pays a dividend to the state, more than $468 million since 1997.
Even the 126-page Long, Hard Look has no complaints about AIDEA-owned assets such as the Ketchikan Shipyard, the Interior Energy Project, the FedEx Aircraft Maintenance
Facility in Anchorage, or the Camp Denali Readiness Center at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson.
Barker and Erickson do express reservations about the DeLong Mountain Transportation System, the access road and shipping facilities for Red Dog Mine, but not because it’s a failure. The toll road is one of AIDEA’s crowning achievements. “It’s been extremely successful,” says Ruaro. “I think AIDEA is about to hit $1 billion in payments for that project.” Not to mention the local hire and mineral wealth since the world’s largest zinc mine began operating in 1989.
Barker and Erickson contend that someone else would’ve built a road for Red Dog Mine, so AIDEA doesn’t deserve credit.
Apart from megaprojects, Ruaro is most proud of AIDEA’s support for small businesses, mainly through its loan participation program (LPP). AIDEA buys up to 90 percent of a commercial loan from a bank and offers the borrower better terms than the private-sector lender.
bullsiphoto | iStock
Value-added manufacturing of packaged seafood meals never took off, but the factory that AIDEA financed near Midtown Anchorage has made a very nice church for ChangePoint Alaska, which added an iconic sports facility, The Dome, to the property.
Patricia Morales | Alaska Business
A supplemental report in March by Barker and Erickson counts $417 million spent on LPP from 2008 to 2023. The authors say, “For the most part, LPP borrowers are legal entities you’ve never heard of, created for tax, legal, or business organizational purposes.” They accuse AIDEA of overestimating the jobs created by LPP. The report estimates fifteen full-time equivalent jobs created per year; AIDEA’s Loan Dashboard counts permanent jobs through LPP at ten or twenty times that amount.
Wieber acknowledges that the campaign accentuates the losses in AIDEA’s ledger. “Yes, we're looking at a handful of projects,” he says. “We're highlighting this bad return on investment, and that's not something that they can run from.”
Tripwires and Transparency
The tripwire that activated 907 Initiative’s opposition is the West Susitna Access Road project (WSAR), a proposed access road to a mining prospect in a remote area of Southcentral. The legislature appropriated $8.5 million in 2021 for AIDEA to advance pre-development work.
Halting WSAR is a stated goal of SalmonState, the Juneau-based nonprofit that commissioned the Barker and Erickson reports that Wieber quotes in his 907 Initiative campaign. SalmonState opposes old-growth logging in the Tongass National Forest, bycatch by ocean trawlers, and the proposed Pebble gold mine. But WSAR is where AIDEA directly clashes against SalmonState’s environmental agenda.
Environmentalism is not why 907 Initiative criticizes AIDEA, according to Wieber. “We're not an environmental organization. We're looking at this
through a good-governance lens,” he says. “I think it's interesting that there is kind of a swell of organizations doing this at the same time, and it's not coordinated with us. I don't know about the environmental folks, but I think that speaks to kind of the need.”
Coordination or not, Ruaro sees a unified opposition. “The far left is committed to an agenda of stopping development in Alaska of any kind,” he says. “Frankly, in my view, that’s a business model on their side. A lot of these NGOs [non-governmental organizations] will interview with large trusts for funding to stop things in Alaska. It’s unfortunate, but it’s become a bit of a business model for them, I believe.”
SalmonState, for instance, is sponsored by the New Venture Fund, managed by Arabella Advisors. While New Venture Fund makes no secret of its ties to SalmonState and other leftleaning activist groups, it does not have to disclose sources of its funding as a 501(c)(4) nonprofit.
Nor does 907 Initiative. In general terms, Wieber says, “We receive grants from philanthropic organizations, and we also receive donations from individuals. We currently have an individual texting fundraising program going right now and receive probably about ten donations a day from Alaskans that are just receiving this text. They've seen our work and our supporting it.”
Wieber calls AIDEA’s focus on its critics’ financial backers a deflection from the authority’s own evasions of transparency and a straw man argument. “Our communications speak for themselves. We're not trying to hide what we're doing,” he says. “We send out press releases, and we set up web pages with information; the ‘paid for by’ has my name on it. I think we're being
pretty transparent about who's making the decisions here.”
Constructive Criticism
The web presence is all that’s left of the “AIDEA Are Losers” campaign. Wieber has finished mailing flyers. “The first part of it is done. It's wrapped. We don't have ads out there. We still have a web page up, and I'm trying to fundraise to do more of it,” he says.
He revealed no hint as to 907 Initiative’s next target, if any. Fundraising is Wieber’s main job right now. “I know that people think that the money is easy to get,” he says. “It's not. You have to work pretty hard at it, actually.”
What did the money spent opposing AIDEA ultimately achieve? The bond limit wasn’t raised to $300 million, so that’s something. WSAR remains an issue where Alaskans may express their will through democratic and bureaucratic processes. And scrutiny of AIDEA’s policies and practices might result in governance changes.
Ruaro says, “We’re constantly trying to improve. If there’s reasonable suggestions, we’re open to hearing those. But what we’ve seen a lot of so far is an effort to keep AIDEA from developing Alaska’s resources, which is what the state is supposed to do.”
If there’s one area of agreement, it’s that the public ought to learn more about AIDEA.
“We’re going to be increasing our communications efforts. We’re going to try to get facts out to people,” says Ruaro. “One of the most important parts of the effort of pushing back is to not get bogged down in a back and forth with SalmonState but to show Alaskans who our clients are: all the mom and pops, small businesses to large businesses. That’s who AIDEA is.”
A Niche Touch
Local marketing firms find success Outside by narrowing their focus
By Jamey Bradbury
An online search for “Alaska marketing agencies” returns descriptions like “grow your local business,” “hundreds of satisfied clients in Alaska,” “the local go-to.” Local agencies tailor their services to the needs of local businesses, promising Alaska solutions for Alaska entrepreneurs.
The approach makes sense, according to the founders of Orange Slice, an Anchorage-based agency that builds marketing strategies for local clients like Mr. Prime Beef and Alaska Chip Company. “Alaska is unlike anywhere else and demands a unique approach to marketing strategies,” asserts the Orange Slice website.
But a handful of local marketing agencies have found success by doing less. While these agencies still offer an array of marketing services, they’ve each narrowed their client base to a single industry—and, by doing so, they have expanded beyond Alaska to find success throughout the Lower 48.
A Different Mindset
In 2017, five years after launching Beacon Media + Marketing to serve small Alaska businesses with digital marketing, founders Jennifer Christensen and Adrienne Wilkerson were ready to go national.
hatchakorn
“We were terrified,” Christensen recalls. “Here we are, two women from Alaska going into—we now realize— what was a very, very competitive market. I wanted to stay local and serve small clients that I felt like were not being served well.”
But Wilkerson had confidence that Beacon could be successful on a larger scale. The founders decided that if they were going to put everything they had into expanding, they would focus on an industry they were both passionate about. Christensen had sought a degree in mental health earlier in her career, and Wilkerson came from the family that had established Alaska’s first Christian mental health practice. Therefore, putting all their energy into marketing to mental health and functional medicine seemed like a natural fit.
With a couple of Alaska-based mental health clients already on their roster, Christensen and Wilkerson took everything they had learned about digital marketing in Alaska and began courting clients in the Lower 48.
Within six months, Beacon had its first national accounts.
“We found that clients in the Lower 48 had a completely different mindset,” Christensen says. “We had people left and right in Alaska telling us that social media was a fad and, ‘Who even needs a website?’ It had been an uphill battle of education. Once we went national, our clients in the Lower 48 understood: of course you need digital marketing. Then it was just a case of, well, can you do it better than somebody else?”
They could. Once Beacon went national, Christensen recalls, “It was like we had done all the hard work here [in Alaska], and it really paid off.” Having found its niche, Beacon quickly began to grow.
A Changing Tide
Now an Inc. 5000 company three years running, Beacon benefitted from good timing in 2017 when it found its niche. Not only did Christensen and Wilkerson, armed with digital marketing expertise, leap into a market primed to be receptive to digital marketing ideas; they caught the health and wellness market as it was entering its boom. Between 2015
and 2017, the US
including mental health services— grew by 6.4 percent annually, according to Grovara; by 2017, it was a $ 4.2 trillion market.
Tyler Williams, too, discovered his niche as a result of timing. When the Fairbanks-based entrepreneur bought the company he would rename Mammoth Marketing in 2015, his brother was going into business for
Alaskans Fueling Alaskans
himself as a plumber. Williams took his brother’s business on as a client—and then helped him take the Fairbanks plumbing market by storm.
“We took him from nothing to a $5 million-plus company,” Williams says. “It worked really well. But then I started reflecting on my own business, and I was like, OK, we’ve got a team, we’ve got
what we do well. Why don’t I just lean into the things we do well?”
At the time, Mammoth Marketing had lost a couple of clients to specialty marketing firms. Williams recalls, “I could feel the changing of the tide, where it’s like marketing is becoming more about what sector do you serve and less about your region.”
Concentrating on a single industry allows Williams and his staff to replicate what they had done for his brother’s business, then tailor it for other plumbers.
“By narrowing our focus, we got really good at marketing to that specific core demographic, which then meant that we could develop materials and have a library [of resources] now that we can pull from,” Williams says. “That includes everything from the messaging itself, the style of images, the style of branding.”
Of course, there are only so many plumbers in Fairbanks, and in Alaska. Williams kept leaning into his niche market, which allowed him to expand his business into the Lower 48. Today, he supports three clients in-state with his specialty business Mammoth for Plumbers; outside the state, he works with thirty-five to forty regular clients.
Slater Strategies founder Mitchell Slater narrowed his business' focus to providing digital marketing to private and charter schools in 2017.
Slater Strategies
Niche Advantages
“The key to not just surviving but thriving lies in the power of niche specialization,” suggests a 2023 article from the Digital Agency Network predicting 2024 marketing trends. While many Alaska marketers have stuck with the local approach, both Williams and Christensen have thrived thanks to the unique benefits of diving deep into their specialty markets.
“We’ve grown 600 percent since we went national. If we had gone national as just a general agency, I don’t think we would’ve grown even 100 percent because it’s just such a competitive market,” says Christensen.
Beacon’s rapid growth sprouts from the company’s earned expertise in its niche field. “The advantage of going niche is that you start to see commonalities. What works for this mental health practice in New York,
some of those things work for another mental health practice in Texas,” Christensen describes.
Though each client has their own needs, the commonalities between mental health practices that specialize in medication management or eye movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy make it possible for Beacon to duplicate services client to client.
“One of the biggest challenges I think that every business seems to come up against is, ‘How do I do this for more people with more predictability?’” says Williams.
He describes feeling “spread so thin” before marketing solely to plumbers; the quality of his service suffered, he says, because he was constantly having to become a subject matter expert in different industries. “By being a ‘master of none,’ I was seeing that some clients
weren’t getting the awesome marketing I wanted to offer, and that didn’t feel fair. By making that pivot, the team became better, and our clients get better results, and they’re happier because of it, which means it’s easier for us to pick up more clients.”
Speaking the Language
The plumbers Williams serves refer him to other plumbers, not only because of his specific assortment of marketing tools tailored to their industry but because he speaks their language.
Fluency with a specific market is what convinced Mitchell Slater that going niche would work.
“When I first shifted, I was so worried that if I changed my website, I would stop getting clients,” admits the Slater Strategies founder who, in 2017, began focusing on providing digital marketing for private and charter schools.
In fact, the opposite turned out to be true. Thanks to his familiarity with the education sector, Slater began taking on more clients through referrals.
“Schools are a lot like Alaskans; if you don’t know their language, you’re not going to be in the circle. Because I can show a potential client ten other schools I’m working with, because I know the market, that gives them confidence, and the referrals are a lot better,” Slater says.
Now potential clients from the education sector see that Slater works primarily with schools, so they gain confidence that he knows the industry. Slater likens this expertise within a niche to the way Chick-fil-A specializes in just one kind of sandwich.
“They don’t try and do burgers and hot dogs. They’re so popular because they just do a good chicken sandwich. That’s kind of what I feel like the [marketing] industry has gone to: people are looking for agencies who specialize in one thing.”
He’s not wrong. A 2023 survey of 210 marketing agencies in the Lower 48 by Databox found that 90 percent of those companies reported specializing by client industry in some form. That number was up from only 30 percent in 2022.
In Alaska, the tide hasn’t turned yet. Most of this state’s marketing agencies specialize by geography, not industry. They emphasize that their teams know Alaska, and they market their services to local clients. Although Beacon, Mammoth for Plumbers, and Slater Strategies risked losing local work by targeting a single industry,
each agency created new opportunities as they scaled their specialized services into the Lower 48.
The COVID-19 Effect
Like Christensen, Slater also benefited from good timing. Thanks to the shift to virtual learning during the COVID-19 pandemic, many schools developed blended or online options for learning. As educational institutions face greater competition for recruiting students, many are looking to digital marketing to increase enrollment.
Mammoth for Plumbers has recently experienced an uptick in onboarding new clients, something Williams similarly attributes to the pandemic.
“COVID introduced a whole bunch of money into the economy that hit plumbers in a really good way,” he says. “You ended up with a ton of plumbers in the market because everybody was saying yes to home renovations and repair work. That money is now spent, so now you have all these plumbers in the market with less demand. They’re all trying to fight for a piece of the pie.”
Williams is already anticipating the next twist. “This won’t last forever,” he adds. “And when it ends, I’ll pivot to do what I need to do to get clients. But within the plumbing community, my profile has been raised, and that makes a difference.”
Thanks to the pandemic, virtual offices have become more common, and the ability to work remotely is a high priority for many employees. This trend, Williams says, makes hiring high-quality associates easier for him, regardless of where they live.
While there are plenty of good, qualified marketing specialists in Fairbanks, where he’s based, he points out that most of them are already happily employed.
“I don’t want to poach someone from a gig they love,” he says. “But there’s good people everywhere. By opening it up, I can find people who have great skills anywhere.”
He now employs eighteen staff, mostly in the Lower 48. To keep his employees connected, he uses a virtual office that allows coworkers to “knock” on a virtual door for a video chat or gather for online staff meetings.
For Slater, virtual meetings have increased his efficiency and cut down on travel. Now he can meet with clients, regardless of where they’re located, without having to drive for hours or spend money on flights. With clients located in Alaska, California, Colorado, Texas, Arizona, New Jersey, and elsewhere, Slater— who splits his time between Alaska and Florida—can tour the country from his computer, ensuring all his clients receive the personal touch.
The greatest advantage of marketing to a niche industry, though, according to Slater, is that he gets to follow his passion.
“Helping a roofing company get to build another roof—that’s just not what wakes me up in the morning,” he says. “But helping a school get at capacity, to be able to pay their teachers more, give a student an education and a foundation that will get them to that next level—I’m more excited about getting involved in that.”
The Alaska Plan
Broadband upgrade funds making a difference
By Alex Appel
Lo ok closely at a phone bill; there’s a tax added for the Universal Service Fund (USF). The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) manages the USF to bolster projects aimed at expanding and improving broadband and cellular communication. Normally, providers must meet strict standards to receive funds from the USF. But things aren’t that simple in Alaska, which is why the FCC created a special order for Alaska providers, aptly called the Alaska Plan.
“Alaska just does not have the infrastructure that they have in the Lower 48… It's a balance of how much
Alaska Communications
money you have and how good a service can you provide, and just that mix in Alaska is different,” says Christine O’Connor, executive director of Alaska Telecom Association (ATA). “So they allowed the opportunity to adjust what those obligations are based on the realities on the ground.”
The Alaska Plan has allowed the expansion of broadband and telephone services for tens of thousands of people in Alaska. It is set to expire in 2026, but industry officials are hoping to extend it and continue the benefits to Alaska.
Upgrading Alaska
There is a reason that many consider internet access a basic human right, including authorities as influential as the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk.
O’Connor says, “When you think of the modern economy, or anything you’re trying to do now, you almost can’t do it without broadband. You know, applying for your jobs, pay your bills.”
Americans rely on broadband and telephone service in everyday life: sending emails at work, researching a school assignment, talking to distant relatives, paying bills, and making plans for Friday night.
According to the FCC, “Broadband has gone from being a luxury to a necessity for full participation in our economy and society—for all Americans.”
The FCC estimates between 14 million and 24 million Americans do not have internet access. Around one-third of those don’t have broadband because they can’t afford it.
In Alaska, the number of people without service is staggering. Most rural communities, which encompasses 60,000 people, do not have any broadband service. On top of that, an additional 200,000 people have www.akbizmag.com
broadband, but their services do not meet the minimum federal standards, according to Alaska Broadband Workforce Development.
With more than one-third of the state being underserved, there is a real need for broadband and telecom improvement.
“[Rural and remote] areas of Alaska are some of the hardest to serve in
the country, where many residents lack access to high-quality affordable broadband and the opportunity to keep up with the advances in technology that Americans living elsewhere enjoy,” a 2023 report from the FCC states.
A Plan for the Puzzle
O’Connor knows the struggle of getting broadband in rural
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communities firsthand. She grew up in Dillingham, which is also where she got her start in the telecommunication industry in 2000. In 2014, she became the executive director of the ATA. Now she works with providers across the state.
One of the core missions of the FCC is to provide universal telephone and broadband service to the entirety of the United States. Per the Telecommunications Act of 1996, telecommunications companies are required to contribute to the USF. The amount of money that they need to contribute is determined on a quarterly basis, based around the number of projects the USF is funding.
“That’s where the Alaska Plan and the larger universal service program comes in. It’s critical to making that happen,” says O’Connor.
The fund is distributed in a number of ways. There is a Lifeline fund for low-income individuals and residents of tribal lands, a Rural Health Care fund, the Schools and Libraries e-rate, and the Connect America Fund, which supports rural areas.
Because of the unique environment of Alaska, there is a distinct plan for Alaska telecommunication providers.
“It’s very expensive. It’s usually in rural Alaska serving a small population, they’re trying to puzzle together all the resources that are needed when often an area is not quite big enough to support the infrastructure you need,” O’Connor says. “Then you have the technology challenges, the geography, the climate, all of this. The normal things in remote Alaska that everyone has to manage.”
Thirteen of the fifteen carriers in Alaska opted to join the Alaska Plan.
They receive a yearly fixed rate of money from the USF. This money can go toward a number of things, including lowering rate costs and investing in improved infrastructure.
Not Left Behind
O’Connor, like many Alaskans, has been directly affected by the Alaska Plan. Even though she no longer lives in Dillingham, she still visits her hometown often. This summer, she went to Bristol Bay and witnessed the changes.
“Since the time of the Alaska Plan, we’ve gone [beyond] basically voice service on your cell phone. Now we have LTE [long term evolution] service—I can stream, I can do video calls, I can do whatever I need to do with my mobile services,” O’Connor says. “We’ve seen those increases throughout Alaska and, assuming the
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MISSION
To diversify the Native Village of Eyak’s ability to facilitate economic advancement.
“Many communities in Alaska, particularly those in remote and rural areas, would continue to face significant barriers to accessing reliable, highspeed internet… We hope the continuance of this vital program will continue to build on its success and keep Alaska invested in the digital economy.”
Michael Burke CEO, MTA
Effective B2B Marketing Plans
A key objective of an effective B2B marketing plan is helping marketers connect with decision-maker
Granted, there is a crushing amount of general information available on how to best execute a B2B marketing strategy. A big caveat: Alaska is its own beast, a mix between ongoing economic opportunities and the logistical challenges that come with 1,000 miles of separation from our closest US neighbor. A B2B plan that works in Seattle, Denver, or Tallahassee doesn’t always resonate with Alaskans. This is where Alaska Business comes in. We have the tools marketers need to reach the decision-makers who do business in Alaska. As you may be aware, Alaska Business has evolved into much more than a print magazine.We have developed many strategies—print and online—to get your message out.
• Print and Digital Advertising is a dynamic duo. Recent research shows that campaigns combining print and digital ads experience 400% more effective results.
• Business Profiles are a full-page advertorial where the client controls the narrative.
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• You can choose to place a Banner or Tile Ad on one of the industry pages on our award-winning website, designed for business leaders.
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Business reaches all corners of Alaska. It’s where industry leaders turn for information and up-to-date insights. Ask your Account Manager today to present a marketing plan for you using a mix of tools that will help you make the right connections!
Christine Merki has worked in Anchorage media for more than twenty years. Her sales and marketing skills help clients connect with their target audience and meet their annual goals. She unapologetically lures clients in with her homemade raspberry jam and enjoys pickleball, hot yoga, and Pilates.
CHRISTINE MERKI
907-257-2911 | cmerki@akbizmag.com
Alaska Plan is extended, we’ll continue to see those upgrades.”
Alaska Communications is one of the carriers that participates in the Alaska Plan.
“High-cost support is critical to closing the digital divide in Alaska, continuing to increase internet speeds, and keeping internet affordable. Alaska Communications is strongly in favor of programs that offset the cost of broadband expansion,” Alaska Communications’ Vice President of External Affairs and Corporate Communications Heather Cavanaugh says. “Our goal is to continue serving as many Alaskans as possible, to improve access to education, healthcare, and economic opportunities and overa ll quality of life.”
With the support of the Alaska Plan, Alaska Communications has
improved service to clients in Anchor Point, Coffman Cove, Delta Junction, Kasilof, Klawock, Larsen Bay, Nenana, Nikiski, Ninilchik, North Pole, Salcha, Seldovia, Soldotna, Sterling, and Thorne Bay, according to Cavanaugh. This has improved service for around 30,000 customers.
MTA is also in the Alaska Plan. The company services 34,000 customers across 10,000 square miles of the Matanuska-Susitna Borough and Chugiak-Eagle River (almost the size of the state of Maryland), according to CEO Michael Burke. It received $248 million to build new infrastructure and update services for more than 31,000 of its customers.
“The Alaska Plan (now called the Alaska Connect Fund) addresses the unique challenges of providing broadband in Alaska, including its vast geography and remote
locations, ensuring that Alaskans are not left behind in the digital age,” Burke writes in an email.
In total, more than 88,000 locations have benefitted from the Alaska Plan as of December 2022, according to a 2023 FCC report. The FCC estimates it has increased the number of Alaskans with 4G LTE from a little more than 33,000 in 2016 to more than 85,000 in that time.
One of the most impactful projects was the construction of more “middle miles,” or connections between communities, according to O’Connor.
Racing Against the Sunset
Despite all its success, the work is not done. Alaska still lags the national average: when it comes to broadband, Alaska ranks 55th out of 56 states and territories for access to fixed and mobile internet services, according
to the Broadband Data Collection’s December 2022 reports.
There are still 70,000 Alaskans without access to the FCC’s minimum broadband standards, according to the 2023 FCC report.
“In recognition of the unique challenges of Alaska, in the following, the [Federal Communications] Commission seeks comment on how to define unserved and, if needed, underserved for the purposes of this next phase for support in Alaska,” the FCC’s most recent Proposed Rule about the future of the Alaska Plan states.
If the Alaska Plan were to continue beyond its 2026 sunset date or be succeeded by the Alaska Connect Fund or another alternative, O’Connor believes that the momentum that started in 2016 will continue.
“Every company is a little bit different in what they're working on, what they're able to do,” O’Connor says. “I expect that all the providers will end up going back to the FCC, like the first time, and saying, ‘Here's what we are going to accomplish. Here's what this level of fundi ng will let us do.’”
Charging Forward
The clock is ticking on the Alaska Plan. The telecom industry is looking to extend the plan.
“Right now the program ends at the end of 2026, which, when you're thinking about infrastructure planning and deployment, that's like tomorrow,” O’Connor says. “I do not expect that to happen; I just say the consequences of that would be really extreme.”
Expiration of the Alaska Plan would effectively stop new infrastructure projects. Both Cavanaugh and Burke agree that if the plan were to end, people across the state would suffer.
“Right now the program ends at the end of 2026, which, when you're thinking about infrastructure planning and deployment, that's like tomorrow… I do not expect that to happen; I just say the consequences of that would be really extreme.”
Christine O’Connor Executive Director Alaska Telecom Association
“Many communities in Alaska, particularly those in remote and rural areas, would continue to face significant barriers to accessing reliable, high-speed internet, and would face significant increases in the cost of service,” Burke writes.
“The Alaska Connect Fund has been a
critical component for deploying and maintaining robust and affordable telecommunications services across Alaska, in particular for rural and remote areas. We hope the continuance of this vital program will continue to build on its success and keep Alaska invested in the digital economy.”
The FCC is deliberating how to continue to support broadband development in the state after the Alaska Plan lapses. It is planning on creating the Alaska Connect Fund, which would also support telecommunication and broadband development in the state. There are several things that need to be taken into consideration before the completion of this plan, including what services are eligible for support from the ACF and how it would fit in with other programs the FCC runs throughout the country.
ATA petitioned the FCC to extend the Alaska Connect Fund until 2034, which would put it on the same timeline as broadband programs in the Lower 48, according to O’Connor.
“The [Infrastructure Investments and Jobs Act]… very much needs to run in coordination with the Alaska Plan and with the USDA’s… ReConnect,” O’Connor says.
The US Department of Agriculture’s ReConnect Loan and Grant Program provides loans, grants, and combinations of the two for projects that will expand and improve broadband services in rural areas. Alaska has been awarded almost $500 million from ReConnect.
“The main reason companies are able to apply for and get those grants is because they had the Alaska Plan and the certainty it provided,” O’Conner says. “There's just this… really positive alignment of these programs happening.”
Customer Service
Long-term Relationships Key to IT Provider’s Success
By Hansen Gress
Jeremy Hansen and Tyler Gress first became entrepreneurs in middle school, providing small-scale IT services to customers in Juneau. In 2005, they joined forces to open Hansen Gress, a managed service provider that provides clients with everything from help desk to back-office infrastructure support and virtual CIO—and their partnership with GCI has lasted almost as long.
“We have worked with GCI since we were 13 and the Internet first came to Juneau,” said Hansen. “I was a beta tester for the first cable system rolled out in the city.”
“It changed our 13-year-old lives,” laughed Gress. “We will forever have a warm spot in our hearts for GCI bringing blazing fast speed to our community.”
Hansen Gress works with small businesses, most of which do not have IT experts on staff. “With us, they get to tap into a full-service, robust IT department,” said Gress. “Our staff is available to customers every day and has many knowledgeable domain experts.
Customers don’t have to worry about vacation schedules, hiring someone
with a limited information base, or staffing for surge management.”
The company also provides support for early adopters who want to benefit from the latest technologies and advises clients on best practices in the IT arena. They do this with hand-picked individuals who they trust to focus on nurturing and protecting the customer experience.
“For the most part, we have the same clients that we’ve had since we started doing this,” said Gress of their “impeccable” retention rate. “When we sign up someone new, our expectation is that the relationship will last forever, and we’ve had very few exceptions to that.”
Hansen Gress relies on GCI to keep clients happy by providing the fast, reliable, affordable platform they need— as well as impressive bandwidth and responsive business customer service.
“As a provider that has a high concentration of clients, it’s important to us that our techs can work with the same person; they don’t have to go
through the interview process every time,” said Hansen.
“We think of the Internet like tap water; when we turn on the faucet, it needs to be there,” said Gress, adding that having reliable Internet is key to today’s cloud infrastructure requirements. “And we appreciate that GCI made a tremendous investment years ago in this technology to provide Juneau with this access.”
Headquartered in Alaska, GCI provides data, mobile, video, voice, and managed services to consumer, business, government, and carrier customers throughout Alaska, serving more than 200 communities. The company has invested more than $4 billion in its Alaska network and facilities over the past 40 years and recently launched true standards-based 5G NR service in Anchorage. GCI is a wholly owned subsidiary of Liberty Broadband Corporation. To learn more about GCI and its services, visit www.gci.com.
Team members of Hansen Gress enjoy a moment together, showcasing the sense of community that fuels their innovative work in Juneau’s tech scene.
Employees pride themselves on bringing creativity and fun to the workplace, a reflection of their innovative approach.
SAFETY CORNER
Reconstruction Costs
A tricky variable in commercial property insurance
By Sean Dewalt
Commercial property insurance is vital to the operations of Alaska businesses. Without it, a business would have to pay out of pocket to repair or replace property if it's damaged. Protecting these critical assets with adequate replacement cost insurance is always the goal.
Replacement cost value is defined as the value of the cost to replace the item with a similar like, kind, and quality. The concept of “insurance to value” is rooted in the principle of indemnity, which aims to restore the insured to the same financial position they were in before a loss occurred. By knowing the accurate estimation of what it would take to fully replace or restore an insured building, owners can realize sufficient protection and avoid penalties when a covered loss occurs.
Rising Replacement Cost
The commercial property insurance market has changed since 2020. For many years leading up to this decade, buildings were mostly underinsured in a soft insurance market, meaning rates were flat or decreasing and insurance coverages were readily available. Commodity prices were low, and the
labor market was good. That market changed with the onset of COVID-19. Within six months, the costs of labor, products, and construction increased to levels unseen in more than two decades. Labor even became scarce.
When an economy has those inflationary increases, there are few if any companies that are not affected by those sudden economic pressures. The insurance market was no different, and with inflationary costs came increases in the cost to reconstruct buildings in the event of a loss. Coupled with a hard market condition where rates are consistently rising, coverage became more difficult to find. The replacement cost for reconstruction of an insured building had to increase to compensate for the overall increases in construction costs. Some of these values went up by double-digit percentages.
However, the cost of commodities and labor are not the only factors. Another large cost increase for property risk comes from the reinsurance market. Insurance companies purchase reinsurance to increase capacity and protect against catastrophic losses like large natural events. Convective storm activity, hurricanes, tornados, flooding,
and wildland fires are examples of natural perils that can become catastrophic losses to insurance companies. According to Swiss RE, in 2023 natural catastrophes resulted in economic losses of $280 billion. Of these, $108 billion (40 percent) were covered by insurance, above the previous ten-year average of $89 billion. Increased costs to the primary insurance companies who purchase reinsurance are contemplated in the rate, and that will subsequently influence the insured’s premiums.
Valuation Tools
The insurance industry uses certain programs and applications to help estimate reconstruction costs. For ninety years, Marshall & Swift has been the gold standard for providing building costs to multiple industries. Started in 1930, the Marshall & Swift Valuation Service was compiled and published by Marshall & Swift-Boeckh and provided residential and commercial analytics solutions and business management services. The cost data presented was “based on years of valuation experience, thousands of appraisals, and continual analysis of the costs of new buildings.”
Josh Sundstrom
Marshall & Swift was acquired by CoreLogic in 2014. CoreLogic is global property information, analytics, and data-enabled services provider. The analytics CoreLogic uses to calculate a reconstruction cost are proprietary, but the company’s combined data includes public and contributory sources with more than 3.3 billion records spanning more than forty years providing detailed coverage of property, mortgages, hazard risk, and related performance information.
Subscribers such as insurance companies enter property information such as occupancy, size, construction type, finishes, and location. Then the program formulates a valuation in realtime for the total cost for reconstruction of that building. It is merely a snapshot in time, but the program is continually evaluating variables for construction costs. Depending on the CoreLogic product that is purchased, costs are updated monthly, quarterly, or annually.
While the program is utilized nationwide, it has had continual challenges in accurately depicting reconstruction costs in Alaska. The state of Alaska has unique challenges that anyone who has been here can appreciate. Commodity delivery logistics, lack of an extensive road system, remote locations, and a limited number of contractors and workers are not contemplated accurately in the CoreLogic cost analysis, leaving the program’s estimates undervalued. Many property claims have been reported over the years where the total loss incurred per square foot is much higher than the estimated reconstruction cost using the commercial cost estimator, sometimes by 40 percent.
Local Multiplier
Insurance companies know that these values are not accurate and have
had to use different means to bring the values up to accurate levels. While some users may use construction quality to increase the price per square foot, the user adjustment section in the program allows for a “local multiplier” to be supplied. This is the most accurate variable to change, because construction quality is subjective.
To create an accurate local multiplier, insurance risk managers and loss
control consultants are likely to analyze property losses by location to see what the reconstruction cost was at the time of the loss. This involves working closely with the insurance claims team to look at the facts and the property details. This is the most accurate way to determine actual costs to build because many losses are partial losses and are more expensive than building from scratch. However, in an
area where property losses for the insurance company have not occurred, speaking with local contractors and assessing their estimates for construction can also work.
The caveat is that, in large areas of Alaska, many contractors are already booked for a year or more in advance. Therefore, estimates quoted at the time of inquiry may be lower than the estimates provided at the time of a property loss, which is fortuitous and never planned. In other cases, the local contractors are not even available due to previously scheduled work, and out-of-location companies must be brought in to complete the work— often at a much higher rate. Add to that jurisdictional building permit requirements and multiple municipal and state inspections, and costs can escalate quickly.
Moving materials in Alaska is difficult. While barging products in and around parts of Alaska can happen yearround, many communities have frozen riverways and ports during the winter months. This creates a need to have
materials flown in or transported over snow and ice, often at a very high cost. If an airport in a village is not able to accommodate larger aircraft due to runway length, other means of delivery may have to be arranged. Sometimes the reconstruction will have to wait until summer.
Even properties along the road system in Alaska can be expensive. Some locations like Deadhorse or Tok are quite the distance from the origin of the materials and likely require overnight travel by the truck driver, which increases delivery costs. In addition, housing employees for the entire length of the build in these remote areas also comes with a high price tag, adding to the total cost of the build.
Before Things Go Bump
The best bet to avoid coming up short on reconstruction costs for your company’s commercial property insurance is to work closely with your insurance broker. The brokers work closely with the commercial insurance
carriers and will be able to assist in ensuring that the buildings are insured to value. Do not wait until a month before your insurance renewal to make it happen. Now is the best time to start this process.
While most property owners proactively protect their buildings against loss, things do go bump in the night. When that happens, it is best to have it buttoned-up. Property losses can be devastating, and the last thing one wants to think about after a loss is whether it is a dequately insured.
Sean Dewalt is a Senior Loss Control Consultant for Umialik Insurance Company in Anchorage. Dewalt has been working in safety and risk management in Alaska since 2000. This column is intended to be informational and is not intended to be construed as legal advice.
WillowRidge Construction built this custom Anchorage home.
Josh Sundstrom
INSIDE ALASKA BUSINESS
Alaska Plastic Recovery
Some types of plastic that were difficult to recycle in Anchorage have a new drop-off location. Alaska Plastic Recovery has a spot on East 56th Avenue, near the Central Transfer Station, to accept #4 and #5 plastics, such as shopping bags and food containers. The site also takes #1 and #2 plastics, as does the WestRock Anchorage Recycling Center, but without the restriction to blow-molded bottles. Alaska Plastic Recovery uses a mobile processing unit to convert plastic waste into Grizzly Wood, a lumber product used for picnic tables or trail infrastructure. alaskaplasticrecovery.com
New York Café
A historic restaurant in Ketchikan gets $50,000 to upgrade, renovate, and grow new business. New York Café is one of fifty recipients this year of the Backing Historic Small Restaurants grant from American Express and the National Trust for Historic Preservation. “The New York Café is Alaska's longest operating restaurant,” says owner Stephen Reeve. “It began over 120 years ago when a Japanese adventurer, Tony Ohashi, built the pioneer restaurant on the water side of Front Street in downtown Ketchikan. The grant will help us restore some key elements of the building façade and better document the café’s history in the form of historic signage. We want to honor the Japanese families that created the New York Café and much more of the surrounding historic StedmanThomas neighborhood.” newyorkcafe.net
ENSTAR Natural Gas
A pipeline for importing natural gas to Cook Inlet may proceed. The Regulatory Commission of Alaska determined in July that ENSTAR Natural Gas affiliate Alaska Pipeline Co. demonstrated that
“public convenience and necessity requires the diversification of natural gas supply.” ENSTAR needed approval to expand its service area to Port MacKenzie, across Knik Arm from Anchorage, and build a $57 million, 16-mile pipeline that could accept imports from tankers. ENSTAR considers the investment a precaution, anticipating a production shortfall of local gas. ENSTAR expects to have a purchase agreement for liquified natural gas by the end of this year, but the pipeline would take several years to construct.
enstarnaturalgas.com
Credit Union 1
No other financial cooperative has a branch north of the Arctic Circle, as far as Credit Union 1 (CU1) has been able to find. True, Wells Fargo has banks in Utqiaġvik and Kotzebue, but not-for-profit credit unions have been absent from that part of the globe. CU1 is changing that by opening a branch in Kotzebue. CU1 operates a dozen branches from Ketchikan to Nome as the only state-chartered credit union in Alaska. The Kotzebue branch, located inside a new Alaska Commercial Company store being built in the heart of town, would be the 14th for CU1, after the 13th opening in Wasilla this year. cu1.org
ASRC Federal
The US Air Force awarded a $146 million contract to ASRC Federal Gulf State Constructors, a subsidiary of Arctic Slope Regional Corporation’s ASRC Federal family of Maryland-based companies, for operations services at Sheppard Air Force Base north of Dallas, Texas. The contract, with potential to extend to 2031, covers property and financial management, engineering, and emergency services for the 82nd Training Wing and 80th Flying Training Wing, as well as the Lake Texoma Recreation Annex about
100 miles down the Red River. ASRC Federal currently supports the Air Education and Training Command's 71st Flying Training Wing at Vance Air Force Base in Enid, Oklahoma. asrcfederal.com
Vigor Alaska
The shipyard in Ketchikan operated by Oregon-based Vigor earned a safety award from the Shipbuilders Council of America. The industry group honored Vigor Alaska with its Excellence in Safety award for 2023. Council president Matthew Paxton says, “By adhering to stringent safety standards and implementing proactive measures in 2023, Vigor Alaska has not only adapted to challenges but has also ensured the uninterrupted continuity of operations.” Vigor Alaska is one of eighteen shipyards to receive awards by either having a belowaverage total recordable incident rate or by reducing the rate by 10 percent or more in a year. vigor.net
AOGA
The Alaska Oil and Gas Association (AOGA) presented the 2024 Industry Awards at its annual conference in August. The Contractor of the Year Award for Safety Performance went to Cruz Construction for the Phase 1 STP Civil-Mining project at Oliktok Point for Santos. A geologist with Santos, Julianne Lamb, was honored as a Rising Star for bringing GeoIsotopes analysis to Alaska. Alyeska Pipeline Service Company won a third consecutive Project of the Year for Environmental Stewardship and Innovation, this time for decommissioning Pump Stations 10 and 12. And the Marilyn Crockett Lifetime Achievement Award recognized Lisa Pekich, a thirty-threeyear ConocoPhillips Alaska employee specializing in community relations and village outreach. aoga.org
RIGHT MOVES
Grant Aviation
Grant Aviation is soaring with a new leadership team upon the retirement of CEO Rob Kelley, who led the company’s growth since 2016. Kelley is transitioning to the role of Executive Chairman.
· Gabriel Kompkoff, previously President and CFO, is Kelley’s successor as President and CEO. He spent seven years as president and CEO of Chugach Alaska Corporation before joining Grant Aviation in 2021. Kompkoff earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology from the University of Washington and returned to the school for a master’s degree in urban economics and real estate development.
· Doug Deering is promoted to Senior Vice President. Deering has been a cornerstone in Grant’s maintenance department; in his new role, he also oversees station operations.
· Cory Clark takes the newly created role of Director of Systems and Process Improvement, responsible for enhancing Grant’s technology systems while streamlining operations and increasing efficiency. Clark was previously director of facilities.
· The new Director of Facilities is Kelley Tedd. He comes to Grant with more than twenty years of facilities management experience, mostly for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Most
recently, he led a team of thirty-six facilities managers and technicians for a large nonprofit across Alaska, Washington, and British Columbia.
iHeartMedia
· Kim Williams is promoted from Market President of the Fairbanks cluster of iHeartMedia radio stations to oversee all ten stations in Alaska as Area President. Williams’ responsibilities also include seven stations in Honolulu. Williams is a graduate of Baylor University and UAF with a master’s degree in professional communication. She began as an account executive for Pacific Star AM/FM in Anchorage; by the time it became Clear Channel Communications, she was sales manager. Another name change to iHeartMedia followed her move to Fairbanks.
Ohana Media Group
· Cat Okegawa returned to Ohana Media Group in March 2024 as an account executive, and now she is promoted to Local Sales Manager for the Anchorage/Wasilla Cluster of radio stations. She was with Ohana from 2007 through 2010 in sales, and in a management role she oversees daily sales
operations to achieve business goals and maximize profitability of the stations. She has more than twenty years of sales experience, including media, telecom, the beauty industry, and most recently car audio sales.
UMIAQ
· UMIAQ Environmental, a subsidiary of UIC Commercial Services, promoted Trevor Crosby to Director of Operations. In this role, Crosby oversees developing business models and partnerships for specific service lines, such as contaminated site remediation. Crosby has worked at UMIAQ Environmental since 2019 and has more than fifteen years of technical and project management experience in geotechnical environmental investigation and cleanup. He holds a bachelor's degree in geology and a master's degree in environmental science, both from the University of Idaho. Crosby is a licensed professional geologist in Alaska and a certified professional geologist with the American Institute of Professional Geologists.
First National Bank Alaska
· A banking executive from Louisiana, Jonathan Wilson, is the new Mortgage Lending Director and Vice President at First
RIGHT MOVES IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY NORTHERN AIR CARGO
Okegawa
Crosby
Williams
National Bank Alaska. In that role, Wilson leads mortgage lending activities for the century-old, locally owned bank. Wilson brings more than fifteen years of executive-level financial and mortgage experience, most recently as a vice president at Liberty Bank and Trust Company in New Orleans. Wilson earned a bachelor’s degree in political and economic philosophy from Wheeling University in West Virginia. Recently, Wilson completed an MBA at Rice University’s Jones Graduate School of Business.
Northrim Bank
Northrim Bank hired a new executive for its C-suite while welcoming some new officers.
· Nathan Reed comes aboard as Chief Information Officer with more than twenty years of banking experience, most recently as chief data officer at Umpqua Bank in Oregon. He holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science from National American University and is a graduate of the Pacific Coast Banking School.
· Nigel Morton joined Northrim in April as VP, Commercial Loan Officer. A lifelong Alaskan, he holds a bachelor’s degree in business management from Southwest Baptist University. Morton has served on the board of the Interior Alaska Building Association, Alaska State Home Building Association, National Association of Home Builders, and United Way of Tanana Valley.
· Flori Davis started at Northrim in June as AVP, Branch Manager, at the Sitka Financial Center. She graduated from Bukidnon State College in the Philippines and has more than twenty-three years of banking experience. Davis has volunteered with the Youth Advocates of Sitka, the Greater Sitka Chamber of Commerce, the Filipino community, and Rotary.
· Tommy Atwood joined Northrim in February as Assistant Branch Manager. He graduated from the Credit Union National Association Financial Counseling Certification program and is a Certified Financial Counselor. He also volunteers with Alaskan AIDS Assistance Association Rainbow Run, American Foundation for Suicide prevention’s Out of the Darkness Walk, and the Anchorage Shop with a Cop and Firefighter event.
John Hall’s Alaska
Family-owned, small-group tour
operator John Hall’s Alaska promoted two longtime employees to vice president. Also, two new personnel strengthen growth in Minnesota and charter operations.
· Catherine Zulkifli is promoted to Vice President of Tour Operations.
Zulkifli initially served as an onboard cruise manager and later transitioned to land operations in Anchorage. After working for organizations like Disney, she returned in 2021 as director of tour
operations, helping to develop World Adventures tours.
· Jenny Johnson is promoted to Vice President of Guest Operations. Johnson worked for John Hall's Alaska throughout high school and college until she earned her degree in hospitality and tourism. After spending several years gaining experience at the Four Seasons Hotel Austin and Holland America Line, she returned to John Hall’s Alaska as a cruise manager in 2005 and quickly transitioned into corporate guest operations.
· Rebecca Fernandez joins John Hall’s Alaska in the Partnership Management and Guest Operations team. Transferring her experience in school administration to the travel industry, Fernandez supports sales, marketing, and charter and group client partnerships.
· Adam Schimbeno, a parttime member of the John Hall’s Alaska family for eight years, transitioned to full-time with the Motorcoach and Charter Operations team. Having worked for John Hall’s Alaska in summer while teaching, Schimbeno supports ground operations in Alaska and Minnesota while also building relationships with local schools, athletics, and other transportation opportunities.
Wilson
Schimbeno
Johnson
Fernandez
Zulkifli
ALASKA TRENDS
Not since Distant Early Warning Line radar stations kept vigil for Soviet incursions has the Arctic attracted as much attention for national security. The US Department of Defense (DOD) published a new Arctic Strategy in July. The first update in five years has to account for new allies across the sea: Finland and Sweden have joined NATO, completing a circle around the Arctic.
DOD spent about $4 billion in Alaska in fiscal year 2022. That’s $5,460 per capita, among the highest share of any state. Still, it’s less than 1 percent of all US defense spending, placing Alaska 30th among states.
As a percentage of the state economy, though, the military’s impact is greater only in Virginia, Hawai’i, and Connecticut (home of the US Coast Guard Academy, the submarine force in Groton, and pharmaceutical company Pfizer, a major defense contractor). And, of course, Washington, DC outranks Alaska, with 6.7 percent of the local economy buoyed by the military.
In return, Alaska embraces the military as a neighbor. At the Alaska Defense Forum in Fairbanks in August, the deputy commander of the 11th Airborne Division (known as US Army Alaska until 2022), Brigadier General Tom Burke, noted that Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson is a favorite duty station selected by new non-commissioned officers. He credits the sense of community in the Anchorage area. Unfortunately, Fort Wainwright is among the least popular choices (only Korea, California, and Louisiana are lower), but Burke figures that's because word of the cold climate spreads faster than the warm welcome in Fairbanks.
This month’s article “The Military Boost” by Jamey Bradbury details how military spending directly affects the state economy. This edition of Alaska Trends elaborates with data from DOD’s Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation report on defense spending by state for fiscal year 2022. Atten-hut!
SOURCE: Defense Spending by State , US Department of Defense | Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation, Fiscal Year 2022 | Revised October 2023
$1.3B spent in FY15, contracting in Alaska grew to $2B in FY22.
Defense Contracts by Type
More than half of contracts received in Alaska were for services other than construction or materiel supply.
Top 10 States by Defense Spending
as Percentage of State GDP
2
Defense Contracts by Service
The Army contracts more than any other branch of the military in Alaska.
Contract Spending by Fiscal Year
Navy, Ahoy!
Southeast Alaska Acoustic Measurement Facility is the state's only active US Navy installation.
Top Defense Contractors
Contractors in PURPLE are Top 49ers
$254M Arctic Slope Regional Corp.
$177M Brice Turnagain JV
$103M Doyon, Ltd.
$69M Peter Kiewit Sons', Inc.
$59M ARCTEC Alaska JV
$56M Brookfield Business Partners,LP
$53M Ciqima Federal Services
$45M Brice Engineering
$38M Environmental Chemical Corp.
$35M Usibelli Coal Mine
What do you do in your free time?
Golf… I’m lucky if I can play once a week.
What’s the first thing you do when you get home after a long day at work?
Probably veg out on the couch watching TV, I suppose.
What vacation spot is on your bucket list?
I haven’t been to the island of Kaua'i. It’s supposed to be the peaceful one, so that’s where I would go.
What charity or cause are you passionate about?
Big Brothers Big Sisters. If you could domesticate a wild animal, what animal would it be?
What am I supposed to do with this animal? [he laughs] I’ve never heard of anybody taming a wild loon.
Photos by Kerry Tasker
OFF THE CUFF
Corey Meyers
Growing up around horses near the foot of the Horse Heaven Hills in Washington, Corey Meyers rode down a different trail as soon as he got his driver’s license. Cars became his thing.
Meyers has spent the last thirty-five years at Anchorage Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram, working his way up from salesman to assistant manager. He’s been president and general manager since 2005. His tenure saw sales peak in 2014 (in nominal dollars), with more than $97 million in gross revenue, nearly doubled from a decade earlier.
The dealership also earned praise from the supplier of its Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, and Ram nameplates for making Alaska, at times, one of the only markets outselling the dominant Ford F-150 and comparable Chevy and Toyota trucks. Meyers credits the skill of his sales team, aided by the “very stable reputation” of the dealership. Anchoring the gateway to Anchorage on East Fifth Avenue, the company has been under family ownership since 1963.
With his steady hand at the steering wheel, the dealership cruises to another successful year. He’s earned some time on the links.
Alaska Business: Other than your current career, if you were a kid today, what would your dream job be?
Corey Meyers: When I was really young, I thought a veterinarian was what I was going to be… But then I tooled around with cars, and I really liked that.
AB: What’s your best attribute and worst attribute?
Meyers: I have quite a bit of experience, but maybe the worst is the same thing: I have too much experience. I’ve been in the car business a long time.
AB: What’s the most daring thing you’ve ever done?
Meyers: Running a riverboat up some challenging rivers. Like the Salmon River in Idaho and the Snake River in the primitive area where there’s big waterfalls. I’ve run a jet boat up there for fishing.
AB: What’s your favorite local restaurant?
Meyers: Club Paris.
AB: Dead or alive, who would you like to see perform live in concert?
Meyers: The Beatles.
AB: What are you superstitious about?
Meyers: I’ve got a place that’s condo number 13. I bought that, so I guess I’m not too superstitious [he laughs].
AB: Is there a skill you’re currently developing or have always wanted to learn?
Meyers: I got down to a 3 handicap; I’d like to get back down to that, if not scratch.
AB: What’s your greatest extravagance?
Meyers: Define extravagant! [Golf] is where I spend most of my time.
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