SIXTH ANNUAL BEST OF ALASKA BUSINESS AWARDS JULY 2021 JULY 2021
Eric Cole Sales Rep. Juneau Branch
Alvin Ott Product Support Fairbanks Branch
Mine site, Fairbanks, Alaska Volvo A60H and A40E Articulated Haulers and Volvo L220F Loader
Anchorage, Alaska 907.563.3822 800.478.3822 Fairbanks, Alaska 907.455.9600 Juneau, Alaska 907.780.4030 888.399.4030 Ketchikan, Alaska 907.247.2228 877.847.2228
RELIABILITY & POWER GET BOTH WITH VOLVO You can’t afford to wait for repairs or worry about your equipment failing in harsh conditions. That’s why you need a Volvo. Every machine delivers the power and reliability you need to take on any job in any working environment. Find your new Volvo equipment at Construction Machinery Industrial, LLC.
cmiak.com
CONTENTS JULY 2021 | VOLUME 37 | NUMBER 7 | AKBIZMAG.COM
FE AT UR E S 22 EDUCATION
10 TELECOM & TECH
Educating Industry
Private sector leans on University for innovation, answers
Leveling the Field
By Danny Kreilkamp
Local companies answer education’s pandemic-induced demand for tech
34 TOURISM
By Tracy Barbour
Back in Center Stage A grant program may ensure a robust return to normalcy for shuttered venues
James Evans | UAA
By Isaac Stone Simonelli
68 ALASKA NATIVE
80 CONSTRUCTION
Energy support sector provides important diversification opportunities for ANCs
Retrofits, repairs, and construction for this critical infrastructure
By Isaac Stone Simonelli
By Isaac Stone Simonelli
74 FINANCE
86 OIL & GAS
How regional organizations are stimulating growth
Qilak LNG moves forward with plans to get stranded Point Thomson gas to market
28 ENVIRONMENTAL
COVID to Contaminants Environmental specialists tackle a range of health and safety issues By Vanessa Orr
Ahtna Environmental, Inc. US Ecology
A Foundation in Power
Diverse Approaches to Economic Development By Tracy Barbour
About Bridges
Shipping from the Slope By Alexandra Kay
QUICK READS 8 FROM THE EDITOR
90 INSIDE ALASKA BUSINESS
94 ALASKA TRENDS
90 ECONOMIC INDICATORS
92 RIGHT MOVES
96 OFF THE CUFF
4 | July 2021
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
We’ve always believed in Alaska. And for nearly a century, First National has helped Alaskans build strong, local businesses and communities. Together, we can build a brighter future. Like you, we’re here for the long haul.
CONTENTS JULY 2021 | VOLUME 37 | NUMBER 7 | AKBIZMAG.COM
SPECIAL SECTION: BEST OF ALASKA BUSINESS 48 INTERNATIONAL CUISINE 48 VIRTUAL EVENT 49 ACCOUNTING FIRM 50 CANNABIS RETAILER 50 DENTAL CLINIC Wayde Carroll | Cook Inlet Tribal lCouncil
51 PLACE TO WORK 1-250 EMPLOYEES 52 CREATIVE/DESIGN AGENCY 52 FINE DINING RESTAURANT 53 FLORIST
42 COVID-19 RESPONSE
By Kathryn Mackenzie
54 BREWERY 54 HOTEL 56 NEW COMPANY IN 2020 56 TAKEOUT/DELIVERY FROM A RESTAURANT 57 GENERAL CONTRACTOR 58 PLACE TO WORK 250+ EMPLOYEES SIXTH ANNUAL BEST OF ALASKA BUSINESS AWARDS
58 TELECOMMUNICATIONS PROVIDER 59 HOSPITAL 60 TRADE ASSOCIATION
62 SALON OR BARBERSHOP 63 STAFFING AGENCY 64 SWAG SUPPLIER
60 TOUR COMPANY
64 FURNITURE STORE
61 LAW FIRM
65 BANK OR CREDIT UNION
62 PIZZERIA
66 BEST CORPORATE CITIZEN
ABOUT THE COVER Alaska business owners haven’t experienced anything like the last sixteen to eighteen months. And somehow, the artist responsible for our annual Best of Alaska Business (BOAB) cover was able to capture this period and channel it into something positive through a smorgasbord of vibrant illustrations, each with their own story to tell. You’ve likely seen his other work plastered across a Midnight Sun Brewing can or perhaps on one of the many Alaska State Park icons. Dan Miller’s work just loves to find its way onto covers —and we love having his on ours. Having Miller produce this month’s cover of Alaska Business was an easy choice for editorial and art departments—and it’s obvious why. Don’t forget to check out our extended interview with the talented artist at akbizmag.com/BOAB. Cover illustration by Dan Miller Graphics
Alaska Business (ISSN 8756-4092) is published monthly by Alaska Business Publishing Co., Inc. 501 W. Northern Lights Boulevard, Suite 100, Anchorage, Alaska 99503-2577; Telephone: (907) 276-4373. © 2021 Alaska Business Publishing Co. All rights reserved. No part of this publication June be reproduced without written permission from the publisher. Alaska Business accepts no responsibility for unsolicited materials; they will not be returned unless accompanied by a stamped, self addressed envelope. One-year subscription is $39.95 and includes twelve issues (print + digital) and the annual Power List. Single issues of the Power List are $15 each. Single issues of Alaska Business are $4.99 each; $5.99 for the July & October issues. Send subscription orders and address changes to circulation@akbizmag.com. To order back issues ($9.99 each including postage) visit simplecirc.com/back_issues/alaska-business.
6 | July 2021
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
YOUR SOURCE FOR RENT OR SALE OF ARCTIC TOUGH EQUIPMENT We have spent over 15 years engineering equipment that withstands the test of Arctic temperatures. We provide reliable, high-performance equipment to our customers in Alaska and around the world. Shop the largest selection of JCB and locally manufactured industrial worksite equipment in Alaska. esialaska.com
Anchorage (907) 341-2250
Seattle (425) 251-6119
Fairbanks (907) 458-9049
Williston (701) 774-5312
FROM THE EDITOR
VOLUME 37, #7 EDITORIAL STAFF
Your Time to Shine Right now, most of us are finding joy by soaking up summer in Alaska. More so than in most places, Alaskans appreciate every last moment of those golden rays because we know it won’t be long before the honey-hued sunlight is hidden behind the gray tones of winter. But that’s nothing to concern ourselves with today. Today we celebrate! Welcome back to one of our very favorite issues of the year: the Best of Alaska Business awards. The response to this year’s reader survey was nothing short of astounding. You came out in droves to provide praise to the incredible individuals and businesses in our state who provided comfort and security over this past year, further confirming our notion that when we need it, we’re there for each other. Right now our business community needs to hear how much their efforts to keep us employed (and safe) during a very uncertain time means to us. And in this issue they get the praise they so rightly deserve. Along with the more than two dozen categories we feature in this year’s Best of Alaska Business awards special section, we also asked you to tell us which companies really left an impression on you with their response to the pandemic. And tell us you did. What became very clear in sifting through your answers is that comfort and security is of paramount importance to you. When a business was able to keep you employed from the safety of your home, you noticed the momentous effort it took to coordinate moving an entire team of (sometimes) hundreds of workers to home offices all over the state. For those whose jobs required they stay public-facing, you appreciated the logistics involved in keeping both customers and employees safe. When you saw your favorite restaurants— most of them struggling to stay afloat themselves—spending time and money to help feed those left vulnerable by the pandemic, you wanted us to help spread the word about their generosity of spirit (not to mention resources). This issue is special because it’s your chance and ours to give praise to the many, many businesses that form the backbone of this state’s community. So while you’re out taking advantage of that midnight sun, take a moment to look around you. Notice the return of the tourists, the businesses beginning to bustle, and restaurants full-up with happy diners. It’s a truly beautiful sight to behold. Congratulations to all of the 2021 Best of Alaska Business award winners. We’re celebrating right along with you!
Managing Editor Kathryn Mackenzie 257-2907 editor@akbizmag.com
Associate/Web Editor Tasha Anderson 257-2902 tanderson@akbizmag.com
Digital and Social Media Specialist Arie Henry 257-2910 ahenry@akbizmag.com
Staff Writer Danny Kreilkamp danny@akbizmag.com
Art Director Monica Sterchi-Lowman 257-2916 design@akbizmag.com
Art Production Linda Shogren 257-2912 production@akbizmag.com
Photo Contributor Kerry Tasker
BUSINESS STAFF President Billie Martin VP & General Manager Jason Martin 257-2905 jason@akbizmag.com
VP Sales & Marketing Charles Bell 257-2909 cbell@akbizmag.com
Senior Account Manager Janis J. Plume 257-2917 janis@akbizmag.com
Advertising Account Manager Christine Merki 257-2911 cmerki@akbizmag.com
Accounting Manager Ana Lavagnino 257-2901 accounts@akbizmag.com
Customer Service Representative Emily Olsen 257-2914 emily@akbizmag.com
CONTACT
Press releases: press@akbizmag.com
Postmaster: Send address changes to Alaska Business 501 W. Northern Lights Blvd. #100 Anchorage, AK 99503
Kathryn Mackenzie Managing Editor, Alaska Business AKBusinessMonth alaska-business-monthly AKBusinessMonth akbizmag
8 | July 2021
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
TELECOM & TECH
10 | July 2021
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
Local companies answer education’s pandemic-induced demand for tech By Tracy Barbour
T
James Evans | UAA
he COVID-19 pandemic has impacted Alaska’s education system in a massive and indelible way. In the past year, schools at all levels partnered with telecommunication companies to implement technology on an unprecedented scale. From rural to urban areas, K-12 and post-secondary schools have incorporated technology like never before to connect teachers and students remotely. Technologys av v y te a ch e r s have emerged as
www.akbizmag.com
Alaska Business
July 2021 | 11
Students study before an exam in the Carr Gottstein lobby on the campus of Alaska Pacific University. Alaska Pacific University
“superheroes” to facilitate the learning process through perhaps the most daunting year of their career. Ultimately, schools have been able to generate efficiencies in content delivery, enhance teaching and learning, and create other improvements that are expected to continue into the next school year and beyond.
Technology Levels the Field for K-12 Students The public education system is rooted in tradition, but the pandemic has provided an opportunity for Alaska’s school districts to finally do something different. However, the use of technology in K-12 education is nothing new. School districts and teachers had already been relying on technology solutions to enhance instruction and provide personalized opportunities for students, according to Tamara Van Wyhe, director of innovation and education excellence at the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development (DEED). “What’s new is the pervasiveness of the 12 | July 2021
“We’ve learned that we can do things using technology in ways that we didn’t realize and weren’t comfortable with, and I expect us to rely on some of those efficiencies even as we get back to campus.” Ben Shier, CIO, UAA
technology,” she says. “It’s been a really positive thing. Technology has leveled the playing field for students in a lot of school districts.”
During the past year, individual families have had the opportunity to take advantage of fully online courses through the Florida Virtual School (FLVS), an accredited, public, e-learning school serving students in grades K-12 in Florida and all over the world. “We knew the pressure on the system would be tremendous as schools were having to move things online,” says Van Wyhe. “Through the Florida virtual partnership, we were able to offer one layer of education to students… Through the summer, we were able to provide extensive training to teachers and educators to build our own virtual school.” More than 300 educators participated in the training to establish Alaska’s statewide virtual school, and there were more than 3,500 seats for students who were taking courses, according to Van Wyhe. Alaska DEED also purchased a oneyear, statewide license for the Canvas learning management system. Canvas was an obvious choice; it was already being used in multiple school districts
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
in the state—twelve districts by the summer of 2020. Plus, Canvas offers greater customization than the FLVS platform as it allows educators to create original content. The department has extended its contract with Canvas for the next two years—although Alaska districts are not required to use the online platform. In addition, Alaska DEED has provided technical assistance to help school districts establish an online platform. Of the state’s fifty-four school districts, thirty-two districts are set up for online learning or are on the list to do so, according to Van Wyhe. The implementation of technology at the K-12 level has varied across the state, depending on the needs, infrastructure, and personnel of each district. Implementation was also impacted by broadband or internet availability. Most students had access to devices, but some schools and students struggled with internet access, which was a key concern since most students were required to learn remotely during the pandemic. The districts got creative to address the connectivity issue, from letting students check out hot spots to use in their homes to offering Wi-Fi in the school parking lot. When the use of educationtechnology tools increased, many educators discovered that they could do more with technology than without it, Van Wyhe says. At the same time, the value of teachers in the learning process has become even more obvious. “A big fear is that technology will replace the teacher, but that can never happen; the teacher will always be the most important variable in learning,” she says. Remote learning has significantly changed the way content is being presented in education. For example, in middle and high school, instruction is traditionally delivered via lecture. With the infusion of technology and remote learning, students may be logging into the learning management system to watch a recorded lecture, do an activity and then have a classroom discussion about what they learned. “In a lot of ways, students are required to own their learning,” Van Wyhe says. “They can’t be passive; the students are really having to engage with content.” www.akbizmag.com
Your Partner in Business From unlimited Internet to dedicated business support, we’ll keep your business connected so you can focus on what matters.
Internet
Voice & Collaboration
IT Services
Ethernet
Our dedicated technology consultants will not only help you identify and deliver the technology needs that will help your business grow, but they also remain available if you need assistance beyond the installation.
Contact Us Today for Your Business Needs mtasolutions.com/business | (907) 761-2699 Alaska Business
July 2021 | 13
APU senior works on his Senior Project presentation due for delivery. Not just a grade, the senior is pushing to get the ice climbing manual published to help other climbers navigate Southcentral Alaska. Alaska Pacific University
As another benefit, education technology platforms allow teachers to address the learning needs of individual students because they adapt to their level of knowledge and allow learning to continue even when students cannot physically attend class. And this can help close achievement gaps. So what will the education landscape look like next school year? It will depend on what’s happening with COVID-19 in a particular community. “Alaska is a strong local control state when it comes to education, so districts and local communities get to decide,” Van Wyhe says. “In some cases, it might look like it used to in terms of schedules and attendance. In other places, they might take some of the best things about what we’ve learned about different models and put those into play. In some places, it might feel different with the hours and days of the week.” Around the globe, K-12 schools are exploring whether students are learning as much remotely as they are with the face-to-face model where the teacher primarily presents the information. The initial indications are positive. Van Wyhe explains: “What we’re seeing right
A UAA student uses UAA's new WolfTracks App. James Evans | UAA
14 | July 2021
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
now with the data we have available is perhaps the learning loss isn’t as great as we thought it might be. It’s not as devastating as we might have predicted a year ago.”
UAA Increases Creative Use of Technology UAA prides itself on having a well-established, robust faculty development program. So when the pandemic started, the Faculty Development and Instructional Support unit sprang into action to help faculty who had been teaching faceto-face move their courses online as quickly as possible. “We immediately started having workshops with faculty about using discussion boards, Zoom, and other technology,” says Shawnalee Whitney, UAA’s associate vice provost of faculty development and instructional support. “We started to put together a program where they could more systematically think about entire courses. In March, the goal was to get through the remaining assignments… Then we knew we had full courses coming up for the summer term and fall.”
www.akbizmag.com
The university used the PIVOT learning management system to help faculty convert their traditional courses to an online experience. Some courses went to synchronous, with faculty instructing a group of students on Zoom; others became asynchronous, with students accessing material independently. The faculty response was amazing, says Whitney, who led the massive faculty training effort. “I like to say that what faculty have had is an immersion experience in the use of technology,” she says. “Many faculty who had taught largely face-to-face, they went to a much deeper level. I think, as a result of the immersion, faculty who go back to teaching face-to-face will be able to make better use of the technologies and deploy things they may not have been comfortable with before.” Moving to a heavier reliance on technology also required UAA students to have access to technology solutions. Most students who were using smartphones or tablets had suitable internet access, but a small subset of UAA’s population didn’t have sufficient connectivity or devices, according to CIO Ben Shier. So the university did
Alaska Business
whatever was necessary to remedy the situation. It allowed students to check out PCs at the library, shipped out laptops, offered access to on-campus lab environments, and provided internet access through hot spots. “Credit goes to our telecom providers for working with us to provide options,” Shier says. Another challenge for UAA involved ensuring students had access to special software required for specific programs such as AutoCAD, which is used in the engineering program. When the campus closed due to COVID-19, UAA leveraged government relief funds to quickly purchase and deploy a virtual computer lab environment that students could log into to access the software. UAA also initiated various computer and smartphone apps to assist students during the pandemic. It launched CircleIn, a peer-to-peer remote studying app that allows students to connect, collaborate, and share helpful resources. The app is gamified; students earn points for sharing notes, answering questions, and completing other tasks. They can exchange their points for gift
July 2021 | 15
cards at places like Starbucks and Target and become eligible for scholarships ranging from $350 to $1,000. The app is an extra incentive for students to do remote peer-topeer studying, which helps to create important connections at UAA’s commuter campus, says Vice Provost of Student Success and Honors College Dean Claudia Lampman. “It’s also getting students in the class who are doing well to help those who are not doing well,” she says. “This is sort of that first-level help for students who feel more comfortable reaching out to a peer than to a professor.” UAA also broadened its use of the Seawolf Mentor app as another way to help students succeed. Initially, the peer-to-peer mentoring program was restricted to first-time freshmen. As the pandemic unfolded, the university decided to offer the app to any student who wanted to have a mentor or serve as a mentor. Response to the voluntary, tech-based program has been incredibly positive. In the first couple of months, UAA had to expand the program twice. Currently, Seawolf Mentor has more than 600 matches
of students, who reflect a diverse group—not just super-star students. “It was really nice to see more advanced students step up to be mentors,” Lampman says. “We decided to expand program even in the future [in the fall] and will have alumni mentoring sophomores, juniors, and seniors.” The application of technology during the pandemic has also had a more subtle effect for the university. For instance, it’s changed the approach for administering academic advising. Many advisers are using Zoom, which allows them to provide services at different times of the day and break advising up into smaller time units to address the individual needs of students, many of whom work thirty hours a week. Tutoring and academic coaching has also changed, with the university’s Learning Commons using technology to offer these services remotely. “Tutoring has increased during this time,” Whitney says. “It’s just a matter of needing to respond to where people are now.” Lampman says the application of technology also has clearly transformed the way students have
engaged in learning during the pandemic. Many UAA students went from having mostly face-to-face courses to taking classes primarily online, and only time will tell how digital delivery has affected the way students have learned. But Lampman is optimistic, saying: “Human beings are super adaptive and resilient, but I think everybody figured out how to make this work. On the whole, I am really impressed with how higher education was able to make it work for students. I think the faculty have done an exceptional job of providing really high-quality education to our students.” Shier says it’s difficult to envision what the past year might have looked like if UAA had not had access to the kind of technology that it did. The digital transition was a “real crash course” in technology that the university in some ways had in place for a few years and was forced to test the limits of very quickly, he says. He adds, “We’ve learned that we can do things using technology in ways that we didn’t realize and weren’t comfortable with, and I expect us to rely on some of
Fueling
the industries that fuel Alaska’s economy.
Premium Products, Signature Service 16 | July 2021
PETRO 49
companies
shoresidepetroleum.com
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
those efficiencies even as we get back to campus.”
Expansion of Technology at APU Like most post-secondary schools, Alaska Pacific University (APU) had already been employing technology to deliver many of its classes. But the pandemic made online classes an instant necessity for virtually all courses, so APU’s IT department quickly worked with technology vendors to make the digital transition happen. The university added network appliances and internet capacity to enhance connectivity for faculty, staff, and students. It also provided additional equipment like microphones and web cams so faculty and staff could continue providing quality courses. Having more online classes during the pandemic has had a direct impact on the learning process for APU students, says Director of the Institute of Business and Public Policy Yaso Thiru. Students have become more self-directed, and there is greater flexibility for different learning styles, whether it’s listening to and watching lectures or reading and
Alaska Department of Education and Early Development provides technical assistance to help school districts establish an online platform. Of the state’s fifty-four school districts, thirty-two are set up for online learning or are on the waitlist. Alaska Pacific University
With financial tools for every stage of your adventure, we’re helping you live
Build the Alaskan life you’ve always imagined. Join us today. cu1.org / 907.339.9485 www.akbizmag.com
Insured by NCUA Alaska Business
July 2021 | 17
“What we’re seeing right now with the data we have available is perhaps the learning loss isn’t as great as we thought it might be. It’s not as devastating as we might have predicted a year ago.” Tamara Van Wyhe Director of Innovation and Education Excellence Alaska Department of Education and Early Development
Signage around the UAA Campus with information about prevention measures in response to the spread of COVID-19. James Evans | UAA
self-study. “Technology is pushing us to use all these different approaches,” says Thiru, a professor of accounting and management at APU. “In some ways it’s a blessing for meeting the needs of all types of learners.” Thiru adds: “In many ways, the pandemic also provided an opportunity for not only students to learn differently and to continue to be in school but it provides ways for us who were teaching to share what we learned. There were many workshops where we shared best practices.” Although the pandemic is a negative event, Thiru says it demonstrated everyone’s resilience—it made people collaborate more, figure out solutions, and make things work. Technology has also provided a convenient solution that has enabled students to continue to participate in school despite the disruption caused by COVID-19. She says: “All of our students were able to meet their graduation deadline in spite of this year of struggle, so that says a lot. Thanks to technology, it made it possible for us to do what we’ve always done.” Thiru says she expects to see an even greater application of technology in 18 | July 2021
education going forward. She says, “In general, I strongly believe this will be more of a trend in the future.”
Telecoms Partner with Schools Telecommunications companies also devised creative solutions to meet the increased demand for technologysupported education. Last spring when it became obvious that schools would have to make major adjustments, GCI immediately reached out to help. “Our districts told us they needed to get the students at home connected to the school, so students could get resources to do homework, interact with teachers, and interact as much as possible the way they did in the classroom,” says Jason Tomberlin, senior director of the education team at GCI. GCI leveraged the connectivity of its existing infrastructure—cable modems, DSL, and wireless—to provide internet access to homes in the school districts it serves around the state. “What inevitably happened is we provided a cable modem using our connectivity, but we are feeding a different internet connection at home the same as they would have at the schools,” Tomberlin explains.
The service, called Local Access, provides students with the same basic level of connectivity, filtering, and protection they would receive at school. Local Access, which was paid for by the schools, cost an average of $15 per household. GCI was determined to find a financially feasible solution for the schools, which had not budgeted for a pandemic but had to rapidly transition to online learning. “Initially, we gave free services upfront,” Tomberlin says. “That was the ‘leg’ while we were getting these products and solutions figured out, and we back filled with this very inexpensive solution.” Many school districts would like to continue using GCI’s basic internet option, which should be feasible for the company to maintain in the future, Tomberlin says. GCI intends to continue working to optimize its services to meet the challenges of teachers and students throughout Alaska. “We’re not done,” he says. “We have lots of projects to change and improve the way we deliver services.”
ASTAC Focuses on Connecting the Slope When the pandemic hit, Arctic Slope Telephone Association
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
Cooperative (ASTAC) also quickly expanded its services to meet the increased demand of its customers. ASTAC enhanced its solutions in a few key areas—from mobile, residential, and business networks to Wi-Fi—and made other helpful adjustments. “We increased bandwidth and we forgave different costs because we knew the need was out there across the North Slope to make sure everybody stayed connected,” says COO Brian DeMarco. DeMarco points out that ASTAC was among a number of telecoms that modified their services to respond to the unprecedented needs of Alaskans during the pandemic. “As operators and carriers, we came together and provided reliable bandwidth to make sure we got people through these challenging times,” he says. ASTAC’s technology services allow students to access educational resources remotely in each of the eight North Slope communities it serves. It was especially critical for ASTAC to increase bandwidth for the North Slope Borough School District and Iļisaġvik College, located in Utqiaġvik. In addition, ASTAC supports a variety of schoolrelated events that rely heavily on technology, including the Battle of the Books. The fun, online competition is a springboard that gets students excited about learning, and it serves as an important foundation whether they go on to attend a trade school or college, DeMarco says. ASTAC has been the sole sponsor of the Battle of the Books for the past seven years, donating $15,000 annually to help cover the cost of books, T-shirts, and trophies. “We’re very proud of our sponsorship and participation,” DeMarco says. “We’re even more proud that we’re able to bring internet to the community and provide that service so these types of events can be a reality.” In general, DeMarco says he believes that technology has become the thread that connects people together, and it should be available to everybody. “Our goal is to put that technology in everybody’s hands so that everybody can be connected,” he says. www.akbizmag.com
Providing Alaska with experienced professionals and specialized equipment to handle your environmental service needs. • • • • •
Industrial Tank Cleaning Waste Treatment, Recycling, and Disposal Confined Space Entry and Cleaning Decontamination Hydro Excavation Services, Liquid Vacuum Truck Services • Transportation, Frac Tanks, Waste Containers • Settling Pond, Oil Water Separator and Sump Cleaning
(907) 258-1558 Alaska Business
July 2021 | 19
MTA Fills Technology Gaps in the Valley
Stephen Yi studies in UAA's Consortium Library, which has remained open to students and researchers during the COVID-19 pandemic. James Evans | UAA
Page Brennan, right, head of instruction and research services, and Lorelei Sterling, left, interim head of access services, outside UAA's Consortium Library, which has remained open to students and researchers during the COVID-19 pandemic. James Evans | UAA
20 | July 2021
T he entire Mat-Su communit y needed internet to stay connected during the pandemic, with student s as one of the groups in most urgent need of a reliable connection, according to Wanda Tankersley, COO of Matanuska Telephone A ssociation (MTA ). So MTA felt it was impor tant to look at the more vulnerable members of the communities who couldn’t afford internet and struggle to get technology like laptops but still had young children needing to learn. “ It ’s almost impossible to learn in today’s world without the internet, so this was an urgent mat ter,” she says . Ultimately, MTA initiated a program with the Mat-Su Borough School District and Mat-Su Health Foundation where it reached out to families—identified by the district as those that didn’t have any internet— and set them up with reduced-cost internet service, ensuring students’ connectivity for online education. This was another step in MTA’s continued closing of the digital divide that had been further exposed in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Tankersley. Prior to this, MTA installed temporary Wi-Fi locations that appeared throughout the Mat-Su area in 2020 and provided connections for any MatSu students who needed it earlier in the pandemic. “MTA’s mindset is that it’s incumbent upon all of us to do everything in our power to make sure all Alaskans have access to a reliable, high-speed internet connection and to help instill the skills and knowledge to do great things with it,” Tankersley says. “Whether it’s related to the pandemic or not, our hope is that MTA can continue to fill gaps in the digital divide until there are no more gaps to fill. Through wildfires, earthquakes, and most recently the pandemic, we’re always ready to jump in and adjust our services to focus on what the community needs at that time, and that’s what we’ll continue to do regardless of what crises may lie ahead.”
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
HELP TURN POTENTIAL INTO POSSIBILITY.
Offer employees the benefit of Alaska 529 Workplace. A convenient way for employees to save for education. SAVE IN ALASKA. STUDY ANYWHERE. 1-844-529-5290
| Alaska529plan.com/Workplace
Go online or call the number listed above to request a Plan Disclosure Document, which includes investment objectives, risks, fees, expenses, and other information. You should read the Plan Disclosure Document carefully before investing. | Offered by the Education Trust of Alaska. T. Rowe Price Investment Services, Inc., Distributor/Underwriter. 202103-1575061
E D U C AT I O N
ACEP's Erin Whitney and Chris Pike with a solar panel in the Energy Technology Facility at the UAF campus. Amanda Byrd | ACEP
B
Educating Industry
Private sector leans on University for innovation, answers By Danny Kreilkamp
22 | July 2021
ack in April, Alaska Business explored some exciting developments in the state’s geothermal industry. In “Heating Up,” we spoke with Gwen Holdmann, who is not only one of Alaska’s most respected thought leaders on geothermal but also the director of UAF’s Alaska Center for Energy and Power (ACEP). Our conversation ran the gamut from early versions of Organic Rankine cycle generators to the steps necessary for developing a national energy strategy. At one point, Holdmann touched on a previous project at Pilgrim Hot Springs where her team at ACEP combined basic thermal imaging with a novel data processing technique that offered a more comprehensive look at the area’s geothermal resources. She noted that by using this method, her team was able to identify thermal signatures that were well away—almost a mile—from the primary hot spring area. “And that’s the first time we’ve identified that the overall footprint of that system is much larger than just the signature at the surface.” This finding served as the groundwork for their 2013 project, and based on the overall results of their research, a power purchase agreement was signed between the City of Nome, the landowner, and a private developer regarding a 2 megawatt power plant. The project is still in the works today. The importance of projects like these, and their applications to Alaska industry, can’t be understated. “People don’t always understand the value of research being conducted at the University. I come from an industry background and I really value what the University can contribute. This is a perfect example of innovation and
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
innovative techniques that were pioneered by the University that were then used by private sector to make development decisions,” says Holdmann. And it turns out—there’s plenty more where that came from.
‘In a Nutshell’ ACEP is an applied energy research program based at UAF. It was formed over a decade ago with a vision of leveraging university resources and expertise to help solve pressing issues facing Alaska’s energy sector. The program has grown to include more than sixty researchers, staff, and students, and continues to serve as an invaluable resource for the state. In a nutshell (which also doubles as the title of ACEP’s latest marketing campaign that consists of a dozen videos detailing recent projects)— ACEP is keeping Alaska’s energy industry competitive. As Holdmann puts it in her own two-minute clip, the program “is working with our communities and our industries in Alaska to innovate in ways that continue to keep Alaska at the forefront of our energy transition.”
One of the most striking features about ACEP is the sheer number of partnerships they’ve been able to cultivate over what’s been a relatively brief existence. From countless state organizations to establishments like Stanford and the University of Washington, the Fairbanks institution is making waves on a national level. But their influence isn’t just limited to academic circles. Nor is it falling on deaf ears. “We try very hard to be an objective third party entity that doesn’t advocate for policy but provides good technical support to help people make decisions,” says Erin Whitney, ACEP’s director of the Solar Technologies Program. “That’s very different from a nonprofit advocacy organization, for example. And that’s a very fine line that we have to walk; and we walk it very carefully and very consciously.” ACEP experiences a great deal of outreach from industry representatives that are either seeking expertise directly or hoping to be pointed in the direction of past partners that might be able to help. But these partnerships can materialize in other ways as well.
“We also meet people at conferences, and a big part of our job is staying abreast of what the developments are and who the players are,” says Whitney. “And that involves making sure we participate in the right forums, get our research out there, and are contributing in a way that adds value to society.” One of Whitney’s and the Solar Technologies team’s latest projects has them involved in a multistakeholder collaboration with Sandia National Laboratories, research partners in northern Michigan, and Renewable IPP—a local company that develops, builds, and operates utility scale solar farms. The goal of the project is to test new snow-shedding coatings to be used on solar panels. Alaska and Michigan were chosen as the field sites due to their similar climates and common element of heavy snow fall. “As part of our field work, we had to find places to test those coatings, and that’s where we’ve formed this great partnership with Renewable IPP to apply the coatings and test them on some of the panels at their Willow array,” she explains.
ACEP's Erin Whitney and Chris Pike talk with Renewable IPP's Jennifer Miller and Christopher Colbert in front of the Willow Solar Farm. Amanda Byrd | ACEP
www.akbizmag.com
Alaska Business
July 2021 | 23
ACEP's Energy Technology Facility operates on the same scale as an Alaska village power plant and is capable of testing a wide range of microgrid generation scenarios. Amanda Byrd | ACEP
Whitney says partnering with local companies like IPP helps the University stay connected to the industry’s current concerns, needs, and priorities. The project is coming up on three years now. “There's lot of considerations and modeling that's gone into this: do these work, are they economically feasible, can they be applied on a large scale, what characteristics do we need… And that's research; it's never as simple as you think it is once you get into it.” While they don’t have anything ready to go to market tomorrow, Whitney says they’ve gathered some valuable information—not only about the coating tech but about Alaska’s suitability as an environment for solar. “We do see shedding characteristics in different temperature regimes for the coatings. At certain temperatures the coatings seem to shed snow better than at other temperatures, which is sort of an unexpected and not necessarily favorable outcome. Obviously, you’d like it to shed snow all the time. But the nuance here is that snow falls at a variety of temperatures and it has a variety of humidity levels— all those factors influence how snow bonds to surfaces. “We’ve certainly learned some very interesting things about coating 24 | July 2021
characteristics, and what works and what doesn’t, and how to potentially design a better coating moving forward in the future. Or maybe apply a totally different strategy: maybe we could heat the backside of the panel, and would that be cheaper economically than trying to coat every panel instead?” On Alaska’s climate and overall solar potential, she adds: “We have some really interesting performance characteristics of solar panels up here. Our solar panels can be mounted at a steeper angle than elsewhere in the United States because of our sun angles.” Ground snow coverage can even reflect sunlight back onto the solar panel’s surface if mounted steeply enough, she adds. “And that’s sort of a double whammy of sunlight on those solar panels. And so we actually see very high solar production in the spring months; you’ve got colder temperatures, reflection from snow cover, and a lot more sunlight in that April/May timeframe. "Our crazy sun angles also give rise to thinking about totally new configurations of solar panels, like vertical panels, because we have such high solar azimuth angles. And so there’s just a lot of very different and creative things we can do up here—and
the price has come down enough that it’s economically viable.” UAF and ACEP regularly contribute a wealth of publications that help guide private sector decision making. The Solar Technologies Program’s Solar Installation Database is particularly useful. It provides all the pertinent details of facility-scale installation systems across the state. “It’s a living document that we invite updates, corrections, and additions to,” says Whitney. Their annual Railbelt Net Metering Update is another example. Net metering is a utility program that offers rebates to grid-connected customers who have installed distributed generation systems such as solar or wind. “Both of these materials—the Railbelt Net Metering Update and the Solar Installation Database—are great benchmarks for the solar industry up here. They give them an indication of where the industry is at in regard to rates of installation, it helps inform things like the net metering cap, and it fuels the discussion about whether that cap should be raised or not.”
Different Departments, Same Mission Identifying rare minerals, like those used in renewable energy applications and other electronic technologies,
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
FORTIFY
your business
with a centralized security dashboard and insights from a global intelligence team FORTIFY your business with AT&T Cybersecurity. Learn more at att.com/cybersecurity ©2020 AT&T Intellectual Property. All Rights Reserved.
ACEP's solar photovoltaic test site located on the UAF campus. Amanda Byrd | ACEP
“It’s a goal for the university to support industrial applications and to help industry and help Alaska’s economy. It’s our goal to help more and to get more involved.” Martin Stuefer HyLab Director UAF’s Geophysical Institute
26 | July 2021
can be difficult in a state as vast and geologically diverse as Alaska. That’s where hyperspectral imaging comes in. And UAF’s Geophysical Institute has the only hyperspectral imaging facility in the state: HyLab. Hyperspectral imaging (also known as imaging spectroscopy) is an advanced remote sensing technique that analyzes a wide spectrum of light, allowing researchers to measure rather than simply observe from a distance. The technology makes it possible to detect and identify individual minerals in an exposed surface. Specifically, the Geophysical Institute’s HyLab uses airborne cameras and ground spectrometers to provide detailed maps of an area’s geologic profile. These maps can aid mining experts with their exploration efforts, providing them a more complete picture of an area’s make up. Alaska has been identified by the US Geological Survey as having “high potential” for containing strategic and critical elements like
rare-earth metals. But it continues to be hindered by its challenging geographic environment. The US Geological Survey also states that hyperspectral imaging can help by its ability to rapidly acquire data about the distributions of surficial materials, including different types of bedrock and ground cover. Robert McCoy, director of the Geophysical Institute, believes the technology has enormous potential to identify regions rich in critical materials. “Scientists in the Geophysical Institute’s HyLab are ready to work with industry to help find these valuable resources,” he said in a recent press release. And while HyLab’s headquarters might be a few doors down from ACEP, the overarching mission remains the same. “It’s a goal for the university to support industrial applications and to help industry and help Alaska’s economy,” says HyLab Director Martin Stuefer. “It’s our goal to help more and to get more involved.”
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
Danicia Shiryayev
Mike Huston
Commercial Loan Officer
Chief Lending Officer
W E B A NK ON A L A SK A NS When Alaskans were met with COVID-related challenges, Northrim provided Superior Customer First Service to businesses throughout the state by quickly and efficiently processing thousands of Paycheck Protection Program loans. Because powering Alaska businesses with customized solutions is what we do. See how we can help you achieve more.
O
E N V I R O N M E N TA L
ver the last two years, individuals and businesses have started to pay a lot more attention to keeping their spaces clean— something that, because of COVID-19, took on more importance than ever. And while it’s become commonplace to see cashiers wiping down grocery store conveyor belts and restaurant staff disinfecting seating areas, there are some industries that have always had to put cleanliness and sanitation first for the health of their employees and the general public. To this end, companies in a variety of fields—from gas stations to energy companies to cruise lines to military bases to air cargo companies and more—hire HSE (health, safety, and environment) specialists or environmental services companies to keep their facilities clean. Not only is this work challenging—imagine the labor involved in cleaning a 24,000-gallon fuel tank—but it can also be dangerous. “Our job is to find safe ways to perform work on unique jobs in hazardous conditions,” explains Brock Nelson, a field foreman for US Ecology, of the company’s many responsibilities that range from cleaning small or large fuel tanks to dealing with paints, PCBs, POL (petroleum, oil, and lubricant) contaminants, and hazardous waste. “We also provide a safe and environmentally friendly way to dispose of and recycle waste streams with the least amount of impact on the environment and clean up spills to help restore the environment back to its original state,” adds US Ecology’s Operations Manager Zach Hamilton.
COVID to Contaminants
Environmental specialists tackle a range of health and safety issues By Vanessa Orr
US Ecology
Safety First While most people try to avoid dealing with hazardous chemicals or putting themselves in situations where they have to mitigate environmental issues, those who do work in the field know the importance of keeping employees safe. “There are a lot of potential hazards on job sites, but probably the biggest issue is exposure due to equipment or PPE [personal protective equipment] failure,” says Hamilton. “Tears and punctures in PPE can lead to inhalation hazards, as well as the risk of absorbing toxins through the eyes and skin.
“This is why our health and safety measures are so stringent—anything that we can think of that could happen, we prepare for,” he adds. Pre-planning is key when it comes to identifying and mitigating risk. “Health and safety is our top priority, so before every task or job, a job hazard assessment is filled out, and we hold tailgate meetings so that everyone involved has an understanding of the hazards and the plan before the work day starts,” says Nelson. “Our health and safety professionals evaluate each job before sending anyone in to do the work, so all hazards are considered before work is performed,” he continues. “And we all have the authority to stop work at any time to reevaluate tasks if someone feels something has changed during the job.” If employees are working in an area that is known to have heavy concentrations of lead, for example, employees are monitored throughout the entire job and are pulled from the site if increased lead elevations are detected. “All of our employees also undergo a yearly physical to ensure their health and to make sure that nothing has changed with that employee,” adds Hamilton. While some hazards—such as fuel spills—can easily be seen, others, like the COVID-19 virus, cannot. “At the beginning, everyone was kind of panicked,” says Nelson of the virus that required businesses to decontaminate their facilities and institute strict cleaning protocols to keep employees safe. “We treated it like any other biological hazard, wearing full face respirators, hazmat suits, and rubber gloves—and making sure that all of the seams were closed.” Wearing full PPE, US Ecology staff sprayed down floors and hightouch areas such as bathrooms with Shockwave, an EPA-registered disinfectant, sanitizer, and cleaner designed for use on various surfaces subject to microbial contamination. It also installed fogging machines for commercial warehouses to decontaminate larger areas. After decontamination, the company followed strict CDC protocols to www.akbizmag.com
An Alaska (Business) Experience—Anytime, Anywhere Take the 49th State’s business world with you anywhere you go with a FREE 1-year digital subscription to Alaska Business that includes: • Each monthly issue delivered by email • Access to digital edition archives • Exclusive digital edition content • The weekly Monitor newsletter
akbizmag.com/subscribe Promo Code: SUMMER21
Alaska Business
July 2021 | 29
US Ecology employees taking part in a hazardous waste clean-up. US Ecology
insure that the contaminated PPE was disposed of properly. This caution extended to US Ecology’s own offices, where social distancing was required and training class sizes were limited. “We did have to change the way we practiced using equipment in the training classes; you couldn’t have one person using a mask and then passing it on to the next guy,” says
Nelson, who added that they instituted more stringent cleaning procedures and also checked everyone’s temperature daily. While things have calmed since the start of the pandemic, US Ecology still receives client requests to keep facilities COVID-19-free. “At the pandemic’s peak, we were getting calls around the clock,” says Nelson. “Now we get one every couple of weeks to
provide decontamination services of this nature. But dealing with a biological hazard at that level—that was definitely a first for us.”
Identifying Hazards Approximately 50 percent of US Ecology’s projects are planned, such as tank cleanings, and the other half are in response to emergencies, such as a fuel tanker spill.
Nothing unites us like doing good together.
Join us August 21 and make a difference.
FairbanksHeartWalk.org 30 | July 2021
Live Fierce. Take Action. sponsor:
Proudly presented by:
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
“Depending on what the issue is, we determine how best to attack it,” says Nelson, adding that in a chemical spill, for example, the toxin must first be identified. “Most transport companies carry manifests that have everything documented, so Safety Data Sheets [SDS] are the first identifier that we ask for when we show up,” says Nelson of these OSHA documents that are required for hazardous products or chemicals. The SDS includes information on the properties of each chemical; the physical, health, and environmental health hazards; and protective measures and safety precautions for handling, storing, and transporting them. It also includes emergency control measures. “For example, if a trailer comes in leaking a clear liquid, we would first ask for all of the safety data sheets for the trailer, and then compare those listings with what we can see and monitor,” says Hamilton. “If there is more than one chemical on the trailer, this helps us eliminate chunks of other hazards. If the liquid is not identifiable, or there is
no SDS, we go in under a much higher level of PPE.” Whether dealing with a planned or unplanned event, the company follows rigorous protocols when working at a site. This includes utilizing 5 gas meters, which detect combustible gases in LEL (lower explosive limit) and/or volume percentage range, oxygen, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, sulfur dioxide, ammonia, chlorine, and VOCs (volatile organic compounds), among other hazardous materials. “This helps us not only determine what we’re dealing with but how long we can be in the area based on exposure limits, what type of air or ventilation system we need to use—such as pneumatic or explosion-proof fans—what PPE we need to wear, and any other type of specialized equipment that is required for that contaminant,” says Nelson. In some cases, technology can even be used to clean a site without requiring a human to be placed in harm’s way. The GamaJet GobyJET portable pump system, for example, is a “manless” entry cleaning system that uses global indexing patterns to provide 360 degree
tank cleaning, eliminating the need for confined space entry. Technology has also helped with the equipment that HSE professionals wear while working onsite; while selfcontained breathing apparatus air tanks used to be heavy and hold only 30 minutes of air, they are now lighter and have increased air capacity. Meters are also now more user-friendly, work more quickly, and are more reliable than previous incarnations.
Removing the Waste While identifying and mitigating an ecological or human hazard can be a challenge, so can its disposal, especially in Alaska, where more stringent regulations don’t allow for certain kinds of waste in the state’s landfills. “Depending on the type of waste, it goes to various disposal facilities throughout the country such as landfills, incinerators, and recyclers,” says Hamilton, adding that this waste is transported by highway, over water, and sometimes by air. “All shipments are made using DOT-approved shipping papers such as bill of ladings, hazardous waste manifests, non-hazardous
Central Environmental Inc. The Solutions Company - When experience meets ingenuity • Safe, cost effective solutions to the most challenging projects • From the Arctic to the Gulf Coast • Full facility removal, asbestos, remediation, waste management, demolition and site work
CEI I The Solutions Company
Locations: Anchorage I Fairbanks I Las Vegas I Los Angeles 888-876-0125 I www.cei-alaska.com I #centralenvironmentalinc www.akbizmag.com
Alaska Business
July 2021 | 31
US Ecology staff taking part in Level C PPE shipping container decontamination. US Ecology
waste manifests, and dangerous goods declarations for air transport, depending on how it is regulated.” While some materials must be completely disposed of, others, like fuel and oil, can be recycled. “Because technology has changed a lot, we are now able to recycle things that we couldn’t before,” says Nelson. “For example, we use Dolphin separation equipment to drop the sludge and water out of oils so that we can turn around and sell it as burner fuel to asphalt companies and shops that want to use it for heating. “We try to recycle whatever we can; it really depends on the waste stream,” he continues, adding that through its distillation plant, the company is also able to recycle the glycol antifreeze that it collects. One of the most important parts of the waste disposal process is keeping track of the waste stream so that clients know that it has received proper disposal. 32 | July 2021
“We fill out a manifest that identifies the waste characteristics and constituents and also has the generator and the disposal site listed,” says Hamilton. “Shipping papers are used to help track the waste, and at each stop the transporter needs to sign it. Then the original manifest is sent back to the generator so that they know where their waste went, from cradle to grave.” With so many issues to keep track of, even companies that have their own HSEs in-house often look outside for help. “A company may have one or two people, but if something ends up happening, such as a larger spill event, they’ll call us in to assist. Or if they are struggling with a solution, they bring us in to give them options for disposal or industrial cleanings,” Hamilton explains. “Sometimes, if a company is working with the state on an issue, the state may also recommend that they get ahold of us to
make sure that the site is cleaned to their high standards.” When hiring outside HSEs or environmental ser vices co m p a n i e s , th e re a re seve r a l f a c to r s th at a co m p a ny sh o u ld look for including experience, the ability to provide cost-effective solutions, an exemplar y safet y re co rd , a n d th e exp e r tise to b e able to come up with various p l a ns of at t a ck . “It is also important that companies have the capability to work in the more remote parts of Alaska and the United States and in all weather conditions,” says Nelson. “They also need to have the available response equipment for spills, rescues, and planned projects,” He adds, “This is a dangerous line of work and it can be very expensive, so you have to make sure that you’re hiring a company that has the exp e r i e n ce a n d kn ow le d g e to d o it correctly.”
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
TOURISM
Back in Center Stage A grant program may ensure a robust return to normalcy for shuttered venues
Kevin Bennett | Alaska Center for the Performing Arts
By Isaac Stone Simonelli
N
o business in Alaska is more reliant on large group gatherings than live venues, movie theaters, museums, and live performing arts organizations. Given the nature of their business model, social distancing and capacity mandates put in place to protect the public during the pandemic have hit them particularly hard. Recognizing the unique needs of this group of businesses, the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant (SVOG) program was established. It’s set to provide more than $16 billion in grants to qualifying applicants. Which businesses qualify for the grants depends on a number of factors. In general, the grants are designed to provide vital assistance to live venue operators or promoters, theatrical producers, live performing arts organizations, museums, movie theaters, and talent representatives.
34 | July 2021
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
“As the length of the pandemic and economic impact increases, the need for additional funding becomes really critical,” says Jeffrey Salzer, deputy district director of the Small Business Administration in Alaska. “First and foremost, we're trying to get capital in the hands of our hardest hit small businesses,” Salzer says, pointing to both the SVOG and the Restaurant Revitalization Fund. SVOG applicants can qualify for up to 45 percent of their gross earned revenue, with the maximum amount available for a single grant award being $10 million.
spots, provided interviews to the local newspaper, and even purchased ads to get the message out there, Phillips says. “Kodiak is a small community, so we started doing individual outreach,” Phillips says. “We would just call the business.” Usually business owners had heard about the opportunity, but just as often they had questions, Phillips says. The SBA has also made a concerted effort to keep business owners updated about the possibilities available and changing guidelines.
Summer is here.
Getting the Word Out Priority groups are set up for the SVOG based on entities' needs, explains SBA regional communications officer Melanie Norton. The first group are those that suffered 90 percent or greater gross revenue loss. “We're really trying to focus on those entities that had the greatest revenue loss due to the pandemic,” Norton says. Both the Anchorage Symphony Orchestra and the Alaska Center for the Performing Arts applied for the grant, but, as of publication, didn’t know if they’d received the funding. Initially, other organizations that might have applied thought that, if they’d received Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans, they wouldn’t qualify for the SVOG grant. While that was originally true, updates to the rules allow entities that received PPP money to be awarded the SVOG— though the money received in the form of PPP would be subtracted from the awarded grant. “It was something that they had to weigh really heavily because the first news that we got was that if you've already gotten the PPP, you're not going to qualify for Shuttered Venues Operator Grant,” says Kodiak Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Sarah Phillips. “And the rules keep changing, and businesses have to keep adapting. I think that's been the hardest part of everything.” To keep Kodiak businesses updated with what funding options were available to them, the Kodiak Chamber of Commerce took out weekly radio www.akbizmag.com
With most small businesses busy with day-to-day operations, Salzer says the SBA has prioritized communication through Twitter, its website, and email updates, doing its best to get the right information into small business owners’ hands. In addition to the SVOG, the Restaurant Revitalization program, and various other funding opportunities created to help businesses weather the pandemic, the SBA continues to offer its standard suite of services.
Fly for Work.
Fly for Play. Ravn Alaska.
Call 800.866.8394 or visit RavnAlaska.com Alaska Business
July 2021 | 35
“What we found is, by working with these business advisors, it really helps alleviate that [feeling of isolation], because you have someone that you can talk to, someone that you can work through some of these issues.” Jeffrey Salzer, Deputy District Director, SBA Alaska
“We've got a legion of consultants to work with in small businesses,” Salzer says, noting that he doesn’t like to call the services “free” but rather pre-paid with tax dollars. “For a lot of small business owners, whether the economy is doing great, or whether you're coming out of a pandemic, like we are right now, there's a sense of feeling alone.” Salzer recognizes the pressures small businesses are under even when they aren’t facing a pandemic, from the future of their business to the care of their employees.
“What we found is, by working with these business advisors, it really helps alleviate that [feeling of isolation], because you have someone that you can talk to, someone that you can work through some of these issues,” Salzer says. Codie Costello, the president and COO of the Alaska Center for the Performing Arts, says that the pandemic taught her to make the FAQ webpages for the various funding opportunities her best friend. “It was very confusing at first, and there was a lot of folks that didn't apply
for PPP because they felt that the [SVOG] would be a greater opportunity,” Costello says. With the SVOG rolling out later than most business owners had hoped, there was growing concern that they were going to miss out on the PPP opportunity if the SVOG didn’t come to fruition. “It was a challenging set of circumstances to try to figure out how to evaluate what was the best way forward for your business,” Costello says.
A Huge Opportunity The chance to receive 45 percent of earned revenue was a huge opportunity, especially for businesses that saw nearly their entire revenue stream cut off, Costello says. “There was no way for us to generate revenue based on how our business model is set up, being solely dependent on large gatherings,” Costello says. “We were among the first to get shut down and will be the last to reopen in any kind of meaningful way.” Permission to reopen at limited capacity had little impact on what
Seward Shipyard
Cut the Distance Cut the Cost
Marine Repair & Maintenance
A L A S K A
JAG Alaska Inc., Seward Shipyard 36 | July 2021
Closer to Home, More Cost-Effective, Competitive Rates, at one of the Best Equipped Shipyards in Alaska.
+1.907.224.3198 | info@jagmarinegroup.com Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
venues—such as Alaska Center for the Performing Arts—were able to provide for the community. Costello says that, even when organizations were allowed to open to 100 percent capacity with the physical distancing mandate in place, her venue could never get above 18 percent due to the need to create 6 feet of separation between patrons. “The math problem never worked out—there was no way to make that a viable business model,” Costello says. “We didn’t have a way to create enough inventory from the seating side. I also have to mitigate the back of house, which is very complicated.” The changing mandates have made it particularly difficult to create momentum as businesses continue to pivot to new strategies. However, with a grant from ConocoPhillips, the Alaska Center for the Performing Arts was able to shift to streaming and hybrid-style productions during the pandemic. “The arts community has continued to produce a lot of content at no cost to the public to help support mental health for artists and patrons,” Costello says. “Anchorage Symphony
www.akbizmag.com
Orchestra has been prolific in their output during COVID.” Anchorage Symphony Orchestra, which also applied for the SVOG, produced more than 115 films that were combined into eight series. “We became filmmakers, something that we were not anticipating we would do,” says Anchorage Symphony Orchestra Executive Director Sherri Reddick. A difficult time was made more difficult for the Anchorage Symphony Orchestra when its music director, Randall Fleischer, passed away unexpectedly in August. “Before Randy died, he said, ‘We are not going to go dormant. We are not going to be quiet. We are going to be active. We are here to ser ve our communit y and to provide music,’” Reddick says. “So he made the pronouncement, ‘ We are now filmmakers.’” While costs were much lower than during a usual season, the Anchorage Symphony Orchestra lacked revenue from ticket sales; however, the symphony was getting CARES Act funding, generous contributions from
Alaska Business
patrons, and other grants to help keep them performing throughout the pandemic. “Private donations from our patrons exceeded what they had the year before,” Reddick says. “People were wanting to make sure we were okay.” And, despite the herculean hurdles presented in 2020, the Anchorage Symphony Orchestra did manage to serve the community. “I think all along we have felt we could adjust activities. And we have done that,” Reddick says. “But we always sort of felt that the challenging time was going to be the time that we're now approaching: what would be a 2021/2022 season.”
The Soft Open Option The significant increase in costs in putting on live performances means increased financial risks for venues still unsure of the public's comfort levels with a return to normalcy. “I think people are assuming that as soon as it's ready, everybody's going to be in the concert hall,” Reddick says. “Surveys nationally, and surveys locally, are not necessarily suggesting that
July 2021 | 37
The Shuttered Venue Operators Grant program was established to help organizations such the Alaska Center for the Performing Arts weather the pandemic by providing more than $16 billion in grants to qualifying applicants. Ryan Black | Alaska Center for the Performing Arts
FAT TRUCK: The Ultimate Industrial Off-Road Utility Vehicle. EPA compliant. FAT TRUCK will bring 8 people on site. Ease of Operation: Intuitive joystick drive. Automatic drive modes. Automatic transmission. Comfort: Biggest cab space in the market. 4 sliding windows. Heater defroster. Performance: Amphibious. All terrains. All seasons. 4 optional
38 | July 2021
120z can 6pks now available
Terrain modes.
See how FAT TRUCK options can help in remote locations! EAGLE RIVER 16770 Snowmobile Lane 907-694-3200 800-694-9150
we can
www.TeamCC.com
WASILLA 491 S. Willow Street 907-357-3200 888-888-9555
proudly crafted in alaska 49STATEBREWING.COM
#49THSTATE
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
that's going to be the case, a lot have been indicating that they're looking more towards maybe January.” Phillips also voiced her concern about the timetable of consumer habits returning to normal. “I would say the biggest challenge has been consumer habits have not yet changed,” Phillips says. “So it's addressing more than the safety concerns—just how do you convince people to come back when they've transitioned to online entertainment options?” Some see the SVOG money as a crucial opportunity to help fill in the gap created by consumer spending habits, allowing venues to make more ambitious, robust attempts at taking the arts back to normal. “I think if groups get this SVOG funding, it will help us be able to bring back a season that starts to have some normalcy to it,” Reddick says. Without the funding, Reddick says that those involved with the performing arts would possibly have to bring back performances in a limited capacity to mitigate the financial risks. “We will get to normalcy, in terms of what you see on stage, much quicker with SVOG money,” Reddick says. While the Alaska Center for the Performing Arts, like the Anchorage Symphony Orchestra, has been able to make ends meet through various funding programs and opportunities, Costello says the SVOG could be a game changer. The grant could be exactly what the venue needs to keep highly qualified employees on the payroll as they prepare for a robust return. “This [SVOG] support, it obviously is solving a very big short-term need, but it's also allowing me to keep my eye on the long game, which is to be here for the next generation,” Costello says. “Because if we didn't have that support right now, our future would be very different.” The key is going to be to get an accurate understanding of what audiences are looking for, both Costello and Reddick say. “We also have to meet the audience where they're at: not all of them are ready to come back and sit shoulder to shoulder,” Costello says. “This grant, for some organizations, is going to be the difference between whether or not www.akbizmag.com
“There was no way for us to generate revenue based on how our business model is set up, being solely dependent on large gatherings. We were among the first to get shut down and will be the last to reopen in any kind of meaningful way.” Codie Costello, President/COO, Alaska Center for the Performing Arts
they’ll be here when we're on the other side of this.” Costello hopes that, when asked, the public will be responsive to inquiries about what sort of large group gatherings and live performance situations they are comfortable with and what opportunities they are enthusiastic about participating in, as such information can be key to planning a successful season.
However, even before grants were handed out, it was clear that demand for SVOG had outpaced the resources allocated. “We knew that there was going to be a need that exceeded the appropriations,” Norton says. “But now, because we have all these applicants, we have that data available. So if Congress were to explore any of that information, we have the data available to share the demonstrated need.”
We take great care of moms-to-be and the entire family • Our Doctors in Pediatrics are specialists, and parents. • Same day appointments available - in person or telemed. • Complimentary no charge pre-natal meeting so expectant parents can meet our doctors and staff to be sure we’re a good fit for the entire family. • On-site lab and radiology diagnostics, same day results.
Come in and meet our Pediatric and Family Medicine Providers!
Desiree Pediatrics
Dr. Laufer Pediatrics
2211 E. Northern Lights Blvd. I 907.279. 8486 I mpfcak.com Alaska Business
July 2021 | 39
B E S T O F A L A SK A B USI N E SS SPEC I A L SEC T I O N
W
The 2021 Best of Alaska Business Awards
elcome to the 2021 Best of Alaska Business awards! We ask our readers to give us their input on the best businesses that Alaska has to offer, ranging from 40 | July 2021
flower boutiques to accounting firms. Throughout March, readers voted in record numbers, yet another indication after a trying year of how Alaskans take extra effort to support local businesses.
We’ve retained many of our categories this year, including reader favorites like Best Place to Work and Best Brewery, but we’re delighted to debut a few new categories: Best New Company in
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
www.akbizmag.com
Discover delicious traditional Nepalese and Indian dishes–from appetizers to signature curry dishes that have made our restaurant a favorite of foodie patrons. - Dine-in, Take Out, Delivery by GrubHub - Book Private Events up to 40 people (Available Sundays only) - Kaladi Brothers Coffee - Beer & Wine Available 209 E. Dimond Blvd., Anchorage (Kings Row) I 907-562-2662
Alaska Business
July 2021 | 41
B E S T O F A L A SK A B USI N E SS SPEC I A L SEC T I O N
THANK YOU FOR THE RAVE REVIEWS ON OUR AWARD WINNING CUISINE
2020 (welcome to the Alaska business community!), Best General Contractor, Best International Cuisine—and a few others, too. The Alaska Business team is particularly enthusiastic about the July issue year after year because it gives us the opportunity to work closely with brilliant, Alaskan artists. This year Dan Miller of Dan Miller Graphics is the incredible talent behind our 2021 Best of Alaska Business awards artwork, including the stunning cover. Miller is a freelance commercial artist with extensive experience with graphic design and illustration. He’s provided his services for retailers, tourism companies, health and social services providers, and other industry clients around the Last Frontier. We were drawn to his work for his use of color, his versatility, the humor in many of his illustrations and logos, and his amazing ability to create images that feel like home. It’s funny over the last eighteen months, how our ideas of home have changed as we’ve all spent more and more time in them. And while we’ve all been reminded of the value of getting out and around, it’s been equally as obvious that, in times of crisis, it’s our homes that give us refuge and safety. For us, Alaska is home. We work and live here; we spend our time learning about and investing in the businesses and industries that allow us to spend our time in such a majestic and stunning place. The companies in this special section are near and dear to us because they’re an essential part of what makes this our home. Thank you, readers, for sharing with us the businesses that make Alaska feel like home for you. And to all of the 2021 Best of Alaska Business award winners: you’re amazing! Keep it up.
Responding to COVID-19 By Kathryn Mackenzie
Wayde Carroll | Cook Inlet Tribal Counci
B E S T O F A L A SK A B USI N E SS SPEC I A L SEC T I O N
R
isk assessment companies will tell any business owner that having a crisis plan in place is crucial. In Alaska that means being prepared for a lot of potentially disastrous scenarios—earthquakes, snow and ice, fires and smoke, even bears or moose. And now businesses have added pandemics their risk mitigation plans. This year as part of the Best of Alaska Business awards surveying process, we asked you which businesses have been particularly impressive with their response to a whole new set of challenges presented by COVID-19. While state and local leaders were scrambling to figure out how to best protect the public, companies small and large were carefully, quickly, and thoughtfully determining how to protect their employees and customers—not just from the virus, but from job losses and financial distress. As classrooms closed and students were sent home to learn, families had to adjust their work schedules to accommodate yet another significant change to their lives and companies had to figure out how to help them. When we were sorting through your answers to this question, one response was repeated over and over: employees were most impressed with their employer’s ability to quickly pivot them from in-office to remote work. And workers whose jobs require them to stay on location say they have been most impressed by the safety protocols put in place by their employers: plexiglass partitions, masks, hand sanitizer, and social distancing have all helped client-facing workers feel more secure during a very insecure time. We thought instead of interpreting these answers ourselves, we’d eliminate the middleman and print the answers just as they were given to us.
42 | July 2021
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
Designed by local artist Dan Miller, this year’s design illustrates Alaskans conquering the COVID-19 pandemic.
49th State Brewing Company
Place your order today! boab21.itemorder.com Must order by July 31, 2021
49th State Brewing Company was commended for the fact that it “never gave up and helped give the community hope for the past year!” As another reader pointed out, “David and Jason fed 1,500 meals a day for quarantined people.” And: “49th State Brewing installed UV-c lights to sanitize the building and UV-c lights in the HVAC system to sanitize the air. Employees fill out daily screening and temp check, walk through a shoe sanitizing bath, wear gloves and masks, and maintain rigorous safety procedures.”
Alaska Executive Search “Alaska Executive Search embraced the technology allowing remote work and ensured their candidates were safe on the job. AES employees were encouraged to work remotely as much as possible and a very thorough and structured timeline was put in place for return to the office… This led to a more secure experience for staff, candidates, and potential candidates.”
Alaska Regional Hospital “They provided the safest, highest quality care to COVID-19 patients, while also serving the community [by] keeping us informed and up to date [and] also providing us with a COVID resource hotline for the many questions individuals have. I love their free 24/7 nurse line for the health questions and concerns I need answers to. I think it's also impressive how they managed their employees and the drop in volume within the facility yet maintained their staff. They also protected their employees by providing them pandemic and COVID pay, providing them with necessary income while their www.akbizmag.com
Alaska Business
July 2021 | 43
B E S T O F A L A SK A B USI N E SS SPEC I A L SEC T I O N
T-Shirts & Sweatshirts!
From restaurants and retailers to banks and hospitals, our readers answer the question: What company impressed you with its COVID-19 response? And why?
B E S T O F A L A SK A B USI N E SS SPEC I A L SEC T I O N
“Moose’s Tooth put its team members’ safety first which as a patron I really appreciated. They also fine-tuned their safety protocols to make patrons feel as safe as possible. Their procedures for takeout were the best of the restaurants we supported and continue to be as they transition to more and more inhouse dining while supporting those of us, as patrons, who are still not quite ready to dine-in. Massive kudos to the entire Moose’s Tooth team!”
In the early days of the pandemic, the Fab Lab produced PPE for staff and Tribal partners. Brian Fraley | Cook Inlet Tribal Counci
hours may have been impacted. Truly an outstanding healthcare organization and I'm incredibly grateful they are in our community.”
easy take-out AND they supported the community through their donations to Beans Café and more.”
The Alaska Safety Alliance
“ASRC Energy Services because they put all of their Slope-rotating employees in a hotel to meet quarantine requirements before anyone else was doing it.” And also: “ASRC Energy Services, incredibly proactive and took care of their employees by acting early and paying for costs associated with quarantining in Anchorage.”
“Got online training up and running FAST while implementing additional training options to meet industry needs. Helped keep Slope operations moving forward.”
The Alaska Small Business Development Center “Rallied to support any business in need of support, [implemented] protocols for reopening, and [provided] business education to access economic relief.”
Altman Rogers & Co. “Altman & Rogers were terrific! They followed the COVID restrictions no matter how inconvenient… they used great teamwork to help clients virtually.” And: “completed tax work seamlessly while working remotely, mailing tax clients their finished tax returns and didn't even charge [for] the additional expense.”
Altura Bistro “They quickly pivoted to offering 44 | July 2021
Brilliant Media Strategies “They shut down and had employees take their desks, computers, and other equipment home. They then offered a monthly stipend to employees to pay for supplies and other facets of working from home.”
ASRC Energy Services Cape Fox Corporation “This whole year they have stepped up to protect the whole community. Whether it was shutting businesses or delivering care packages to everyone in the community with necessary goods, Cape Fox Corporation did a lot to help everyone get through a difficult year.”
Cook Inlet Region, Inc. Bean's Cafe “Bean's Café moved to be able to accommodate more clients due to COVID job loss. The amount of workers and clients that have had COVID is low due to lots of sanitation, six feet distancing, and approximately 500 people wearing masks. When someone does get COVID they are put in quarantine at a hotel.”
Bear Tooth & Moose’s Tooth Pub & Pizzeria “They had the most efficient method for picking up to-go food while adhering to social distancing practices. They adapted right away to new rules and regulations and were able maintain business and continue to serve their customers food.”
“I have never felt so taken care of by a company I work for in my life. They truly care about their employees and have made every effort to show that.”
Club Paris “Immediately revamped for COVID, devised ways to keep most staff working even during shut downs. They also adhered to any and all mandates and permanently constructed barriers within the restaurant without changing the ‘flavor.’”
ConocoPhillips “They responded immediately on the Slope to minimize the potential of COVID spread. They changed operations—from food service to
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
B E S T O F A L A SK A B USI N E SS SPEC I A L SEC T I O N
shift changes—to bring down risk. In Anchorage, they have employees working from home.”
Cook Inlet Tribal Council “Cook Inlet Tribal Council! They have adapted with work-at-home plans while continuing to keep critical infrastructure working SAFELY on the front lines— homelessness, intervention, recovery, peer support—you name it, CITC has EXCELLED during this challenging time!” And: “Not only did CITC help the Alaska Native and American Indian homeless population, they entered into and started helping all homeless Alaskans who needed help with supportive services to focus on becoming job ready. CITC also helped make sure the families that they serve had the PCs, desk/workstation, and internet needed in order for children to go to school from home. Now that's going above and beyond, if you ask me.”
Credit Union 1 “They kept their branches open, implemented pickup service, video appointments, and all non-service focused staff worked from home.” And: “Credit Union 1 [was] able to do curbside pick-up for debit cards, credit cards, [to] sign loan documents curbside and electronically; this is important stuff for us members when we are used to in-person transactions.”
First National Bank Alaska “First National Bank Alaska acted immediately to ensure the safety of employees and customers while continuing to stay open and serve Alaskans throughout the pandemic. The bank also supported a broad range of Alaska businesses by working day and night, for weeks, to provide vital funding by means of SBA Paycheck Protection Loans.”
GCI “GCI handled the customer aspect, community outreach for families with www.akbizmag.com
We Are a Leader in High-Value Office Furniture
Alaska’s Locally Owned, Hometown Furniture Store
Alaska Business
July 2021 | 45
B E S T O F A L A SK A B USI N E SS SPEC I A L SEC T I O N
students who needed online learning, [and] the work from home for office workers all seamlessly and really cared about the employees with families that were trying to juggle a whole new aspect of work/life balance.” And: “They were out front and took steps in January. They were actually ahead of the Muni and State on enacting steps to protect employees and customers. More important: they created free and reduced rate internet plans for Alaskans who found themselves working and learning from home.”
The Hungry Robot “Hungry Robot—they were the first restaurant to step up and offer free pizzas for kids. They kept digging and providing hope.” And echoing that sentiment: “The Hungry Robot because they were able to operate at a normal capacity for their customers and the owner was able to [give] back to the community with free pizza lunches for children of families that were financially affected by the dip of the local economy.”
Matanuska Telephone Association “MTA signed and supported the ‘Keep America Connected’ Pledge, which urges providers to waive late fees and not terminate service to any customers facing economic hardship due to COVID-19. Partnered with the City of Wasilla, Palmer, Houston, and the Mat-Su Borough to install drive-in wi-fi hotspots so those without internet at home are able to connect, as well as an eLearning Enablement program that provided nearly 3,000 free upgrades to students and educators as they transitioned to distance learning. Participated in local activities such as the ‘The Great American Takeout,’ which supported local restaurants, and powered a local live-streamed fundraising concert. Successfully ran MTA Gaming’s first all virtual esports tournaments that raised funds for both Wasilla Area Seniors, Inc. and the MatSu Seniors Center, helping the latter 46 | July 2021
Throughout the pandemic, Cook Inlet Tribal Council continued to provide essential recruitment and job placement services. Wayde Carroll | Cook Inlet Tribal Counci
continue delivering food to seniors through its Meals on Wheels program.”
Northrim Bank “Northrim Bank led the state in SBA PPP loans with over 30% even though they are only about 10 or 12 percent of the state's market share.”
PDC Engineers “Set up employees to WFH [work from home] within a week, kept offices safely open as an ‘essential service,’ incorporated daily COVID check-ins for tracking, informed employees of CDC, state, and local mandates and updates, and continue to be flexible with employee schedules.”
Providence “They have done such a great job with partnering with senior and homeless facilities. Their video, public, and private meetings for keeping people informed and safe has been amazing.”
Salmon Berry Tours “Salmon Berry Tours made innovative and creative COVID-19 pivots and kept their guide team employed. Also partnered with Alaska Mill & Feed for delivery services as well as the Food Bank to deliver senior boxes to those in the community.”
Southcentral Foundation “Their roll out of the vaccine was well
organized and crucial to moving past the pandemic.” And: “Southcentral Foundation was forward thinking in providing COVID testing, vaccinations, and care, to all community members.”
The Alaska Club “The Alaska Club donated thousands of dollars to The Children’s Lunchbox and volunteered hundreds of hours to fill boxes, store boxes, deliver boxes for The Children’s Lunchbox. [They] reallocated advertising money to help promote donations… and were a central drop-off for Alaska Mask Makers. The Alaska Club also provided free online group fitness classes for several months, including kids' classes and are involved in the Conquer COVID Alaska Coalition… and hosted N95 mask fittings for hospital and emergency personnel.”
And finally, we at Alaska Business nominate all of the companies and community members who keep moving forward during a historically difficult, complex, and confusing time. These answers show that, as the pandemic swept through the nation, it was safety and security that remained paramount for everyone. By shifting to remote work when possible, rethinking policies related to sick leave and dependent care, and even increasing pay or providing bonuses, companies around the state proved that they’re not just about profit and the bottom-line. Maybe the changes made over the last year or so have laid the groundwork for a whole new way of thinking about how we work. Together.
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
Watch our 2-minute overview video featuring CEO Gloria O’Neill.
ThriveAbility. People.
Partnership.
Potential.
The heart of everything we do
The catalyst for our impact
The relentless belief in our future
In the last year, we kept our
Our programs reach thousands
The past year has taught us all
doors open to safely provide
of Alaska Native people each
that change creates opportunity.
vital services for Our People. We
year. It takes more than a village
Innovation moves us forward. Bold
supported our staff of nearly 400
to achieve success. Together,
vision provides hope. Each day, we
with grace, flexibility, and robust
our Tribal partners, donors,
merge technology and tradition to
wellness resources. We drew hope
and affiliates form a diverse
connect job-seekers to employment,
from togetherness, even when
community of support for Our
youth to education, and people to
forced apart. We leaned into
People. Our Interdependence
endless potential. We walk alongside
Resilience to adapt,
gives strength and paves
Our People, forward together,
overcome, and thrive.
the way for real impact.
in pursuit of a thriving future.
Lydia Robart competes in the Scissor Broad Jump in Tatitlek, Alaska as part of the virtual 2020 Native Youth Olympics. See NYO athletes in action: citci.org/nyo2021
citci.org
DENALI
Kerry Tasker
Ray’s Place
Ray’s Place has “the best Vietnamese food in Alaska.” Its menu ranges from Joanne’s Deluxe Bahn Mi and Tofu sandwiches to cold noodle salads, bánx xèo (crepes), pho, and other traditional Vietnamese entrees. Located on Spenard in Anchorage, Ray’s Place also serves beer and wine for those dining in, including Saigon beer, which is brewed and bottled in Vietnam. raysplaceak.com
ST. ELIAS
Sushi & Sushi
Catering to the sushi connoisseur looking for a superior, upscale dining experience, Sushi & Sushi bills itself as Alaska’s “premier upscale sushi and saké bar.” The menu ranges from traditional Japanese sushi and dinner entrees to creative sushi rolls. “The only missing ingredient for the best Japanese dining experience in Alaska is you!” sushiandsushiak.com
FORAKER
MTA
Best Virtual Event
Basil Ginger
Wasilla-based Basil Ginger serves sushi and Thai cuisine. Its house rolls include the Da Bomb, which is a deep fried roll with eel, salmon skin, cream cheese and avocado, Thai chili sauce, and sweet soy; and the Smile Roll, featuring shrimp tempura, avocado, cucumber, salmon, and dried garlic, topped with wasabi mayo, spicy mayo, eel sauce, and Sriracha. basilginger.com
DENALI
MTA Gaming Tournament
MTA, a stalwart supporter of Alaska esports, has dazzled the gaming community with its Gaming Tournaments. The 2020 event even featured a guest appearance by the Boston Celtics’ Gordon Hayward. In addition to connecting gamers from across Alaska and streaming the event live on Twitch, MTA awards cash prizes to winning competitors in three different types of gameplay. mtasolutions.com
You also nominated: Namaste Shanri-La Kerry Tasker
B E S T O F A L A SK A B USI N E SS SPEC I A L SEC T I O N
Best International Cuisine
ST. ELIAS
Meet Alaska
Hosted by the Alaska Support Industry Alliance, Meet Alaska is typically the largest one-day energy conference in the state. And while the pandemic may have changed the program’s delivery, industry experts still converged en masse at the latest (virtual) edition of Meet Alaska. Guest speakers included Erec Isaacson, ConocoPhillips Alaska’s new president and CEO; Bruce Dingeman, president of Oil Search Alaska; and Senator Lisa Murkowski. alaskaalliance.com
FORAKER
Go Red for Women
Go Red for Women is the American Heart Association’s (AHA) signature event. Its comprehensive program increases women’s heart health awareness and catalyzes change to improve the lives of women all over the globe. The Go Red for Women Luncheons went digital to support women where they are—around the state and the nation—continuing to spotlight the lifesaving work of the AHA and the Go Red for Women movement. goredforwomen.org
RAY’S PLACE You also nominated: Special Olympics Alaska 48 | July 2021
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
DENALI
ALTMAN, ROGERS & CO.
Altman, Rogers & Co.
ST. ELIAS
Kerry Tasker
Alaskan-owned and -operated, Altman, Rogers & Co. has provided accounting and tax services to its clients for thirty years. The firm serves clients throughout Alaska with offices in Anchorage, Juneau, and Soldotna with a “Big Firm Experience, Small Firm Approach” that focuses on integrity and customer satisfaction. a ltrogco.com
BDO
BDO’s global network extends across 167 countries with 88,000 people working out of 1,800 offices—one of which is in Anchorage. Combining the depth and breadth of international resources with easy accessibility and local insight allows Alaska’s largest CPA firm to meet the unique needs of individual clients in the healthcare, nonprofit, education, government contracting, natural resource, real estate, and construction industries. b do.com
FORAKER
Rulien + Associates
Rulien + Associates wants to take the stress out of running a business, providing bookkeeping, payroll, and tax services in addition to providing timely and constructive advice on a company’s finances. “When you outsource your accounting work to us, it’s like having a trusted advisor on staff. Our team handles all of your day-to-day accounting tasks so you can focus on what’s important—running your business.” rulien.com
You also nominated: Thomas Head & Greisen
How it Feels F to have Your
Vote
Thank you for your vote of confidence –
and the honor of helping your business grow. Denali Award, 1st Place
Best Accounting Services St. Elias Award, 2nd Place
Best Place to Work (1-250 employees)
Anchorage Ancho nchorage | Juneau | Soldotna AltRogCo.com | 907 AltRogCo 907-274-2992 274 2992
www.akbizmag.com
Alaska Business
July 2021 | 49
B E S T O F A L A SK A B USI N E SS SPEC I A L SEC T I O N
Best Accounting Firm
DENALI
Anchorage Midtown Dental Center
With more than fifty years of experience providing dentistry to Alaskans, Anchorage Midtown Dental Center focuses on how its clients’ teeth and gums relate to their whole body health. “We want you to be confident that your smile will achieve your goals for comfort, function, and appearance… After all, your smile is your greatest asset, and the appearance of your smile says a lot about your overall health.” anchoragemidtowndental.com Kerry Tasker
B E S T O F A L A SK A B USI N E SS SPEC I A L SEC T I O N
Best Dental Clinic
ENLIGHTEN ALASKA
ST. ELIAS
Best Cannabis Retailer DENALI
Enlighten Alaska
FORAKER
Feel well and live well at Enlighten Alaska, which holds a “strong belief in the positive, healing properties of cannabis.” The retailer is family-owned and –operated, and, as one of the first cannabis retail shops to open in Anchorage, takes seriously its responsibility as a steward of the cannabis industry—it cultivates a space for quality service, education, respect, integrity, innovation, and good vibes. enlightenak.com
ST. ELIAS
Mint Dental
“When you come in for dental care, no matter what type of treatments you need, we will do our best to give you our undivided attention as we provide courteous treatment and personalized service,” says Mint Dental, which treats all patients, even providing special accommodations for the comfort and care-needs of seniors and children. “We pride ourselves on being pain-free dentists and we have your absolute comfort in mind.” mintdentalak.com
bty Dental
With multiple locations, extended hours, same day and walk-in appointments, and a broad acceptance of most insurance plans, bty Dental bills itself as the “most convenient dental practice in Anchorage.” It provides preventative, restorative, and cosmetic dentistry, as well as dentures/implants, and IV sedation. bty Dental’s goal is to educate its patients about their treatments and overall oral care and health. btydental.com You also nominated: Alaska Premier Dental Group
Catalyst Cannabis Company
Catalyst Cannabis’ founders realized even before the legalization of recreational cannabis hit ballots around the state that “Alaska would be pivotal in raising marijuana consciousness, acceptance, and expansion.” Today the retailer offers flowers of “heirloom, boutique, and Alaskan” cannabis strains. “From our 100 percent organic line to our experimental and ground-breaking cultivation techniques, each phase of production is hand-crafted with the utmost precision, care, and attention to detail.” catalystcannabisco.com
FORAKER
Uncle Herb’s
Committed to being Alaska’s finest cannabis destination and housed in a “cyberspace warehouse” on Arctic Spur road and in a new store on Boniface Parkway, Uncle Herb’s offers its customers knowledge and expertise on all of its products— with a smile. “We’re easy to find and happy to help you… We look forward to welcoming you to our shop.” uncleherbs.com
You also nominated: Raspberry Roots 50 | July 2021
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
DENALI
Kerry Tasker
PDC Engineers
This is the second year in a row that PDC has earned this category’s Denali award. Why? According to the 100 percent employee-owned engineering firm: “Career growth is nurtured at PDC.” Its workforce is a diverse mix of engineers, surveyors, planners, drafters, and environmental analysts— almost as diverse as the wide range of benefits the company offers each of them. pdceng.com
ST. ELIAS
Altman, Rogers & Co.
PDC ENGINEERS
This full-service accounting firm has continued to focus on providing the culture, resources, and support to help its employees develop as professionals to find continued success. In addition, the company’s Anchorage, Soldotna, and Juneau offices help shape the next generation of Alaska professionals through job shadowing and internship opportunities. altrogco.com
FORAKER
BDO
BDO may be a large, multinational corporation but it still finds ways to invest in its people and community. According to the company, “we volunteer both time and resources to community focused activities and events that are important to our staff.” As a result, BDO’s Anchorage office is deeply involved with local nonprofits, chambers of commerce at the local and state level, and other community groups. bdo.com You also nominated: CIRI
CELEBRATING 50 YEARS IN ALASKA
907-276-1550 www.bhbc-law.com
Anchorage // / Washington D.C.
5 0 www.akbizmag.com
Y E A R S
O F
L E G A L Alaska Business
E X P E R T I S E July 2021 | 51
B E S T O F A L A SK A B USI N E SS SPEC I A L SEC T I O N
Best Place to Work 1-250 Employees
DENALI
Simon & Seafort’s Saloon & Grill
Classic American Grill Simon & Seafort’s has been feeding discerning (and hungry) Alaskans since 1978 from its downtown Anchorage location with panoramic views overlooking Cook Inlet, Mount Susitna, and the Alaska Range. The restaurant serves daily lunch and dinner menus as well as a weekend brunch, all of which feature the restaurant’s innovative approach to Alaska’s world-renowned fresh seafood. simonandseaforts.com
ST. ELIAS Kerry Tasker
B E S T O F A L A SK A B USI N E SS SPEC I A L SEC T I O N
Best Fine Dining Restaurant
ARM CREATIVE
Best Creative/ Design Agency DENALI
Club Paris
Club Paris is the home of the 4-inch thick filet mignon, which clearly speaks to the fine dining establishment’s commitment to serving mouth-watering steaks, charbroiled to perfection. “Only the finest fresh beef is used and all steaks are individually cut and aged on the premises.” Club Paris is also well-known for its fresh Alaskan seafood menu items, such as halibut and red king crab. clubparisrestaurant.com
FORAKER
ARM Creative
Who needs a helping hand when there’s a helping ARM? “ARM Creative combines content production with intentional marketing strategy” to help its clients build brand relationships with their audience using marketing data and analytics, engaging content, and effective advertising campaigns. “We’re seekers and explorers driven to find solutions that get results and leave a lasting impact.” arm-creative.com
Altura Bistro
One of Anchorage’s newer fine dining establishments, Altura Bistro emphasizes using ingredients from the Pacific Northwest on its New American menu. “Our standard for sourcing and utilizing the highest quality seafood, meats, and ingredients defines who we are.” Open for lunch and dinner, Altura Bistro also offers private dining (and can accommodate up to 100 people) and catering services. (907) 561-2373
You also nominated: Crow’s Nest ST. ELIAS
Brilliant Media Strategies
Brilliant Media Strategies looks at the world through a “unique lens” to produce innovative marketing and communication tools. “At Brilliant, our work is designed to evoke a response: to stop people in their tracks and get them to think and respond.” According to the agency, Brilliant Media Strategies was Alaska’s first advertising agency, opening its doors in 1968. brilliantak.com
FORAKER
Spawn Ideas
“We are wayfinders,” says Spawn Ideas. “We’ll help you discover your True North and reach your most important business goals.” The fully-integrated advertising agency is employee owned and “proudly independent.” It provides creative, strategy, media, and design “for every channel that matters in 2021” and “goes far beyond the expected” to deliver superior outcomes for its clients. spawnideas.com You also nominated: MSI Communications 52 | July 2021
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
Bagoy's Florist & Home
DENALI
Bagoy’s Florist & Home
Bagoy’s is passionate about “flowering the Last Frontier.” Founded in 1922, Bagoy’s is only a year shy of 100 years of connecting people through flowers. “Having flowers and plants in our lives encourages us to live better, and when we give them, it makes people around us feel loved, celebrated, and valued.” bagoys.com
BAGOY’S FLORIST & HOME
FORAKER
ST. ELIAS
Carrs
Carrs locations across the state offer floral arrangements for any occasion which can be delivered, ordered online and picked-up, or purchased from the Flowers & Décor department. Carrs also provides flowers for weddings, shipping the blooms direct from its farms to the happy couple; the retailer offers a range of collections to fit any vision. carrsqc.com
Uptown Blossoms
A full-service florist, Uptown Blossoms is the place to go for upscale, artsy floral designs. “Whether you are celebrating a birthday, graduation, or anniversary, we take pride in providing the best locally custom-made flower arrangements.” Uptown Blossoms also creates “permanent botanicals” from silk flowers that can be cherished indefinitely. uptownblossoms.net You also nominated: Hummel’s Flowers
TOGETHER WITH PIP
PULL IT
Direct Mail Online Ordering Indoor & Outdoor Signage Corporate Identity Packages Vehicle & Fleet Wrapping Finishing & Binding
Call one of our sales professionals today! 9 0 7 •2 7 4 •3 5 8 4 • p i p a l a s k a . c o m www.akbizmag.com
Alaska Business
July 2021 | 53
B E S T O F A L A SK A B USI N E SS SPEC I A L SEC T I O N
Best Florist
Kerry Tasker
DENALI
Hotel Captain Cook
The Hotel Captain Cook in downtown Anchorage offers world famous service and meticulous attention to detail for guests who come from all over the globe for its Alaska brand of hospitality. The hotel houses 546 rooms, 96 of which are suites, and a location that’s particularly advantageous for corporate travelers. captaincook.com
ST. ELIAS
49TH STATE BREWING
Best Brewery DENALI
49th State Brewing
According to the brewery and restaurant, “We consider the entire experience at 49th State Brewing Co. as reflective of our craft, and this all begins with glacial aquifers, fine malts and hops, and yeast… you’ll have beer served by a staff of Cicerone certified beer servers, proper glassware, and to accompany various styles of beer, a hearty menu to meet any hunger.” 4 9statebrewing.com
ST. ELIAS
King Street Brewing Company
Owners Shane Kingry and Dana Walukiewicz launched King Street Brewing in October 2011 in Anchorage. Today more than forty restaurants and eateries feature the brewer’s beers across Alaska, and it’s also sold through retailers like Anchorage Wine House, Brown Jug, Fred Meyer, and Gold Rush Liquor. King Street keeps six beers on tap at all times: Blonde Ale, Hefeweizen, Pilsner, Stout, IPA, and American Pale Ale. k ingstreetbrewing.com
FORAKER
Alyeska Resort
With up-close views of mountains, glaciers, and the ocean, the chateau-style Alyeska Resort offers the whole package to visitors and locals alike—especially if you also happen to be a ski junkie. Regardless of the season, Alyeska’s yearround Alaska destination experience includes no less than five fine dining options, multiple spas, and other first-class amenities awaiting every guest. alyeskaresort.com
FORAKER
Embassy Suites
Anchorage’s Embassy Suites bills itself as “Your base in Midtown Anchorage.” And for good reason. Its location is perfectly situated for exploring the city, and it’s a stone’s throw away from the newly renovated Midtown Mall. Located within six miles of both downtown and Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport, Embassy Suites also offers free shuttle service in addition to a number of other welcoming amenities. hilton.com You also nominated: Hilton Anchorage
HOTEL CAPTAIN COOK
Midnight Sun Brewing
Midnight Sun Brewing is renowned for its barrel-aged stouts and barely wines, which the company says are “appropriate for our less-than-temperate climate and long, dark winter nights.” The brewery also serves up IPAs and Belgian ales “to cover the rest of the days when it seems the sun never sleeps—nor the people of this wild northern country.” midnightsunbrewing.com
You also nominated: Matanuska Brewing Co.
Hotel Captain Cook
B E S T O F A L A SK A B USI N E SS SPEC I A L SEC T I O N
Best Hotel
54 | July 2021
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
You bring out the best in us. Alaska’s most award-winning hospital.
Alaska.Providence.org Providence Alaska Medical Center, a nationally recognized trauma center and Magnet hospital, provides full-service, comprehensive care to all Alaskans, a role unmatched by any other in Alaska. Providence Alaska includes the state’s only children’s hospital and a complete array of cancer services so patients can receive care close-to-home. For more information about PAMC, visit alaska.providence.org.
Kerry Tasker
Best Takeout/Delivery from a Restaurant DENALI
Bear Tooth | Moose’s Tooth
Bear Tooth Theatrepub, Bear Tooth Grill, and Moose’s Tooth are sister eateries that all serve Broken Tooth Brewing beer—and they each offer a unique, high-quality Alaska dining experience. During the pandemic it may not have been possible to catch a show or enjoy a pint at the bar, but that didn’t stop Alaskans from ordering in and indulging in some Bear Tooth at home. beartooththeatre.net | moosestooth.net
ST. ELIAS
49th State Brewing
49th State Brewing is used to working long distance: its iconic Downtown Anchorage location is hundreds of miles from its Denali Park brewery and restaurant in Healy. But no matter the distance, its “locations feature award-winning menus filled with locally and sustainably sourced Alaskan ingredients.” Alaskans can’t do without their 49th State—the pandemic prompted serious spikes in home delivery of restaurant’s scrumptious comfort food. 49statebrewing.com
FORAKER
Best New Company in 2020 DENALI
Arctic On-Demand
Arctic On-Demand is a newcomer to Alaska’s air charter industry, providing both cargo and passenger service. The company’s specialty is solving complex supply chain challenges and delivering solutions that add value to the community. It does this by leveraging technology so that clients receive real-time updates as freight is transported from place to place. akaod.com
ST. ELIAS
Altura Bistro
New American restaurant Altura Bistro offers burgers and sandwiches for takeout, tailgating, and delivery. For those ready to head back inside, Altura Bistro’s location in Midtown Anchorage provides visitors from all over a fine-dining experience. (907) 561-2373 You also nominated: Pho Lena
Zo Financial
Zo Financial is a lease-to-own company that offers creative consumer payment options. Through Zo’s low or no credit payment options, consumers have more opportunities to buy what they want when they want it, even without having cash in hand. And all it takes to make that next big purchase is filling out an online form. zofinancial.com
FORAKER
Mandala Restaurant
Even as the pandemic was busy wreaking havoc on the hospitality industry, Mandala forged ahead and opened to much fanfare. Diners enjoy delectable Nepalese and Indian cuisine in a dining room featuring authentic, beautifully presented dishes in a rustic interior décor. (907) 562-2662 You also nominated: The Bear Paw Bar & Grill 56 | July 2021
Kerry Tasker
B E S T O F A L A SK A B USI N E SS SPEC I A L SEC T I O N
ARCTIC ON-DEMAND
MANDALA RESTAURANT Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
Best General Contractor Cornerstone General Contractors
Cornerstone has earned a Governor’s Safety Award of Excellence for the last nine years in a row—one of the many reasons the construction firm has made a statewide name for itself. Cornerstone’s work includes some landmark buildings: the Alaska Airlines Center, Cook Inlet Tribal Council HQ, and Providence Alaska Medical Center, to name just a few! cornerstoneak.com
Davis Constructors & Engineers
In February, as part of our “Off the Cuff” section, Alaska Business highlighted Davis President and CEO Luke Blomfield, whose passion is reflected in the company’s success: “I still think the favorite part of my job is what brought me to it… any sort of development that’s going to be there long after I’m gone—it’s nice to drive around town or different places throughout the state and just say, ‘Our team had a hand in building that.’” davisconstructors.com
Kerry Tasker
ST. ELIAS
CORNERSTONE GENERAL CONTRACTORS
FORAKER
Tutka
Tutka, a woman-owned small business and Best of Alaska Business awards newcomer, specializes in environmental and heavy civil construction. The company considers its services at a nexus point “where engineering meets the environment” and emphasizes that philosophy in its work in places like Girdwood, Anchor Point, and Moose Creek. tutkallc.com
You also nominated: Neeser Construction
We know Alaska.
Philip Blumstein
Karl A. Kaufman
Anna Chapman Crary
Lauren Sommer
Matt Mead
Bruce A. Moore
Joshua D. Hodes
Alex Kubitz
Leslie R. Need
Robert Hume, Jr.
Michelle Boutin
Andy Erickson
Benjamin W. Spiess
John M. “Sky” Starky
Jennifer Coughlin
Kim Dunn
David Wilkinson
Since 1976, we have represented Alaska Native Corporations in every region of Alaska. Our work includes corporate advice, land management and resource development; permitting and environmental compliance; tax; mergers, aquisitions, and real estate transactions; and government contracting. Visit our ANCSA Resource Center: lbblawyers.com/ancsa/
LBBLawyers.com www.akbizmag.com
907.276.5152
Alaska I Oregon Alaska Business
July 2021 | 57
B E S T O F A L A SK A B USI N E SS SPEC I A L SEC T I O N
DENALI
Kerry Tasker
B E S T O F A L A SK A B USI N E SS SPEC I A L SEC T I O N
GCI
Best Telecommunications Provider DENALI
GCI
For more than forty years GCI delivered communication and technology services throughout Alaska, including in some of the state’s most remote communities no matter the weather and or terrain. “GCI is a pioneer in its field, bringing telemedicine and online education capabilities to communities across the state and continuing efforts to connect the Arctic globally.” gci.com
ST. ELIAS
AT&T
Billing itself as the “truly first modern media company,” AT&T works to change how people live, work, and play, and has been doing so for the past 144 years. “Our legacy of innovation has included the invention of the transistor—the building block of today’s digital world—as well as the solar cell, the communications satellite, and machine learning.”
DENALI
MTA
MTA creates “meaningful solutions to empower our member-owners to live more connected lives.” Its Alaska Plan includes network upgrades that help bring advanced broadband communications to rural Alaska communities. “We have made the commitment to extend connectivity to parts of our footprint where telecommunications infrastructure would otherwise be infeasible.” mtasolutions.com
You also nominated: Alaska Communications
First National Bank Alaska
With an unprecedented sixth Denali award in this category, First National Bank Alaska (FNBA) is a Best of Alaska Business awards powerhouse. Built into the company’s mission statement, FNBA seeks to provide “competitive salaries and a pleasant working environment” with training and development opportunities, generous leave, healthcare plan choices, a 401(k)/profit sharing plan, and paths for career advancement. fnbalaska.com
ST. ELIAS
att.com
FORAKER
Best Place to Work 250+ Employees
MTA
MTA prides itself on the many benefits and opportunities it offers its employees. The company emphasizes a culture of positivity that has flourished within the company, making MTA a huge draw for prospective employees looking to make their homes in the Mat-Su. mtasolutions.com
FORAKER
Cook Inlet Tribal Council
From a grassroots organization to one of Alaska’s leading nonprofits, CITC has come a long way thanks to its people. According to Gloria O’Neill, president and CEO of CITC, “We’ve developed a community system rooted in the same values that have sustained Alaska Native people for thousands of years.” Those values include interdependence, resilience, accountability, respect, and humor. citci.org You also nominated: GCI
58 | July 2021
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
PROVIDENCE ALASKA MEDICAL CENTER
Providence Alaska Medical Center
DENALI
Providence Alaska Medical Center
As the state’s largest hospital and a nationally recognized adult and pediatric trauma center, Providence Alaska Medical Center provides comprehensive care to all Alaskans, a role unmatched by any other in the state. Providence serves Anchorage, Eagle River, Kodiak, the Matanuska-Susitna Valley, Seward, and Valdez. alaska.providence.org FORAKER
ST. ELIAS
Alaska Regional Hospital
Established in 1963 (and in its current location since 1976), Alaska Regional’s continuous mission of “continually improving the scope of services and skills available within the state” marches on year after year. Over time its services have grown to include pet therapy, surgical robots, and programs to treat drug-dependent newborns. In March, Jennifer Opsut was named the hospital’s new CEO. alaskaregional.com
Alaska Native Medical Center
The Alaska Native Medical Center “has become a world leader in healthcare where advanced technology meets human caring.” Under the operation of the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium and Southcentral Foundation, the hospital works in close partnership with rural health facilities statewide to support a broad range of healthcare and related services for Alaska Native residents in even the most remote of locations. anmc.org You also nominated: Fairbanks Memorial Hospital
Connecting on another level
More than just relationships, we’re forging bonds. And when it comes to delivering the right message at the right time, our partners have counted on us to make it happen for more than 50 years. We’re honored to be voted among the Best in Alaska.
www.akbizmag.com
Alaska Business
July 2021 | 59
B E S T O F A L A SK A B USI N E SS SPEC I A L SEC T I O N
Best Hospital
Kerry Tasker
B E S T O F A L A SK A B USI N E SS SPEC I A L SEC T I O N
Best Tour Company DENALI
Salmon Berry Travel & Tours
Founded on the idea that “life in Alaska should be fun,” Salmon Berry Travel & Tours has “delighted countless guests of all ages from around the world and delivered appreciation and awards.” The tour company focuses on genuine and authentic Alaska hospitality during its day tours and custom multi-day travel packages. “It’s a small tour philosophy and a customized experience that delivers lifelong memories.”
ALASKA TRAVEL INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION
Best Trade Association DENALI
salmonberrytours.com
ST. ELIAS
Alaska Travel Industry Association
According to the Alaska Travel Industry Association (ATIA), it is community, integrity, leadership, passion, and professionalism. “With the ongoing support of ATIA members and partners, today the association is the leading nonprofit trade organization for the state’s tourism industry. We are reaching beyond initial goals to ensure the continued success, quality, and integrity of the travel industry in Alaska.” alaskatia.org
Associated General Contractors of Alaska
ST. ELIAS
“We build Alaska,” says the Associated General Contractor of Alaska (chartered in 1948 and open for operations in 1949), which has the mission of advocating for its members and the Alaska construction industry; providing continuing education; and bringing public awareness to the skills, responsibilities, and integrity embodied by every member.
Holland America | Princess
Princess started with a single cruise ship in 1965 and today carries more than a million passengers every year to worldwide destinations. Holland America has been operating for more than 147 years and has a fleet of eleven ships that visit all seven continents. Between the two sister lines, if there’s a cruise experience you want, they can provide it. princess.com | hollandamerica.com
FORAKER
Kenai Fjords Tours
Kenai Fjords Tours has been operating in Kenai Fjords National Park since 1974. “Experienced and engaging captains narrate the trip, so you walk away knowing a whole lot more about Kenai Fjords National Park and its wonders.” Sailing a new fleet of custom sightseeing vessels, Kenai Fjords Tours explore coastal rainforests, tidewater glaciers, and remote Alaska islands. alaskacollection.com You also nominated: Major Marine Tours
agcak.org
FORAKER
Alaska Support Industry Alliance
“We’re electricians and engineers. Caterers and consultants. Communications gurus, construction experts, and computer whizzes. We’re bankers, educators, and more. We’re the Alaska Support Industry Alliance.” The nonprofit trade organization is made up of more than 500 members that employ upwards of 35,000 Alaskans in jobs related to oil, gas, and mining development and advocates for safe and environmentally responsible development. alaskaalliance.com
You also nominated: Resource Development Council
60 | July 2021
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
BIRCH HORTON BITTNER & CHEROT
Birch Horton Bittner & Cherot
This year, Birch Horton Bittner & Cherot proudly celebrates fifty years of providing multifaceted legal services to clients large and small, from multinational corporations and Native-owned, small-business startups to the State of Alaska and private individuals. With offices in Alaska and Washington, DC, Birch Horton Bittner & Cherot’s reach spans the country. birchhorton.com
ST. ELIAS
Landye Bennett Blumstein
The Anchorage office of Landye Bennett Blumstein was established in 1976. Today, the law firm is one of the largest and most well regarded in Alaska. According to the firm, its “growth and success are grounded in a firm culture committed to providing exceptional legal representation, advice, and advocacy that is practical and laser-focused on the needs and objectives of our clients.” lbblawyers.com
Kerry Tasker
DENALI
FORAKER
Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt
Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt boasts more than 170 attorneys at eight offices throughout the western United States from Alaska to California. The law firm specializes in six core industries: healthcare and life sciences; manufacturing, distribution, and retail; natural resources; real estate and construction; technology; and transportation, ports, and maritime. schwabe.com You also nominated: Manley & Brautigam
Policy Company Promotion
You
Competitive Edge Health Plan
Education
Advocacy
Networking Events
Join us today!
Linking Alaska’s resources to Alaska’s people for over 40 years. 907-563-2226 www.akbizmag.com
www.alaskaalliance.com Alaska Business
July 2021 | 61
B E S T O F A L A SK A B USI N E SS SPEC I A L SEC T I O N
Best Law Firm
Joshua Lowman
B E S T O F A L A SK A B USI N E SS SPEC I A L SEC T I O N
THE HUNGRY ROBOT
Best Pizzeria DENALI
Bear/Moose's Tooth
Year after year, Moose’s Tooth tops the list as Alaska’s favorite pizza place, and in 2021 Alaska Business includes its sister location, Bear Tooth Theatrepub. Though its incredible food and amazing atmosphere have gained national attention, it remains firmly a true Alaskan staple. And its huge selection of craft beer brewed by sister company Broken Tooth Brewing is always on tap for eager customers with empty growlers. moosestooth.net
Best Salon or Barbershop DENALI
ST. ELIAS
The Hungry Robot
Fairbanks’ Hungry Robot sources locally raised meat and Alaska grown vegetables whenever possible while making its own sauce and dough from scratch. The result: brickfired pizzas that are the pride of the Golden Heart City. With a menu of pies that includes names like “Burning Bumble Bee,” “Dilly Dilly,” and “Wizard of Mozz,” there’s plenty to pique the curiosity of hungry Alaskans—robot or not. thehungryrobot.org
FORAKER
Uncle Joes Pizzeria
Uncle Joe’s, one of Anchorage’s most popular pizzerias, has been serving up traditional and gourmet pizzas for more than twenty-six years. Pies are hand crafted and stone baked, with crust options that include old-fashioned New York style, spent grain vegan wheat, and even a cauliflowerbased, gluten-free option. Uncle Joe’s menu also features popular non-pizza items such as salads with homemade dressing, pasta, stromboli, and chicken wings. unclejoespizzeria.com
You also nominated: Pizza Man
The Beauty Room
This marks the Beauty Room’s twentieth year in business. Featuring a day spa, boutique shop, and even bridal services, this West Anchorage health and beauty spa will wash the day’s worries away. Be sure to stop in and receive a complimentary consultation or browse its luxury product lines. beautyroom.net
ST. ELIAS
Hairplay Salon
Hairplay specializes in color services like highlighting, balayage, ombre, fashion colors, and corrective coloring. The salon provides services that compliment natural or colored hair—so whether you’re in search of something brand new and funky or just want your regular cut and color, this South Anchorage salon has what you need. hairplayak.com
FORAKER
The Loft Hair Design
This salon affectionately refers to its employees as “Lofties” and promises to leave clients feeling beautiful. Each “Loftie” is an individual business owner dedicated to providing total customer satisfaction through innovative, high quality hair care. And like so many other salons, the Loft worked hard to adapt to the pandemic by altering workspaces and implementing intensive sanitation measures. theloftak9220.com
You also nominated: Halo Salon 62 | July 2021
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
DENALI
Alaska Executive Search
ST. ELIAS
Kerry Tasker
Longtime staffing agency Alaska Executive Search has been connecting Alaskans with top-notch employers since 1977. The agency’s own staff is a group of highly qualified recruitment experts who share a world of hiring insights with both potential candidates and employer clients. The result: quality job placements that foster both employee and employer satisfaction. akexec.com
ALASKA EXECUTIVE SEARCH
Opti Staffing
Opti specializes in high-level placements for small to midsize companies. The agency’s thorough vetting process connects clients with the right talent, and Opti provides an abundance of resources for those hiring and those in search of the next great job opportunity. Opti’s locations in the Pacific Northwest include Alaska, Washington, and Oregon, and the job opportunities it promotes range from temporary to full time to executive placement. optistaffing.com
FORAKER
Personnel Plus
With locations in Anchorage and Fairbanks, Personnel Plus provides, among other services, “Temporary to Permanent” placement that affords clients the ability to “try out” an employee before committing to a full-time job offer. The agency prides itself on its hands on approach to client management, even visiting employer clients in person to check on an employee placement. During peak seasons, the Personnel Plus workforce expands to more than 750 employees. perplus.com You also nominated: Competentia Alaska
TRICARE® approved facility
Reaching Across Alaska, Helping Children, Supporting Families, & Touching Lives
MISSION STRENGTH, RESILIENCY & HEALING
Arctic Recovery is an Intensive Holistic Treatment Program dedicated to individuals 18 and older in need of detoxification and/or rehabilitation for substance abuse.
An inpatient treatment program for service members, veterans, service member dependents 18 years and older, and first responders.
• No Cost Assessment • Individual and Family Therapy • Recreational/Activity Therapy • Psychological Testing • Medical Care and Detoxification • 24 Hour Nursing and Medical Care • Medication Management and Education • Dietary Services and Nutritional Classes • Psychiatry • Group Therapy
800-478-7575 or 907-258-7575 chriskylepatriotshospital.com MASTER LEVEL CLINICIAN WILL ASSIST WITH THE FOLLOWING: Clinical Assessment, Overview of Services, and Connect to Community Resources
serpentine bold newsgothic
Alaska’s Premier Child & Adolescent Mental Health Provider
907-433-7326 or 1(800)478-7575
TRICARE® is a registered trandemark of the Department of Defense Health Agency. All rights reserved.
www.akbizmag.com
call to connect with a masters level clinician 24/7 1650 S. Bragaw Anchorage, AK 99508 TRICARE® approved facility
Alaska Business
July 2021 | 63
B E S T O F A L A SK A B USI N E SS SPEC I A L SEC T I O N
Best Staffing Agency
DENALI
Bailey's Furniture
Bailey’s knows business and has been providing furniture solutions for Alaska workspaces since 1990. From desks to décor, Bailey’s offers something for every office. Locations stretch from Soldotna to Fairbanks, with additional service to rural Alaska through an exclusive partnership with Everts Air Cargo. baileysfurniture.com
ST. ELIAS
Kerry Tasker
STELLAR DESIGNS
Best Swag Supplier DENALI
Sadler's Home Furnishing
Sadler’s has been a household name in Alaska furniture for decades. With beginnings in the early ‘70s, Sadler’s began to expand rapidly under the leadership of Dave Cavitt—a company employee who went from delivery man to president and owner. As a 100 percent Alaska-owned and -operated company, Sadler’s community work includes a role as a major sponsor of the American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women fundraiser. sadlers.com
Stellar Designs
After winning St. Elias awards in 2020 and 2019, Stellar Designs earned this year’s Denali award by being one of the most established names in promotional merchandise. From customized Carhartts to marketing-friendly mugs, Tim Ellis and company have been helping Alaska brands make a memorable impression in and out of the office for decades. stellar-designs.com
FORAKER
Scan Home
Inspired by the concept of Scandinavian furniture, Scan Home is a perennial Best of Alaska Business finalist. Alaska’s businesses have chosen Scan Home’s inventory since 1983 for bookcases, conference tables, desks, chairs, file cabinets, and much more. With an affinity for modern aesthetics, this furniture retailer has enjoyed consistent success. scanhome.com
ST. ELIAS
Alaska Serigraphics
You also nominated: Treeforms Furniture Gallery
Alaska Serigraphics opened in 1981 and has grown from a small t-shirt printer to a multi-faceted promotional company. The company provides clients the opportunity to see, feel, and try the products they supply at their extensive showroom. According to the company, “It’s all about image—your image—and how to promote it.” With that philosophy in mind, Alaska Serigraphics knows how to help brands really shine. akserigraphics.com
FORAKER
Kerry Tasker
B E S T O F A L A SK A B USI N E SS SPEC I A L SEC T I O N
Best Furniture Store
Shirts Up Serigraphics & Solutions
Shirts Up is another Best of Alaska Business newcomer, though its many loyal customers will tell you that the company has been consistently delivering quality services for years. According to Shirts Up, “No matter what you’re using your marketing products for, you need quality, longevity, and visual appeal you can count on. That’s exactly what Shirts Up provides.” shirtsup.net You also nominated: PIP Printing
BAILEY'S FURNITURE 64 | July 2021
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
Best Bank or Credit Union First National Bank Alaska
First National Bank Alaska is committed to the 49th State. Its stated mission is to safekeep depositors’ money; provide all legitimate banking services to the community, consistent with its resources; furnish employees with competitive salaries and a pleasant work environment; and earn a proper return for stakeholders. The bank’s goal is to be safe, strong, and secure. f nbalaska.com
Alaska USA Federal Credit Union
Founded in 1948, Alaska USA Federal Credit Union has expanded to have branches in Alaska, Arizona, California, and Washington. With more than $10 billion in assets, the not-for-profit credit union strives to provide service, value, and convenience to all of its more than 701,000 memberowners. This commitment is what makes the Alaska USA experience “better than banking.” a laskausa.org
Kerry Tasker
ST. ELIAS
ALASKA USA FEDERAL CREDIT UNION
FORAKER
Credit Union 1
According to Credit Union 1: “Alaskans are our people. You’re our friends, family, and the neighbors we grew up with! As Alaska’s only state-chartered credit union, we are proud to be Alaskan at Heart.” The credit union serves more than 86,00 Alaskans and endeavors to foster thriving, happy communities through putting people first. c u1.org You also nominated: Northrim Bank
WHERE ENGINEERING MEETS THE ENVIRONMENT. Specializing in: • Bridges • Roads • Site Work • Environmental Cleanup
CATEGORY WINNER: General Contractors www.akbizmag.com
SBA Certified HUBZone & DBE Alaska Business
(907) 357-2238 | www.tutkallc.com July 2021 | 65
B E S T O F A L A SK A B USI N E SS SPEC I A L SEC T I O N
DENALI
For 2021 we received hundreds of recommendations for Best Corporate Citizen, and this year we again asked our readers to explain the ways in which the nominees have looked beyond their office walls (and profit margins) to build up Alaska’s communities. The editorial team selected three outstanding nominations to highlight this year by considering the number of nominations each received, the comments made about them, and by using our knowledge of their community-minded endeavors. The three below stood out for going above and beyond, but we’ve also included all of the organizations our readers nominated because, especially right now, each and every one deserves recognition. With a selected quote from a nominating individual, and in no particular order, we present the 2021 Editor’s Choice for Best Corporate Citizen:
MTA “They do so much to support the community, especially during COVID. They assisted schools to keep students connected and installed free WiFi hotspots to serve those in need that lost connections due to library closures." m tasolutions.com
GCI "For all the hard work during COVID-19 and before, and for giving away free internet when all this started so kids could keep going to school and people could work from home. Literally the most kind thing I've ever seen a company do for its community." g ci.com
First National Bank AlaskA "They are a great organization always, but they have really stepped up their game through COVID-19, partnering with even more companies and nonprofits while stepping up for the increased need of their services within our community and state." f nbalaska.com 66 | July 2021
FIRST NATIONAL BANK ALASKA You also nominated: 49th State Brewing Above and Beyond Doula Care Açaí Alaska ACENT AES AkUpply Alaska Airlines Alaska Coastal Catering Alaska Literacy Program Alaska Native Justice Center Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium Alaska Railroad Corporation Alaska Regional Hospital Alaska Resource Education Alaska SeaLife Center Alaska State Fair Alaska Tax Lady Alaska USA Alpha Delta Kappa Alpha Media Altman, Rogers & Co Altura Bistro Alutiiq American Cancer Society American Legion Anchorage Chamber Anchorage Economic Development Corporation Anchorage Remote Start and Sound Anchorage School District APD Citizen's Academy Alumni Association Arctic Echos Cardiology Arctic Gymnastics Arctic On-Demand Arctic Slope Community Foundation Arm Creative ASRC ASRC Energy Services Bailey's Furniture BDO Beacon Hill Beacon Media + Marketing Bean’s Cafe Bear Tooth Bee Well Chiropractic Ben & Jerry’s Big City Engineers Birch Horton Bittner & Cherot Boys & Girls Club of Eagle River Brilliant Media Strategies Bristol Bay Native Corporation Camp Fire Alaska Cape Fox Corporation Carrs Catalyst Marine Catholic Social Services
Chevron Denali Express CIRI ConocoPhillips Alaska Cook Inlet Housing Authority Cook Inlet Tribal Council Copper Whale Inn Cordova Telecom Cooperative Costco Credit Union 1 Dateline Printing Day & Night Valley Communications Denali Express Cheron Network Denali Nuvision Distinctive Ride Donlin Gold Doyon EBO Consulting El Rodeo Mexican Restaurant Enlaces Latinos Equinox Physical Therapy Fairbanks Native Association Faith Christian Community First National Bank Alaska Food Bank of Alaska Frostbite Foods Full Curl Archery Garcia's GCI Gospel Rescue Mission Great Harvest Bread Company Great Land Trust Health TIE Hilcorp Homer Foundation Hot Shot Sisters Hotel Captain Cook Hungry Robot Imaging Associates Inlet Tower Jackie's Restaurant Kaladi Brothers Kawerak Kim's Cuisine Asian Fusion Bistro Kinross Fort Knox KPMG KVAK Radio Launch Alaska LifeMed Alaska Lynden Mat Valley Milling Mat-Su Title Agency Matanuska Valley Federal Credit Union Matson MCG Explore Design MEA Moose Lodge Mossy's Fly Shop MTA New Horizon
Kerry Tasker
B E S T O F A L A SK A B USI N E SS SPEC I A L SEC T I O N
Best Corporate Citizen
Nome Community Center Nordic Skiing Association of Anchorage Northern Air Cargo Northrim Bank Odd Man Rush Brewing Odom Corporation PDC Engineers Peppercini's Perfectionist Auto Permafrost Beards Pillar to Post Point Blank Firearms & Self Defense Training Poppy Lane Mercantile Preferred Medical and Rehab Providence R&M Engineers Rasmussen Foundation Ray's Apartment Renewal by Andersen Resource Development Council Salvation Army Sealaska Seward Chamber of Commerce Shirts Up! Skinny Raven Sports Snow City Cafe Southcentral Foundatio Special Olympics State Farm Stellar Designs Subway of Alaska Sunrise Sysco Tastee Freeze Taylored Reconstruction The Alaska Club The Alaska Raceway The Book Shelf The Foraker Group The Hungry Robot The Scotty Gomez Foundation The Seward Alehouse Thompson & Co. Thrive Assisted Living Tote True dank UniSea United Way Upper One Studios Inc. Usibelli Coal Mine Valor Midwifery Services Vellum Verizon Walmart Wells Fargo Writer's Block Yuit Communications Zo Financial
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
Making a Difference for Alaska
In Alaska and throughout the world, it’s been a year with challenges woven into nearly every moment, and we rallied together to make sure that your way of life wasn’t completely upended. When our community needed additional support to ensure everyone had reliable, high-speed internet connections, we set up public WiFi hotspots throughout the Mat-Su Borough. When there was a risk that our students’ education would be interrupted, we worked tirelessly to make sure they had the necessary resources. And when we weren’t able to gather physically for our annual Gaming Tournament, we worked with you to hold it virtually and make it bigger than ever. In partnership with our community, we will keep creating, keep adapting, keep innovating, keep building, keep growing, keep bringing Alaskans together and keep moving forward.
mtasolutions.com
A L A S K A N AT I V E
A Foundation in Power Energy support sector provides important diversification opportunities for ANCs By Isaac Stone Simonelli
68 | July 2021
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
A
well-diversified portfolio is a cornerstone of success for Alaska Native corporations determined to fulfill their missions of providing meaningful benefits to their shareholders. Both Chugach Alaska Corporation and Koniag have found fertile ground for diversification within the energy service sector, even as big changes occur on the North Slope. The energy service sector is a broad umbrella that covers everything from oil spill response and equipment fabrication to electrical work and security system design. Basically, it's an assortment of businesses that fill the variety of needs of the oil and gas industry, as well as those in the renewable energy sector. “We look at Koniag as more than just a multi-generational business, but as an organization that can provide benefits to our shareholders, our Alaskan Native owners, forever,” Koniag CEO Ron Unger says. “And in order to stay on track we need to continue to grow.” Unger explains that diversification is key in allowing the corporation to provide ongoing benefits and opportunities, from shareholder dividends and Elder benefits to educational opportunities and scholarships. “In order to fund those, we need ongoing earning sources, so diversifying those sources is really critical for us,” Unger says. Chugach takes a similar stance. “Keeping Chugach’s businesses healthy and profitable is a pillar of our mission statement, as the stability and success of our operating companies enables us to provide jobs, benefits, and opportunities to our shareholder community,” says Chugach President and Chief Operating Officer Daniel Fenza.
INNOVATIVE BUSINESS DRIVEN BY
CULTURAL VALUES
Alaska’s Top-Tier Team
An Evolving Oilfield Without a doubt, 2020 was a particularly challenging year for most businesses, including those in the energy ser vice industr y—and on the North Slope there were also significant changes unrelated to the pandemic. “The Alaska energy services market experienced a generational transition with BP Alaska selling its North Slope and TAPS ownership stakes to Hilcorp Alaska,” Fenza says. www.akbizmag.com
Our tugs are able to withstand all of Alaska’s extreme conditions. You can trust Cook Inlet Tug & Barge to provide
excellent services that keep cargo moving and people safe. Contact us today to learn more.
(907) 248-0179 | www.cookinlettug.com Alaska Business
July 2021 | 69
It was announced in 2019 that Hilcorp would be purchasing all of BP’s Alaska interests for $5.6 billion. BP had started working in Alaska in 1959, producing more than 13 billion barrels of oil. The energy service sector was additionally impacted by North Slope crude prices hitting historic lows due to the global crude oil supply dispute and reduced demand due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Fenza explains. “Despite these circumstances, both Chugach Alaska Services [CAS] and All American Oilfield [AAO] have proven to be steady, resilient industry players,” Fenza says. “CAS’ stability in the midst of the pandemic and oil price volatility is due largely to the regulatory nature of oil spill work that ensures requirements are always maintained, along with a continuing demand for personnel services as an efficient option for CAS’ clients.” In addition to being a stable asset in Chugach’s portfolio, CAS employs a large number of Chugach shareholders and descendants. It allows for Chugach “to bring in-region job, internship, and apprenticeship opportunities to the local communities where job opportunities can be limited,” Fenza says. Chugach launched its most recent diversification strategy in 2014, which included the pursuit of building on existing assets while looking for merger and acquisition opportunities. “Each step in this journey has expanded Chugach’s portfolio to different regions and industries, which provides stability and reduces customer concentration risk during challenging times,” Fenza says. “This diversification strategy included the acquisition of AAO, which has given Chugach a foothold in Alaska’s oil and gas industry.” AAO provides upstream oil and gas drilling services in the Cook Inlet region, North Slope, and other areas of Alaska.
Energy Support Given the energy industry’s role as an economic foundation in Alaska, Koniag also saw significant opportunities in diversifying their holdings through the energy support sector. Just a year before Chugach began its diversification strategy, Koniag reset their business strategy, explains 70 | July 2021
Unger. The corporation focused on five investment sectors, including Koniag Energy and Water. The Koniag Energy and Water sector, wholly owned by Koniag, is focused on energy support. Dowland-Bach was the corporation’s spearhead into the energy support sector, providing fail-safe wellhead and flow line protection as well as custom engineering and design. “Over the past few years, we've acquired three other companies to help build out this sector,” Unger says.
“We look at Koniag as more than just a multi-generational business, but as an organization that can provide benefits to our shareholders, our Alaskan Native owners, forever… And in order to stay on track we need to continue to grow.” Ron Unger, CEO, Koniag
Those companies are Glacier Services, out of Anchorage; Big G Electric & Engineering, out of Soldotna; and Great Northern Engineering. According to Koniag Energy and Water CEO Art Garrod, when it acquired Glacier Services it was the largest automations professional services company owned in the state. Garrod explains that Koniag Energy and Water saw the writing on the wall with regard to Hilcorp preparing to take over BP’s Alaska assets, which
further spurred the interest in adjusting their portfolio. “The landscape is changing. We’ve got to be nimble and quick, and we’ve got to kind of change the way we're doing business, too,” Garrod says. “So, by bringing on a little more breadth, we can go after larger projects. Those additions have allowed Koniag Energy and Water to go after more work and it also shows that we're here to stay.” Through its subsidiaries, Koniag Energy and Water provides a number of critical support services, starting with engineering and design, explains Tony DeHaven, vice president of sales and marketing at Koniag Energy and Water. “Our focus is on the industrial side, and that applies to oil and gas facilities, tank farms, pipelines, power stations, and mining facilities,” DeHaven says. “They all use similar technology and we're experts on that technology, so we can provide those services and across all of those fields.” For Unger it’s important to grow and diversify Koniag’s portfolio and to find additional ways to diversify the holdings within Koniag Energy and Water. This means acquiring companies that can not only provide direct services to the energy sector but also have a broader client base that already exists or can be developed in the government and commercial sectors. “Great Northern Engineering has civil, structural, and other engineering disciplines, which certainly support the energy sector but also support these other customer segments,” he explains, noting the importance of companies with capabilities that are transferable across different customer segments. One such segment is industrial automation systems, which includes security, software, and other professional management systems. “We're going after a variety of energy producing resources,” DeHaven says. “We’re working with Chugach Electric Association and the new power plants that they have recently acquired.” Unger says that Koniag is continually on the lookout for opportunities supporting the renewable energy sector, as well. “At times, they use the same types of technology systems,” Unger says. “We're looking at those opportunities as part of our strategy with purchasing
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
“Thanks to the diversification efforts launched by our leaders in 2014, today Chugach has a more balanced portfolio that is wellpositioned to deliver value to shareholders over the long-term, while maintaining resilience through a strong balance sheet and ample liquidity.” Daniel Fenza, President/COO, Chugach
these companies and bringing them together under our Koniag Energy and Water sector.” Koniag Energy and Water’s acquisitions have helped it become more vertically integrated, allowing the company to take a project from design to execution, DeHaven explains. “We're the first people on the job, and we're the last people off the job,” DeHaven says, though that doesn’t mean they have the expertise for every element of a project. “Where we see ourselves being most successful is custom engineering, construction, and automation solutions. So we're always looking for companies that align with those concepts.”
Expand and Diversify Like Chugach, Koniag remains on the hunt for acquisitions that meet their needs, filling in gaps in their current energy support sector portfolios. “There are some other types of companies that would allow us to www.akbizmag.com
Alaska Business
July 2021 | 71
maybe bid on 20% more of a project,” Garrod says. The companies Koniag Energy and Water are eyeing, however, must work within the company’s strategy and vision for the sector, Garrod says. “We don't just go grab any company just because it's for sale or go chasing companies that are for sale—they have to fit within our Koniag Energy and Water divisions,” Garrod says.
“Our focus is on the industrial side, and that applies to oil and gas facilities, tank farms, pipelines, power stations, and mining facilities. They all use similar technology and we're experts on that technology, so we can provide those services and across all of those fields.” Tony DeHaven, VP of Sales and Marketing Koniag Energy and Water
Beyond its business interests, Koniag Energy and Water sector’s core purpose is to empower the Alutiiq people. “It is all about providing opportunity for Koniag shareholders and descendants,” DeHaven says. Part of continuing to make that a reality is looking beyond Alaska’s borders for opportunities through the geographical diversification of Koniag’s assets. “Most of our energy and water business is in Alaska, but with these acquisitions, we believe we'll be able to create some geographic diversification 72 | July 2021
by growing further in the Lower 48,” Unger says. While Big G Electric & Engineering already has particularly strong in-roads into the Lower 48, the acquisition of Great Northern Engineering has opened up opportunities as an 8(a) company to support federal government customers. “The Biden Administration is looking to invest in infrastructure, and our 8(a) certification will position us to bid on that work,” DeHaven says. “It's a perfect opportunity for Alaska Native corporations to use our expertise and experience in some of these important infrastructure projects,” DeHaven says. The energy support sector has played a key role in the diversification strategies of both Koniag and Chugach. Despite the global financial difficulties in 2020 that have seeped into 2021, Fenza says that CAS and AAO brought stability and diversity to Chugach’s portfolio that provided benefits and opportunities to shareholders. “Thanks to the diversification efforts launched by our leaders in 2014, today Chugach has a more balanced portfolio that is well-positioned to deliver value to shareholders over the long-term, while maintaining resilience through a strong balance sheet and ample liquidity,” Fenza says. “Having a diverse portfolio of businesses also strengthens the corporation’s ability to withstand and overcome challenging times.” In 2020 Chugach achieved the highest operating profit in its history, despite the pandemic. Similarly, Unger says that Koniag’s strategy of having assets in different business sectors and different geographies but with complementary capabilities throughout its holdings has allowed the company to leverage its experience and expertise to grow all of its interests. “Koniag’s strategy is to provide sufficient diversification so that we have a likelihood of continuing to grow year after year,” Unger says. “We were fortunate that Koniag was diversified both within and across business sectors because some areas were hit hard. It allowed us to persevere through the pandemic and come out with real opportunities.”
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
FINANCE
Diverse Approaches to Economic Development
How regional organizations are stimulating growth By Tracy Barbour
A
laska’s major regions— Southeast, Southcentral, Interior, Arctic, Northwest, and Southwest—all have their own economy. And where there is an economy, there is opportunity for economic development that can generate jobs and income for residents. Each of the state’s regions have various entities that focus on spurring economic development. As a result, Alaska’s regional economic development projects run the gamut, from village projects to resource development to large-scale projects. “I think the big thing that a lot of the economic development organizations around the state are thinking about is infrastructure spending,” says Nolan Klouda, executive director of the University of Alaska Center for Economic Development (CED). There’s considerable interest in how Alaska could best use money being proposed by the federal infrastructure spending bill. But there has not been a strong focus on infrastructure funding in recent years, so some Alaska businesses may not be ready to participate in this area, Klouda says. “A big focus for our center is what can we do to help get projects to a higher level of readiness, so they can get funding,” he says. 74 | July 2021
CED is a university-based partnership that promotes economic diversity through entrepreneurship, community building, and action-oriented strategy. It’s one of fifty-two University Centers designated by the US Economic Development Administration. CED leverages the resources of the university system to support economic growth statewide, from rural villages to urban cities. Essentially, CED provides technical assistance in the form of information and data, and it implements programs that promote economic development across the state. For example, the center is currently helping fishermen in the Yukon–Kuskokwim Delta analyze the feasibility of a cold storage project. Klouda identified a variety of initiatives underway or being examined across the state, including a project proposed by the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority for an all-season, industrial access road to the Ambler Mining District in the southern foothills of Alaska’s Brooks Range. The private road will provide access for mineral exploration, mine development, and mining operations by connecting the district with the Dalton Highway. The project, which is going through the permitting process,
will involve millions of dollars of roadwork and thousands of jobs over several years, according to Klouda. And there are other projects being explored around the state: · The Alaska-to-Alberta Railway, which would provide a proposed 1,500mile connection between the Alaska Railroad and Canadian railroads that serve the Lower 48; · an Alaska Railroad project connecting the train drop off spot in Seward to the dock; · building hydroelectric plants in Southeast to provide a cheaper, cleaner alternative to diesel fuel; · the expansion of the Port of Nome to transform it into a deep-water port; · and the development of shellfish farming opportunities in Prince of Wales Island. Here’s a regional look at some other economic development opportunities being explored around Alaska.
Southcentral Region Anchorage Economic Development Corporation Economic development in Southcentral and other parts of Alaska have been grossly impacted by the loss of jobs. “After six years of recession, in which we lost 6,000 jobs, and one
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
year of COVID-19, where we lost 4,400, we’ve got a lot of ground to make up,” says Bill Popp, president and CEO of the Anchorage Economic Development Corporation (AEDC). It will take years to recoup those jobs, but AEDC is working assiduously to address the problem. It’s focusing on recovering jobs in existing industries, from tourism and retail to healthcare, technology, and transportation. The Roadmap to a Vital and Safe Anchorage (RVSA) is part of these efforts. RVSA is working to plan a three-year strategy to get the Anchorage economy back on its feet. The volunteer initiative involving more than 100 businesses and community leaders has been meeting since last fall in an effort to “kick start” different aspects of the local economy. “It’s focusing on getting Anchorage to have as successful of a summer and fall that we can have,” Popp says. In general, there are opportunities in the growth of remote workers, workers who can provide online job products anywhere in the world. The upside potential is that Anchorage could benefit from that by having a growing
pool of remote employees generating work and depositing their paychecks in the local economy, Popp says. More specifically, remote workers could support Anchorage-based enterprises in cybersecurity, which is a rapidly growing area. Many cybersecurity jobs are going unfilled worldwide—jobs that Alaskans could
“I think the big thing that a lot of the economic development organizations around the state are thinking about is infrastructure spending.” Nolan Klouda, Executive Director University of Alaska Center for Economic Development
feasibly train for online to meet the global demand for this specialized area. Air cargo is another upside opportunity for the area, with several facilities being proposed for the Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport. FedEx is planning to construct a 100,000-square-foot building to enhance its in-state operations. UPS is also negotiating a project for the airport. Locally grown food products in Anchorage represent yet another budding area of potential. “Anything we can do to provide locally produced food products is a small win,” Popp says. “But we have to have a substantially larger statewide population for a locally produced product that goes beyond a seasonal product.” A major economic development project in the works for Anchorage is a new cement and petroleum terminal at the Port of Alaska. The terminal, expected to be completed later this year, would generate significant new jobs as other benefits for the city. Popp says: “We believe the Port of Alaska will be one of the top projects. It is critical to the Alaska economy.”
Development and Lease Opportunities in Ship Creek Commercial
161 E. 1st Avenue, Door 15 — 3,450 S.F. Leasable Area
Office
Industrial/Warehouse
320 W. 1st Avenue — 3,050 S.F. Total Building Area
1850 Viking Drive — 12,250 S.F. Total Building Area — 33,948 S.F. Lot
Industrial Land 1300 N. Post Road — 134,044 S.F. Land Area. Zoning: I-2 1532 N. Post Road — 56,500 S.F. Land Area. Zoning: I-2
Visit AlaskaRailroad.com/real-estate for available properties
Viking Drive & Reeve Blvd. — 137,200 S.F. Land Area. Zoning: I-2
For more information please contact: Erin Ealum, Leasing Manager 907.265.2325 or EalumE@akrr.com www.akbizmag.com
Alaska Business
July 2021 | 75
However, Popp says, Anchorage needs to address certain areas of deficiency to be in a better position to enhance economic development opportunities locally and in the region. For instance, there’s a dire need for housing in Anchorage, especially housing that meets the expectations of young professionals, working families, and seniors. “We have not been reinvesting in ourselves as a city to keep up with expectations of new generations,” he says. Popp says the housing shortage is impacting the city’s ability to hold onto retirees and attract much-needed workers. Investments in business are looking for a stable pool of labor; the issue goes beyond simply having a good workforce. Investing companies want to know that the labor force will be there in five or ten years, so Anchorage must be able to attract and retain skilled and semi-skilled workers. “A great magnet for workforce is communities that offer a great quality of life,” he says. “We have to start upping our game to address the issue of our very challenged downtown, our underdeveloped university district, and the issue with housing. We have to start looking ahead, instead of relying on whatever we know from that past.”
Chugach Alaska Corporation Chugach Alaska Corporation is another entity that’s closely examining economic opportunities in Southcentral. Last year, Chugach reaffirmed its commitment to inregion economic development when it created the position of executive vice president of Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act and community affairs, according to Sheri Buretta, chairman of the board and interim CEO at Chugach Alaska Corporation. The goal of the position, held by Josie Hickel, is to continue advancing land development projects and lead economic development projects that can provide opportunities and jobs to Chugach shareholders. “Chugach is focused on identifying economically viable projects in our region and our communities that will create sustainable socio-economic benefits in the future to meet our commitment to intergenerational prosperity for our people,” Buretta says. 76 | July 2021
Chugach’s land entitlement spans nearly 1 million acres in southcentral Alaska, including 378,000 acres of full fee estate and 550,000 acres of subsurface estate. Currently, Chugach is exploring several land-related initiatives that have the potential to create meaningful value for shareholders. The Prince William Sound Granite Quarry is a prime example. Chugach is in the process of developing a commercial hard rock quarry in Port Gravina to provide more accessible materials for infrastructure, construction, and repair projects throughout Alaska and the Pacific Northwest. The dock construction will be completed in 2021, with initial granite sales expected shortly after.
“After six years of recession, in which we lost 6,000 jobs, and one year of COVID-19, where we lost 4,400, we’ve got a lot of ground to make up.” Bill Popp, President/CEO Anchorage Economic Development Corporation
“Once the quarry is up and running, we will be able to provide highquality, accessible, and affordable granite for projects in Alaska for many decades to come as well as job opportunities for shareholders and descendants in the area,” Buretta says. “Additionally, financial returns generated through granite sales will be used to fund shareholder benefits and opportunities provided by Chugach, from dividends and educational scholarships to professional development and business assistance programs.” Chugach is also pursuing potential land exchange opportunities with the federal government—which would own the surface estate—to support the long-term lands management strategy
called for in Chugach’s 100-year plan. Depending on the tracts of lands exchanged, this could provide benefits in the form of economic returns (development activity that creates financial returns for shareholders and/ or jobs, internships, or apprenticeships); cultural preservation (protecting cultural sites or historic burial sites); and/ or celebration of heritage (expansion of cultural activities/cultural camps in the region). In addition, Chugach continues to work with the communities within its region to improve opportunities to advance economic development, training, jobs, safety, health, and housing needs. Plans for development of mixed-use facilities in Anchorage and its regional communities are underway.
Southwest Region Kodiak Economic Development Corporation Last year, Southwest Alaska saw the establishment of the nonprofit Kodiak Economic Development Corporation (KEDC). Economic development is gaining momentum in Kodiak, according to KEDC Executive Director Aimee Williams. “Working in conjunction with the City of Kodiak, KEDC is striving to create a diverse economy to help support the resiliency of the Kodiak Archipelago,” Williams says. Some of the projects KEDC is working on involve the development of the mariculture industry, the creation of its website, grant writing, and property development. “Mariculture is very exciting in the Kodiak area,” Williams says. “Kelp farms are starting to pop up right along the road system, and several outlying villages have permits in to start more farms.” In addition to kelp, oysters are now being har vested from Larsen Bay and being sold from Island Seafoods in Kodiak. “ The reviews are impressive,” Williams says. “ These new industries provide additional jobs and the crops can be har vested in between fishing seasons, which creates more work to be done on the processing side as well.” Kodiak is also seeing an innovative twist in the restaurant and food industry. Williams explains: “Several
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
new food trucks have popped up offering a variety of new food options from El Salvadorian food to doubledecker grilled cheese sandwiches. The variety of options and rotating menus have locals lined up to try something new.” Food accessibility is also an area of focus for Kodiak, Williams says. The ability to locally source food has been a key goal of the Kodiak Food Harvest Co-op. There are also several hydroponic farms being developed across the archipelago. Kodiak is also pondering other methods to stimulate economic development in the area. The city of Kodiak is considering expanding Kodiak’s shipyard services and has applied for a grant that would fund the availability of a shelter for indoor services. Local rotary clubs are helping with an Area Sector Analysis Program that will match available resources with industry needs. And Kodiak, like other areas in the state, is doing a marketing push to entice independent travelers. William says areas that need to be addressed in Kodiak currently include
housing availability and workforce education.
expanded
Bristol Bay Native Corporation Bristol Bay Native Corporation (BBNC) is also committed to promoting economic development in the region. The BBNC board has launched an InRegion Government Contracting (IGC) program to foster innovative ways to invest in Bristol Bay enterprises. “It offers village corporation federal contracting mentorship training and joint venture opportunities to build a knowledge base line and business best practices,” says Polly Watson, a Small Business Administration (SBA) analyst with BBNC. “We’ve had a total of nine participants, but currently there are three companies in the program.” The IGC program uses mentorship to leverage the benefits of BBNC’s subsidiaries, such as their experience, relationships, networks, geographical positioning, bonding capacity, and business sense. The mentoring process is structured in a way that is mutually profitable to BBNC and to the tribes and village corporations, enabling all participants to learn and earn. Most of
the subsidiaries and contracts engaged in the program are located in the Lower 48, but the financial benefits ultimately flow back to communities in Alaska in the form of scholarship programs and other benefits, according to Romina Bentz, senior SBA program manager at BBNC. “Each village decides their investments into the community,” she says. The corporations taking part in IGC vary in sophistication, business background, and maturity, although they must be in business at least two years to participate in the SBA 8(a) program. However, IGC provides a strong education piece on corporate governance to support the businesses. Bentz says, “We want to make sure they are strategically situated to be successful in the program.” However, Bentz says, participants are expected to do more than just complete the IGC program; they have to develop policies that will help them support their shareholders and maintain their success. Dillinghambased Choggiung is the epitome of a successful participant in the BBNC’s IGC program. Several years ago,
Conrad-Houston Insurance Named ‘Commercial Lines Agency of the Year’ and a ‘Circle of Excellence Agency’ by Umialik Insurance Company and Western National Insurance Group
C O M M U N I T Y B U I L D I N G B LO C K S.
Alaska Owned & Operated Since 1979
Contact us to see if we can help with your insurance needs
907-276-7667 www.chialaska.com www.akbizmag.com
Mines in Alaska are an economic development director’s dream, especially for local communities. A mine is labor intensive, so it provides year-round, high-paying jobs. It’s a substantial source of property tax. Then there’s the local buy, charitable donations and energy purchases from the hometown utility, which subsidize everyone’s electricity rates. Mines, like Hecla Greens Creek, are critical infrastructure for Alaska communities.
*Photo was taken in 2019.
Alaska Business
heclagreenscreek.com
July 2021 | 77
Choggiung made the ground-breaking achievement of acquiring a majority ownership of the Bristol Alliance of Companies, a group of Anchoragebased construction, environmental, and professional services companies formed by BBNC in 1994. “They are growing very quickly,” Bentz says. “Since their inception, they have created three 8(a)s on their own and are doing very well.” BBNC also supports economic development opportunities through its wholly owned subsidiary Bristol Bay Development Fund (BBDF). BBDF serves as a catalyst for the successful startup, launch, survival, success, and growth of businesses through the effective deployment of financial and non-financial capital. Recently, BBDF partnered with Path to Prosperity program creator Spruce Root to stimulate economic development. Path to Prosperity is a business plan competition that combines an intensive boot camp and business advising with a competition for seed money. Eligible program applicants must be able to demonstrate a forprofit business model, and they can include businesses that are based in or benefit Bristol Bay, tribal entities, start-ups, inventors, and existing businesses considering a growth initiative or social enterprise. Path to Prosperity awards a total of $50,000 in grant capital to three winning business plans each cycle selected by a panel of judges. Two winning companies receive $20,000 each, and a third winning company receives $10,000. The program is working well, according to BBDF Manager Cindy Mittlestadt. “In two years, we have had approximately sixty applicants who had business ideas in the region,” Mittlestadt says. “It tells me people are innovative and creative and there is a need for the business education or a framework that entrepreneurs are seeking to lift their businesses off the ground.” In addition, BBNC’s land department is working on opportunities to address infrastructure and material needs in the region. BBNC is partnering with village corporations around the region to develop gravel material sites needed for infrastructure, according 78 | July 2021
“In two years, we have had approximately sixty applicants who had business ideas in the region. It tells me people are innovative and creative and there is a need for the business education or a framework that entrepreneurs are seeking to lift their businesses off the ground.” Cindy Mittlestadt, BBDF Manager, BBNC
to Daniel Cheyette, vice president for lands and natural resources and associate general counsel for BBNC. “We are the owner of the material; we work with the management and sales, and we split the royalties,” Cheyette says. “It’s helped to provide capital to the village corporation as well as infrastructure.” BBNC also just received a $100,000 Bureau of Indian Affairs grant that it will use to explore building a business model for a more collaborative approach to addressing energy needs. Cheyette explains, “The idea is how can we help the larger utilities best utilize the resources they have and help smaller utilities build better economies of scale for what they need.”
Interior Region Doyon Limited With more than 12.5 million acres of land and 22,000 shareholders, Doyon Limited is an important economic generator in the Interior. Today, the Alaska Native regional corporation has several active mineral exploration programs underway. Doyon’s Land and Natural Resource Department operates programs in various areas, including sand, gravel, rock, gold, precious and base metal materials, and oil and gas. “Doyon partners with community leadership and residents to facilitate an ongoing dialogue about projects, development, and plans, as well as training and employment opportunities,” says Vice President of Lands and Natural Resources Jamie Marunde. Doyon is focusing on mineral exploration in the far eastern area of the Doyon region located in the Upper Tanana subregion, as well as an active oil and gas exploration project in the northeastern area of the Doyon region located in the Yukon Flats subregion. These projects are currently providing seasonal employment, contracting with local business owners and surface owners, and education partnerships with the youth of the regions such as programs with organizations like the Alaska Native Science and Engineering Program. “The exploration projects are focused on providing a positive impact on our shareholders through long-term employment and annual distributions,” Marunde says. In addition, Doyon Limited announced its Carbon Offset Initiative in 2020. Doyon made an initial commitment of nearly 200,000 acres of its forested lands as part of this initiative to help balance global greenhouse emissions by sequestering carbon long-term. As Doyon manages the exploration and development of resources, its shareholders receive short and longterm employment, local contracting opportunities, and education benefits. “Our local and traditional activities such as hunting, fishing, and trapping are protected from negative impacts because we are committed to employing environmentally sound and responsible practices,” Marunde says.
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
WHAT CAN ALASKA USA DO FOR YOUR BUSINESS? Business Checking and Money Market accounts CRE loans including construction SBA and USDA loans Equipment loans Lines of credit
Work with us to build your business
GIVE US A CALL TODAY! 907-646-6670 500 W. 36th Ave, Suite 400 Anchorage, AK 99503 www.alaskausa.org/business
Insured by NCUA
CONSTRUCTION
About Bridges
Retrofits, repairs, and construction for this critical infrastructure
Hook, LLC
By Isaac Stone Simonelli
W
ith about 365,000 miles of river and thousands more miles of streams and other waterways—not to mention 6,640 miles of coastline—bridges are vital infrastructure for keeping Alaskans moving along the state’s roadways. “You’ve got to understand the geography of Alaska: to get from point A to point B, there are rivers, streams, and creeks. Everything that is fish-bearing and things of that nature has to have a bridge over it,” says Bud Courtright, a senior project manager for Swalling General Contractors, which specializes in bridge building. “In the old days, they drove across them; I think we’ve finally grown out of that mindset.” And while some smaller, fragile stream systems might have once been crossed without a bridge, there are many water crossings in Alaska where such attempts are unimaginable without a bridge—or a boat. More than $80 million has been spent on bridge retrofits, repairs, and construction in the Last Frontier since 2019, explains Richard Pratt, chief bridge engineer for the Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities (DOT&PF).
80 | July 2021
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
A number of bridge projects will be under construction in 2021, including the replacement of two bridges along the Chena River, the replacement of the bridge on Old Sterling Highway over Anchor River, and the replacement of five bridges on the Seward Highway. “Replacements are typically condition and cost-based decisions,” Pratt says. “If we have a bridge within the limits of a highway rehabilitation project, we will compare the life cycle cost of rehabilitation versus replacement. We also include some consideration of improving the anticipated performance of a bridge designed to meet current standards versus a lower cost rehabilitation strategy.” A new bridge—instead of a replacement—is often required due to expanding highway systems. “For example, we need new bridges on the Sterling Highway because we’re constructing several miles of new alignment for the Cooper Landing Bypass. We also build new bridges to improve safety such as replacing an at-grade railroad crossing with a grade separation structure,” Pratt says.
Cool—But Not Record Setting The new Juneau Creek Bridge for the Cooper Landing Bypass Project on the Sterling Highway, which has been more than forty years in the coming, sits at about 30 percent design as of March, with expectations that geotechnical exploration will provide the necessary information to take it to 75 percent by the fall. The bridge, which has inaccurately been identified in the media as what would be the longest single span bridge in the state, will come to a total of 776 feet, including the end spans. “There are already several bridges over 2,000 feet in length; however, Juneau Creek Bridge will be a significant structure, and its design and construction offer many challenges,” Pratt says. “This bridge will cross a canyon, and the project’s environmental document limits the amount of work that can be performed within the canyon walls.” Jonathan Tymick, DOT&PF project manager for the bridge, points out that the project—though impressive in many ways—will not set any state bridge records. www.akbizmag.com
“You’ve got to understand the geography of Alaska: to get from point A to point B, there are rivers, streams, and creeks. Everything that is fish-bearing and things of that nature has to have a bridge over it. In the old days, they drove across them; I think we’ve finally grown out of that mindset.” Bud Courtright, Senior Project Manager Swalling General Contractors
“I was hoping to have a fun fact, like it might be the largest single span bridge in the state, but it's not,” Tymick says. “We should probably try to kill that rumor. It’s on track to be the third or fourth largest single span bridge in the state of Alaska.” But the project will include the State of Alaska’s first wildlife overcrossing, which is a broad term for any structure that allows wildlife to cross manmade structures. They have been proven effective in both the Lower 48 and in Canada. The project has been studying wildlife movements for several years and working with experts to help provide input during design and make sure it’s successful. According to the Juneau Creek Bridge Record of Decision, “The purpose of the project is to bring the highway up to current standards and to efficiently Alaska Business
and safely serve through-traffic, local community traffic, and traffic bound for recreation destinations in the area. FHWA identified three needs for the project: to reduce highway congestion, meet current highway design standards, and improve highway safety.” Though the project is designed to bypass Cooper Landing, Tymick says he doesn’t expect it to have a negative economic impact on the community. “From a local point of view, I think a lot of folks will be happy they can cross the old highway safely with their children, whereas it's pretty hard to do that in the busy month of July,” Tymick says. The entire Cooper Bypass project is estimated to cost upward of $500 million, Tymick says, with the bridge itself originally slated to cost $50 million to $60 million. “The bridge has some global stability concerns,” Tymick says, noting that mitigating those with strand anchors will add a significant amount of work. The need for an estimated 200 strand anchors could increase the project’s cost by $10 million to $20 million. “Bridge access is the critical path for us right now,” Tymick says. “We need to get up to the bridge site to better determine how many strand anchors will be required.” Tymick’s team is still operating under a land-use permit, though once it has access they will begin a geotechnical investigation to get a better idea of what challenges lay ahead. A geotechnical investigation includes identifying the water table, seismic activity, ground movement, and fracture critical surfaces. Once complete, the team will better know how deep the strand anchors need to go to provide overall stability to the structure. “By drilling, we're able to basically interpolate the data from multiple drill holes to find where those failure planes are located,” Tymick explains.
Spanning the Unexpected But bridge building isn’t always a perfect science. Swalling General Contractors was in charge of executing plans for replacing the Indian Creek Bridge in 2020, with the project slated to be wrapped by September. However, during July 2021 | 81
construction, the team uncovered an abandoned foundation of a previous bridge from the ‘40s or ‘50s that there was no record of. “One thing about driving pile is that you can find any obstruction or utility faster than you can find them with a locating device,” jokes Paul Swalling, co-owner and senior project manager of Swalling General Contractors. Swalling is a third-generation bridge builder in Alaska. His grandfather moved to Cordova in 1929 to work on the region’s narrow gauge railroad as a carpenter and ended up on a bridge crew. In 1947, he started the original entity that is now Swalling General Contractors. Courtright adds that with every project there seems to always be something a little different than expected when construction starts. The team of seasoned bridge builders all agreed that nothing beats experience when it comes to troubleshooting. “Sometimes the best thing to do is find the oldest guy in the room and ask him what he sees,” says Steve Rowe, co-owner and operations manager at Swalling. For the Indian Creek Bridge project? The solution is to divert the water and remove the original foundation, which pushed its finish date back to this year.
Swalling General Contractors crew on the Chatanika Bridge. The team usually takes on about five bridge projects a year. Hook, LLC
Seasonal Considerations Bridge builders and DOT&PF design teams face an assortment of challenges in Alaska, from working in remote locations and material appropriation logistics to adjusting for weather and wildlife. Because of the sensitivities of migratory birds, anadromous fishes, and marine mammals, construction in vital habitat can be paused for windows of time during the summer to protect those natural resources, explains Brian Van Abel, a co-owner of Swalling General Contractors. Working in critical spawning habitat requires additional levels of permitting through the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Van Abel says. “If you have pile foundations in the water, you have to get those in late in the fall and then come back and build the rest of the substructure and the superstructure,” Courtright explains of working around salmon spawning windows. 82 | July 2021
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
GIVING PEOPLE THEIR BEST CONSTRUCTION EXPERIENCE — EVERY TIME. Best General Contractor Award Winner 2021
Swalling General Contractors work on Chatanika Bridge. Hook, LLC
www.akbizmag.com
Alaska Business
July 2021 | 83
In addition to working around windows for wildlife and harsh weather conditions, contractors have to navigate the logistics of material procurement. “You can’t go down the street and buy a piling,” Swalling says. “You’re looking at three to four weeks to get it wherever it’s needed, and if you're going to the North Slope or out west, that could be a three month delay to get that material up there.” Such logistical issues are mitigated by buying extra materials, having a stash of backup materials, or working out a trade with other contractors, Swalling explains. While construction season (April to October) in the past has been a limiting factor for projects, Swalling says that slight changes in technology are now allowing them to operate nearly year-round. On the North Slope, there is still a limited construction season, though the situation is almost the opposite of what people from Outside might expect. “The bridge work up there is predominantly done in the winter months,” Swalling says.
84 | July 2021
The deep cold on the North Slope requires contractors to use a more expensive concrete mixing process, and the permitting process for such work usually prohibits work until the winter. Seismic activity in the state also presents challenges when building stable bridges in Alaska. “Since the ‘90s, we have worked with universities in Alaska and across the country to develop analysis tools and structural detailing to enhance anticipated bridge performance under seismic loading. Soil liquefaction during earthquakes results in the need for deeper and more robust foundations,” Pratt explains. Swalling says that within even the last decade he has seen the size of pilings increase. “In situations where a 10-inch pile was being used, now engineers are calling for a 36- or 48-inch piling,” Swalling says. “The steps are still the same, but it requires different equipment and tools.” While bridge designs are being adjusted to meet changes in regulations and demand, there is a steady demand for work in the sector. Swalling—one of
several contractors bidding on bridge projects in the state—handles between three and five major bridge projects per year. Unlike in the Lower 48, where some bridge projects can close a section of road, forcing motorists to use detours, the situation is more complicated. Because of Alaska’s limited road system, shutting down a road or bridge completely is in most cases not possible at all or would result in a detour hundreds of miles long. Instead, it’s necessary to construct temporary alignments or develop creative and safe ways to allow access through the project area. For instance, Swalling recalls replacing a bridge pier and bearings over the Nenana River for the Alaska Railroad without interrupting scheduled train traffic. Despite the hardships and challenges bridge builders in Alaska face, Swalling says the views during construction are hard to beat. “You are in some of the most picturesque places in the world when you're building a bridge,” Swalling says.
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
While working on the Indian Creek Bridge project, the Swalling General Contractors team discovered the previously forgotten foundation of what is suspected to be the original bridge structure at the site from the ‘40s and ‘50s. Hook, LLC
MATERIAL FLOW
AND CONVEYOR SYSTEMS INC. 6112 Petersburg St. Anchorage, AK 99507
Toll Free 877-868-3569 Phone 907-868-4725 Fax 907-868-4726
Visit Our Website: www.materialflow.com
Used and New
IN PLANT OFFICES Cheaper than stud wall construction. • Break Rooms • Admin. Offices • Drying & Curing Rooms • Equipment Enclosures • Growing Rooms • Guard Shacks
TEARDROP PALLET RACKS • Cantilever Racks • Bulk Racks • Mezzanines
Need a Lift Truck fast? LP, Electric 100’s in West Coast Stock Warehouse
Economy Pallet Jacks IN-STOCK
Manual Pallet Jacks IN-STOCK
Hilman Rollers
100 Models in 39,000 Sizes IN-STOCK Fast Midwest Warehouse Shipment • Gravity & Powered Conveyors
IN-STOCK
Packaging Supplies Self Dumping Hoppers IN-STOCK
Plastic Bulk Boxes
• Lockers • Steel Shelving • Work Benches
Stretch Wrap Steel - All Types Banding / Tools Sealing Tape
Mezzanines - All Sizes and Types
Two / Three Story Structures www.akbizmag.com
• Bubble Wrap • Stretch Wrap Machines • Carousels • Turntables
• Carts • Hand Trucks IN-STOCK
IN-STOCK
Plastic Bins
Alaska Business
July 2021 | 85
OIL & GAS
Shipping from the Slope Qilak LNG moves forward with plans to get stranded Point Thomson gas to market By Alexandra Kay
P
oint Thomson, located on Alaska’s North Slope 60 miles east of Prudhoe Bay, has an estimated 8 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and 200 million barrels of natural gas condensate, approximately one-quarter of the total projected gas available on the North Slope. That gas has been “stranded” for more than forty years by the economic and physical realities of bringing it to market via either the construction of a pipeline hundreds of miles long or the need to ship it across arctic waters. When crude oil is produced in Alaska, it is usually accompanied by gas, which is generally reinjected back into the ground. This is a benefit if a field needs additional pressurization. But “this is an especially difficult problem for Point Thomson because the pressure of that particular field is so high that reinjecting the gas is cumbersome,” says Christine Resler, president and CEO of ASRC Energy Services. “Having the ability to export the natural gas makes the economics of Point Thomson significantly more attractive.” Qilak seeks to capitalize on that fact, says Qilak Chairman and CEO Mead Treadwell, former lieutenant governor of Alaska. “We believe we’re competitive by starting first with a field that benefits from gas production on the oil production side, but also by starting with a small enough quantity that the risk in the marketplace is less.”
“Prudhoe Bay is a giant gas field with reasonable proximity to Asia, and if there isn’t a gas pipeline, the only way to transport natural gas long distances is to liquefy it. It is in the best interests of Alaska to monetize this resource.” Christine Resler, President/CEO, ASRC Energy Services
across Alaska...
we’ve got you covered. Anchorage Whittier
Soldotna Homer
Seward
Cordova
Skagway Juneau Petersburg
Sitka
Kodiak
Wrangell Craig Ketchikan
SERVING YOU SINCE 1959 Fine Fuels, Super Service, Quality Lubricants
PETRO 49
companies
907.562.5000 | petromarineservices.com www.akbizmag.com
Alaska Business
July 2021 | 87
“We’ve spent a lot of time in the last year and a half designing the feasibility study and doing some preliminary work on it in terms of shipping and ice conditions and assembling partners for the feasibility study, which include contractors that we would name at the start of the study as well as potential funding partners and some Asian engineering off-takers and ship operators.” Mead Treadwell Chairman/CEO, Qilak LNG
There are currently two proposed plans to bring natural gas reserves at Point Thomson (which began operations in 2016) to market: an 800mile pipeline or, as proposed by Qilak LNG, directly exporting the gas from Alaska’s North Slope to Asian markets via icebreaking ships. In October 2019, Qilak LNG signed a Heads of Agreement with ExxonMobil to reserve at least 560 million cubic feet 88 | July 2021
of natural gas per day for the proposed Qilak LNG North Slope project. Initially the proposed project would have an export capacity of 4 million tons per year over a twenty-year term, using an off-shore liquefaction plant to process the gas into liquefied natural gas (LNG) before it would be loaded into icebreaking LNG carriers to take it to its final destination. Qilak had already conducted a pre-feasibility study of its proposal, supported by Aker Arctic, which specializes in development, design, engineering, consulting and testing services for ice-going vessels, icebreakers, offshore marine structures, marine transport solutions, and ports. The study examined the company’s plan to pipe gas a few short miles from Point Thomson to an offshore LNG processing facility, in this case a gravity-based structure that would be floated in and grounded in about 45 feet of water. It would be equipped with storage facilities, a liquefaction plant, and off-loading arms to serve ships. A gas conditioning plant at Point Thomson would remove CO2 before the natural gas was moved offshore. According to the pre-feasibility study, shipping LNG directly from an offshore facility in the Beaufort Sea would have lower capital costs than constructing a pipeline. “If you take the latest cost for three gas pipelines, which is $1,900 per ton of capacity of production, we’re at $1,250 per ton, so we’re much less expensive,” says Treadwell. The success of the Russian Yamal project, which employs icebreaking LNG carriers to bring LNG from the Yamal LNG plant in Sabetta through the Russian Arctic, points to the feasibility of the Qilak proposal. Qilak could use similar icebreaking carriers: “Qilak concluded that with the available gas supply, competitive project economics, and a partner willing to utilize Alaska’s gas for power and city gas in Asia, the Qilak LNG 1 project can be economically and technically viable,” according to Aker’s pre-feasibility study fact sheet.
Why LNG? With global demand for LNG approaching 400 million tons per year (it increased to 360 million tons
per year in 2020, according to Shell’s latest annual LNG outlook), Qilak’s 4 million ton per year projection for the first phase of the project is just about 1 percent of current global demand. And the small size of the project “might be a good thing,” says Resler, “because it will give the market time to accommodate the additional supply.” While 2020 was a volatile year for LNG with periods of both oversupply and tightness, overall, “LNG is set for stronger growth, as domestic supply in key gas markets will not keep up with demand growth,” according to McKinsey & Company’s Global Gas Outlook to 2050 report. LNG demand is expected to grow 3.4 percent a year to 2035, “with some 100 million metric tons of additional capacity required to meet both demand growth and decline from existing projects.” Growth is expected to slow from 2035 to 2050, though an additional 200 million metric tons is still expected to be needed. LNG is a cleaner source of energy and has lower CO2 emission than coal. As such, it’s a resource that’s already being produced that many anticipate being a transitional fuel on the pathway to zero emissions. Though some argue that the dependence on fossil fuels should be eliminated more quickly, the reality is that reduction and eventual elimination will take both time and new technologies.
What’s Next for Qilak? After signing the Heads of Agreement in 2019, ExxonMobil and Qilak LNG anticipated starting a full feasibility study in 2020 with the target of reaching an investment decision by 2022. As it disrupted many things, the pandemic delayed the formal feasibility study, says Treadwell. But while plans have slowed down a bit, they definitely haven’t been halted. “We’ve spent a lot of time in the last year and a half designing the feasibility study and doing some preliminary work on it in terms of shipping and ice conditions and assembling partners for the feasibility study, which include contractors that we would name at the start of the study as well as potential funding partners and some Asian engineering
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
off-takers and ship operators,” says Treadwell. “So we’ve been spending a lot of time in the marketplace, and the biggest challenge of COVID is we were just getting started with some very interested trading companies, ship operators, and liquefaction folks, and the inability to meet with people face-to-face has been a big challenge.” In light of ongoing trends away from the use of fossil fuels and increasing interest in the reduction of carbon footprints, Qilak LNG has taken advantage of the delay to add a screening study on ways to further reduce carbon emissions during production, liquefaction, and shipping to the feasibility plan. Qilak LNG is now hoping to commence the full feasibility study this year. At the end of the feasibility study, if the project continues to show potential, the company will move into Front End Engineering Design (FEED). “If the feasibility study continues to show that the process is valid, we will go into FEED,” says Treadwell. The feasibility study, FEED, and permitting are estimated to cost about
“Having the ability to export the natural gas makes the economics of Point Thomson significantly more attractive.” Christine Resler President/CEO ASRC Energy Services
$150 million, and that’s where those potential funding partners would come in. The offshore plant and the pipeline are estimated to cost about $5 billion total, which could include equity as well as potential funding from some form of public debt. At present, the project is not seeking funding from the State of Alaska. Assuming there’s final determination to construct the project after the
feasibility study, FEED, and permitting phases, Qilak LNG anticipates delivering LNG in 2027 or 2028. “The feasibility study, FEED, and permitting will all take time, and then you need to install the gravity-based structure during a summer season, and you have to have done your testing and pipeline construction,” says Treadwell. Resler of ASRC believes the project has merit both economically and environmentally. “Prudhoe Bay is a giant gas field with reasonable proximity to Asia, and if there isn’t a gas pipeline, the only way to transport natural gas long distances is to liquefy it. It is in the best interests of Alaska to monetize this resource. The operations infrastructure [except the LNG plant and transportation] already exists. Natural gas is plentiful and will be an energy source for many years to come, and if it doesn’t come from Alaska, it will come from somewhere else. Given the infrastructure we already have on the North Slope of Alaska and the wells we already have, from an environmental standpoint it makes sense to produce it in Alaska.”
Alaska Native Corporations Featured in September Issue
B
efore Richard Nixon left the presidential office in disgrace in 1974, his administration gave us a gift that keeps on giving to all Alaskans. The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971 allowed Alaska Natives to take ownership of their land, and in turn, earn money for their shareholders—and by no small measure—contribute to the overall health of Alaska’s economy for now 50 years. Alaska Native Corporations continue to grow. ANCs have always found a way to synchronize their economic goals with the marketplace. ANC’s are committed to growth and sharing dividends with their shareholders through business ventures inside Alaska and outside. ANCs seek to develop Alaska’s natural resources while also keeping an eye on the horizon for economic opportunities outside of Alaska. Case in point, Doyon’s
By Christine Merki, Account Manager ongoing exploration for minerals globally and Sealaska’s involvement in installing renewable energy systems for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)—both prime examples of expanding horizons. The upcoming September issue of Alaska Business magazine will pay tribute to Alaska Native Corporations, where we’ll take note of their contributions to our economy. It’s the least we can do. After all, look at what the ANCs have done for Alaskans. Out of the forty-nine Alaska companies on the 2020 Alaska Business Top 49ers list, twenty-five were ANCs and they reported nearly $15 Billion in revenue. ANCs also employ tens of thousands of people in Alaska and throughout the world. If you do business with Alaska Native Corporations now or want to in the future, you’ll want to advertise in this
edition of the magazine. Ad space for the September magazine closes July 20. Contact us for rates and to reserve your space. Christine has worked in Anchorage media for almost 20 years. Her writing talents have earned her top honors as a recipient of the Alaska Broadcasters Association Goldie Awards. Her sales and marketing skills have helped countless clients connect with their target audience to achieve annual goals. She unapologetically lures clients in with her homemade raspberry jam and lives with her salmon slaying beau and a ferocious cat named Maggie.
CHRISTINE MERKI
907-257-2911 | cmerki@akbizmag.com
– SPO N S O R E D C O N T E N T–
www.akbizmag.com
Alaska Business
July 2021 | 89
INSIDE ALASKA BUSINESS ASRC Federal Communications The Defense Information Systems Agency awarded ASRC Communications a contract to support its Unified Cyber Situational Awareness (UCSA) Program. The ASRC Communications team will provide a range of professional services and IT support for UCSA, including cyber and cloud. This contract is valued at approximately $217 million with a period of performance through March 2026. The scope of work includes creating a single centralized, cloud-enabled cyber defense environment that will reduce Defensive Cyber Operations (DCO) data and capability duplication and manual analysis by DCO analysts while improving correlation of data across networks and analysts’ access to DCO tools. This enterprise platform will be the hub for cybersecurity operations across the Department of Defense Information Network. asrcfederal.com
KUAC KUAC is adding 360TV to its television channel lineup. KUAC TV 9.9 is airing the channel year-round, providing Alaska public affairs, arts, culture, science, and health programming. Included with 360TV (formerly known as 360 North) is “Gavel Alaska,” which provides unedited live and tape-delayed coverage of state government activities, including the Alaska Legislature when it is in session. KUAC previously aired 360 North and “Gavel Alaska,” but hasn’t offered the programming for the past two years. The 360TV channel
is Alaska’s public affairs source and the most widely distributed television channel in the state. It is dedicated to Alaska programming, information about Alaska, and content of interest to Alaskans. kuac.org
world’s top 10 airports grew by 3 percent. “ANC is a critical link in the global supply chain, and shippers are realizing the time and money saved by utilizing our airport,” says Airport Director Jim Szczesniak. dot.state.ak.us/anc
ConocoPhillips
Alaska Airlines | Airspace Intelligence
The US Department of Justice filed a brief on May 26 with the US District Court for Alaska defending the Willow project, a significant energy development within the National Petroleum Reserve of Alaska (NPR-A) on Alaska’s North Slope that has been halted by litigation. The Biden administration in January announced it would review the final Record of Decision (ROD) for the Willow Master Development Plan, approved in October of 2020 by the Trump administration, for consistency with the administration’s initial executive orders on addressing climate change. The administration has finished that review, finding the ROD legally sufficient. The filing follows weeks of advocacy and outreach by Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan and Congressman Don Young to members of the Biden administration, including directly with the president. conocophillips.com
Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport The Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport (ANC) is the fourth busiest cargo airport in world. Airports Council International reports, globally, the air cargo industry decreased by 8.9 percent in 2020; however, cargo volumes for the
Alaska Airlines and Airspace Intelligence have signed a multiyear contract for the use of Flyways AI, an industry-changing platform that uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to assist dispatchers in making flight operations more efficient and sustainable by optimizing routes and improving the predictability and flow of airline traffic. Alaska is the first airline worldwide to adopt the technology. alaskaair.com | airspace-intelligence.com
Donlin Gold Donlin Gold has reopened its exploration camp for the 2021 drilling season, with continued implementation of strict COVID-19 safety precautions to protect employees and the people of the Yukon-Kuskokwim region. All employees traveling to and from the project site are required to follow established protocols within the company and their home villages. Following a successful 2020 season with zero COVID-19 cases on-site, employees will again have mandatory testing prior to traveling to camp and/or upon arrival, as well as follow social distancing and other stringent requirements. donlingold.com
ECONOMIC INDIC ATOR S ANS Crude Oil Production 476,32 barrels -1% change from previous month
ANS West Coast Crude Oil Prices $70.58 per barrel 4% change from previous month
Statewide Employment 351,084 Labor Force 6.7% Unemployment
6/3/21 Source: Alaska Department of Natural Resources
6/3/21 Source: Alaska Department of Natural Resources
4/1/21. Adjusted seasonally. Source: Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development
90 | July 2021
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
RIGHT MOVES Northrim Bank Northrim Chairman, President, and CEO Joe Schierhorn announced the following individuals have been promoted: · Ryan Caldwell, SVP - Systems & Network Manager · Douglas Frey, SVP - Security & Business Continuity Manager & Information Security Officer · Josh King, SVP - Northrim Funding Services Division Manager · Nate Olmstead, SVP - Data Analytics Manager · Erick Stoeckle, SVP - Enterprise Architecture Manager · Craig Tiihonen, SVP - Treasury Services Director · Susan Stenstrom, VP - Corporate Secretary Caldwell was hired at Northrim in 2016. He has more than nineteen years of experience managing enterprise services, Caldwell databases, security infrastructure, and networks, along with more than sixteen years of IT project management and leadership experience. Caldwell holds a master’s in computer information systems/information assurance and has earned several relevant professional certifications. Frey joined Northrim in 2017. He has more than thirty-five years of law-enforcement, risk management, anti-terrorism, Frey force-protection, and information security experience. Frey holds a bachelor’s in homeland security and an associate’s criminal justice.
He has numerous specialized training certifications in his fields of expertise. King has been with Northrim Bank since 2009. He has been the assistant division manager of Northrim Funding Services King since 2014. King holds a juris doctorate of law from Widener University and recently graduated from Pacific Coast Banking School. Olmstead came to Northrim in 2015 and was promoted to data analytics manager in 2016. He has more than nineteen years Olmstead of enterprise technical experience, including database engineering, data warehousing, business intelligence, and data management. Olmstead attended the Eastern Michigan University and earned several certifications in his fields of expertise. Stoeckle started at Northrim in 2012. He has more than twenty years of experience supporting large enterprise networks, Stoeckle systems, applications, storage, and security infrastructure. Stoeckle attended Brigham Young University and holds a Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert certification in addition to multiple certifications in his areas of expertise. Tiihonen joins Northrim Bank with twelve years of banking and treasury management experience. He has an associate’s in business Tiihonen management and various
industry certifications. Tiihonen served in the US Marine Corps. Stenstrom started at Northrim in 2008 as assistant corporate secretary and has more than forty-five years of experience in the Stenstrom financial industry. She has a wide range of experience in the financial industry and has held positions in regulatory compliance and examinations, insurance and related licensing, loan administration, and corporate documentation at the executive level.
UA CED Gretchen Fauske recently earned an Advanced Design Thinking certificate from IDEO U, the educational arm of global design firm Fauske IDEO. As the associate director for the University of Alaska Center for Economic Development (UA CED), Fauske is already incorporating design thinking principles into her work and is especially excited about leading a month-long customer discovery workshop for entrepreneurs this summer.
McKinley Management Joseph Jacobson has been promoted to Vice President, Private Equity of McKinley Alaska Private Investment. Jacobson oversees the Na’-Nuk Investment Fund and its investments and is heavily Jacobson involved in the firm’s
RIGHT MOVES IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY NORTHERN AIR CARGO
Keeping Alaska Open for Business 92 | July 2021
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
Alaska Cargo and Cold Storage direct infrastructure investment. Jacobson brings nearly twenty years of Alaska business experience, with more than ten in leadership roles in Alaska’s leading industries. Jacobson received his master’s in international relations from City University of New York City College and his bachelor’s in outdoor studies from Alaska Pacific University.
ACF The Alaska Community Foundation (ACF) has welcomed a new VP of Programs and Grants: Eleanor Huffines. Huffines Huffines was selected to lead the organization's grants and programs team and initiatives, an integral part of how ACF supports nonprofits across Alaska. Huffines brings more than twenty-five years of leadership experience within Alaska's nonprofit sector and most recently worked for Pew Charitable Trusts, where she spent the last eleven years focused on local grantmaking and equitable community engagement. Huffines has worked extensively with Indigenous peoples, industry, and governments to influence policies affecting the environment, food security, and well-being of Arctic residents.
APD Newly elected Anchorage Mayor Dave Bronson appointed Kenneth McCoy as APD’s Chief of Police. During his McCoy almost three decades of public service at APD, McCoy has risen steadily through the ranks, serving in
www.akbizmag.com
command assignments in the Patrol Division, Detective Division, and Internal Affairs. He has extensive experience as a detective and a detective supervisor of violent crimes, including supervising the Special Victims Unit and handling sensitive cases having to do with sexual assault. He has served as Deputy Chief of Police for four years. Before arriving at APD, McCoy attended the New Mexico Military Institute where he received his commission into the United States Army in 1990. He served for ten years with the Alaska Army National Guard and received an Honorable Discharge, at the rank of Captain, in February of 2000. He holds a bachelor’s in justice from UAA and a criminal justice certificate from the University of Virginia. He is also a graduate of the FBI National Academy, session 265, and the FBI National Executive Institute, session 42.
CVRF Coastal Villages Region Fund (CVRF) promoted Nathaniel Betz to Director of Community Programs and hired Oscar Evon as Director Betz of Regional Affairs. In his new role, Betz is responsible for managing operations and budget for economic development programming in the twenty Western Alaska villages that CVRF serves. This includes leading efforts in project management, employee coaching, data analysis, and facility management. Betz continues to serve as a key leader as CVRF reaches to develop thriving local economies in Western Alaska that create opportunities for current and future generations. As director of regional affairs, Evon leads the charge in establishing and
Alaska Business
maximizing communication between the residents, local governing bodies of CVRF’s twenty communities, and the company’s executive team, Evon staff, and board of directors. Born and raised in Kwigillingok, Evon has a deep understanding of the unique challenges in rural Alaska, which will help him meet the needs of CVRF’s residents. Evon is familiar with CVRF and its vision to develop thriving local economies that create opportunities for current and future generations.
TTCD Tyonek Tribal Conservation District (TTCD) announced Dr. Laurie Stuart has accepted the position of Executive Director. Stuart was chosen from a field of qualified Stuart applicants to join TTCD in its mission to conserve, enhance, and encourage the wise use of the natural resources, meeting the needs of district stakeholders and fostering cooperative relationships. Stuart is an experienced nonprofit executive with more than ten years of leadership roles in science education, conservation, and nonprofit management. She comes to TTCD after serving as a director at Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle and has previously held leadership positions at the Pratt Museum in Homer and at the Alaska SeaLife Center in Seward. She earned her doctorate from the University of Missouri, with an emphasis on sustainability, social justice, and participatory methods in natural resource management. She also holds a master’s from UAA.
July 2021 | 93
ALASKA TRENDS Where would the people of Alaska be without bridges? Probably stuck or investing in a lot more boats. With its abundance of streams and rivers, bridges are they keystones of Alaska’s transportation infrastructure. These feats of modern (and ancient) engineering have been getting Alaskans from A to B since the early 1900s—and in some style. If you happened to catch this month’s feature "About Bridges," you know that bridges can be just as much art as they are science. Alaska is home to a variety of unique and stunning bridges, including one of the only diverging diamond interchanges in the nation. The Glenn Highway and Muldoon Road Interchange opened to traffic in 2017. The diverging diamond interchange (also referred to as a double crossover diamond) is an advanced design that improves traffic flow, capacity, and safety all at once. Cross over to this month’s installment of Alaska Trends for more bridge bits.
As of the 2015 published inspection data ...
45.7 % of bridges received a good condition rating
44.8 % of bridges are in fair condition
9.5 % of bridges are in poor condition
1,453 highway bridges were open to the public in 2015
1,453
35 years
44 years
highway bridges are open to the public, roughly half of those bridges are part of a conventional road system
average bridge age in Alaska
average bridge age nationally
Alaska’s “other” bridges have short lifespans, limited public use or are seasonal, such as those in Denali National Park 94 | July 2021
ABC Accelerated Bridge Construction— DOT&PF’s answer to long winters and shorter construction seasons Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
75% of federal bridges have an average daily traffic of 10 or fewer vehicles
Trendsetter DOT&PF has evaluated new bridge components such as seismic isolation bearings, polyester concrete, and types of waterproofing membranes
455 of 481 federal bridges are only one lane wide
$2 Million invested annually by Alaska DOT&PF in bridge research
1,134 total bridges in Alaska
663,000
There are 3 DOT&PF maintenance regions in the state, Northern, Central, and Southcoast. 2 have bridge maintenance crews
square miles of infrastructure coverage in Alaska
481 bridges are maintained by the DOT&PF
376 bridges are maintained by the Northern Region SOURCE: The Fix We’re In: The State of Alaska’s Bridges SOURCE: Infrastructure for all Alaskans SOURCE: State of Alaska, DOT&PF
www.akbizmag.com
Alaska Business
July 2021 | 95
AT A GLANCE What book is currently on your nightstand? Open: The Progressive Case for Free Trade, Immigration, and Global Capital by Kimberly Clausing. What charity or cause are you passionate about? Public radio and anything to do with the environment. What’s the first thing you do when you get home after a long day at work? Look around the house and start picking up stuff that I’ve messed up [he laughs]. What vacation spot is on your bucket list? Africa, Tanzania, or Nigeria. If you could domesticate a wild animal, what animal would it be?
Images ©Kerry Tasker
Man, I don’t want to domesticate wild animals… but when my kids would ask me “What’s your favorite animal, dad?” I’d always say the pangolin.
OFF THE CUFF
Dan Miller
“
I always wanted to draw,” says Dan Miller; he’s spent decades providing illustrative
and graphic design services in Alaska via his company Dan Miller Graphics. In fact, anyone who’s snagged a can or case from Midnight Sun Brewing has seen his work up close. “It’s fun working for them—and they have great beer,” Miller says. He likes to build relationships with clients, and he’s happy for the opportunity to work for clients that he personally supports, such as local brewers or businesses in the tourism industry. “I like the freedom [of freelancing],” he says. “It's not making me rich, but you know, it's definitely not a bad lifestyle. I love doing graphic design, I really do.” Please visit akbizmag.com/BOAB for an extended interview with Miller.
Alaska Business: What do you do in your free time? Dan Miller: My wife and I might go for a walk around the lake… In summertime, it’s projects: I like to work around the house… this year my project is fencing off the deck so my little dog can come out here and I don’t have to worry about him running down there and getting eaten by an eagle.
AB: Other than your current career, if you were a kid today, what would your dream job be? Miller: I often wonder what it would have been like to, say, become an engineer and be someone who can create innovation to help keep us sustainable. AB: What’s your favorite way to exercise? Miller: I go over [to the Bayshore Clubhouse] and work out for an hour, and then I swim for half an hour, and swimming is my candy bar. I love swimming. AB: Dead or alive, who would you like to see perform live in concert? Miller: I'd want to see Jimi Hendrix, that would be a classic. AB: What’s your greatest extravagance? Miller: Travel is our biggest expense right now. It enriches your life—it’s worth it. AB: What’s your best attribute and worst attribute? Miller: I’m really interested in providing a good product to my clients. That’s what drives me, probably more than just making money. That’s a good thing. For my worst attribute? I’m a bit of a slob; as my wife will attest to, I hang on to things too much.
AB: Is there a skill you’re currently developing or have always wanted to learn? Miller: I’d like to learn how to write better. AB: What’s the most daring thing you’ve ever done? Miller: Having kids—that’s daring, that’ll change your life. AB: What’s your favorite local restaurant? Miller: For burgers, Tommy’s Burgers, although there’s a lot of good burger places around town. I love the peanut curry noodle soup at Pho Lena. My wife and I, for a quick evening out, we like going to Firetap, and of course for pizza we go to Moose’s Tooth. www.akbizmag.com
Alaska Business
July 2021 | 97
ADVERTISERS INDEX 49th State Brewing Co. ................................... 38
CMI - Construction Machinery Industrial...........2
North Star Behavioral Health System............... 63
49statebrewing.com
cmiak.com
northstarbehavioral.com
Airport Equipment Rentals................................ 99
Cook Inlet Tribal Council.................................. 47
airportequipmentrentals.com
citci.org
Northern Air Cargo.....................................92, 93
Alaska529........................................................... 21
Cook Inlet Tug & Barge Inc............................... 69
alaska529plan.com
cookinlettug.com
AES – Alaska Executive Search......................... 33
Cornerstone General Contractors................... 83
peopleak.com
cornerstoneak.com
Alaska Pacific University.................................... 29
Credit Union 1.................................................... 30
alaskapacific.edu
cu1.org
psfinc.com
Alaska Railroad Real Estate Division..................75
Davis Constructors & Engineers Inc..................71
alaskarailroad.com/real-estate
davisconstructors.com
Petro Marine Services........................................ 87
Alaska Support Industry Alliance...................... 61
Equipment Source Inc..........................................7
alaskaalliance.com
esialaska.com
Alaska USA Federal Credit Union...................... 79
First National Bank Alaska....................................5
alaskausa.org
fnbaalaska.com
Altman Rogers & Co.......................................... 49
Foss Maritime......................................................71
altrogco.com
foss.com
American Heart Association............................. 30
GCI........................................................................3
fairbanksheartwalk.org
gci.com
Anchorage Sand & Gravel................................. 84
Hecla Greens Creek Mining Company..............77
anchsand.com
heclagreenscreek.com
Arctic Infromation Technology.......................... 9
JAG Alaska......................................................... 36
arcticit.com
jagalaska.com
teamcc.com
AT&T................................................................... 25
Landye Bennett Blumstein LLP..........................57
att.com/cybersecurity
lbblawyers.com
Toast of the Town.............................................. 41
Bailey's Furniture............................................... 45
Lynden............................................................. 100
baileysfurniture.com
lynden.com
Birch Horton Bittner & Cherot...........................51
birchhorton.com Brilliant Media Strategies................................... 59
brilliantak.com Central Environmental Inc.................................31
cei-alask.com Chugach Alaska Corp.........................................37
Nac.aero
northrim.com Pacific Pile & Marine.......................................... 91
pacificpile.com Parker Smith & Feek.......................................... 73
petromarineservices.com PIP Marketing Signs Print.................................. 53
pipalaska.com Providence Health & Services Alaska............... 55
alaska.providence.org Ravn Alaska........................................................ 35
RavnAlaska.com Shoreside Petroleum......................................... 16
shoresidepetroleum.com Stellar Designs Inc............................................. 45
stellar-designs.com TeamCC............................................................. 38
toastofthetownak.com Tutka LLC........................................................... 65
tutkallc.com
Mandala Restaurant.......................................... 41
US Ecology / NRC Alaska.................................. 19
Usecology.com
Material Flow & Conveyor Systems Inc............ 85
materialflow.com
Zo Financial........................................................ 43
zofinancial.com
Medical Park Family Care Inc............................ 39
mpfcak.com MTA – Matanuska Telephone Assoc.......... 13, 67
chugach.com
mtasolutions.com
CIRI..................................................................... 69
NCB.................................................................... 83
ciri.com
ncb.coop
Conrad Houston Insurance Agency..................77
New Horizons Telecom, Inc..............................15
chialaska.com
nhtiusa.com
98 | July 2021
Northrim Bank................................................... 27
Subscribe and catch every issue! akbizmag.com/subscribe
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
Anchorage 907.522.6466 Delta Junction 907.895.9898
The Rental Zone 907.474.2000
Fairbanks 907.456.2000
Prudhoe Bay 907.659.2000
Kenai 907.335.5466
www.airportequipmentrentals.com
You Keep Alaska Moving! Thank you to Lynden employees around the state for keeping Alaska’s supply chains operating as usual, during a very unusual year. Your dedication, flexibility, and ingenuity was critical to ensuring fellow Alaskans had the essential supplies they needed, when they needed them. We look forward to a great year ahead and will continue to provide multi-modal transportation and logistics solutions across all of Alaska, from Ketchikan to Kaktovik!
