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CONTENTS SEPTEMBER 2019 | VOLUME 35 | NUMBER 9 | AKBIZMAG.COM
FE AT UR E S
10 T ELECOM & TECH Emergent Technologies Tech security tips to keep your business safe By Tracy Barbourr
18 RETAIL
106 M INING
Out of the Mine and into the Smelter Alaska’s metal mines export commodities to import good jobs and a strong economy By Brad Joyal
The Shoppes at Sun Mountain Wasilla grows with first Sonic, a Planet Fitness, retail, residential options By Sam Friedman
28 SMALL BUSINESS A Small Business Success Story
Multi-generational family lodge and winery flourishes in Kachemak Bay By McKibben Jackinsky
88 OIL & GAS
Movers and Drillers in Cook Inlet Hilcorp dominates, BlueCrest innovates By Isaac Stone Simonelli
96 CONSTRUCTION
Upgrades, New Construction to Improve Alaska’s Healthcare Access Multiple projects moving forward while budget uncertainty put others on hold
alamy
UnCruise Adventures
By Vanessa Orr
36 TOURISM
Travel Like a Local How businesses are making Alaska a year-round destination By Vanessa Orr
4 | September 2019
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ALASKA & BEYOND,
When Jennifer Thompson first envisioned expanding her business to the Lower 48, First National was with her every step of the way.
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CONTENTS SEPTEMBER 2019 | VOLUME 35 | NUMBER 9 | AKBIZMAG.COM
A L A S K A N AT I V E S PEC I A L S EC T I O N
56 STRONG VISION AND STEADY GROWTH
Bering Straits Native Corporation: defined by conscientious leaders and cultural values By Tasha Anderson
42 GETTING TO KNOW ALASKA’S REGIONAL ANCS Protecting culture, traditions, and lands while operating successful businesses
By Sam Friedman
Chugach
2019 Directory
Gail Schubert, president and CEO of Bering Straits Native Corporation, expertly combines her cultural values, education, and work experience as she dedicates herself to her corporation, the Bering Straits region, and her people. She is passionate about creating opportunities for shareholders, descendants, and all Alaska Natives, whether that’s in the region, Alaska’s urban areas, or around the world. Schubert draws from her upbringing in Unalakleet as well as her eight years of experience working in New York on Wall Street to balance traditional knowledge with modern approaches to business as she forges a path that embraces the past while preparing for the future.
$370 million in credits registered in Alaska since 2015
By Kathryn Mackenzie
66 ALASKA NATIVE REGIONAL AND VILLAGE CORPORATIONS
ABOUT THE COVER
76 HARVESTING CARBON CREDITS
DEPARTMENTS 8 FROM THE EDITOR
118 EAT, SHOP, PLAY, STAY
122 I NSIDE ALASKA BUSINESS
126 RIGHT MOVES
116 ALASKA TRENDS
120 EVENTS CALENDAR
124 BUSINESS EVENTS
128 OFF THE CUFF
6 | September 2019
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VOLUME 35, #9 Published by Alaska Business Publishing Co. Anchorage, Alaska
EDITORIAL STAFF Managing Editor
Kathryn Mackenzie 257-2907 editor@akbizmag.com Associate/Web Editor
Tasha Anderson 257-2902 tanderson@akbizmag.com Digital and Social Media Specialist
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BUSINESS STAFF President
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ALASKA BUSINESS PUBLISHING CO., INC. 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; © 2019 Alaska Business Publishing Co. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may 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. AKBusinessMonth AKBusinessMonth alaska-business-monthly
8 | September 2019
FROM THE EDITOR
Celebrating Alaska Native Operations
R
ecently we sent out a readership survey to help us better understand what you love to read in Alaska Business. We’re learning so much about your interests and the areas you’d like to see us cover more (small businesses and entrepreneurship, for example). We are heartened to learn that the great majority of you read the magazine from cover to cover every month. Thank you for your continuing support and your valuable input—we take every idea you give us seriously and are thrilled to have the opportunity to even better tailor each article to the topics that are relevant to you and the regions you’d like to see show up in the magazine more often (we hear you Southcentral). If you haven’t taken the survey yet, please do! Just visit akbizmag.com and follow the link. One subject you’ve told us you love reading about is Alaska Native business activities, which is particularly exciting since this is the month in which we celebrate all things Alaska Native. This year we asked each of the twelve Alaska Native regional corporations a few questions about their respective business activities including their favorite programs of 2019, what initiatives their shareholders are telling them they’re excited about, and how each of their regions is unique in how it allows them to search out economic opportunities. We’re thankful to those executives who provided us with thoughtful answers for this extensive article. This year we made a very exciting change to our Alaska Native directories by surveying not only the twelve regional corporations, but all the village corporations for which we have contact information. This change not only allows us to present you with a bigger, better, more comprehensive directory, but also gives us the opportunity to touch base with some of the smaller operations we don’t get to hear from as often. We can’t talk about September without talking about our cover story featuring Gail Schubert and Bering Straits Native Corporation (BSNC). Schubert is a fascinating, talented woman who helms BSNC using her cultural history as an original BSNC shareholder and Unalakleet native combined with the business savvy she picked up working on Wall Street; she champions the traditions of the Bering Straits region and is leading the company to success. Also in this issue we take a look at what’s happening in Cook Inlet, assess the state of new healthcare construction in Alaska, and talk to the developer of The Shoppes at Sun Mountain in Wasilla about opening the state’s first Sonic and what the Shoppes will mean for job seekers in the area. Enjoy!
Kathryn Mackenzie Managing Editor, Alaska Business
“This year we made a very exciting change to our Alaska Native directories by surveying not only the twelve regional corporations, but the village corporations as well... This change allows us to present you with a bigger, better, more comprehensive directory.”
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TELECOM & TECH
Emergent Technologies Tech security tips to keep your business safe By Tracy Barbour
N
ew and evolving technology— from virtual private networks to artificial intelligence—offers diverse benefits that businesses can use to enhance their operations. But new technology also comes with inherent vulnerabilities that can jeopardize a company’s infrastructure, reputation, and other assets. However, by employing best practices and remaining vigilant, businesses can protect themselves as they evolve right along with exciting new technological applications.
Virtual Private Networks A virtual private network (VPN) is an effective way for businesses to protect their corporate applications and data. A VPN allows users to send and receive data across shared or public networks as if their computing devices were directly connected to the private network. Essentially, a VPN creates a safe connection over a less secure network like the public internet. VPNs are critical for the growing number 10 | September 2019
of remote corporate employees, business travelers, and other mobile workers who need access to their company’s network resources. “While the corporate network perimeter has become increasingly porous, it is still important for remote workers to be able to use mobile devices and laptops,” says Jason Poirot, information security program manager at Alaska Communications. A key attribute of VPNs is encryption, according to Poirot. This typically involves encrypting data at the sending end and decrypting it at the receiving end. An additional level of security entails encrypting not only the data but also the originating and receiving network addresses. “It remains critical that business data be encrypted and that IT personnel manage access control,” says Poirot. “Multifactor authentication and the use of a good endpoint security solution are also important.”
Cloud Storage Management Today, cloud storage is typically more secure than conventional on-premise
storage, but businesses should be very careful when selecting a cloud provider. There are a variety of cloud options available, from a basic operating system to a fully-managed solution. People should keep in mind that the “cloud” is just someone else’s computer or server and not all cloud solutions are created equal, says Michael Strong, GCI’s chief information security officer. They also need to conduct proper due diligence when choosing providers. “Cloud providers will promise you access to your data, even if they have a change in business status,” Strong explains. “But like any business, if they go into bankruptcy, their good intentions have also gone into bankruptcy. This is a reminder to make sure you have
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“It remains critical that business data be encrypted and that IT personnel manage access control.” Jason Poirot, Information Security Program Manager Alaska Communications
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Alaska Business
September 2019 | 11
robust data backups— with a different provider. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.” Larger, more established providers like Microsoft Office 365, Dropbox, Salesforce, and Intuit generally can offer better security and protections than small businesses can achieve on their own. However, it’s important to read the fine print of the provider’s service-level agreement. Strong says: “There can be a lot hidden in the terms and conditions, such as granting others the permission to read and use your data. This can be particularly troublesome if your business generates sensitive personal and confidential data. If your company needs to comply with certain privacy regulations, such as HIPAA [Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act], make sure the cloud storage solution you’re selecting meets those requirements.” Cloud storage solutions must be managed in the same manner as on-premise resources, according to interim GM/CEO and CTO of Arctic Information Technology Dave Bailey. Many businesses assume that cloud resources contain all the necessary security measures, but that’s not the case. Take geo-redundancy, for example. With geo-redundant storage, a company’s data is duplicated and stored on servers in different locations around the world, which can be a lifesaver if a disaster or other emergency happens. “If you don’t elect to have your data be geographically redundant and a server goes down, you won’t have access to your data,” Bailey says. Whether companies use onpremise or cloud storage, it’s not possible to achieve 100 percent security. Still, businesses—not just their provider—are ultimately responsible for safeguarding their data in the cloud. They should ensure their cloud storage is encrypted and uses different credentials than their on-premise resource. Bailey says: “You’ve moved the physical responsibility of that technology resource from your own infrastructure to someone else’s, but the administration and security of that resource is still your responsibility… If you look at the service-level agreement for Amazon Web Services and 12 | September 2019
Microsoft, they tell you there is no guarantee of security.”
Firewall Security Businesses can also look for ways to enhance network security by effectively using firewalls. Firewalls—which monitor incoming and outgoing traffic—have historically been an important line of defense
“Cloud providers will promise you access to your data, even if they have a change in business status. But like any business, if they go into bankruptcy, their good intentions have also gone into bankruptcy.” Michael Strong Chief Information Security Officer, GCI
for companies. They provide a virtual boundary between a trusted internal network and untrusted external network like the internet to block unauthorized access of information. But firewalls aren’t an infallible solution for protecting a network’s perimeter because misconfigured or out-of-date firewalls can be exploited by nefarious actors. Or worse, firewalls can be completely circumvented, which is what happened with the March 2017 data breach of Atlanta-based Equifax.
Hackers bypassed the credit reporting company’s firewalls, uploaded malicious script to enable remote control of its servers, and then downloaded the personal information of millions of consumers— all because Equifax failed to promptly patch a security vulnerability. In the cloud, the firewall importance increases. That’s why it’s essential for companies to ensure firewalls are properly functioning and updated to minimize cyberattacks. It’s also critical for businesses to have the appropriate expertise to manage firewalls and other security layers. Strong says: “Gone are the days where businesses can be given simple tips and tricks for managing firewalls or cybersecurity solutions themselves. The consequences for mistakes are too great… Just as small companies use professionals for legal or tax advice, if they have sensitive information, they should seek professional help with cybersecurity.” Some entities are looking beyond the firewall to focus their cybersecurity efforts on users and their devices. Google, for example, is working on developing BeyondCorp, a cloudbased solution that authenticates every user, computer, and mobile device attempting to access its network—no matter where the user is located. So, the system essentially builds its own security “perimeter” in response to each log-in. It uses a “zero trust” approach to assess each risk that emerges whenever someone tries to tap into the company’s network. Zero trust is a complex information security methodology that’s being used primarily by larger companies like Google. “At the most basic level, it’s the idea of always knowing who has access to an asset [physical, application, or data], regardless of where that asset resides and always checking and rechecking the identity of the requestor, regardless of where they
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are and being able to deny access if you suspect that the requestor shouldn’t have access—or providing greater levels of checks to be very sure they are who they say they are,” Strong says. “Zero trust focuses greatly on identity and being very sure that you are who you say you are and that you have access to certain information under the right sets of conditions.”
Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain, and Tor Artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain are emergent technologies with varying types of risk. AI, which makes it possible for machines to learn from experience, involves a human element. And like any technology, AI evolves and has vulnerabilities that can be exploited. “When we look at risk around AI and machine learning, you have to remember that they are manmade,” Bailey says. “So, they are only as good as we program them to be.” Blockchain technology is not infallible—and that is the biggest risk, Bailey says. There is significant value in the principle of blockchain because it stores incorruptible blocks of information across a shared digital network. Because of this, blockchain is being viewed as a tool with the potential to transform a wide variety of industries. For example, a project known as Maritime Blockchain Labs is exploring whether this technology can help minimize dangerous and costly container ship fires. Blockchain may also be able to revolutionize the future of trucking and logistics by creating a new system of completing transactions, tracking shipments, and managing fleets. But the reality is that blockchain still requires a human to be involved. Therefore, it is 14 | September 2019
susceptible to risk and hackable. “I think the vulnerability in blockchain exists today because of ignorance,” Bailey says. “It’s evolving too quickly, and it’s impossible to develop a strategy—plus there’s a lack of regulation.” The Onion Router or Tor represents another area of risk for businesses when employees use it to browse the internet anonymously at work. Tor, a free and
“Gone are the days where businesses can be given simple tips and tricks for managing firewalls or cybersecurity solutions themselves. The consequences for mistakes are too great… Just as small companies use professionals for legal or tax advice, if they have sensitive information, they should seek professional help with cybersecurity.” Michael Strong Chief Information Security Officer, GCI
open-source software program, allows users to protect their privacy and security against anyone conducting
network surveillance or traffic analysis. It was originally developed for the US Navy in the 1990s to protect government communications, and its application has since expanded. Unlike Google Chrome or Firefox— which take the most direct route between a computer and the internet— the Tor browser employs a random path of encrypted servers to conceal a user’s location and usage. For this reason, Tor is often considered to be a gateway for illegal activities. More innocuously, though, employees could use Tor at work to bypass security and web browsing restrictions and download movies or music. But businesses can easily use blacklisting/ whitelisting capabilities inside their corporate network to prevent such browsing activities, Bailey says.
Email Technology While email is not a new technology, innovative email-borne threats are constantly emerging. For instance, business email compromise (BEC) is rapidly increasing. These deceitful emails, which appear to come from an executive or other key individual in the company, often try to coax wire payment transfers or information from unsuspecting employees. BEC is especially dangerous because it doesn’t contain malicious links or attachments, which makes it hard for standard security measures to detect. It’s also difficult for employees to identify BEC because it’s designed to look like legitimate email. BEC is becoming more ubiquitous worldwide. Between October 2013 and May 2018, there were more than 78,600 domestic and international BEC-related incidents and more than $12.5 billion in domestic and international exposed dollar loss reported to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center. And from December 2016 to May 2018 alone there was a 136 percent increase in identified global exposed losses relating to BEC. Once business email has been compromised, multifactor authentication can limit attackers’ ability to use stolen credentials, Poirot says. And enforcing periodic password changes can prevent password reuse attacks. These phishing attacks, which
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can come from trusted vendor and coworker email addresses that have been compromised, remain the biggest single threat to businesses. In general, businesses can use email security gateways, web proxies, firewalls, and intrusion prevention products to prevent, detect, and stop many email-
“I think the vulnerability in blockchain exists today because of ignorance. It’s evolving too quickly, and it’s impossible to develop a strategy—plus there’s a lack of regulation.” Dave Bailey, GM/CEO/CTO Arctic Information Technology
related attacks before catastrophic damage occurs. However, employee awareness training remains the best, first defense against business email compromise, Poirot says. That’s because attackers can—and will—bypass all other security layers through the cunning use of social engineering and exploitation of complex IT systems. As such, he recommends that companies train their employees to: • Refrain from clicking on unknown links or opening unexpected attachments. • Carefully examine all unexpected emails that instill a sense of urgency, making sure to look for suspicious links, buttons, and attachments. • Use known phone numbers to call 16 | September 2019
senders and verify the authenticity of any emails containing unexpected links or attachments. • Apply extra scrutiny when viewing emails on mobile devices, as it can be harder to spot the tell-tale signs of phishing. • Report suspected phishing emails to their IT department. • Delete all suspicious emails.
Other Security Tips Poirot also emphasizes the importance of implementing multiple security layers. People and processes, as well as data and infrastructure, must all be protected, effective, and resilient, he says. A thorough IT security risk assessment can orient businesses to which layers are most vulnerable so they can prioritize security layer investments. However, companies generally have security layers or controls that fall into three categories: protective, detective, and reactive. Protective controls are tactics a company can implement to prepare for and prevent a cyberattack. They can include dual controls, segregation of duties, system password policies, access control lists, training, and physical access controls. Detective controls indicate that a cyberattack is taking place. And reactive controls are designed to respond to an attack in progress and/or mitigate exposure after an attack happens. “Strong endpoint security solutions, such as next-generation anti-malware solutions, provide important protective, detective, and
reactive control of the most vulnerable systems in an organization,” Poirot says. From Bailey’s perspective, it’s important to make attacks more difficult for cyber criminals by removing the path of least resistance. Companies should also have a vulnerability assessment done annually and, based on the results, mitigate their risk. Bailey says: “At a minimum, strengthen your credentials for access, separate your admin from user accounts, and enable multifactor authentication for everything you do. It has to do with the kind of data you have and the kind of data you’re protecting. It’s not so much the data, but the interruption to operations and what the cost of that will be as you assess risk.” Strong recommends that companies start with the basics. They should use business computers for business—not for gaming or day-to-day personal web browsing. It’s also important to have up-to-date malware protection on every end-point workstation or laptop. He also advises: “Use good password practices, combined with multiple factor authentication. Encrypt hard
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drives and sensitive information as you store and transfer it. Only gather and store the information you truly need, and only keep it for as long as you truly need.� In addition, businesses can enhance IT security by taking advantage of third-party providers and resources like the Center for Internet Security, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and the Cybersecurity Infrastructure Security Agency.
info
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Alaska Business
September 2019 | 17
R E TA I L
A rendering of The Shoppes at Sun Mountain. © Cameron Johnson | A&C Investment Group
The Shoppes at Sun Mountain Wasilla grows with first Sonic, a Planet Fitness, retail, residential options By Sam Friedman 18 | September 2019
R
eal estate developer Cameron Johnson is building a mixed-use walkable community amidst one of the last large pieces of undeveloped land along the Parks Highway in Wasilla. His plans for the thirty-two acre Shoppes at Sun Mountain include the first Sonic Drive-In restaurant in Alaska, other restaurants, professional offices, a Planet Fitness gym, townhouse condominiums, and senior housing. “There really isn’t anything else in the
Valley that has that walkability factor, where you can walk out your front door and walk to the gym, go shopping, have lunch, go to the bank, and everything is within walking distance. That’s what we want to develop,” he says.
Missed Opportunity The new development spans several parcels in an area surrounded by the Parks Highway, Red Robin, Sportsman’s
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A rendering of The Shoppes at Sun Mountain. © Cameron Johnson | A&C Investment Group
“There really isn’t anything else in the Valley that has that walkability factor, where you can walk out your front door and walk to the gym, go shopping, have lunch, go to the bank, and everything is within walking distance. That’s what we want to develop.” Cameron Johnson Co-owner, A&C Investment Group
Warehouse, the Windbreak Hotel, and homes. The location is just east of downtown Wasilla, among a cluster of large retail stores that include Target, a Walmart Supercenter, Fred Meyer, and Lowe’s. More than a decade ago, there were plans to develop the site into a Costco store. When the Great Recession hit, 20 | September 2019
the former developer’s lender, First National Bank Alaska, foreclosed on the property. Johnson grew up in Wasilla back when the main retail shopping was an indoor mall, which has since been demolished and is now the site of the Wasilla Target. Today, Johnson lives in Southern California where he is co-
owner of A&C Investment Group. The majority of A&C’s business is developing residential properties in California. The company has also worked in Arizona and Utah. In 2011, the company started working in Alaska’s Matanuska-Susitna Borough, an area in which Johnson sees a lot of potential.
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“The population continues to grow, and with it is going to come infrastructure and more commercial amenities,” he says. “There’s [also] a sentimental value to me. I want to help grow our community. It’s my community.” A&C Investments has developed more than 300 housing units in the Mat-Su Borough, much of it new construction, Johnson says. The company also recently purchased Settlers Bay Lodge, a Wasilla steakhouse. The Shoppes at Sun Mountain : is the largest commercial project A&C Investment Group has ever undertaken. Johnson estimates it will cost between $50 million and $60 million to construct all the new buildings and associated infrastructure. Because most of his experience is in residential development, Johnson partnered with Anchorage-based commercial broker Jack White Real Estate on the project. The general contractor is H5 Construction, a Wasilla-based construction company that Johnson helped found in 2012.
Breaking Ground Johnson began thinking about buying the site of the failed Costco development starting in 2011. In 2018, demand for new commercial buildings in Wasilla convinced him it was the right time to buy and develop the lot. “We were getting so many calls from businesses looking for something newer, bigger, [in a] better location. And we didn’t have many sites,” he says. A&C acquired the property in May 2018. In addition to the original plot that was planned for Costco, A&C purchased two adjoining parcels for a total of thirty-two acres. During the first year, construction focused on grading and utility work. Vertical construction began this spring on the first two buildings: the Planet Fitness gym and the Sonic Drive-In.
Persistence Pays Off The first business to open at The Shoppes at Sun Mountain will be the Sonic Drive-In. Construction started earlier this summer, and owner Larry Clark said in mid-July he anticipated www.akbizmag.com
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An aerial view of the space cleared for The Shoppes at Sun Mountain in June. © Cameron Johnson | A&C Investment Group
“Whether by design or by happy accident, our master plan was set up for [Wasilla] to be the financial business hub of the Mat-Su Valley… We have somewhat intentionally looked for that revenue base.” Lyn Carden, City of Wasilla Deputy Administrator
opening the restaurant in late August. Sonic is a 1950s style drive-in hamburger restaurant known for its roller-skating carhops and huge drink menu, which includes some unusual items like dill pickle slushies. Clark wasn’t the first hopeful Alaskan restaurant owner with dreams of bringing the initial Sonic Drive-In to the 22 | September 2019
49th State. He says the corporation has received more than thirty applicants from Alaskans in the last five years. The corporate office didn’t approve any of the other applications. So, what made Clark’s application different? Pure doggedness. “I wasn’t going to go away until I got a solid yes,” he says.
In addition to persistence, attention to detail and research played a role. Clark says he’s been working on the Sonic project on and off for four years. He did legwork to convince the corporation that he has the supply chains in place to serve fresh food in a more remote location than typical Sonic restaurants. For example, he lined up Franz Bakery
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A partially constructed Sonic Drive-In in June at the new Shoppes at Sun Mountain development in Wasilla.
During the first year, construction focused on grading and utility work. Vertical construction began this spring on the first two buildings: the Planet Fitness gym and the Sonic Drive-In. NO ATTRIBUTION
© Larry Clark
in Anchorage to provide fresh buns for his restaurant. “I was already way ahead of where other franchise applicants would start. I had already mapped out locations and shipping and getting our products here,” he says. Supply lines are a major challenge in the Alaska restaurant business. Clark says he previously considered opening a Chick-fil-A in Alaska. The fast food restaurant has a large following here, but the restaurant required fresh chicken daily, which would require a chicken farm and a chicken processing plant here in Alaska, Clark says. Clark is also a former police officer and is the founder and owner of Valkyrie Security and Asset Protection in Anchorage. Since moving to Alaska fourteen years ago, he’s devoted most of his attention to the security business, which he will continue to focus on once he gets the restaurant business going, he says. But the idea of opening a Sonic Drive-In has always been in the back of his mind. He has strong ties to the iconic drive-in burger joint. As a young man growing up in north Texas, going to Sonic after football games and rodeos was a teen tradition. In those days he drove a Chevrolet Camaro or a Ford Mustang Fastback to the drive-in, he says. Sometimes he rode his horse. “In high school, that’s what you did. You drove around town square, went through the Sonic, met up with your friends,” he says. Sonic Corp. is based in Oklahoma City and started as a drive-in business when it was founded in 1953. The 24 | September 2019
company was purchased in 2018 by Inspire Brands, the Georgia-based parent company of Arby’s and Buffalo Wild Wings. There are more than 3,500 Sonic restaurants in the United States, but Clark is bringing the first one to Alaska. Clark’s application to be a franchisee started with an email to the company. After passing the first round of vetting, he traveled to Sonic headquarters in Oklahoma for a series of interviews with company leaders, who eventually agreed to let him open the franchise. Clark plans to hire more than 100 employees by opening day. The Sonic Drive-In located in Wasilla won’t be the only Alaska Sonic for long. Johnson is working with Clark to build a second Sonic in Fairbanks in 2020.
Development Timeline The Shoppes at Sun Mountain doesn’t yet have an anchor tenant. Like the previous owner, Johnson considered basing the development around a warehouse discount store, but that’s no longer under consideration. “At one point we did talk to Costco about coming in there, it just didn’t work out,” he says. Today Johnson is considering several possible anchor tenants. He says it will likely be a large clothing store. The shopping center part of the new development will take up about twenty of the property’s thirty-two acres. Five acres will be offices and three acres each will go to senior housing and townhouse condominiums, Johnson says. One and a half acres will remain
Alaska's first Sonic Drive-In, owned by Larry Clark, opened August 20. © Larry Clark
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open space because it's home to an eagle's nest and therefore must remain undeveloped. Construction of the commercial properties will precede the housing construction. After the Sonic Drive-In, Planet Fitness is scheduled to open next. A&C has also signed leases with Krispy Kreme (a 2,700-square-foot location with a drive-through) and with Matanuska Telephone Association (MTA). MTA says it will open a 6,000-square foot location in The Shoppes at Sun Mountain, where it will provide the complex with high-speed Wi-Fi access. MTA’s new space is slated to include a retail sales location, call center office, and an “experiential multi-use area with interactive, high-tech features.” “We can’t wait for our members, partners, and the rest of our local community to experience MTA in a whole new light with this location,” said Jessica Gilbert, public relations manager at MTA, in a press release. “To be a part of The Shoppes at Sun Mountain moving forward puts MTA in one of the premier new retail locations in our area, where visitors will be able to look forward into the future of technology and innovation.” MTA’s new location is tentatively set to open its doors late 2019 or early 2020, the company says. Its current Wasilla location on East Parks Highway will close once the new location is up and running. A&C is also in talks with Tacos Cancun Mexican Grill—a locally-owned business—to add a new 2,400-squarefoot restaurant in an 11,700-square-foot small shop building, which is slated for construction this fall, Johnson says. Overall, Johnson plans for the shopping center to have about 20,000 square feet of small store space, with other possible tenants including a bank and a cell phone repair store. He also plans for about 100,000 square feet of “junior box” stores. Junior box is a real estate industry term for large retail stores that are smaller than the largest big box stores like Walmart and Home Depot. These stores usually range between 10,000 and 25,000 square feet and at this shopping center may include clothing and pet supply stores, Johnson says. 26 | September 2019
Johnson anticipates breaking ground on the development’s senior citizen apartments in 2021, building forty housing units. Townhouse condominiums—twenty to thirty of them—are planned for the next year.
Retail Growth Is Key By 2045, Alaska Department of Labor statistics predict the Mat-Su Borough will have grown by 60 percent to reach 167,000 people, making it by far the second most populous part of Alaska after Anchorage. Alaska’s Interior region, by comparison, is predicted to have 6 percent population growth over the next few decades to reach a population of 119,000 by 2045. For Wasilla, the largest city in the Mat-Su Borough, new residents flocking to the area won’t help balance the municipal budget. Wasilla doesn’t have property taxes and doesn’t receive any of the property tax revenue collected by the Mat-Su Borough. Wasilla does have sales tax and has been able to compensate for the lack of property taxes by having a large number of commercial businesses. “Whether by design or by happy accident, our master plan was set up for us to be the financial business hub of the Mat-Su valley,” says City Deputy Administrator Lyn Carden. “We have somewhat intentionally looked for that revenue base.” The local government collects a 3 percent sales tax on the first $500 worth of transactions in the city.
That sales tax rate will revert back to 2.5 percent in January 2020, when a voter-approved program to fund the construction of a new police department headquarters sunsets. The fact that Wasilla is dependent on sales tax revenues actually makes it harder for the city to attract potential commercial developments to the city. Cities with property taxes can offer developers property tax breaks, but the city’s code prohibits municipalities from offering specific developers sales tax exemptions, Carden says. Instead, it tries to encourage businesses to come to Wasilla by offering them a particularly efficient permitting process. “I think we run about forty-five days, start to finish,” she says. “We want to make sure that we’re very user friendly.” One resource that fueled the Mat-Su Borough’s rapid growth is the large amount of open land in the MatSu Valley, especially compared to Anchorage, which is tightly confined by the Chugach Mountains and the waters of Cook Inlet. But Wasilla is beginning to fill up and mature as a city. The Shoppes at Sun Mountain development is filling the last remaining large piece of open land within the city limits on the Parks Highway corridor, Carden says. A few other similarly large pieces of land remain within city limits on the Palmer Wasilla Highway and on Knik Goose Bay Road.
A rendering of The Shoppes at Sun Mountain; one of the shopping center’s tenants will be a 2,700-square-foot Krispy Kreme with a drive-through. © Cameron Johnson | A&C Investment Group
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H R M AT T E R S
What Does House Bill 79 Mean to Your Business? Omnibus Workers’ Compensation Changes, Effective August 1, 2019 By Brian Zematis
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elax. Seriously, let’s do this together. Sink into your chair. Breathe in deeply for five seconds. Hold that breath for a second. Now release. Ahh… that feels good right? So does the idea that we have all just about made it through another whirlwind summer season. This also means as of August 1, we have now seen the full enactment of 2018’s House Bill 79— Omnibus Workers’ Compensation. Now that we are all subject to House Bill 79, it is the perfect time to take stock of the changes we have had to navigate over the last year and make sure we are all still on course. We will take this one step at a time: The Second Injury Fund is no longer open for business. Employers no longer need to make contributions to the fund and no longer benefit from payments from the fund either. Pre-Employment Health Questionnaires: AS 23.30.247 allows employers to mandate a post-job offer health questionnaire as long the sole purpose of, “Determin[ing] whether the employee has the physical or mental capacity to meet the documented physical or mental demands of the work.”
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Independent Contractors now have a detailed definition to differentiate them from employees. The difference being an organization needs to provide workers’ compensation coverage for employees, but not for independent contractors. The full details can be found in AS 23.30.230. LLC Members and Executive Officers as of August 1 need to own at least 10% of their organization to qualify as exempt from workers’ compensation coverage requirements. Be sure you still cover employees who want and/ or need to be covered. The Workers’ Compensation Division published bulletin 19-02 to help us all make sense of this change. Executive Officer Waivers are now a thing of the past as of August 1. This program became unnecessary with the implementation of the 10% ownership rule mentioned previously. A point to consider for those executives now exempt from the workers’ compensation to being covered. Workers’ compensation can be some of the cheapest health insurance one can buy, especially considering executive wages can be capped for premium calculations.
Now that you have checked your work and found your program to be on a steady course with the winds at your back, go ahead and take another deep long breath and enjoy the knowledge you have deftly navigated another tumultuous sea. If any of the above is new to you, rest assured there are experienced insurance brokers ready and willing to help you get back on course.
Brian Zematis is an Associate Claims Executive of Parker, Smith & Feek. He helps clients navigate the claims process and works for their interests with the insurance companies. Brian’s background is rooted in workers’ compensation and branches into the various commercial lines of coverage. He can be reached at bczematis@psfinc.com or (907) 865-6845.
SMALL BUSINESS
A Small Business Success Story
Samples of Alaskan-made wine are served at Bear Creek Winery © Scott Dickerson | Bear Creek Winery and Lodging
Multi-generational family lodge and winery flourishes in Kachemak Bay By McKibben Jackinsky
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ut Bear Creek Winery and Lodging next to other wineries in the world—castle-neighboring wineries in Alsace, France; Tuscany wineries scattered from seashore to rolling countryside; the California wineries of Sonoma County—and this family-run Alaska business stands tall. It has an award-winning product, can claim bragging rights for using Alaska fruits and berries, offers overnight accommodations designed with Alaskans in mind, has a picture-perfect setting near the shores of Kachemak Bay, has roots that sink deep into its 28 | September 2019
surrounding community, and is a multigenerational enterprise. Using the kitchen in the family’s home a few miles east of Homer, Bill Fry began trying his hand at winemaking in the 1990s. Positive reactions from friends to whom Bill gave bottles of his wine as gifts for birthdays, holidays, and special occasions encouraged the budding vintner. It wasn’t long before the kitchen became too small for his growing interest and Bill was forced to find a bigger space to set up shop: the garage. Blueberries, raspberries, rhubarb—just name it and Bill found a way to incorporate it in his wine-making experiments.
When a Kenai Peninsula lodge that catered to tourists in the summer and Alaskans in the winter chose to focus solely on its summer guests, Bill and his wife Dorothy found themselves without a favorite get-away. Aware of others who shared this same sense of loss, in 2003 the couple constructed a two-suite, year-round destination conveniently located next to their home. The Frys' goal was to offer guests more than simply a hotel-type atmosphere. Dorothy paired locally made bedroom furniture with soft linens. She selected artwork to decorate the sitting areas, kitchenettes, and
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private baths. Once completed, the two suites were a perfect reflection of their names: Arctic and Cowboy. Arctic has a queen bed; Cowboy has a queen plus a sofa bed. Reviews from lodge guests with whom Bill shared his wine opened the couple’s eyes to an until-then unconsidered possibility, and in 2004 they turned hobby into business and launched the winery. That first year, Bear Creek Winery sold 600 gallons of wine. During construction, Dorothy treated the building crews to a home-cooked lunch every day. The lunches have continued with Bill’s mother Ruth now doing the cooking. The mid-day break in the action gives Bear Creek’s ten year-round employees an opportunity to set aside bottling, packaging, housekeeping, and landscaping to enjoy a meal together and discuss the day. Bill’s original plan was to produce
wine using only Alaska-grown berries and fruits. That proved a challenge, but rather than give up, the Frys found alternatives. “Our biggest hurdle through the whole process was Bill and me trying at the beginning to use 100 percent Alaska berries,” says Dorothy. “Some people brought great big bags of black currants, and the first time we made that wine, it was amazing. Then we couldn’t source enough black currants, so we had to look elsewhere and got them from Outside.” Today, Bear Creek produces two
brands of wine. The original Bear Creek brand offers nine wines year-round and five seasonal wines. The Glacier Bear brand offers five different wines made from Alaska-grown berries and fruits that celebrate in-state flavors and local growers. Each brand has earned multiple awards at the Finger Lakes International Wine Competition. At the Rochester, New York, event, the winery’s 2019 entries brought home three silvers and three bronzes. Alaska-grown ingredients come from across the state, with golden raspberries from Nenana traveling the farthest.
“We designed a place where we’d like to stay and made a wine I wanted to drink.” Bill Fry, Founder, Bear Creek Winery and Lodging
A custom-made, queen-size bed with soft bedding and decorations in keeping with a northern Alaska theme gives the Arctic suite its name at Bear Creek Winery and Lodging. © McKibben Jackinsky
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September 2019 | 29
Louis Maurer helps harvest apples to be used in Bear Creek Winery wine from Dave Schroer’s orchard in Homer. © Scott Dickerson | Bear Creek Winery and Lodging
In 2018, Bear Creek’s applepicking team harvested more than 1,200 pounds of Schroer’s apples. 30 | September 2019
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The amounts vary, some as small as quart-sized bags of red raspberries or as much as twenty-pound loads of rhubarb. As the website states, Bear Creek buys berries and also welcomes neighborly deliveries of raspberries, blueberries, black currants, strawberries, gooseberries, lowbush cranberries, rhubarb, or apples. Two of their largest suppliers are Don and Nancy Dyer of Polaris Farm and Greenhouse in Palmer and Dave Schroer of Homer. The Dyers provide Bear Creek with black currants; Schroer provides apples. Similar to Bill, Don Dyer’s vision for his Palmer property began as a hobby farm. After discovering there were hundreds of black currant plants on it, he researched the plants’ commercial value and has been selling to Bear Creek for the past six years. Using a drip-watering system, Dyer is able to pump as much water on the berries as needed. A healthy, wellestablished bush can grow to six feet. Harvesting occurs during the month of August. Dyer and his crew pick, wash, and freeze the berries “and then, when we have the season finished, we get a truck and take them to Bear Creek,” Dyer says. “They [Bear Creek] really have a good thing going and I love them as a customer.” Schroer has been growing apples in the Homer area since the 1970s. His small, half-acre orchard is home to more than thirty trees, most of them bearing varieties of apples that were bred in Canada specifically for northern climates. Harvesting occurs around mid-September. Now in his 90s, Schroer leaves the ladder-climbing needed to harvest the fruit to others. “So I worked out a deal with [Bear Creek] that they’d come pick them,” he says. In 2018, Bear Creek’s applepicking team harvested more than 1,200 pounds of Schroer’s apples. At one time, a South Peninsula Fruit Growers Association with a list of 100 growers existed in the Homer area, but due to a lack of officers, the group disbanded five years ago. Apple growing on the southern Kenai Peninsula has continued to grow, however. “I’ll bet you now there’s close to 500 to 1,000 apple trees around Homer,” says Schroer. According to Kelly Mazzei, excise tax
at $2.50 per gallon, the 7,400 gallons manager with the Alaska Department of wine sold during the July 2018-June of Revenue’s Tax Division, there are 2019 fiscal year resulted in $18,500 for six wineries licensed with the state for the state. the 2019-2020 fiscal year, but two of Bear Creek sells and ships wine them produce only cider. The four wine throughout Alaska. Bear Creek's wine producers sold approximately 7,400 can also be ordered online, and the gallons to retail, bars, restaurants, and winery is licensed to ship wine to forty package businesses between July 1, other states. That means it is required 2018, and June 2019. The number of to be licensed and pay taxes in each of gallons the four wineries transferred those states. to their warehouses is confidential State and federal licenses and permits taxpayer information that Mazzei are needed for multiple phases of the could not divulge; however, she says winery’s operation: a winery license, a that transfers by one of the wineries AlaskaBusiness_2019.pdf 1 4/15/19 10:41 AM license for bottling, and a liquor license exceeded 80 percent of the total. Taxed
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are a few of what’s required. “Anytime we have to do anything— change the shape of a building or make ownership changes—it’s about as much work as opening a winery,” says Louis Maurer, the Frys’ son-in-law. In March 2019, the Frys made an ownership change, officially passing the business to Louis and daughter Jasmine. Jasmine met Oregon-grown Louis at Oregon State University, and the two began dating about the same year Bear Creek Winery and Lodging opened. When Jasmine would travel home during breaks in classes, Louis often accompanied her and helped out at the winery. After the two obtained their degrees (Louis in engineering and Jasmine in marine biology), the couple married and settled in Homer in 2010. “I feel pretty privileged to have seen every aspect of the growth and evolution of the business and to have actively participated in it,” says Louis. “It’s not so much the wine but the family aspect of it and the small business aspect that is the big draw for me. That it happened to be a winery, that’s even better.”
Landscaping has added flowers and fruit-producing gardens of golden raspberries, rhubarb, currants, and gooseberries used in Bear Creek’s wines. A koi pond is a mesmerizing and calming focal point near the front of
“Anytime we have to do anything—change the shape of a building or make ownership changes—it’s about as much work as opening a winery.” Louis Maurer Co-owner, Bear Creek Winery and Lodging
the two suites. A trail winding through the surrounding woods allows guests to explore the countryside. A covered
pavilion has been used more than once for a wedding. In 2017, the pavilion also was used as a stage for musical groups performing at the first of what has become an annual music festival. This year, concert-goers enjoyed music by two Alaska bands, Ukulele Russ from Fairbanks and Blackwater Railroad Company from Seward. Also performing were Cousin Curtiss from Colorado and Hussy Hicks from Australia. The $65 admission included two drinks, food was available, and proceeds from the one-day event benefited the Nikki Geragotelis (Fry) Memorial Scholarship, created in memory of the Frys’ daughter, Nikki, who died in 2013. The Garden of Lights’ display of holiday lighting, music, hot chocolate, and a bonfire in December attracts a wintery crowd of locals and guests and transforms the grounds into a winter wonderland. The winery’s connection to community service is evidenced by Hospice of Homer’s Compassion in Action award received by the Frys and Bear Creek Winery and Lodging in 2013.
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Inserting corks and applying labels to make Bear Creek Winery’s wine ready for distribution both in Alaska and in the forty states where Bear Creek is licensed. © Scott Dickerson | Bear Creek Winery and Lodging
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Though they’re no longer the business owners, Bill and Dorothy continue to stay involved, traveling to special events and various shows as representatives of Bear Creek Winery and Lodging, serving wine and talking to people about what’s happening with the enterprise they founded. It’s a role they enjoy. “I’m glad my parents can relax and enjoy where they’re at, and that Louis enjoys it and what it provides,” says Jasmine. “That’s what’s important to me.” Bill and Dorothy also have moved off site, and their former home has been remodeled as a three-bedroom apartment, adding to the overnight accommodations Bear Creek offers. It is complete with a full kitchen and bath, as well as views of the Kenai Mountains on Kachemak Bay’s south shore. Looking ahead, the winery is in the process of adding 2,500 square feet to its winemaking and storage area. “This will almost double the size of our existing warehouse and winemaking space, and this will allow us to
Beginning in 2017, Bear Creek Winery and Lodging’s annual music festival has drawn an international cast of musicians and music lovers to the foothills above Kachemak Bay. © Janel LeBlanc | Bear Creek Winery and Lodging
keep up with demand,” says Louis. He’s not the only one looking ahead. The couple’s four-year-old daughter Maggie may already be considering taking the business to a third
generation. “She’s helping wash barrels, test fruit before it’s pressed, and sweep the parking lot,” says Jasmine. “This is a space to be proud of.”
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In March, Louis Maurer (center) and his wife Jasmine became owners of Bear Creek Winery and Lodging. Jasmine is the daughter of the business’s founders Bill and Dorothy Fry. © Scott Dickerson | Bear Creek Winery and Lodging
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TOURISM
Alaska is a year-round destination— and visitors can even fish in the winter. © Matt Hage | State of Alaska
Travel Like a Local How businesses are making Alaska a year-round destination By Vanessa Orr
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laska is a wonderful place to live year-round, but most people who choose to visit come during the warmer summer months. While this is a big boost to the economy, some companies are encouraging travelers to come earlier and stay
36 | September 2019
longer, creating more lucrative shoulder seasons in April, May, September, and October. The Alaska Travel Industry Association (ATIA) promotes the state as a yearround destination, and that includes attracting visitors during the shoulder seasons. “If we can get people to visit at this time of year, it really benefits
our communities and businesses,” explains Sarah Leonard, ATIA president and CEO. “Businesses can stay open longer, which makes them available to residents as well as visitors. And if the Alaska tourism industry strengthens our year-round visitor numbers, it also allows these businesses to hire more residents, generating more economic
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activity for these companies and for Alaska.”
Why Visit during the Shoulder Season? There are many reasons why visitors might want to come to Alaska when it’s not teeming with tourists—especially if the point of their vacation is to get away from it all. Restaurants and shops are far less crowded. And there’s less competition when it comes to seeing Alaska in its natural state. UnCruise Adventures has made a point of marketing to the shoulder season traveler. Their “Alaska Awakening” campaign, launched two years ago, invites visitors to enjoy a more intimate experience in the great outdoors. “We have always operated a little earlier than most cruise lines, offering trips throughout Southeast Alaska from early April to the third week of May— before most passengers and cruise lines have even considered coming to Alaska,” says Tim Jacox, the company’s president and CEO. “It can be an amazing experience
to be the only visitors in this massive wilderness; imagine being one of only ninety guests in the middle of Glacier Bay when no one else is around,” he says. “We get into remote channels and islands and back bays like nobody else can, and guests have it all to themselves. They can go kayaking and hiking and really get that Alaskan experience.” Jacox adds that visitors may also see the Northern Lights, which can only be seen from late August through April, or spot the gray whales that migrate from Mexico to the Bering Sea only at this time of year. In the state’s urban areas, there’s literally more shoulder room to be had during shoulder seasons. “Girdwood is a really cool place, and it’s nice to experience it when it’s quieter and more relaxed,” says Ben Napolitano, director of marketing for Alyeska Resort and the Hotel Alyeska. “You can walk into a restaurant, like Jack Sprat, without a reservation. And hiking trails like Winner Creek don’t have nearly as many people. The hotel is also less full, and it’s a lot more relaxing to spend time in the pool and
workout facilities.
“If the Alaska tourism industry strengthens our year-round visitor numbers, it also allows these businesses to hire more residents, generating more economic activity for these companies and for Alaska.” Sarah Leonard President/CEO, ATIA
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The weather is often beautiful in the spring and fall, making it perfect for hiking before the trails get too crowded. UnCruise Adventures
“It can be an amazing experience to be the only visitors in this massive wilderness; imagine being one of only ninety guests in the middle of Glacier Bay when no one else is around.” Tim Jacox President/CEO, UnCruise Adventures
38 | September 2019
“If you’re looking to get away and spend time in the mountains, the shoulder season is a really good time,” he adds. The weather can also be quite nice, especially compared to this summer’s record-breaking temperatures. “Not only is Juneau less crowded, but we usually have really pretty weather in Southeast in April and May,” says Liz Perry, president and CEO of Travel Juneau. “We get a number of warm days, and April through June tends to be a little drier. It’s also a great time to score lower-priced hotel rooms.” Travelers on a budget can benefit from visiting at this time of year. Cruise lines offer more deals in the shoulder season, and independent travelers can also find discounts on ATIA’s site, TravelAlaska.com. Alyeska begins offering shoulder season discounts as soon as the ski season ends, from around the third weekend of April to the third week in May. “We transition to the shoulder season when guests can’t get on the mountain
and we don’t offer skiing and before the cruise ships come in,” Napolitano says. “We offer a really discounted room rate, which we market heavier to Alaskans because most tourists aren’t traveling at that time.” While rates fluctuate, past prices have included a $99 per night mid-week special, with a $109 room rate on weekends. UnCruise Adventures also offers value season pricing during the shoulder seasons, which is attractive to prospective travelers. “We made some good headway with our Alaska Awakening concept; April and early May of 2018 saw a 31 percent increase in passenger numbers over 2017,” says Jacox, adding that September has always been fairly strong for the company, which is moving toward 75 percent occupancy during the last part of the season.
Plan Wisely While there is always something spectacular to see and do in Alaska, some major tourist attractions, like
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Denali, are not open year-round, so it’s important that visitors know the limitations before booking a shoulder season trip. “During the heavy tourist season, we book lot of activities through our concierge, but some of those activities, like flightseeing, are closed during the shoulder season,” says Napolitano. “Denali is closed after the second weekend in September. “If you’re writing a novel, October is a cool time to visit, but it’s not if you want to rent Jet Skis,” he adds. “You need to be realistic about your expectations and look at what you want to do versus what you are able to do.” For this reason, Alyeska markets mainly to locals during this time of year, as they are more likely to book at the last minute. “People from the Lower 48 tend to book well in advance and do a lot of planning for their trips,” explains Napolitano. “Alaskans might just decide to get a hotel room to attend a concert at Bear Tooth; it’s one of the reasons we focus on locals and markets with direct flights for that time period.” While many tour operators and stores are closed during the shoulder season, some companies, like UnCruise Adventures, have arranged for local businesses to open their doors for their guests. “When our guests embark and disembark in Juneau, a couple of gift shops open up especially for us,” says Jacox. “The Mt. Roberts Tram also opens on days when we’re in port.” According to Perry, one of the reasons that more businesses aren’t open in the shoulder season is that staffing becomes a problem. Collegeaged employees are still in school in April or are returning to school after the last cruise ship leaves. “A lot of companies are also doing staffing and training in early spring, so they aren’t open for business,” she says. Even businesses that might want to expand their seasons have limitations, such as larger cruise ship companies that require more infrastructure than is available. “UnCruise Adventures is unique because it is able to operate when other cruise lines cannot because of its smaller ship and passenger size,” says Jacox. “We only carry twenty-two to ninety guests on each boat, and we www.akbizmag.com
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don’t require longshoremen or group buses. Larger cruise ships are also completing trips to other destinations, so they are not free to move their boats into Alaska that early.” Because many cruise lines sell vertically, all of their components need to be in place before setting sail. In the case of cruise companies that offer Denali bus tours as part of their packages, for example, the company must wait until Denali opens on June 1.
August to April, which is helping to boost tourism numbers.
Promoting a Four-Season State
relaxed. You can walk
While summer and winter are the most popular times for visitors, many communities are looking at opportunities to bring more travelers in during the shoulder seasons. “We promote Alaska as a year-round destination because we have activities for visitors at any time of the year,” says Leonard. Northern Lights tours have become increasingly popular, especially for Asian visitors. While many come for the Chinese New Year in January, the aurora borealis can be seen from
“Girdwood is a really cool place, and it’s nice to experience it when it’s quieter and more into a restaurant, like Jack Sprat, without a reservation." Ben Napolitano Director of Marketing, Alyeska Resort
“Our 2017-2018 report shows that Alaska’s fall and winter volume is up more than 30 percent since 2008-
2009, with the average annual growth rate for that time period just under 3 percent,” says Leonard, adding that winter tourism makes up 14 percent of the state’s annual visitor numbers. To this end, communities are hosting events designed to attract visitors during shoulder seasons and beyond. These include the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race and the World Ice Art Championships in Fairbanks, both of which are held in March; shorebird festivals in April in Cordova, Homer, and on the Kenai Peninsula; and the Bald Eagle Festival in Haines and the Sitka Whalefest, both of which are held in November. Alyeska Resort hosts a spring carnival in Girdwood in April, as well as a Mountain Bike festival and Oktoberfest in September. “We start seeing a little more traffic from the Lower 48 in fall, especially in September, which is usually amazing weather-wise,” says Napolitano. “We offer two weekends of biking at our Mountain Bike Festival, which brings a lot of people to our bike park for endurance and downhill racing, skills clinics, music, and events.”
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“We consider this ‘Juneau Time,’ when people can come visit and live more like a local… A lot of activities take place at this time of year, especially in fall.” Liz Perry President/CEO, Travel Juneau
Alyeska Resort’s Oktoberfest, held during the last two weekends of September, includes a hotel package with discounted room rates, food vouchers, and even a souvenir stein. “This is a super popular event that
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attracts mostly Alaskans, but also some travelers from the Lower 48,” says Napolitano. Along with marketing to residents and tourists, Travel Juneau also focuses heavily on the convention and meetings trade to bring people into the state during the off season. “We consider this ‘Juneau Time,’ when people can come visit and live more like a local,” says Perry. “A lot of activities take place at this time of year, especially in fall, when Perseverance Theatre starts its season, the Juneau Symphony starts up, and visitors can attend performances by the Juneau Lyric Opera and Opera to Go. “We’re working on promotions to tie into art pieces, like First Fridays, the Juneau Public Market in November, Wearable Arts in February, and the Alaska Folk Festival in April,” she adds. “These are
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great opportunities to come in for a long weekend.” With travelers looking for more opportunities to come to Alaska, it makes perfect sense to provide them with reasons to arrive earlier and to stay longer. Early spring and late fall offer ideal opportunities for visitors to find out more about the Last Frontier in a less crowded, more laid-back, Alaskan way.
Many activities, such as kayaking, can be enjoyed during the shoulder seasons as well as during the summer. © UnCruise Adventures
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Getting to Know Alaska’s Regional ANCs Protecting culture, traditions, and lands while operating successful businesses By Kathryn Mackenzie Since they were established as corporations in the early 1970s, the twelve Alaska Native Regional corporations have worked tirelessly to uplift their respective regions, their shareholders, and the state’s economy as a whole. All together they reported more than $10.5 billion in revenue last year—revenue that creates opportunities; protects their lands, culture, and resources; and provides investment opportunities for the entire state and, more importantly, their shareholders. This year Alaska Business asked each corporation’s top executives to share a little about their business, new initiatives, and what makes them unique in an already rarified group. We are grateful to every person who took the time out his or her (very) busy schedule to offer this valuable insight into the past, present, and future of the regional corporations. In no particular order, we present a snapshot of the twelve Alaska Native Regional Corporations.
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Ahtna’s 2,000 shareholders are mainly comprised of the Ahtna Athabascan people of the Copper River and Cantwell regions of Southcentral Alaska. “The Ahtna people take their name from the indigenous word for the Copper River, which flows through Ahtna land,” according to the organization’s website. Michelle Anderson, president of Ahtna, shares her thoughts on Ahtna’s accomplishments, future, and the importance of preserving history and culture.
region’s village corporation, our tribal nonprofits and housing authority, and our shareholders. We believe in our vision—our culture unites us; our land sustains us; our people are prosperous. What makes your region economically unique? We are the only Alaska Native Region whose villages are all on the road system and the highway system crosses on either side of our region. If major infrastructure development is going to
What has been or is your favorite initiative or program of 2019? Ahtna has put an intense focus on shareholder hire and education in 2019. Ahtna made a $1 million investment in shareholder employment programs based in the eight Ahtna villages. We revamped our online scholarship program and promotion to reach more students and doubled the award amounts. We have improved our internship program and now refer to the young professionals placed throughout the company as Ahtna’s Special Forces. This is not a traditional internship offering; our Special Forces are actively engaged and participating at a management level to learn firsthand the issues, challenges, and opportunities that the Ahtna family of companies are pursuing for the betterment of our people. We have a generation to get up to speed so they are ready to step into leadership positions. What new developments are your shareholders saying they are most excited about? Shareholders are genuinely excited and thankful for the employment opportunities that we’ve had in our villages this summer. Our shareholders have identified education and training as a top priority and appreciate the increase in funding for college and vocational education.
happen in Alaska, it must go through our region. The Trans Alaska Pipeline System and the proposed LNG line are two examples of such infrastructure. What do you hope the future holds for Ahtna? Ahtna gave much for the development of Alaska and it is my hope that we see positive change in how our lands have been historically treated. Two of Ahtna’s traditional villages, Dry Creek and Gulkana, were
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To what do you attribute your success as a regional ANC? Our corporation’s strength comes from our people and our culture. We work closely with our tribes, our www.akbizmag.com
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AHTNA , INC .
ALASKA NATIVE SPECIAL SECTION
forced to move to accommodate Alaska’s early road and airport development. No compensation has ever been provided to the Ahtna people whose traditional lands were taken during this silent, sad chapter in Alaska’s history. In the early 1900s, Gulkana’s village was literally cut in half and villagers were forced to relocate
when the road was put in. In 1973, the village’s cemetery with over 100 gravesites was transferred to the State of Alaska in error and the village has been working on the return of these sacred lands ever since. We view our land protection responsibilities and fighting for our customary and traditional hunting and fishing rights as
cultural survival. Our businesses are growing and continue to give back to our shareholders and villages. We are working tirelessly to pass on our beautiful and unique culture and history, our lands, and our businesses to the next generation of Ahtna leaders.
KONIAG INC . Koniag is owned by more than 3,800 Alaska Native shareholders. “We are the Sugpiaq-Alutiiq, a culture that has thrived for thousands of years. We make our decisions with the understanding that we will continue to prosper as a distinct people. We have traditionally relied on the land and sea for subsistence and our livelihood. We have always been sensitive to the cycles of the seasons and have recognized the need to plan ahead in order to be prepared for the future,” states the company. The Alutiiq value of caring for community is embedded in everything they do—every service, decision, and investment is a reflection of its commitment to living its culture, according to Koniag. “Koniag will continue to celebrate our traditions and values, protect our lands, advocate for our communities, and enrich the lives of our shareholders, descendants, and employees at every turn.” Shauna Hegna, Koniag’s president, talks about the company’s bright future and expanding benefits and opportunities for the corporation’s shareholders.
than 100 youth scholarships this year, allowing children and teens to attend athletic, cultural, and artistic camps. We more than doubled our investment in that area from $19,000 to $53,000 in 2019.
What has been or is your favorite initiative or program of 2019? One exciting initiative we’ve been able to expand on this year is our youth scholarship program. Koniag has awarded more
To what do you attribute your success as a regional ANC? We believe a rising tide lifts all boats. At Koniag, collaboration is more than just a buzzword, it is a part of everything we do. Our success is deeply intertwined with that of our
What new developments are your shareholders saying they are most excited about? Everything we do at Koniag is driven by the goal of providing meaningful benefits to our shareholders and descendants. With that in mind, we’ve been able to implement two recent developments that were suggested by our shareholders. Our shareholders told us they wanted to see Koniag begin offering a benefit for our elders, and in November 2018 we distributed the very first elder benefit. Our shareholders also indicated they wanted Koniag to explore the idea of establishing a Settlement Trust, which was overwhelmingly approved by our voting shareholders at our annual meeting last fall. Our shareholders are excited about these new initiatives, and we’re glad to listen and implement their ideas.
community and our people. We believe that by lifting up our communities and partnering with like-minded organizations, we have been able to realize six years of financial growth at Koniag and make our communities a better place to live. What makes your region economically unique? Our region is unique in many ways— from the unparalleled beauty of Kodiak Island that leads to a robust tourism industry to the strong, diverse fisheries. Koniag is fortunate to have investments within our region: the Granite Cove Quarry and the Kodiak Brown Bear Center. What do you hope the future holds for Koniag? The future is bright for Koniag and our shareholders. We hope to continue our track record of business growth, which is six years strong. This year, we achieved a record year in pre-tax earnings, and moving forward we hope to strengthen our subsidiaries even more and acquire companies that share our vision and values. We aim to do all this by bringing many voices to the table and focusing on our strengths to keep growing and creating positive outcomes for our region and meaningful benefits for our shareholders.
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ALEU T CORP OR ATION Aleut Corporation represents a region of the state known as the Ring of Fire—an area that spans 1,000 miles across the Aleutian and Pribilof Islands in the Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea. Aleut has more than 4,000 shareholders and operates seven subsidiaries 44 | September 2019
primarily in government and industrial professional services and real estate. “The Aleut Corporation’s mission to ‘maximize dividends and opportunities for our shareholders and descendants’ is in line with the requirements of ANCSA. As such, we not only provide dividends to our 4,000 shareholders;
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CHUG ACH AL A SK A CORP OR ATION Chugach Alaska Corporation’s mission is to serve the interests of the Alaska Native people of the Chugach region. The organization represents more than 2,500 Aleut, Eskimo, and Indian shareholders and works to provide opportunities through responsible management of its lands, businesses, and assets, the company says. Chugach President and CEO Gabriel Kompkoff gave Alaska Business the rundown on Chugach’s initiatives, developments, and more.
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What has been or is your favorite initiative or program of 2019? Congress’ passage of the Chugach Lands Study Act this year is a significant milestone for Chugach, which opens the door for a potential land exchange opportunity. The Act requires the Department of the Interior and the US Forest Service to conduct a study to www.akbizmag.com
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we also provide opportunities for social development through nonprofits that provide education funding, work training, healthcare, and other needed services from cradle to grave,” said President and CEO Thomas Mack in the company’s summer Aleutian Current newsletter. “Our Aleut region has come together to collaboratively address issues that impact our region such as transportation, education, and broadband to mention a few. Together, we have taken steps to address cuts to the State budget, as well as write letters to support efforts which address poor air transportation in the Aleut region and cuts to the Alaska Marine Highway System.” The corporation enhances the lives and culture of the Aleut people through The Aleut Foundation, which offers shareholders and descendants access to programs that fund education and training as well as cultural enrichment. The Aleut Foundation programs include educational scholarships, career development, community development, internships, travel scholarships, burial assistance, and vocational/technical skills training.
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identify the effects that federal land acquisitions have had on Chugach’s ability to develop its lands and to identify accessible and economically viable federal land for a possible land exchange with the corporation within the next eighteen months. Chugach’s board and leadership team have explored a land exchange for nearly two decades and were instrumental in lobbying for the inclusion of the Act into the Senate Bill (S.47). This was a strategy envisioned by our original founders when they selected parcels of land with the intent to exchange at a future date. A land exchange is just one avenue to support the long-term lands management strategy called for in Chugach’s 100year plan. What new developments are your shareholders saying they are most excited about? John Borodkin, one of Chugach’s founders, once said that he hoped the younger and current generations understood how hard he and his fellow founders fought to build our corporation—all on behalf of the Chugach community. I think he would be proud to see that members of these new generations are stepping forward and taking on more responsibility for leading the corporation into the future. Just last year, we saw several shareholders assume key leadership positions across our organization. Former apprentice Lauren Johnson became the executive director for our philanthropic arm, Chugach Heritage Foundation. Josie Hickel was recently promoted to executive vice president of Land & Resources, where she can focus on nurturing lands-related
opportunities for the organization. Peter Andersen is a vice president for Chugach Commercial Holdings, which oversees our diverse commercial portfolio of companies. And Katherine Carlton recently moved from an apprentice role in our government division to serve the new president of Chugach Education Services and general manager of Chugach Training & Educational Solutions. Advancing the next generations of shareholder leaders is one of the cornerstones of intergenerational prosperity. To what do you attribute your success as a regional ANC? Chugach’s success is directly attributed to our board of directors, leadership team, and the nearly 6,000 employees who are committed to doing great work on behalf of our shareholders. I recognize that these talented professionals have a choice as to where they go to work every day, and I am grateful that they choose to work for Chugach companies. They reflect our core behaviors both at work and outside of work—building community, doing things the right way, empowering people, creating meaningful value, and leaving things better than we found them. I am proud say that it’s this collective community of employees who have charted a steady course to continue to deliver shareholder dividends and benefits. What makes your region economically unique? Chugach is a coastal region, whose economies are driven primarily by the fishing, tourism, and oil and gas industries. As an Alaska Native corporation, we’re charged with
creating economic benefits for shareholders through our lands, while also protecting the land for generations to come. This balance is reflected in many of our business activities, including our twenty-fiveyear partnership with Alyeska Pipeline Services Company. Chugach’s shareholder community and the Prince William Sound village corporations were among those devastated by the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill. As a proactive measure to prevent future oil spills, Chugach and two of the region’s village corporations—the Tatitlek Corporation and the Chenega Corporation—came together to form TCC. For the last twenty-five years, through contracts with Alyeska, TCC has provided a large portion of the SERVS manpower and expertise. TCC involvement in Prince William Sound oil spill response and prevention is a natural fit, with the majority of TCC workers being from the Sound and having grown up on the water and connected, in one form or another, to Alaska’s marine environment. What do you hope the future holds for Chugach? Our ultimate vision is prosperity for our people. Achieving this vision means that the corporation cannot rely on a single, evergreen strategy to carry us through the next 100 years. Our business portfolio today looks much different than it did a decade ago, and it will likely look much different a decade from now. What we do know is that we must continue enlisting passionate and prudent leaders who are willing to adapt to an evolving economic and political landscape.
DOYON , LTD. Doyon’s actions are inspired by the phrase, Dena’ Nena’ Henash: Our Land Speaks. Doyon’s lands are in Alaska’s Interior where its 20,000 shareholders have lived and worked for generations. President and CEO Aaron Schutt offers an inside look at Doyon’s current operations, new initiatives, and hopes for the future.
46 | September 2019
What has been or is your favorite initiative or program of 2019? Doyon Drilling, Inc. (DDI) Rig 26, an extended reach drilling rig, will begin drilling operations in April 2020. Rig 26, coined “The Beast,” will be the largest land-based rig in North America, with the capability for directional drilling to a depth of at least 33,000 feet and capacity to develop resources within
a 125 square mile area. Rig 26 is part of ConocoPhillips Alaska’s long-term strategic plan to bring the capabilities of an extended reach drilling rig to the North Slope. DDI is the premier drilling contractor on the North Slope of Alaska and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Doyon, Limited.
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To what do you attribute your success as a regional ANC? Our strategic planning and conservative approach. What makes your region economically unique? Doyon’s land ownership includes a vast mineral property holding within the
well-known Tintina Gold Belt, which provides many mineral exploration and development opportunities supporting jobs, training, and rural communities. What do you hope the future holds for Doyon? Through exploration agreements with major and junior mining companies over the past four decades, Doyon has retained geological information from exploration on its lands. Many of the prospective lands are on or near the welldeveloped road system of Interior Alaska. Doyon looks forward to continued exploration to support the global and national demand for minerals and local development of rural economies.
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What new developments are your shareholders saying they are most excited about? Doyon is actively pursuing several mineral exploration projects within the region which provides jobs, training, support for local community events, and contributions to rural economies for shareholders.
BRIS TOL BAY NATIVE CORP OR ATION BBNC defines itself with three simple words: courageous, resourceful, and resilient. “These qualities have defined the three cultures of Bristol Bay since before they encountered one another. Centuries ago, the Eskimo, Aleut, and Indian people ventured from their homes, tackling tough terrain in search of resources,” according to the corporation. All these years later, BBNC says it “embodies the bold, cooperative spirit of our ancestors, not just in Bristol Bay but far beyond. In that sense, we mirror our more than 10,000 shareholders, who are tied to this magnificent region whether they live in Anchorage, Fairbanks, Seattle, Puerto Rico, New Zealand, or points between.” The company’s goals include building its financial strength; paying its shareholders “predictable and increasing” dividends; balancing
responsible development and protection of its lands, fisheries, and resources; increasing shareholder employment and development opportunities; supporting educational, cultural, and social initiatives that “positively affect shareholders and descendants”; and developing economic opportunities in the Bristol Bay region. BBNC is led by President and CEO Jason Metrokin, who is tasked with protecting the culture and traditions of BBNC’s shareholders while finding new opportunities to provide economic development, employment, and educational opportunities. “It’s not an accident that our forward-looking corporate strategy leads to the greater good of our shareholders. It’s our commitment.” BBNC operates in four primary sectors: tourism, industrial services,
government services, and construction. This year in June BBNC subsidiary Bristol Alliance Fuels took the step to lease and operate Delta Western’s fuel terminals in Dillingham and Naknek. “This is a move about Bristol Bay that will benefit our communities through efficiency in operations and more in-region jobs. This agreement helps create value for BBNC and cost savings for our in-region Shareholders,” Joseph L. Chythlook, BBNC board chair, said about the transaction. BBNC’s philanthropic efforts include supporting programs that celebrate, preserve, and protect Alaska Native art forms and cultural traditions; funding programs and services that improve the welfare of its shareholders and their families; and supporting events and programs that offer employment, educational, and training opportunities for shareholders and their descendants.
CO OK INLE T REG ION , INC . CIRI is owned by more than 8,800 shareholders who are of Athabascan, Southeast Indian, Inpuiat, Yup’ik, Alutiiq/ Sugpiaq, and Aleut/Unangax descent—“a unique cultural diversity that represents shareholders from all Alaska Native groups, from throughout the state.” CIRI shareholders encompass a wide range of lifestyles from traditional subsistence living to contemporary jobs. “They have become business owners, corporate executives, physicians, lawyers, 48 | September 2019
educators, and social workers, among other professions. Throughout every sector, across Alaska and the Lower 48, CIRI shareholders work together to honor their diverse cultures and build a strong future for generations to come.” Sophie Minich, president and CEO of CIRI, gives her insight on the ANC’s current projects, future plans, and the importance of equipping CIRI’s young shareholders for future success.
What has been or is your favorite initiative or program of 2019? The continuation of CIRI’s College Prep: Careers: Culture Experience (C3). This is the second year of the three-day camp that brings together CIRI shareholders and descendants ages fifteen to nineteen. The camp develops leadership skills, helping them prepare for college and their careers. The C3 Experience also introduces the participants to Alaska Native culture
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through elder storytellers, Alaska Native games, and dances. The camp teaches and celebrates the diversity and strength of Alaska Native culture, while providing key life skills for our youth. What new developments are your shareholders saying they are most excited about? Any of CIRI’s programs that encourage our youth to get involved with their corporation. In addition to the C3 Experience, CIRI has broadened our outreach to our younger shareholders and descendants through an expanded internship program and our Youth Shareholder Participation Committee. These programs provide a connection to their corporation and encourage the next generation of leaders to be involved. Additionally, CIRI’s support of programs like the Alaska Native Science and Engineering Program and scholarships from The CIRI Foundation provide our younger shareholders and descendants better access to educational opportunities, a
critical component of our company’s future. Getting our youth involved in their corporation now and ensuring that they have educational resources for the future ensures the company’s success and preservation of our cultural heritage. To what do you attribute your success as a regional ANC? CIRI’s business activity is guided by a mission and a set of values that is rooted in our cultural heritage. In every business decision the company makes, we are driven to make a meaningful difference in the lives of CIRI shareholders, and that strategy has been successful in growing the core business, investing in innovative ideas, and has led to a carefully managed, diversified business portfolio that provides sustainable value to our shareholders now and into the future. What makes your region economically unique? CIRI was entrusted with some of
the richest and most delicate lands in Alaska. While CIRI was granted land selections through the 1971 Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA), the acreage offered included primarily mountainous, remote areas. CIRI’s early leadership fought for and negotiated the historic Cook Inlet Land Exchange, passed by Congress in 1976, which profoundly affected CIRI’s future success. The land exchange allowed CIRI to trade its ANCSA selections for undeveloped resource-rich lands and real estate holdings with great potential. What do you hope the future holds for CIRI? Our goal is to continue to build our assets and shareholders’ equity with a diverse portfolio of investments. This growth allows sustainable and increasing dividends for shareholders and for the company to continue funding cultural and educational program for the benefit of generations to come.
BERING S TR AITS NATIVE CORP OR ATION Bering Straits Native Corporation (BSNC) operates in one of the most culturally diverse regions in the state. According to the company, three distinct languages—Iñupiaq, Siberian Yupik, and Central Yup’ik—are spoken in the Bering Strait region. The people of the Diomede and King Islands are Iñupiaq and Saint Lawrence Island is the home of the only Siberian Yupik people on the American side of Bering Strait. President and CEO Gail Schubert leads the company owned by more than 8,000 shareholders. Here she shares her vision for the ANC.
What new developments are your shareholders saying they are most excited about? BSNC doubled scholarship funding for undergraduate, graduate, and vocational Bering Straits Foundation (BSF) student recipients. Newly approved scholarship increases will be offered for the fall 2019 term. Students are encouraged to fully utilize scholarships from the foundation to obtain an education or job training that will benefit our region, Alaska, and our people. To what do you attribute your success as a regional ANC? Resilience and vision.
What makes your region economically unique? The amount of vessel traffic through the Bering Strait continues to increase as the Northwest Passage opens due to the receding polar ice cap. Our villages border what is commonly referred to as the “choke point” in the Bering Strait because of the relatively narrow distance between our communities and the communities in Siberia. Our region has already experienced unexpected visits from large cruise ships, which are passing through the Northwest Passage in greater numbers each year. What do you hope the future holds for Bering Straits Native Corporation? To continue to fulfill our mission to improve the quality of life of our people through economic development while
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What has been or is your favorite initiative or program of 2019? Overall shareholder benefits— including dividends, the elder distribution, bereavement payments, the Summer Internship Program, and
contributions to the Bering Straits Foundation—increased by 25 percent in fiscal year 2019 over the prior fiscal year.
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protecting our land and preserving our culture and heritage.
NA NA NANA is owned by the more than 14,300 Iñupiat shareholders or descendants who live in or have roots in northwest Alaska, according to the company. “Iñupiat have close ties to the land and to each other. The word Iñupiat means ‘real people,’ in Iñupiaq, the language.” The NANA region is located in northwest Alaska and encompasses 38,000 square miles. The eleven communities in the NANA region include Ambler, Buckland, Deering, Kiana, Kivalina, Kobuk, Kotzebue, Noatak, Noorvik, Selawik, and Shungnak. NANA President and CEO Wayne Westlake, an Iñupiaq from the village of Kiana, reflects on NANA’s roots, culture, and new direction.
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What has been or is your favorite initiative or program of 2019? For the last few years, we’ve been moving forward under a One NANA strategy, which streamlines operations across our companies, consolidates shared services, and promotes a number of initiatives that make us stronger—more united. Our board and leadership team took proactive steps this year to ensure oversight of business operations resides with NANA at the regional corporation level—a move that brings us back to our early corporate structure while positioning us for growth. To what do you attribute your success as a regional ANC? Our Iñupiat Iļitqusiat—that which makes us who we are: knowledge of family tree; love for children; avoid conflict; hunter success; cooperation; family roles; knowledge of language; hard work; humor; humility; respect for elders; spirituality; respect for others; respect for nature; domestic skills;
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responsibility to tribe; and sharing. At NANA, our traditional Iñupiaq values inform the decisions we make and the actions we take every day. It is by holding tightly to these values that we succeed. What makes your region economically unique? NANA lands are rich in natural resources, including copper, gold, lead, zinc, silver, and cobalt in the Ambler Mining District, Upper Kobuk, and most notably, Red Dog Mine, which continues to provide a sustainable economic base for our corporation and region since production began in 1989. Red Dog is a leader in shareholder hire, and in the last thirty years, shareholders working there have earned more than
$500 million in combined income. What do you hope the future holds for NANA? Opportunity for our people, the continued protection and stewardship of our lands, and growth for our businesses. These priorities are directed by our mission—to improve the quality of life for our people. It’s a charge we take seriously every day. NANA recently hosted our college interns this summer, and it’s one of my favorite times of year. Seeing our young shareholders gain valuable work experience is always a striking reminder that our youth are our future leaders, and we must ensure our corporation is positioned for success for generations to come.
ARC TIC SLOPE REG IONAL CORP OR ATION
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In Alaska, ASRC is basically synonymous with the North Slope. The for-profit corporation is owned by and represents the business interests of some 13,000 Iñupiat shareholders in villages in Point Hope, Point Lay,
Wainwright, Atqasuk, Utqiaġvik, Nuiqsut, Kaktovik, and Anaktuvuk Pass. The majority of ASRC’s shareholders call Alaska home, and about half live on the North Slope—living, working, and raising their families, continuing
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team formed a 2018-2023 Strategic Plan designed to grow and diversify ASRC’s core base of businesses through integration and “ambitious benchmark goals including our overarching measure of success to become one of the top 100 largest private companies in the United States.” The ultimate goal is to provide the greatest amount of benefit to the greatest number of shareholders, and our Pillar Strategies describe how we are focusing our efforts to maximize shareholder impact.” The three pillars of ASRC’s strategic growth plan are: financial performance; shareholder and employee growth; and community economic development. ASRC says its core values form the foundation of its success as a community partner and as a company:
“spirituality, respect for each other, our culture as Iñupiat, high performance, stewardship, our business relationships, resolution of conflict and integrity.” The company states: “Iñupiaq know hard work at a cultural level. In our faces, you can see the strength, determination, and inventiveness that flows from the very roots of our Iñupiaq culture.” ASRC is deeply involved in philanthropic efforts and over the past three years has donated more than $20 million in charitable contributions to organizations including the Alaska School Activities Association, Alaska Native Heritage Center, and the University of Alaska Anchorage ANCAP and ANSEP programs.
C ALIS TA CORP OR ATION Calista represents more than 29,000 shareholders in Southwest Alaska. The Calista region encompasses more than 6.5 million acres and includes fifty-six villages that are incorporated
into forty-six individual village corporations. The ANC operates more than thirty subsidiaries in industries including military defense contracting, construction, real estate, environmental
and natural resource development, and oil field services. Calista is situated between two of Southwest Alaska’s most important and magnificent rivers—the Yukon and the
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BUILDING ALASKA FOR MORE THAN
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Experts in Resource Development and Heavy Civil Construction Cruz Construction | Alaska Interstate Construction Original www.akbizmag.com
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the traditions of generations of Iñupiat before them. ASRC owns title to about 5 million acres of land on the North Slope, which “contain a high potential for oil, gas, coal, and base metal sulfides.” One facet of ASRC’s mission is to balance management of cultural resources with management of natural resources. As part of that mission, ASRC and its family of companies have diversified over the years under the leadership of President and CEO Rex A. Rock Sr. The company operates in six business segments: government services, energy support services, industrial services, petroleum refining and marketing, construction, and resource development. A few years ago, ASRC’s board of directors and executive management
ALASKA NATIVE SPECIAL SECTION
Kuskokwim—that remain the traditional home of the state’s indigenous Yup’ik, Cup’ik, and Athabascan people. President and CEO Andrew Guy began his career at Calista as an intern and spent the next twenty-six years
rising through the ranks before being elected to his current position by the board of directors in 2010. Since 1994, Calista has provided more than $4.8 million in scholarships to its shareholders and descendants.
Since inception, the ANC has provided more than $64.7 million in dividends and $6.5 million in elder benefit program distributions to its shareholders.
SE AL A SK A Sealaska is owned by more than 22,000 Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian shareholders who “draw inspiration from our shared heritage to protect our community’s greatest and most important resources—the oceans, forests, and people of Southeast Alaska.” It operates core businesses in natural resources and land management, environmental services, and sustainable foods. Sealaska’s $700 million business portfolio operates under a formula
designed to create both “profit and pride.” The company states, “To improve our air and water quality, we sustainably manage our forests—including preserving nearly half of our forested lands as part of our Carbon Offset Project; protect fisheries, our seafood companies actively support sustainable fishing and seek more value per fish through innovative practices; improve the health of streams and waterways, our environmental services companies are testing water quality and solving
S E S S E N I S U B A K L S A A I L T A N E G T O P HELPIN R I E H a.com HT lask REAC a p i p 84 5 3 4 7 (907) 2
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complex hydrology challenges.” Helmed by CEO Anthony Mallott, Sealaska provides funding and other in-kind support to “hundreds of community-based programs and institutions,” including Spruce Root, Sealaska Heritage Institute, and the Sealaska Carving Program. “We don’t see this as philanthropy. Instead, we see this as a core reason we go to work every day—to partner in creating opportunities throughout Southeast Alaska.”
in t n i r P or l o C l l Fu pying & Co il a M t c Dire g n i r e d r O Online e Signag & w o h S Tradet Marketing Even
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The twelve Alaska Native Regional corporations have in common a multitude of characteristics, including operating profitable businesses, creating opportunities for shareholders and descendants, and implementing practices designed to ensure future generations can live and work on the same lands as their ancestors. But one thread that ties them all together is their love of and fierce commitment to the preservation of their respective cultures. While the economic contributions of the Alaska Native corporations are integral to the state’s financial health, so are the lessons they pass down from generation to generation about respect for the land, each other, and
pxhere
the importance learning from the past.
“It takes more than a couple years to understand this place.” People who know, know BDO.SM
BDO is Alaska’s largest accounting and advisory firm—and one of its oldest. Our Anchorage-based professionals provide deep personal attention to clients in a wide range of industries—including many Alaska Native Corporations and 20 of Alaska’s “Top 49ers”—as well as the resources of one of the largest professional services organizations in the world. Kevin Van Nortwick, Tax Office Managing Partner 907-770-2221 / kvannortwick@bdo.com
Joy Merriner, Audit Office Managing Partner 907-770-2257 / jmerriner@bdo.com
BDO USA, LLP, 3601 C Street, Suite 600, Anchorage, AK 99503 Accountants and Advisors
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Strong Vision and Steady Growth Bering Straits Native Corporation: defined by conscientious leaders and cultural values
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T
he relatively short history of the corporations formed by the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act is one of determined perseverance. The corporations established in the early 1970s were charged with the responsibility of creating economic opportunity to support their region and shareholders, using surface and/or subsurface real estate and money conveyed as part of the settlement. But experience participating in the corporate sphere isn’t something one can transfer via signed agreement, and many corporations struggled in their early years. For Bering Straits Native Corporation (BSNC), one of the corporation’s most challenging years was 1986, when it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. According to a four-part BSNC Land Series by Vice President of Media and External Affairs Matt Ganley, “BSNC made errors, and in some cases was the recipient of unscrupulous or inadequate investment and business advice. Companies were purchased and investments made with the long-term goal of developing a business portfolio that would enhance the original ANCSA settlement. These often proved to be companies that looked promising but had little value as long-range growth strategies. As the late Charlie Johnson once said, ‘We bought a tire company with no tires and a construction company with no equipment.’” What followed was a “series of complex agreements designed to protect BSNC’s land base, repay the village corporations for the lost settlement funds, and bring BSNC back from bankruptcy.” And BSNC has ultimately been successful in attaining those goals, garnering more than $378 million in gross revenue in fiscal year 2019 and using earnings to support shareholders, descendants, and the region with scholarships, bereavement assistance, and elder and shareholder dividends, among other programs, funds, and activities.
driving the company has grown and evolved. President and CEO Gail R. Schubert is an original BSNC shareholder, an Inupiaq Eskimo born and raised in Unalakleet. Schubert has been passionate about education and personal growth from a young age. Her older sister, Rose, went to school and earned a nursing degree. “I idolized her as a child… I wanted to be just like her, and that really cemented in my brain that I was going to continue my education after high school,” Schubert says. Schubert’s parents also impressed
upon their children the value of going to college; she describes it as a focus on education without being oppressive. “When my mother was much younger, she wanted to leave Unalakleet and get her nursing degree. I believe her mother told her that she couldn’t do that because she had to stay and help raise her siblings. And so my mom told me that when that happened, she made the decision that she would never stop any of us from leaving to continue our education.” Of the nine children in Schubert’s family, three graduated from Stanford, two received law degrees, and
Drawing from Experience BSNC has grown as a company in large part because the leadership www.akbizmag.com
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By Tasha Anderson
ALASKA NATIVE SPECIAL SECTION
Bering Straits Native Corporation President and CEO Gail Schubert (center front) sits with the corporation’s 2019 summer interns as well as several BSNC employees who participated in the summer internship program and have since been hired on full time. (Front row, left to right) Tamaira Tocktoo-Austin, Schubert, Gabby Pierce, Isabel Yamat; (back row, left to right) Justin Maxwell, Elizabeth Ramirez , Lawrence Lynch, Nilson Mixsooke, Lynn Kinney, Michael Anagick, Christian Leckband, Ana Grayson. ŠKerry Tasker
"BSNC is owned by and exists for the benefit of our shareholders and descendants... The internships are really exciting to me because this next generation of shareholders descendants is super bright." Gail Schubert, President/CEO, BSNC
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growth in government contracting. With that came the opportunity to invest in other things.” Over the coming years Schubert continued to grow and evolve with BSNC. In 2009 Schubert was promoted to CEO, and in 2010 she was named the company’s president and CEO when then-President Tim Towarak resigned to accept a position as the Federal Subsistence Board co-chair. Towarak said at the time of her promotion, “I have every confidence that under Gail’s leadership, BSNC will continue the significant growth trend it has
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experienced in the past decade.” His confidence was well-placed. In 2010 the company’s gross revenue was approximately $190 million, and in 2018 BSNC reported revenue of $415 million.
People First As a leader, Schubert understands her value as well as the essential contributions of others in keeping the corporation on course. “This is a position in which you have to heavily rely on the people you work with to
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three have MBAs. Schubert did all three—earning her undergraduate from Stanford, an MBA from Cornell University’s Johnson School of Management, and graduating from the Cornell School of Law. After graduating she worked in New York for a number of Wall Street firms. Initially she worked at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, performing regulatory work for two years before moving to a small department at Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson that provided high net worth tax and estate planning, transactional legal advice, asset purchase and disposition, and probate work. Schubert moved on to another smaller firm in New York, where she worked closely with an IRS estate tax auditor to value and then settle a complex tax dispute based on disparate valuations of an international family-owned company. Schubert describes moving to New York after graduating from Cornell as one of the most daring things that she’s done in her life, but taking that chance served her well. “It helped to prepare me for anything… It was really fast learning and then execution, and that gave me the ability to look at issues or things that need to be done and just focus on getting them done, irrespective of whether that requires working nights or weekends.” After eight years of tempering in the high-stress world of Wall Street, Schubert decided it was time to come home. Upon returning to the 49th State, she took a position at a local law firm, where one of her clients was involved with government contract work, introducing Schubert to the sector. “Because I had lived out of state, I wasn’t aware of the kinds of things that Alaska Native corporations were doing,” she explains. In 1992, she ran for and was successfully elected to the BSNC board. “The corporation was fairly small at the time, I think under $10 million in revenue, and I felt I could apply my skills and knowledge to help,” she recalls. “I recognized [government contracting] as a growth opportunity.” So in 2003, when Schubert was hired at BSNC to serve as the corporation’s executive vice president and general counsel, she persuaded that client to come on board, “and that started our
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Gail Schubert (center front) is deeply invested in the summer internship program; the 2019 summer intern group includes (from left to right) Justin Maxwell, who’s pursuing a degree in business management at UAA; Elizabeth Ramirez, who’s working on a bachelor’s degree in geological sciences with a minor in mathematics at UAA; Michael Anagick, currently working on his mechanical engineering degree at UAA; Lawrence Lynch, who is starting college this fall as an accounting major; and Gabby Pierce, currently enrolled at APU and pursing a degree in psychology. ©Kerry Tasker
60 | September 2019
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back to the community is what really motivates me—being able to ensure that our shareholders and descendants benefit from BSNC being the kind of entity that it is.” To that end, BSNC recently filled a newly-created shareholder development director position. Lucille Sands is the company’s first shareholder development director and will design and implement strategies to align shareholder development with organizational goals and business needs; work to recruit shareholders and descendants for open positions; source
qualified shareholders; and provide ongoing review and metrics related to open positions. Schubert emphasized in the hiring announcement that “BSNC is owned by and exists for the benefit of our shareholders and descendants… [and] strives to empower our people as leaders of the Arctic region.” Schubert is also personally invested in the Summer Internship Program at BSNC. “The internships are really exciting to me because this next generation of shareholder descendants are super bright,” she says. The paid internship program accepts shareholder
STRENGTHENING
Alaska The history of the people of the North Slope reaches back 10,000 years and serves as the foundation upon which ASRC was built. Today, we remain as committed as ever to providing lasting benefits to our shareholders while strengthening Alaska’s economy.
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accomplish your goals. And that’s why I think it’s critical to surround yourself with really smart, motivated people: ‘A rising tide raises all boats,’” she says. Schubert approaches leadership by empowering her management team to run their departments in a way that ensures success; however, “They will tell you that shareholder and descendent hire and training is very, very important to me. This is an Alaska Native company. We are an Alaska Native corporation owned by Alaska Native people, and I think it’s important for us to hire and train our shareholders and descendants and other Alaska Natives, as well.” For Schubert, it’s clear that people come first. She’s driven by “the opportunity to continue to grow Bering Straits and provide the kinds of benefits that we’ve been able to provide to our shareholders and descendants for many years.” For a number of years while the company recovered from its rocky start, shareholders received a dividend of $50, which Schubert says the shareholders appreciated, as modest as it was. “One of the things the board has since focused on is giving back to our elders because during periods of financial difficulty for Bering Straits, they were very supportive of what we were trying to do.” That laser focus has had results. In 2018, BSNC was able to distribute a special $1,000 elder dividend, an increase of $250 over the year prior. For the 2017/2018 academic year, the Bering Straits Foundation awarded more than $238,000 in education funding to BSNC shareholders and descendants and has provided more than $2.8 million since 1991. BSNC recently doubled scholarship funding for undergraduate, graduate, and vocational Bering Straits Foundation student recipients. Newly-approved scholarship increases are effective for the fall 2019 term. “BSNC is very proud to invest in its shareholders and descendants,” Schubert says. “I encourage our students to fully utilize scholarships from the Foundation to obtain an education or training that will benefit our region, Alaska, and our people.” This year the corporation increased its bereavement assistance from $1,500 to $2,500. “The opportunity to give
ALASKA NATIVE SPECIAL SECTION
or descendent students who are enrolled in a college or technical school; from late May to early August, the students gain corporate experience while working forty hours a week.
Program Funding After its low point in 1986, BSNC refocused its attention on Nome and in-region business, but today it has operations in Alaska, the Lower 48, and internationally. The corporation’s twenty-plus subsidiaries perform services across multiple industries. For example, the Aurora Inn & Suites offers hotel accommodations in Nome; Eagle Eye Electric provides construction, renovation, electrical services, and environmental solutions; and Global Management Services helps clients with full-facility operations and maintenance support. But BSNC still has an eye on home. For twenty years, BSNC partnered with Knik Construction through subsidiary Sound Quarry Incorporated to operate Cape Nome Products, which produced industrial grade armor stone and riprap at the Cape Nome Quarry. In December last year, BSNC acquired Knik Construction’s 49 percent interest in Cape Nome Products, and 2019 marks the first year that Sound Quarry Incorporated has conducted quarry operations independently. A number of shareholders and descendants work at the operation, which Schubert visited in June. “It’s exciting to have a resource that we take from A to Z in terms of production and then ship it to locations in Alaska where it’s used for revetment and other projects to protect the shoreline and expand marine infrastructure,” she says. Rock from the quarry has been used for sea walls in Shishmaref and Unalakleet and in the construction of the Nome port, among other locations. Looking forward, Schubert says BSNC always has an eye open for acquisition opportunities, which in recent years have served the company well. In 2015 BSNC acquired Alaska Industrial Hardware, a leader in Alaska in providing equipment, tools, industrial materials, maintenance supplies, and safety products through its eight locations statewide. BSNC took advantage of the acquisition in the following years when Alaska’s economy faltered, using Alaska Industrial Hardware resources to support and even expand government contract work. Schubert also has an avid interest in how climate change is affecting the Arctic region BSNC serves. “Opportunities in the Arctic are happening a lot quicker than folks realize,” she says. To that end, BSNC has spent the past five years working to transfer lands at Port Clarence to the corporation. While the process has taken time, Schubert is hopeful for a resolution within six months. “There remains a need to ensure that there are no pollutants on the land before it’s transferred to us,” she clarifies. “In terms of the Arctic, when you look at what Russia— and more recently China—are doing in the Arctic, it really becomes pretty clear that the United States has to do something. The United States is an Arctic nation because of Alaska and needs to invest in infrastructure in the area to ensure that its national boundaries are protected.” Port Clarence is a natural deep water harbor and has served as a gathering place for the region’s people for 62 | September 2019
Tamaira Tocktoo-Austin (left) and Lawrence Lynch, 2019 summer intern, both work in the Bering Straits Native Corporation accounting department; Tocktoo-Austin is a former summer intern. ©Kerry Tasker
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quicker than folks realize.” Gail Schubert, President/CEO, BSNC
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“Opportunities in the Arctic are happening a lot
ALASKA NATIVE SPECIAL SECTION
Bering Straits Native Corporation regularly hires summer interns to work full time at the corporation; Justin Maxwell (far right) and Lawrence Lynch (far left) are 2019 summer interns; Tamaira Tocktoo-Austin, Lynn Kinney, Isabel Yamat, and Christian Leckband (left to right) are all current employees. ©Kerry Tasker
“BSNC is very proud to invest in its shareholders and descendants. I encourage our students to fully utilize scholarships from the Foundation to obtain an education or training that will benefit our region, Alaska, and our people.” Gail Schubert, President/CEO, BSNC
generations. Even without port infrastructure, ships already use Port Clarence as a safe harbor when storms arise on the Bering Sea, making it a natural location for a developed deep-water port to take advantage of increasing Arctic marine traffic. 64 | September 2019
Whatever changes are in store for the region and its residents, as one of the guiding hands for BSNC, Schubert recognizes how the corporation serves people and how they support the corporation. “I am really grateful to our shareholders and elders who
stood beside us and stood with us as we struggled to improve our financial position. Without their support—and it really was absolute support—we would not be where we are today.”
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OUR STRENGTH Netiye’ means ‘our strength’ in Ahtna Athabaskan
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2019 Alaska Native Corporations Directory W
elcome to the 2019 Alaska Native Corporations Directory. This year we sent surveys to both the regional and village corporations in order to provide an even more comprehensive listing of Alaska’s native organizations. We appreciate all of the time and effort put into gathering and reporting this data to us, and we look forward to this list becoming even more robust in years to come. For more directory content and information, please visit akbizmag.com/lists/.
Afognak Native Corporation Afognak Native Corporation, Alutiiq, and their subsidiaries provide an exceptional track record of services in the government and commercial sectors worldwide, including: leasing; construction; timber; engineering; security; logistics, 66 | September 2019
operations, and maintenance; oilfield; and youth services. Top Executive: Greg Hambright, President/CEO Worldwide/Alaska Employees: 4,546/151 Acreage: 248,000 Number of Shareholders: 1,185 Subsidiaries: Shields Point, Alutiiq Advanced Security Solutions, Alutiiq Construction Services, Alutiiq Education & Training, Alutiiq Essential Services
Alutiiq General Contractors, Alutiiq International Solutions, Alutiiq Professional Services, Alutiiq Security & Technology, Alutiiq Commercial Enterprises, Alutiiq 3SG, Alutiiq Technical Services, Alutiiq Pacific, Alutiiq Diversified Services, Alutiiq Management Services, Alutiiq Manufacturing Contractors, Alutiiq-Mele, Alutiiq Professional Training, Alutiiq Global Solutions, Afognak Near Island, Afognak Arctic Development, Afognak C Street,
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300 Alimaq Dr. Kodiak, AK 99615 907-486-6014 afognak.com alutiiq.com
twitter.com/ahtnainc linkedin.com/company/ahtna-inc
Akhiok-Kaguyak, Inc. Akhiok-Kaguyak, Inc. (AKI) is an Alaska Native Village Corporation specializing in commercial real estate, private equity, government products and services, tourism, and lands management. Top Executive: Michael Bradshaw, President/CEO
Worldwide/Alaska Employees: 11/3 Acreage: 77,000 Number of Shareholders: 278 1400 W. Benson Blvd. #425, Anchorage, AK 99503 907-258-0604 aki-kodiak.com info@aki-kodiak.com linkedin.com/company/akhiok-kaguyak-inc
Ahtna, Inc. Ahtna’s principle activities include construction, engineering, environmental, facilities management, surveying, security, military training, janitorial, healthcare and medical records management, government contracting, land management and resource development, and oil and gas pipeline services. Top Executive: Michelle Anderson, President Worldwide/Alaska Employees: 1,101/292 Acreage: 1.5 million Number of Shareholders: 2,065 Subsidiaries: Ahtna Development Corp., Ahtna Facility Services, Inc., Ahtna Support & Training Services, Ahtna Government Services Corp., Ahtna Construction & Primary Products Company, Ahtna Design Build, Inc., Ahtna Professional Services, Inc., Ahtna Environmental, Inc., Ahtna Technologies, Inc., AKHI, Ahtna Global, Ahtna Logistics, Tolsona Oil & Gas Exploration, Ahtna Engineering Services, AAA Valley Gravel, Ahtna Netiye’, Ahtna Infrastructure & Technologies, Ahtna Integrated Services, Ahtna Marine & Construction Company, Ahtna Solution PO Box 649, Glennallen, AK 99588 907-822-3476 ahtna-inc.com news@ahtna.net facebook.com/Ahtna.Inc www.akbizmag.com
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Marka Bay, Alutiiq Business Services, Alutiiq Logistics & Maintenance Services, Alutiiq Solutions, Alcyon, Inc., Alutiiq Information Management, Alutiiq Career Ventures, Afognak Leasing, McCallie Associates, Inc., Oxbow Data Management Systems, Alutiiq Leasing Company, Alutiiq Employee Leasing, Alutiiq Professional Consulting, Alutiiq, Red Peak Technical Services
ALASKA NATIVE SPECIAL SECTION
Aleut Corporation Federal contracting; O&M; instrumentation for oil and gas industry; mechanical contracting; radiological laboratory analysis, field testing, land remediation; commercial and residential real estate; fuel sales and storage; oil well testing services; information technology; and construction services. Top Executive: Thomas Mack, President/CEO Worldwide/Alaska Employees: 902/115 Subsurface/Surface Acreage: 1.577 million /77,000 Number of Shareholders: 3,911 Subsidiaries: Aleut Enterprises, Aleut Management Services, Aleut Real Estate, Alaska Instrument, C&H Testing, Patrick Mechanical, ARS International 4000 Old Seward Hwy., Ste 300 Anchorage, AK 99503 907-561-4300 aleutcorp.com info@aleutcorp.com
Arctic Slope Regional Corporation In 2018, ASRC subsidiaries acquired four new companies: F.D. Thomas, Inc.; Brad Cole Construction; Mavo Systems; and Hudspeth & Associates, Inc. Since the start of 2019, ASRC subsidiaries acquired National Environmental Group; Niles Construction Services; and K2 Industrial Services. Top Executive: Rex A. Rock Sr., President/CEO Worldwide/Alaska Employees: 15,000/3,400 Acreage: ~5 million Number of Shareholders: 12,900 Subsidiaries: ASRC Construction Holding Company, Petro Star, Eskimos, Inc., Tundra 68 | September 2019
Tours, Inc., Alaska Growth Capital BIDCO, Little Red Services, Inc., ASRC Industrial Services, ASRC Energy Services, Petro Star Inc., ASRC Federal Holding Company, PO Box 129, Barrow, AK 99723 907-852-8633 asrc.com ASRCExternalAffairs@asrc.com linkedin.com/company/ arcticsloperegionalcorporation
Bering Straits Native Corporation BSNC wholly owns 25 subsidiary companies that provide services to both commercial and government clients in the following primary lines of business: professional services, base operations and logistics support services, hardware retail and wholesale distribution, construction. Top Executive: Gail R. Schubert, President/CEO Worldwide/Alaska Employees: 1,560/413 Acreage: 2.1 million Number of Shareholders: 8,000 Subsidiaries: Inuit Services Inc.,Bering Straits Aerospace Services, Bering Straits Logistics Services, Bering Straits Information Technology, Bering Straits Technical Services, Eagle Eye Electric, Ayak, Global Support Services, Global Management Services, Iyabak Construction, Global Asset Technologies, Global Precision Systems, Bering Straits Development Co., Global Technical Services, Alaska Industrial Hardware, Inc., Paragon Professional Services, Arcticom, Alaska Gold Company, Aurora Inn & Suites, Stampede Ventures, Inc., Bering Global Solutions, Bering Straits Global Innovations, Bering Straits Professional Services, Sound Quarry, Inc. 3301 C St., Suite 400, Anchorage, AK 99503 907-563-378 beringstraits.com info@beringstraits.com facebook.com/GoBSNC
Bethel Native Corporation Bethel Native Corporation generates income and cash flow through four primary sources: contracting revenues earned by active business operating companies managed through its wholly owned subsidiaries; income from investments; rental income; and appreciation from investment properties. Top Executive: Anastasia Hoffman, President/CEO Worldwide/Alaska Employees: 120/50 Number of Shareholders: 2,000 Subsidiaries: Bethel Native Corporation, Bethel Services, Inc., Bethel Federal Services, Bethel Environmental Solutions, Bethel Contracting, Bethel Builders, Bethel Engineering and Consulting PO Box 719, Bethel, AK 99559 907-543-2124 bethelservices.com krose@bncak.com
Brevig Mission Native Corporation Buy and sell groceries, house hold supplies, cleaning supplies, insect repellants, kitchen aids, dinnerware, toys. Top Executive: Sara Seetot, President Worldwide/Alaska Employees: 12/12 Acreage: Number of Shareholders: 263 PO Box 85024, Brevig Mission, AK 99785 907-642-4091
Bristol Bay Native Corporation Industrial services, construction, government services, tourism, and natural resources. Top Executive: Jason Metrokin, President/CEO
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Worldwide/Alaska Employees: 4,020/1,590 Acreage: 3,128,084.59 Number of Shareholders: 10,480 Subsidiaries: Bristol Bay Industrial, Kakivik Asset Management, CCI Industrial Services, Peak Oilfield Service Company, Alaska Directional Drilling, PetroCard, Bristol Alliance Fuels, Government Services Group, Bristol Industries, CCI Alliance, SES Group, Bristol Bay Shared Services, Bristol Adventures, Katmai Air, Katmailand, Bristol Bay Mission Lodge 111 W. 16th Ave., Suite 400, Anchorage, AK 99501 907-278-3602 bbnc.net info@bbnc.net facebook.com/BristolBayNativeCorporation linkedin.com/company/bristol-bay-nativecorporation
Cape Fox Corporation
WE ARE HONORED TO BE RECOGNIZED AS THE BEST OF ALASKA BUSINESS!
LOCAL BROKERAGE STATEWIDE CONNECTIONS
Top Executive: Chris Luchtefeld, CEO Worldwide/Alaska Employees: 820/201 Acreage: 23,000 Number of Shareholders: 356 Subsidiaries: Cape Fox Shared Services, Cape Fox Federal Integrators, Cape Fox Facilities Services, Saxman One, Eagle Health, Concentric Methods, NAVAR, Cape Fox Lodge, Ketchikan Title Agency, Cape Fox Tours, Cape Fox Professional Services, Dockside Galley, Sweet Mermaids
907-244-2112 bsialaska.com COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE SALES & LEASING BUSINESS CONSULTING SALES & ACQUISITIONS DEVELOPMENT MANAGEMENT SITE SELECTION TO OCCUPANCY PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CONTACT BSI TODAY FOR A COMPLIMENTARY BROKER'S OPINION 3841 W. Dimond Blvd., Anchorage, Alaska 99502 70 | September 2019
Cape Fox’s portfolio includes commercial businesses specializing in Alaska lodging, restaurants and tourism, and Federal government contracting businesses with capabilities in professional staffing, systems engineering, medical services, IT, communications, acquisition, HR, and construction.
3000 C St., Suite 301, Anchorage, AK 99503 907-277-5706 capefoxcorp.com info@capefoxcorp.com facebook.com/Cape-Fox-Corporation linkedin.com/company/cape-foxcorporation
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Government services include military, intelligence, and operations support; security; environmental; healthcare; facilities; and professional services. Commercial services include communications contracting, home healthcare services, technology contracting, and food service industry. Top Executive: Charles W. Totemoff, President/CEO Worldwide/Alaska Employees: 5,704/284 Acreage: 38,895 Number of Shareholders: 203 3000 C St., Suite 301, Anchorage, AK 99503 907-277-5706 chenega.com info@chenega.com
Choggiung, Limited Commercial real estate and hospitality; government and commercial services; construction, professional services, information technology, mechanical maintenance and repair. Top Executive: Cameron Poindexter, President/CEO Worldwide/Alaska Employees: 329/109 Acreage: ~382,000 Number of Shareholders: 2,280 Subsidiaries: Choggiung Investment Company, Bristol Inn, Bayside Diner, Inland Empire Fire Protection, Umyuaq Technology, Intelligent Technology, Bristol Alliance of Companies PO Box 330, Dillingham, AK 99576 907-842-5218 choggiung.com
Chugach Alaska Corporation Chugach provides opportunities www.akbizmag.com
to its shareholders through a portfolio of operating businesses, investments, and land and resource development projects.
ALASKA NATIVE SPECIAL SECTION
Chenega Corporation
Top Executive: Gabriel Kompkoff, President/CEO Worldwide/Alaska Employees: 5,700/1,000 Acreage: ~1 million acres: 378,000 acres of full fee estate, 550,000 acres of subsurface Number of Shareholders: 2,758 Subsidiaries: Rex Electric & Technologies, Heide & Cook, All American Oilfield, Chugach Alaska Services, Chugach Tuullek, Chugach Professional Oilfield Services, Chugach Commercial Holdings, Chugach Government Solutions, Chugach Investment Holdings, Chugach Government Services, Wolf Creek Federal Services, Chugach Management Services, Chugach Consolidated Solutions, Chugach Industries, Chugach World Services, Chugach Information Technology, Defense Base Services, Chugach Federal Solutions, Chugach Education Services, Chugach Technical Solutions, Chugach Training & Educational Solutions, Chugach Systems Integration 3800 Centerpoint Dr., Suite 1200, Anchorage, AK 99503 907-563-8866 chugach.com communications@chugach.com facebook.com/chugachalaskacorporation linkedin.com/company/chugach
Cook Inlet Region, Inc. Government services, real estate, energy and infrastructure, natural resources, private equities and investment securities, and oilfield services. Top Executive: Sophie Minich, President/CEO Worldwide/Alaska Employees: 80/80 Surface/Subsurface Acreage: 650,000/ 1.3 million Number of Shareholders: 8,965 Subsidiaries: CIRI Land Development Co., North Wind Group, Fire Island Wind, Cruz Alaska Business
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Energy Services, Cruz Marine PO Box 93330, Anchorage, AK 99509 907-274-8638 CIRI.com info@CIRI.com facebook.com/CIRInews
Doyon, Limited Doyon Drilling, Doyon Tourism, Doyon/ARAMARK JV, Doyon
Government Group, Arctic Information Technology, Inc., designDATA, Doyon Associated, Doyon Anvil, Doyon Utilities, Doyon Remote Facilities & Services, Northern Laundry, Doyon Facilities. Top Executive: Aaron Schutt, President/CEO Worldwide/Alaska Employees: 866/589 Acreage: 11,561,967.37 Number of Shareholders: 20,124 Subsidiaries: Doyon Oil Field Services, Inc., Doyon Government Contracting, Inc.,
Doyon Natural Resources Development Corporation, Northern Laundry Services, Doyon Tourism, Northstar Manager, MidAlaska Pipeline Suite 300, Fairbanks, AK 99701-294 888-478-4755 doyon.com communications@doyon.com facebook.com/doyonlimited twitter.com/doyonlimited linkedin.com/company/68337
Kijik Corporation NCSA Corporation for the Village of Nondalton. Top Executive: Ventura Samaniego, President/CEO Worldwide/Alaska Employees: 2/2 Number of Shareholders: 500 Subsidiaries: Kijik Aviation Services, Kijik Technical Services, Qizhjeh Heritage Institute, International Data Systems, RISE Communications 801 B St., Ste 401-B, Anchorage, AK 99507 907-561-4487 KijikCorp.com April@kijikcorp.com
Doyon operates more than a dozen for-profit companies driving hundreds of jobs in Alaska and beyond. Oil Field Services | Government Contracting Natural Resource Development | Tourism
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Kikiktagruk Inupiat Corp. Facility management, retail sales, construction, base operations, remediation work, and joint ventures. Top Executive: Thomas Kennedy, CEO Worldwide/Alaska Employees: 120/35 Acreage: 1 Number of Shareholders: 2,100 Subsidiaries: KIC Construction, KIC Facilities Management, KIC Development, KIC Logistics, Alaska Universal Services, Midnight Sun Global Services, Midnight Sun Technologies, JLL-Midnight Sun IFMS 1225 E. International Airport Rd., Ste 110 Anchorage, AK 99518 907-277-7884 kikiktagruk.com
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King Cove Corporation Top Executive: Della Trumble, CEO Worldwide/Alaska Employees: 20/14 Acreage: 109,0000 Number of Shareholders: 440 Subsidiaries: King Cove Holdings, Delta Point, Last Hook Off Bar, Fox Island Fuel, Fleets Inn Motel, Heart Lake Apartments
Levelock Natives Limited Top Executive: Alexander Tallekpalek, President Worldwide/Alaska Employees: 3/3 Acreage: 108,528 Number of Shareholders: 228 PO Box 109, Levelock, AK 99625 907-287-304
PO Box 38, King Cove, AK 99612 907-497-2312 kingcovecorp.com kccadmin@arctic.net
NANA NANA and our family of companies are leaders in mining and resource development, engineering and construction, food and facilities management, camp services, security, logistics, and federal contracting services. Top Executive: Wayne Westlake, President/CEO Worldwide/Alaska Employees: 13,147/4,148 Acreage: 2.28 million
Koniag Koniag’s business sectors include: information technology services, government contracting services, energy and water, tourism, natural resource development, and real estate. Top Executive: Ron Unger, CEO Worldwide/Alaska Employees: 1,110/87 Acreage: ~145,000 Number of Shareholders: 4,128 Subsidiaries: Digitized Schematic Solutions, Frontier Systems Integrator, Koniag Services, Inc., Professional Computing Resources, Inc., XMCO, Inc., Dowland-Bach Corporation, Koniag Information Security Services, Granite Cove Quarry, Koniag Technology Solutions, Inc., Nunat Holdings, Near Island Building, Karluk Wilderness Adventures dba Kodiak Brown Bear Center and dba Karluk River Cabins, PacArctic, Open Systems Technology, Arlluk Technology Solutions, Eagle Harbor Solutions, Kadiak, Tuknik Government Services, Glacier Services, Inc., Koniag Government Services, Koniag Management Solutions, Koniag Commercial Holdings 194 Alimaq Dr., Kodiak, AK 99615 907-486-2530 koniag.com facebook.com/KoniagInc
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tkennedy@kikiktagruk.com facebook.com/Kikiktagruk
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Number of Shareholders: 14,500 Subsidiaries: NANA Development Corporation
Shaan-Seet, Incorporated
PO Box 49, Kotzebue, AK 99752 907-442-3301 nana.com news@nana.com facebook.com/nanaregionalcorporation twitter.com/NANACorporation linkedin.com/company/2853774
Shaan Seet operates a hotel and residential lots; we sell rock; offer storage for boats, trucks, connex containers, etc.
Paug-Vik Incorporated, Limited Land resources, property management and development. Top Executive: Bill Hill, President Worldwide/Alaska Employees: 8/7 Acreage: 130,000 Number of Shareholders: 662 Subsidiaries: Paug-Vik Development Corporation PO Box 61, Naknek, AK 99633 907-246-4277
Top Executive: Edward Douville, President/GM Worldwide/Alaska Employees: 9/9 Acreage: Number of Shareholders: 586 PO Box 690, Craig, AK 99921 907-826-3251 shaanseet.com contact@shaanseet.com
Sitnasuak Native Corporation Sitnasuak has four subsidiaries in diverse business activities. Products and services include tactical apparel for military
and public safety service men and women, cybersecurity IT, fuel distribution, retail store sales, title and escrow services, and property rentals and development. Top Executive: Roberta “Bobbi” Quintavell, President/CEO Worldwide/Alaska Employees: 1,500/101 Acreage: 242,544.09 Number of Shareholders: 2,900 Subsidiaries: SNC Technical Services, Fidelity Title Agency Alaska, GBS, Nanuaq, Nanuaq Development, Sitnasuak Properities, Aurora Industries, API, SNC Manufacturing, Bonanza Fuel, Mat-Su Title Agency, Sitnasuak Financial Services, Mat-Su Title, Mocean Holding Company, Bonanza Fuel PO Box 905, Nome, AK 99762 907-387-1200 snc.org communications@snc.org facebook.com/Sitnasuak twitter.com/SitnasuakNC linkedin.com/company/sitnasuak-nativecorporation
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Email: mike.matteucci@UICOGS.com • Phone: (907) 762-0136 74 | September 2019
Located on 1 acre of property in Deadhorse, Prudhoe Bay, AK.
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Ukpeaġvik Iñupiat Corporation
Tyonek WorldWide Services, a subsidiary of Tyonek Services Group and Tyonek Native Corporation, was awarded a $2.4 billion contract to provide logistics support and services to the US Army.
Ukpeaġvik Iñupiat Corporation (UIC) is one of Alaska’s largest companies and is headquartered in Utqiaġvik—the northernmost point in America. As an Alaska Native Corporation, UIC provides social and economic resources to more than 2,900 Iñupiat shareholders and their descendants.
Top Executive: Leo Barlow, CEO Worldwide/Alaska Employees: 1,150/32 Acreage: 201,341.48 Number of Shareholders: 940 Subsidiaries: Tyonek Services Group, Inc., Tyonek Manufacturing Group, Inc., Tyonek Construction Group, Inc. 1689 C St., Suite 219, Anchorage, AK 99501 907-272-0707 tyonek.com sdeemer@tyonek.com facebook.com/tyoneknativecorporation linkedin.com/company/tyonek-native-corp
Services, UIC Real Estate, UIC Business Enterprises PO Box 890, Utqiaġvik, AK 99723 907-852-4460 uicalaska.com uic.corporatemarketing@uicalaska.com
Top Executive: Delbert Rexford, President/CEO Worldwide/Alaska Employees: 3,134/376 Acreage: 212,000 Number of Shareholders: 2,806 Subsidiaries: UIC Construction, Rockford Corporation, UIC Sanatu, UIC Construction ASRC Eskimo’s, Umiaq Design, Kautaq Construction Services, UIC Oil & Gas Support, Umiaq Environmental, Bowhead Transport Company, Qayaq Marine Transportation, UIC Science, UIC Municipal
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Tyonek Native Corporation
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$370 million in credits registered in Alaska since 2015 By Sam Friedman
T
here’s money to be made in promising to reduce your company’s environmental footprint by cutting down fewer trees. And Alaska’s largest landowners are getting behind this new type of business in a big way. Alaska is now the largest producer of forestry carbon offsets for California’s greenhouse gas cap and trade program, despite qualifying to sell the credits years behind the contiguous United
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States. Thus far, four Alaska Native regional corporations and eight village corporations have received carbon offset credits through the program or have started the process of registering credits. At current prices of about $13 per offset credit, the carbon offsets registered in Alaska are worth about $370 million. And that’s just the initial carbon credits awarded for these projects. As forests continue to grow,
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they will produce a smaller number of new credits equal to the value of the carbon dioxide stored in the new growth compared to similar forestland outside the project. The new market created by California’s greenhouse gas rules opened to Alaska in 2015. It’s scheduled to partially close in 2021, with a new regulatory change that will cut demand for forestry credits produced in Alaska by 75 percent.
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Harvesting Carbon Credits
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Harvesting Timber, Harvesting Credits, or Both While there’s now significant money in carbon credit offsets, the credits are not nearly as lucrative as traditional logging, says Brian Kleinhenz, former natural resources manager for Sealaska Corporation and now a Juneaubased principal at forestry consulting business Terra Verde. As a rule of thumb, a piece of a forest’s value if sold as stumpage is about ten times the value of the carbon credit income, he says. Why agree to the lower payout offered by carbon credits? There are a multitude of factors, Kleinhenz says. One is that a landowner faces significant costs in a timber sale that don’t factor into a carbon offset sale. “That’s a lot of risk associated with going through the whole process of having big industrial equipment running along the landscape, building roads, and harvesting. And then the resource
is gone,” he says. Selling carbon credits also gives landowners more latitude with regard to what they can do with their forests. The rules for carbon offset credits are significantly less restrictive than for conservation easements, he says.
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The View from Sealaska At Juneau-based Sealaska Corporation, CEO Anthony Mallott says he’s been talking about carbon offsets as an option for corporate lands for about a decade. The opportunity created by the California market made it economically feasible for Sealaska, he says. Today the land management part of the business includes income from both logging and carbon credit production. Sealaska makes about 15 percent of its revenue from its logging business Sealaska Timber Company, a smaller part of the corporation’s overall revenue than it has been historically. Sealaska also operates in the seafood processing and environmental services industries. The corporation owns more than 360,000 acres of surface land in Southeast Alaska,
nearly half of which is included in a recently-registered carbon offset project. Carbon credits were a good fit for the regional Alaska Native corporation in part because the business has mandates to both generate profits for shareholders and be a good environmental steward, says Mallott. Registering forests for carbon credits doesn’t mean the trees can’t be logged or cut down for other developments. Landowners like Sealaska that register projects in California’s “improved forestry management” category can get credits for storing more carbon in their forests with techniques including waiting more time between harvesting timber, increasing forest productivity
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Alaska is now the largest producer of forestry carbon offsets for California’s greenhouse gas cap and trade program, despite qualifying to sell the credits years behind the contiguous United States.
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A Chugach shareholder stands in a Chugachowned forest in Southcentral Alaska. The regional Native corporation lobbied California’s air resource board to include Alaska when considering what projects can count for carbon offset credits. The company began a project on 115,000 acres of its forests in 2017.
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by removing dead or diseased trees, or planting more trees. It’s possible to maximize the number of credits by cutting down fewer trees, but the landowner gets to choose whether to focus on getting revenue from timber harvests or generating a higher number of credits. Some parts of Sealaska’s carbon credit area may be developed for commercial logging, tourism, and cultural projects such as canoes and totems, Mallott says. California’s rules require landowners to continue measuring and reporting the amount of carbon dioxide stored in the forest for 100 years. Over the course of that century, different land uses may be appropriate at different times, so there isn’t one overall plan for how to use the land included in the carbon offset project, Mallott says. “That is up for every generation of Sealaska management to decide, in our view,” he says. “We don’t want to be prescriptive of it. We want to make sure they have options and opportunities.”
Cap and Trade The idea of carbon offsets is tied to
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the concept of capping and trading carbon dioxide emissions. Cap and trade is an economic model for pollution control that was previously used successfully in the 1990s to reduce acid rain. Under this model, a government policy limits the total amount of allowable pollution. That’s the cap part. For acid rain, sulfur dioxide pollution was capped. For global warming it’s greenhouse gases, chief among them carbon dioxide. Companies that produce large amounts of pollution are allowed to buy and sell permits to emit it into the atmosphere. The marketplace for pollution credits is supposed to give people a financial incentive to emit fewer greenhouse gases.
Carbon Allowances and Offsets A carbon offset is a way to get a carbon credit without buying it from the government or from another company. Instead of buying permits to pollute,
companies have the option of compensating for their own carbon pollution by paying for a project that helps reduce greenhouse gases somewhere else in the world. In California, carbon credits issued by the government are known as
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State of California,” Clegern says. A company that buys an offset takes a risk that a verifier will later invalidate the project for not working the way that it promised, Clegern says. If that happens, the company that bought the credits will have to buy new offsets or allowances. The offsets are sold through three different third-party markets, but must be certified by California. Under California’s rules, companies can pay for only 8 percent of their emissions from offsets, a percentage that’s scheduled to drop in 2021. The remaining 92 percent must be accounted for through allowances or by reducing the amount of emissions produced. US forestry projects are the largest sector of the California carbon offset market. Despite being relatively new to the program, Alaska has quickly become the biggest forestry participant, with more than 26.2 million in forestry offset credits issued from projects here so far. California is second with 23.8 million, followed by Washington with 14.4 million. Other types of offset projects
used for California’s cap and trade system include capturing methane from underground mines and properly disposing of ozone depleting substances such as air conditioners and refrigerators.
Voluntary and Regulatory Markets There are two primary types of carbon offsets. The voluntary market isn’t tied to greenhouse gas reduction laws like California’s. Credits in this market are purchased by buyers such as corporations seeking to improve their image as a “green” company or airline passengers who are trying to balance out the carbon footprint of their flight. At Terra Verde, Kleinhenz says he started hearing about voluntary carbon offset projects first in California and then on Alaska’s Kodiak and Afognak islands in the early 2000s. California’s cap and trade system was the first economy-wide system in the United States. The state’s cap and trade program launched in 2012. California has an enormous economy (if it was an independent nation it would be the fifth largest in the world), and its cap
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allowances. This summer they were selling for between $16 and $17 per credit. Meanwhile, carbon offsets, like those sold in Alaska by Sealaska, generally sell for between 15 to 20 percent less than government-issued allowances, says David Clegern, a spokesman for California’s Air Resources Board in Sacramento. Why are offsets cheaper than the governmentissued allowances? “The allowances tend to be a little bit higher priced because they’re backed by the word of the
ALASKA NATIVE SPECIAL SECTION
and trade system immediately created a large demand for carbon offsets. Today about one third of the consulting Kleinhenz does for Terra Verde is for landowners looking for information about developing carbon offsets, with the remainder related to traditional logging operations.
Calculating Credits To count as a carbon offset project, an agreement must be both verifiable and additional. “Additional” means that the offset credits are for carbon that wouldn’t be kept in trees in the absence of the offset program. Meanwhile the
offset credits must be verified by audits that demonstrate the trees remain in the ground. Like for a timber project, a carbon project begins with measuring and estimating the size and number of trees in an area. Forestland with larger trees like the Sitka spruce and western hemlock found in Southeast Alaska tend to produce more credits per acre than land with the white and black spruce found farther north in Alaska. The landowner doesn’t get credit for all the carbon stored in trees on their property. The amount of carbon credits depends on the “baseline,” which is an estimate for how much of the forest
might be cut down in the absence of the carbon credit certification. Lands that are in parks or have conservation easements can’t be certified for carbon credits, since they’re not at risk of being logged. The baseline calculation is one of the more controversial aspects of forestry
“Following several years of lobbying efforts by Chugach, the California Air Resources Board revised its Improved Forest Protocol in November 2015, which lifted the exclusion of certain parts of Alaska from the program.” Josie Hickel, Executive Vice President for Land and Resources, Chugach Alaska
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A Chugach-owned forest in Southcentral. © Chugach
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Glennallen-based Ahtna was awarded 14.8 million carbon credits. In addition to being the first California forestry offset project in Alaska, it’s the largest offset project so far in the California cap and trade system by number of credits issued. offset programs. Land use history on lands adjacent to the project area are used as a minimum baseline to keep landowners from gaming the system by reporting a baseline featuring major logging activity that isn’t actually physically or economically feasible. Before the landowner receives credits, other deductions must be made. One is for “leakage,” an estimate for the logging activity that will “spill” onto neighboring lands as the presence of the carbon offset project encourages the rise of timber prices under the laws of supply and demand. Other credits (15 to 20 percent of each project) get put into a system wide risk pool. It’s a kind of insurance policy. If a forest fire or insect epidemic destroys a forest, the landowner isn’t responsible. The environment gets “paid back” from the credits set aside in the pool.
Offsets Opening to Alaska It wasn’t an accident that California’s Air Resources Board began to accept Alaska forestry offset projects in 2015. It took years of lobbying work in Sacramento, says Josie Hickel, Chugach Alaska Corporation’s executive vice president for land and resources. Initially Alaska and Hawaii weren’t included because the US Forest Service didn’t provide data on forests outside the contiguous United States. But even after that data became available, the 49th State was excluded, Hickel says. “Following several years of lobbying efforts by Chugach, the California Air Resources Board revised its Improved Forest Protocol in November 2015, which lifted the exclusion of certain parts of Alaska from the program,” she says. “We’re proud to have played a part in creating this groundbreaking opportunity both for Chugach and our fellow Alaska Native corporations.” Today lands in Southcentral and Southeast qualify for California’s cap and trade offset program, but not the northern part of the state.
Offset Projects Ramp Up The first California carbon project in Alaska came not from Chugach (whose project is still being certified) but from its neighbor to the north. Last year, Glennallenbased Ahtna was awarded 14.8 million carbon credits. In addition to being the 84 | September 2019
first California forestry offset project in Alaska, it’s the largest offset project so far in the California cap and trade system by number of credits issued. The Ahtna project is also the largest forestry project based on how much land it involves. Ahtna owns 1.5 million acres of land in the Copper River Valley and south of the Alaska Range along the Denali Highway. The corporation selected about a third of its lands for its carbon credit project. Sealaska followed Ahtna with an 11.4 million-credit project. Village corporation Port Graham Corporation has also registered a 2 millioncredit project on the Southern Kenai Peninsula. Once a project has been certified as a carbon offset, the landowner can sell the credits to a California company that needs them or hold on to the credits to sell in the future. Some of the Ahtna and Sealaska offsets were purchased by BP, according to the company. BP is no longer involved in the oil refining business in California, but the company is a major fuel importer to the state and must account for the emissions produced by the fuel it sells. California’s cap and trade rules are especially hard on transportation fuel importers like BP. Other industries receive a certain number of emission allowances at no cost from the government. But fuel importers don’t get any free allowances. For BP, in 2017 that meant buying allowances or offsets for the 7.3 million tonnes of carbondioxide equivalent greenhouse gases.
A Closing Window? Demand for carbon offsets generated in Alaska for the California market is expected to abruptly drop off by 75 percent in 2021.
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That’s the year the state cap and trade system drops the percentage of a company’s emission responsibilities that can be covered by offsets from 8 to 4 percent. Additionally, under the new rules, only 2 percent of offsets can come from projects beyond California’s boundaries. Clegern—at California’s Air Resource’s Board—describes the rules as a political backlash against funding out of state carbon projects. “It was the idea that you’re using state resources to work on things in other states when you should be working on things here,” he says. In Alaska, the immediate effect of the 2021 deadline is a flurry of activity to get carbon credits approved while companies can still buy a larger number of credits from out-of-state projects. Upcoming Alaska carbon projects proposed on the carbon registry are in the works from regional corporations CIRI and Chugach. Proposals have also been filed from village corporations Kootznoowoo Incorporated, Haida Corporation, Huna Totem Corporation, Tyonek Native Corporation, Goldbelt, Seldovia Native Association, and English Bay Corporation. At Sealaska, Mallott sees the change happening in 2021 as a temporary blip in the carbon market. For now, the regional corporation is helping some of the village corporations get their projects set up before the deadline. But he believes there’s potential for an expanded market for Alaska-grown carbon offsets in the five to twenty year timeframe. Even if California continues to limit the sale of non-California offsets, new demand growth could come from other states starting cap and trade programs. “We’re definitely optimistic that future programs will be initiated,” Mallott says.
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alamy
OIL & GAS
Movers and Drillers in Cook Inlet Hilcorp dominates, BlueCrest innovates By Isaac Stone Simonelli
H
ilcorp Energy continues to dominate the oil exploration scene in Cook Inlet—it’s the only company to put in a bid on the State of Alaska’s annual Cook Inlet basin oil and gas lease sale for the third consecutive year.
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The Houston-based company that specializes in mature fields spent $190,350 on three lease tracts totaling 10,286 acres earlier this year, according to the Alaska Department of Natural Resources (DNR), Division of Oil and Gas. “We are pleased to see bid activity in the Cook Inlet lease sale,” DNR Deputy
Commissioner Sara Longan said in a prepared statement earlier this year. “We recognize the focus of investment has been on the North Slope in recent years. Nevertheless, significant investment is made to sustain current Cook Inlet production, while exploration activities continue to inform and support future development.”
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alamy Diagram of a multi-lateral well, which allows access for production to several pools of oil with a minimal surface footprint. SOURCE: Alaska Department of Natural Resources
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“Each new trident fishbone well can now provide the same amount of reservoir contact as up to twenty-five wells individually drilled from the surface. And it allows more wells to be drilled in a shorter time.” Benjamin Johnson, President and CEO, BlueCrest Energy
Within the last ten years, previous major players, such as ConocoPhillips, Chevron, and Marathon Oil, pulled out of Cook Inlet, explains Larry Persily, former head of the federal office for Alaska North Slope natural gas pipeline projects. “They walked away because it was a very mature field with a limited market and it’s just not what they put millions of dollars into investment,” Persily says. “The implication was that the big, easy stuff was found decades ago and it was going to take a lot of capital and work for smaller returns, and they said, ‘Hey that’s just not our business model,’ so they bailed.’” However, for others the business model works. “I like to say we recycle old oil fields,” Hilcorp Senior Vice President Dave Wilkins said in a presentation at the Kenai Peninsula Economic Development District’s Industry Outlook Forum earlier this year. “When other companies are done with assets, we come in and we put new capital into it and reinvent it—extend the life of those oil and gas assets.” Hilcorp jumped on the assets in Cook Inlet following the state issuing “a lot” of tax credits, Persily explains. However, plans to rein in the tax credit program for exploration and development work was reportedly the primary reason that the state received no lease bids for its oil basin for the first time in 2016. The next three years, Hilcorp was the only company to bid on Cook Inlet leases. “They [Hilcorp] figured they could make good returns and that’s where it kind of stands,” Persily says. With the $90 million Cook Inlet oil pipeline project wrapped up last year, Hilcorp is now reportedly looking at investing in more drilling in the region. “We run things year to year fairly steady,” Wilkins said in his presentation. “We don’t like wild swings… in 2019, www.akbizmag.com
we’re going to drill more wells.” Hilcorp, however, isn’t the only company still drilling wells in Cook Inlet.
“BlueCrest is doing some interesting work; technically, it’s a challenging field. They’ve figured out how to do it,” Persily says.
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BlueCrest Energy onshore production facilities pictured at sunset. © BlueCrest Energy
“Over 400 million barrels of oil and 200 billion cubic feet of natural gas have now been confirmed to exist in the underground Cosmopolitan deposits, although the percentage of the oil and gas that will ultimately be recovered will depend on the long-term development activities over the next several decades.” Benjamin Johnson, President and CEO, BlueCrest Energy
BlueCrest Energy took over assets in Cook Inlet with the Cosmopolitan leases in 2012. Pennzoil, ConocoPhillips, and Pioneer had all conducted limited exploration work in the area since 1967. They were able to confirm the presence of some oil reservoirs, but they were never brought to commercial production. Pioneer had a plan laid out to develop the oil field, but instead decided to refocus its energy on assets in Texas, explains BlueCrest Energy President and CEO Benjamin Johnson. “Pioneer was successful in acquiring a lot of leases in West Texas. And those were very, very good leases,” Johnson says. “They literally diverted their investment. Instead of spending money in Alaska, they decided to spend money in Texas.” BlueCrest reached out to Pioneer as soon as they realized the company was pulling out of Cook Inlet, as 92 | September 2019
Cosmopolitan—situated about 80 miles south of the nearest developed field in the region—was essentially an untapped resource. “When we looked at the data, we thought there could even be more oil than Pioneer thought,” Johnson says. “By drilling a new exploratory well in 2013, we found additional oil and gas they didn’t know about.” BlueCrest is currently producing around 1,300 to 1,400 barrels of oil and about 6 million cubic feet of gas per day. “Over 400 million barrels of oil and 200 billion cubic feet of natural gas have now been confirmed to exist in the underground Cosmopolitan deposits, although the percentage of the oil and gas that will ultimately be recovered will depend on the long-term development activities over the next several decades,” Johnson says. “The oil deposits are found in deeper sands, and
the dry gas reservoirs lie in shallower sands above the oil reservoirs.” One of the challenges of tapping into the deposits at Cosmopolitan was the necessity of having onshore drilling platforms tap into small pockets of offshore reservoirs. “BlueCrest’s plan for development of the oil reservoirs involves state-of-theart, extended-reach drilling technology that allows the oil deposits under the Cook Inlet to be safely contacted through wells drilled from an onshore surface location about three miles away,” Johnson explains. BlueCrest completed a 38-acre onshore drilling/production facility a few miles north of Anchor Point and began first production of the field in 2016. The facility is connected to the gas pipeline, but recovered oil must be transported by truck to the Marathon processing facility. The system developed by BlueCrest
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to tap into the potential of the Cosmopolitan oil deposit is known as the “fishbone” method. “If the Cosmopolitan oil had been located in an old onshore basin such as West Texas, instead of beneath the Cook Inlet, a conventional development of this type of oil deposit would have simply utilized individual wells drilled from many different locations on the surface. Each individual vertical well would penetrate and provide access to all of the individual oil sand layers. Due to the large size of the Cosmopolitan oil deposits, that would require more than 100 individual wells,” Johnson says. Many modern wells, such as those routinely drilled on Alaska’s North Slope and in other basins around the world, are initially drilled downward from a surface location and then turn horizontally to pass through the reservoir, opening up paths for the oil to flow out of the sands contacted by the wellbores. After the horizontal wells are drilled, hydraulic fracturing is then commonly employed in those wells to create limited paths for the oil to flow from other nearby sands into the horizontal wellbores. But BlueCrest has taken a more innovative approach to development of the Cosmopolitan resources. “BlueCrest’s new concept involved drilling a complex formation of wellbores through the rock that provides one long horizontal ‘mainbore’ along the bottom of the oil zone. Multiple other full-diameter wellbores are drilled upward from that mainbore to penetrate all of the individual productive oil sands,” Johnson says. “The completed configuration results in a finished well structure that resembles a fishbone, with multiple ‘ribs’ that flow down into the mainbore along the bottom that then connects to the surface. Each one of these ‘fishbone’ wells essentially provides the same reservoir penetration as six to eight traditional wells that might have been individually drilled from the surface.” Johnson points out that people have done similar drilling to the fishbone wells BlueCrest put in, but those wells had small branches coming off the sides of a mainbore. They were not drilling up through the bottom of the shale layers that divide oil-rich sands in www.akbizmag.com
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areas such as Cosmopolitan. Later this year, BlueCrest plans on tripling down on the fishbone design with the first-ever “trident fishbone.” The design allows the drilling of three fishbone wells from one single wellbore that flows to the surface onshore drilling site. “This saves substantial time and cost associated with drilling the longreach wells from the onshore drilling location to the offshore reservoir for each fishbone,” Johnson says. “Each new trident fishbone well can now provide the same amount of reservoir contact as up to twenty-five wells individually drilled from the surface. And it allows more wells to be drilled in a shorter time, bringing new Alaskan oil production online sooner.” The oil field BlueCrest is tapping into sits below an unrelated, “huge gas” field, 94 | September 2019
Johnson says, noting that there are some gas zones within the deeper oil deposit, as well. “There is a gas zone within the oil sands that we just discovered,” Johnson says. “It’s not a major gas field, but the one above it is.” BlueCrest has yet to develop its primary gas field at Cosmopolitan. Persily points out that the limited market for Cook Inlet natural gas plays an essential role in the rate the fields are being developed. “If you found a huge amount of gas in Cook Inlet, you’d have no one to sell it to,” Persily says, noting that Cook Inlet utilities and ENSTAR are the primary buyers of gas in the region. “It’s not like Texas where if you find gas you can put it in a pipe and sell it in Chicago. “Most of it the market is held by Hilcorp that has multi-year contracts…
you could hope that when Hilcorp’s contracts come up for renewal you could under bid them, but who wants to spend a lot of money to find gas to sell it on the cheap to underbid the market—that’s not a winning investor strategy.” Persily notes that further down the line incremental increases in the natural gas market are plausible. One such market is Fairbanks and the Interior with their LNG goals. “Volume-wise, you’re talking tens of millions to hundreds of millions [of cubic feet of gas]. So, it’s not a mega new demand; it’s an incremental increase in demand. Again, it’s not like they’re saying they need some tomorrow,” Persily says. Johnson is more optimistic about the gas market in the region but also takes the long view.
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“I like to say we recycle old oil fields. When other companies are done with assets, we come in and we put new capital into it and reinvent it—extend the life of those oil and gas assets.” Dave Wilkins, Senior Vice President, Hilcorp
“Cook Inlet will need gas for many decades into the future,” Johnson says. “In Southcentral Alaska there are new industrial developments—mines basically—coming online. We’re also looking at ways to liquefy the gas in small quantities and ship that out to villages out across the state.” BlueCrest’s aim is to be able to replace diesel fuel consumption in villages by barging one or two small containers of LNG to rural communities, providing cleaner-burning energy. “That’s what we’re starting to look at developing for the villages—that’s down the road a ways,” Johnson says, before also noting that the expansion of the gas market into the Interior is also promising. “And, of course, at some point, we may see the AKLNG project come to pass. We’re pipeline connected into the gas system there,” Johnson says. “The other thing we’re looking at is to use excess gas from our gas field and inject it back into the oil reservoirs to help recover additional oil.” The same method was used for the Swanson River Oil Field, which was discovered in 1957 and came into production around 1961. The field had the same type of rock and geological formations as seen in Cosmopolitan, explains Johnson. “Their wells performed very much like ours: started producing and declined really quickly,” Johnson says. “What they did was pretty innovative. They had a lot of gas that was developed in the nearby Kenai Gas Field—and there was no market for that gas in the ’60s—so they bought that gas and injected it into Swanson River reservoirs. And they have had literally one of the best successes in the entire world for recovering oil out of an oil reservoir.” The idea to recreate the method used at Swanson River, however, is just now www.akbizmag.com
in the planning stage. “There is a lot of studying and analysis that has to be done before we start a project like that: special testing and
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trial injections to see how it performs,” Johnson says. “We’re very optimistic. At this point, we believe there is a good chance of success with it.”
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CONSTRUCTION
Upgrades, New Construction to Improve Alaska’s Healthcare Access Multiple projects moving forward while budget uncertainty put others on hold 96 | September 2019
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While it’s important to invest in expanding, renovating, or even building brand new facilities, healthcare systems must at the same time keep a very tight grip on expenses, especially in this time of economic uncertainty. population; the need for specialized services such as mental health and addiction treatment; technological advancements; and requirements to update or replace facilities and equipment in order to meet state and federal regulations. Yet while it’s important to invest in expanding, renovating, or even building brand new facilities, healthcare systems must at the same time keep a very tight grip on expenses, especially in this time of economic uncertainty.
equipment. “We are also replacing an MRI with newer technology, which will
Alaska Regional At Alaska Regional, for example, construction is underway on replacement equipment projects and on renovations required to meet regulatory The 7.0 earthquake in November 2018 did not injure Alaska Regional Hospital patients or staff, requirements. but broken water pipes and fallen ceiling tiles Work is also taking caused a several day cleanup effort, as well as the need to replace some equipment. place to repair © Alaska Regional Hospital damage caused by the earthquake in November 2018. cost approximately $2.9 million, and Other projects, such as the addition of replacing our Cath Lab with newer twenty-four new psychiatric inpatient technology, at a total of $1.4 million.” beds, are on hold. Both the MRI and Cath Lab projects “Right now, we’re working on two are expected to be completed next replacement equipment projects, month. The hospital is also building including a CT scanner that moved a new Emergency Preparedness about twelve inches during the Conference Center to deal with future earthquake,” says COO Jennifer natural disasters, which is budgeted Opsut of the $900,000 investment, at $600,000 and is expected to be which includes construction and 98 | September 2019
completed in December. A pharmacy remodel, the result of regulatory requirements, recently went out to bid with a December completion date. “In the case of the preparedness center, it’s not a matter of ‘if’ but ‘when’,” says Opsut of the need to have a central planning space to deal with the next earthquake or emergency situation. In the past five years, HCA, the parent company of Alaska Regional, has invested approximately $100 million in renovations and is expected to continue its support of local facilities. While this year’s budget is similar to last year’s, according to Opsut, the instability caused by the state’s budget issues could influence future planning. “Current and future projects absolutely could be affected by what happens with the governor’s budget,” she says. “Alaska Regional received a Certificate of Need for an upcoming behavioral health project, but that project is now on hold due to the uncertainty of the budget process. “We are also continuing to closely monitor expenses, as we are incurring the extra cost of managing more behavioral health patients due to Alaska Psychiatric Institute [API] not having all of its beds open,” she adds. “For at least
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a year, we’ve been dealing with the fact that API is struggling, and that is only going to get worse with the governor’s proposed cuts.” Opsut gives the example of patients currently on Medicaid who may soon see cuts in services. “This is going to lead to even more problems down the road, which is making us take a hard look at future projects at Alaska Regional,” she explains. Still, the health system is continuing to evaluate projects and look at strategies, not only in the Anchorage community but throughout the state of Alaska. “We have a couple of projects in mind, but they are not to the point of public discussion because we haven’t made final decisions,” she says. “But we are always looking at projects for the future in order to treat the healthcare demands of our community.”
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Providence Providence Health & Services Alaska also has several projects in the works, including two pharmacy compliance projects, a laundry compliance project, and construction of a Cath Lab on Providence’s main campus in Anchorage. “We just received funding for the $1.9 million Cath Lab 5 project, which is a construction build-out that is expected to take between six and eight weeks,” says John Bush, lead construction project manager for Alaska. “Right now, we’re ordering equipment, and we’ll wait to begin construction until it is on its way; we want to minimize downtime and not take the Cath Lab out of service any sooner than we have to.” The Cath Lab build-out includes an equipment upgrade that requires tearing down the room. “Because the shielding requirements of the new equipment are beyond what the current equipment requires, we need to replace the lead lining in the walls, floor, and ceiling, so we have to tear down the entire lab and put it back together,” says Bush. Providence also has a number of pharmacy compliance projects underway, including a $2.2 million project in Kodiak and a $1.6 million project in Anchorage. The projects are designed to meet new federal regulations that expand controls for the www.akbizmag.com
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September 2019 | 99
“Current and future projects absolutely could be affected by what happens with the governor’s budget… Alaska Regional received a Certificate of Need for an upcoming behavioral health project, but that project is now on hold due to the uncertainty of the budget process.” Jennifer Opsut, COO, Alaska Regional
protection of workers when processing hazardous drugs. “This is a fairly new federal requirement that requires new ISO7 clean rooms, ante rooms, sterile compounding rooms, and hazardous drug rooms,” explains Bush. “As of December, all of the pharmacies in the United States must be in compliance with these federal requirements. Each of our fifty-two ministries has multiple pharmacies, so we will be making these changes throughout the system.” “Because these must remain active, live pharmacies, each of these will be multiphase projects,” adds
Dale Rahn, regional director for real estate, construction, facilities, and environmental services. “There is a lot of complexity, including numerous air differentials that have to be maintained to keep them at their current levels.” Providence will also be replacing outdated washers and dryers to meet compliance requirements in Kodiak, a project budgeted at $1.6 million. “The hospital facility is owned by the borough, but because we operate the hospital, we are responsible for the operations that provide laundry service in-house,” says Bush. Because the hospital will need to
continue to operate the laundry while undergoing renovations, the project will take place in multiple phases. “We will replace the dryers in the first phase and the washers in the second phase,” says Bush, adding that the last phase will include removing the existing washers. “We’ve also made infrastructure changes, including adding a 1,000-gallon propane tank because propane-fired dryers are more effective and cost-efficient.” The project should be completed this month. The contractor for all of these Providence projects is Davis Constructors & Engineers.
Norton Sound Health Corporation is in the process of building a Wellness and Training Center in Nome, which is expected to be completed at the end of February 2021. © NSHC
100 | September 2019
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While there are renovations underway, Rahn says that the volume of healthcare construction is lower than in the past. “We are limited by the amount of money we can request and the fact that we are competing for it with many other departments,” he says, adding that in the past year, capital improvements have been minimal. “We are hopeful that this will change; we are looking at receiving more money from an outside funding source for infrastructure improvements, though I can’t comment on what that source is at this time,” he adds. “We are hoping that soon we will be able to pump some additional money into aging infrastructure throughout the whole region.”
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Norton Sound Health Corporation Norton Sound Health Corporation (NSHC) has quite a few projects underway, according to Mike Kruse, director of engineering, in addition to those it recently completed. In March, NSHC completed an MRI addition to the hospital, which was a significant milestone as it is the first MRI off the road system and the first MRI to be owned by a tribal health organization. Small adjustments are still being made to the $6.2 million project, though the MRI is already patient-ready. In August, NSHC also opened a new $5 million, 3,500-square-foot replacement clinic in Shaktoolik. Three contracts were awarded in fall 2018, which include a $16 million, 25,000-square-foot Wellness and Training Center in Nome. The first floor will house the entire Behavioral Health Services program in a primary care setting, which will offer alternative health therapies to facilitate pain management, psychiatric services, and a social detox space with clinical decision-making to support the region. The second floor will contain classrooms and conference rooms for medical training. “The majority of the training center is dedicated to supporting health aides as they get their certifications,” says Kruse of the center that will include a mock pharmacy, exam room, and lab, as well as functioning equipment. Construction is expected to be completed at the end www.akbizmag.com
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The site of Norton Sound Health Corporation’s Little Diomede Clinic is approximately 1,000 feet from where landing craft can dock, meaning that all supplies and equipment must be handcarried to the site. © NSHC
One of more challenging projects facing Norton Sound Health Corporation this year is the construction of a clinic on Little Diomede, which is located on an island in the Bering Strait. © NSHC
102 | September 2019
of February 2021, with plans to open that July. Approximately 200 feet down the road, construction is beginning on the $11 million, 18,000-square-foot NSHC Operations Building, which will house the village facilities maintenance crews as well as the Office of Environmental Health and other support services not directly related to patient care. One of the more demanding projects facing NSHC this year is the construction of a clinic on Little Diomede, which has no fixed wing service and no barge landing. Located on an island in the middle of the Bering Strait, the clinic is being built approximately 1,000 feet from where the landing craft will dock, meaning that all supplies and equipment must be hand-carried to the site. “It is logistically challenging,” says Kruse, who at the time this article was being written had been trying for the previous five days to get a helicopter out to the site that was grounded because of weather. “I just got a picture of the construction site, and it’s pretty wild.” Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
“As of December, all of the pharmacies in the United States must be in compliance with federal requirements [for the protection of workers when
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these changes throughout the system.” John Bush, Lead Construction Project Manager Providence
While the estimated finish date is July 2020, that plan is subject to change. “Last year, Little Diomede had one of the worst winters they’d had in eighttwo years,” says Kruse, “so I’ve got a lot of contingencies built into the project. But we’re looking forward to meeting the building challenges that the island presents and completing the project.” The clinic will replace the existing clinic, which is located on top of the washeteria. It will consist of 1,100 square feet of clinic space and 70 and 704 square feet of mechanical space, totaling 1,800 square feet, doubling the size of the existing clinic. It is budgeted at $6 million. Two other replacement clinics are also underway; one in Shishmaref and one in St. Michael. Foundation and site www.akbizmag.com
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Norton Sound Health Corporation’s $16 million, 25,000-square-foot Wellness and Training Center is expected to be completed at the end of February 2021 and will open to patients in July. © NSHC
work is budgeted at $1 million for each clinic; the total price is $8.5 million per clinic upon completion. “We’ll be using a clinic design template piloted by NSHC,” says Kruse, adding that after site work is completed in fall, bids for vertical work will be awarded in October. A feasibility study to replace a third clinic in Wales, which will include permitting, leasing, and land acquisition, is on the books to start in 2021.
Around Alaska
In August, Norton Sound Health Corporation opened a new $5 million, 3500-square-foot replacement clinic in Shaktoolik. © NSHC
104 | September 2019
Other healthcare construction projects throughout the state include the $2.5 million Rainforest Recovery Center at Bartlett Regional Hospital in Juneau. The facility, which will create a single point of entry for patients seeking addiction treatment, will be financed from the city’s 1 percent sales tax. Work continues on the Yukon Kuskokwim Health Corporation’s $300 million Paul John Calricaraq project in Bethel, which includes a new clinic and the renovation of the Yukon Kuskokwim Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
Site work on Norton Sound Health Corporation’s Operations Building is currently underway. The $11 million, 18,000-squarefoot facility will house the village facilities maintenance crews as well as the Office of Environmental Health and other support services. © NSHC
Health Corporation’s hospital. Outpatient facilities began seeing patients on July 15. Central Peninsula Hospital is also continuing its $40 million Phase VI construction project that includes the construction of a new catheterization lab and obstetrics wing. Projects on hold include a $60 million expansion of facilities at the Mat-Su Regional Medical Center. That project, which was slated to take place in 2020 and 2021, includes a $14.5 million expansion of emergency treatment facilities and $4.5 million for new inpatient psychiatric beds.
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September 2019 | 105
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MINING
106 | September 2019
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Out of the Mine and into the Smelter Alaska’s metal mines export commodities to import good jobs and a strong economy By Brad Joyal
M
ining has long been a key fixture of Alaska’s economy. On a small scale, people flock to the 49th state to tour different operations. Kennecott Mine was once a booming copper mining site and is now a National Historic Landmark, attracting tourists eager to visit the ghost town and get a feel of the Gold Rush era it once dominated. Gold Dredge No. 8 provides tourists with an opportunity to pan for gold while learning more about the Interior’s mining history. Although some tourists might visit Alaska to learn about the state’s mining past, the industry remains at the center of the state’s economy today. The Alaska mining industry includes exploration, mine development, and production, and it continues to provide Alaskans with thousands of jobs while generating millions of dollars of personal income. Alaska’s six large operating mines—Fort Knox, Greens Creek, Kensington, Red Dog, Usibelli, and Pogo—provided 2,400 full-time jobs of the state’s nearly 4,500 mining industry jobs in 2018. In all, there were 9,200 direct and indirect mining industry jobs in 2018, and those jobs dished out $715 million in payroll.
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The Donlin Gold project should be developed not only reponsibly, but also in a way that enhances economic growth, provides a safe and healthy workplace, and preserves traditional lifestyles.
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Development spending in 2018 was $170 million and the export value from Alaska production was $1.8 billion. Mineral exports accounted for 36 percent of Alaska’s export total in 2017, and all signs point to mined commodities staying one of the state’s leading exports for years to come.
Metal Mines Five of the six large mines operating in Alaska extract metal. Fort Knox Mine, located about 20 miles outside Fairbanks, is the state’s largest surface gold mine having produced 381,100 ounces of gold in 2017. Pogo is an underground mine about 130 miles from Fairbanks that produced 271,300 ounces of gold in 2017. About 80 miles from Kotzebue is Red Dog Mine, which has one of the largest open-pit zinc deposits in the world. Red Dog produced 7.7 million ounces of silver, 122,700 tons of lead, and 597,300 tons of zinc in 2017. Like Red Dog, Greens Creek Mine produces silver, lead, and zinc, in addition to gold. Greens Creek, which is located on Admiralty Island about 18 miles from Juneau,
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produced 8.4 million ounces of silver, 50,900 ounces of gold, 18,000 tons of lead, and 52,500 tons of zinc in 2017. Kensington Mine is an underground long hole stopping and drift-and-fill gold mine 45 miles north of Juneau that produced 115,100 ounces of gold in 2017. Alaska ranked in the top ten globally for known gold, lead, silver, and zinc deposits in 2017. The state’s relationship with mined metals goes back to 1870s, when Alaskans first started mining gold in the state. Now, the state ranks ninth globally for known gold deposits, with 40 percent of the gold produced used for jewelry, 35 percent for electrical and electronic products, and 20 percent for coins. Gold can also be used in dental applications. Alaska ranked sixth globally for known lead deposits in 2017, and 85 percent of the state’s mined lead is utilized by the lead-acid based industry. Lead is also used in ammunition, though recent concerns about its effect on the environment have reduced its role in gasoline, paint additives, and pipes. It should come as no surprise that the silver produced in Alaska is used for
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“Pricing is unique per contract but typically consists of an averaging of London Bullion Market [LBMA] pricing after product has shipped. LBMA determines daily pricing based on international supply and demand for gold bullion.” Mark Kiessling, General Manager, Coeur Alaska
jewelry, but that’s not the only reason Alaska ranked tenth globally for known silver deposits. The silver produced in the state is also used for emerging medical and hygiene applications such as bandages and clothing. Zinc didn’t have much history in Alaska before Red Dog began production on land owned by NANA Regional Corporation just 46 miles inland from the coast of the Chukchi Sea. Red Dog, which is operated by Teck Alaska Incorporated, now ranks seventh globally for known zinc deposits, and the majority of the mine’s zinc that is used domestically is utilized for galvanizing.
Where Does All This Metal Go? The majority of the metals mined in Alaska leave the state as concentrate and head to smelters around the world. The concentrate's subjected to chemicals, gasses, and pressure to extract pure metals from the ores and minerals mined in Alaska. Once the smelting process is completed, the concentrates that left the state are turned into pure metal. NANA’s Vice President of Natural Resources Lance Miller says the concentrate that leaves Red Dog is around 55 percent zinc before arriving at a smelter. “There’s
something called treatment charges, which are the costs that the smelter charges the mine to treat that ton of concentrate,” Miller says. “Those go up and down, depending on the supply and demand of the concentrate.” Red Dog has unique circumstances due to its location. Because its
The majority of the zinc produced at Red Dog that remains in the United States is used for galvanizing.
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85% of lead mined in Alaska is utilized by the leadacid based industry
concentrates are transported via the Chukchi Sea, Teck has a smaller window to deliver its concentrates to smelters. The first step in the delivery process is trucking the concentrates from the mine to its port located 52 miles away. “The zinc and lead
concentrate are trucked to the port site where it’s stored throughout the winter,” Miller says. “Shipping occurs during a 100-day season. Those ships come in—there’s usually twenty-three to twenty-six large ships—[that sail to] around eleven smelters worldwide. Those smelters are roughly split a third in Canada, a third Europe, and a third Asia.” Mark Kiessling, the general manager for Coeur Alaska, which operates Kensington Mine, says Coeur exports an average of 9,600 ounces of gold concentrate each month. Coeur is under contract to sell its concentrate to three companies, including Ocean Partners and Cliveden. While Ocean Partners and Cliveden are both thirdparty brokers, the third company Coeur sells to, Sumitomo, is a smelter located in Japan. Kiessling says the sale prices vary for each contract, but there’s a general baseline for how much the gold concentrate leaving Kensington is sold for. “Pricing is unique per contract but typically consists of an averaging of London Bullion Market [LBMA] pricing after product has shipped,” he says. “LBMA determines daily pricing based
on international supply and demand for gold bullion.” The fluctuating value of minerals is one aspect of the industry that keeps industry players alert. According to Kiessling, international tariffs and political risk are other areas of concern. Because Alaska mines mostly sell their concentrates to foreign companies, “[We’re] reliant on geopolitical relationships between the Unites States and the governments of our international trading partners,” Kiessling says.
Economic Impact Between exploration and development investments and the gross value of mineral products, the total production value of Alaska’s mining industry was $2.2 billion in 2018. Although zinc, gold, silver, and lead are the top exports, the production of copper, coal, rock, gravel, and sand minerals also figure into that value. Mineral exports were 36 percent of the state’s export total in 2017. Those exports were valued at $1.8 billion, the majority of which were zinc and lead
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110 | September 2019
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Now, the state ranks ninth globally for known gold deposits, with 40 percent of the gold produced used for jewelry, 35 percent for electrical and electronic products, and 20 percent for coins. Gold can also be used in dental applications. concentrates from Red Dog. Mines have a direct positive impact on local communities, providing jobs with high wages and utilizing local vendors. For example, Pogo Mine paid out $44 million in wages in 2018 and spent an additional $130 million on vendors and suppliers. The mine has 320 employees and many contractors working for it. Coeur spent $53 million on payroll and benefits for its 387 employees working full time at Kensington in 2018. Although those working directly in the mining industry tend to experience financial stability, the industry also contributes to economy stability through payments to government. The industry made an estimated $34 million
in payments to municipalities in 2018, while royalties and other fees paid to the state were an estimated $149 million. As an example, Kensington was the second-largest taxpayer to the City and Borough of Juneau after producing approximately 113,778 ounces of gold last year. In 2018, $358 million was paid to Alaska Native corporations as a part of the royalty sharing provisions under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act. It may seem that money is rolling through Alaska’s mines, which is true. But Kiessling still describes price risk exposure as one of the biggest challenges associated with exporting mines. “Because we sell a product
that requires further processing, we are exposed to short term price fluctuations,” he says.
Silver produced in Alaska is used in
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Alaska Business
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112 | September 2019
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Considering the majority of Alaska’s major minerals are exported as concentrates, it poses the question as to why companies haven’t invested in building smelters in the state. Having smelters in the state would certainly create additional jobs and create more revenue, but the costs and challenges are significant. Smelters require a great deal of energy, which means Alaska wouldn’t be the best suitor for a potential investor interested in building a smelter site considering the high cost of energy across the majority of the state. Another reason there aren’t any smelters in Alaska is because the environmental permit process can be strenuous.
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Mining remains a growth industry in Alaska. The major mines continue to thrive year after year, with many of them still in production long after their original mine-life estimates, and a couple promising projects are deep in the permitting process. Two of the more coveted mining projects currently going through the permit process are the Donlin Gold project and the Pebble Project. Donlin Gold is a world-class gold deposit that was discovered in 1988 about 280 miles northwest of Anchorage. NovaGold Resources and Barrick Gold partnered to form Donlin Gold and are working together to manage the project through the permitting process and into construction and operation. The Pebble Project is a copper, gold, silver, and molybdenum project that was discovered in 1987 in the Bristol Bay region of Southwest Alaska. Canadian mineral exploration company Northern Dynasty Minerals owns the deposit, which is home to the largest known copper and gold resource in North America. More than $500 million has been spent on research for the controversial mining project thus far. Although both projects are still years away from moving online, they are in the advanced exploration stage, which is a step in the right direction for the industry. One aspect that makes the Pebble Project unique is it would include the production of www.akbizmag.com
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September 2019 | 113
“[We’re] reliant on geopolitical relationships between the Unites States and the governments of our international trading partners.” Mark Kiessling, General Manager, Coeur Alaska
molybdenum, which has no history of being produced in Alaska. Molybdenum is most commonly used in steel alloys and superalloys, and its addition to the list of metals produced in Alaska would strengthen Alaska’s worldwide reputation as one of the leaders in the mining industry.
Written by Vera Starbard Directed by Leslie Ishii
In prehistoric Southeast Alaska, when humans and animals still talked and lived amongst each other, a monstrous sea creature destroys an entire village. Only the young girl Aanteinatu survives and is left to forge a new life among strangers. A mysterious talking wolf and an ethereal legend guide the child to find the wisdom and strength to become the woman of her destiny.
Juneau: Sept. 20 - Oct. 12 Anchorage: Oct. 25 - Nov 3 Info: ptalaska.org/devilfish 114 | September 2019
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
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At NANA, we advance responsible mineral development and economic opportunity to improve the lives of our people. Our Iñupiaq values of hard work, cooperation and commitment guide our partnerships and principles, and our business operations benefit from knowledge passed down over 10,000 years.
Together, let’s develop Alaska’s potential. NANA.com www.akbizmag.com
Alaska Business
September 2019 | 115
AL ASK A TRENDS -MINE,MINE,MINE OPERATING MINES
● Pogo (Gold) ● Kensignton (Gold) ● Fort Knox (Gold) ● Greens Creek (Silver, Zinc, Gold)
● Red Dog
(Zinc, Lead, Silver)
● Usibelli (Coal)
DEVELOPING PROJECTS BOKAN MT (REE) ■ GRAPHITE CREEK (Graphite) ■ LIVENGOOD (Gold) ■ NIBLACK (Copper, Gold, Silver, Zinc) ■ Palmer (Copper, Zinc, Silver, Gold, Barite) ■ UPPER KOBUK (Copper, Zinc, Gold, Silver) ■
A TIMELINE OF MINING PRODUCTION IN ALASKA 1897
1943
1989
1996
SOURCE: Alaska Miners Association
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EMPLOYEMENT IN THE MINES
110
Greens Creek is the largest Southeast Alaska for-profit employer, in terms of payroll.
550
640
420
378
Kensignton is 2nd largest private sector employer in Southeast Alaska in terms of payroll; over $36 million in 2017. Pogo paid approximately $44 million in wages.
320
ANS Crude Oil Production 7/25/2019
01/01/2014 05/01/2011 09/01/2008 01/01/2006
ANS Production barrel per day 477,387 July 25, 2019
05/01/2003 09/01/2000
0
400,000
800,000
1,200,000
SOURCE: Alaska Department of Revenue Tax Division
ANS West Coast Crude Oil Prices 7/25/2019
2418 people are DIRECTLY employeed by the top six mines. 09/01/2012
5 Major metal mines 9200 Mining industry jobs
$715 Fort Knox is the largest single property taxpayer in the Fairbanks North Star Borough.
2018 the mining industry paid local municpalities
$34 MILLION
Greens Creek is the largest payer of property tax and Kensington is the 2nd largest payer of property tax in the City and Borough of Juneau. Red Dog is the only taxpayer in the N.W. Arctic Borough.
09/01/2008
ANS West Coast $ per barrel $64.38 July 25, 2019
09/01/2004
09/01/2000 $0
$20
$40
$60
$80 $100 $120 $140 $160
SOURCE: Alaska Department of Revenue Tax Division
Statewide Employment Figures 10/1976—6/2019 Seasonally Adjusted 6/01/2019
Labor Force 351,994 June 2019 Employment 329,616 June 2019 Unemployment 6.4% June 2019
01/01/2010 05/01/2004 09/01/1998 01/01/1993 05/01/1987
Usibelli provides fuel for
29%
of interior Alaska
09/01/1981 01/01/1976 0
100,000
200,000
300,000
400,000
SOURCE: Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Research & Analysis Section
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www.penco.org September 2019 | 117
EAT
SHOP
PLAY
STAY
MUSEUMS
History, Culture, and Art The Last Frontier is rich with history and home to talented and passionate craftspeople and artists. Museums around the state provide an amazing opportunity to learn more about the state’s past and present, as well as to see how those who love Alaska the most portray the state through their art. Below is a selection of museums in the state’s largest population centers.
In Anchorage “Through a combination of art and design, history, science and culture, the Anchorage Museum creates a rich, deep understanding of the human experience and offers something for everyone.” anchoragemuseum.org The Alaska Veterans Museum’s mission is to “create a museum for the inspiration, remembrance and preservation of the memory of veterans and of their sacrifices for America’s freedom.”
alaskaveterans.org “From the Aleutians to the North Slope to the Panhandle, from prehistoric times to the present, the Alaska Museum of Science & Nature takes young and old alike on a learning adventure around the state.” alaskamuseum.org “The Alaska Jewish Museum tells the stories of Alaska’s Jewish residents and their contributions to the development of Alaska’s industries, government, and culture from territorial days
to the present… [offering] exhibits and programming to demonstrate the living connections between the past and the present.” alaskajewishmuseum.com
at Anchorage International Airport, the Alaska Aviation Museum celebrates Alaska’s rich aviation history.” alaskaairmuseum.org
In Fairbanks “The Alaska Native Heritage Center is a living cultural center… that promotes active observance of Alaska Native culture and traditions, featuring permanent collections and educational programs.” alaskanative.net “Located on the world’s largest seaplane base, Lake Hood,
“The University of Alaska Museum of the North is a thriving visitor attraction, a vital component of the University of Alaska Fairbanks, and the only research and teaching museum in Alaska.” uaf.edu/museum “Walk into the Fountainhead
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Antique Auto Museum and step back into an amazing time in history… With a worldclass collection of vintage automobiles and period fashions complemented by fascinating exhibits, accessories, photographs, and archival videos, we welcome you on a vivid journey through the automotive age, from Victorian times through the Art Deco era.” fountainheadmuseum.com “The Fairbanks Children’s Museum provides a rich environment that stimulates children’s natural curiosity and creativity… The interactive museum environment offers children unique opportunities for discovery, to freely and joyfully explore, engage, and connect with the world in which we live.” fairbankschildrensmuseum.com
PLAY
STAY
In Juneau “The Juneau-Douglas City Museum fosters among its diverse audiences an awareness of Juneau’s cultural heritage, values, and community memory so we may draw strength and perspective from the past, inspire learning, and find purpose for the future.” juneau.org/library/museum “Sealaska Heritage Institute is a private nonprofit founded in 1980 to perpetuate and enhance Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian cultures of Southeast Alaska. Its goal is to promote cultural diversity and cross-cultural understanding through public services and events.” sealaskaheritage.org
MUSEUMS
“The Alaska State Museums identify, collect, preserve, and exhibit Alaska’s material and natural history and provide public access to services and collections of the museums.” museums.alaska.gov/asm
In the Mat-Su “[The Museum of Alaska Transportation and History] was established to give a home to transportation and industrial remnants and to tell the stories of the people and the machines that opened Alaska to exploration and growth.” museumofalaska.org
Irene Beylund on tract 94, this house, one of five styles available, reflects an average colonist family’s home.” palmerhistoricalsociety.org/ colony-house-museum/ “The Palmer Museum of History and Art is dedicated to collecting, preserving, interpreting, and promoting the history and art of the Palmer region while providing various opportunities for residents and visitors alike that allow for a greater understanding of the region’s history and culture.” palmermuseum.org
“The Colony House Museum and outbuildings display rural life in the Matanuska Valley during the heyday of the colony. While originally the home of Oscar and
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Alaska Business
September 2019 | 119
EAT
SHOP
PLAY
STAY
EVENTS CALENDAR
SEP Equinox Marathon 21
Most of the Equinox Marathon’s course is on trails that climb up and over Ester Dome, making this running event a fun challenge. The marathon has a ten-hour cutoff, so those who choose to walk instead of run can complete the course as long as they maintain a steady pace. In addition, there’s a marathon relay, allowing participants to run just one-third of the course. equinoxmarathon.org ANCHORAGE SEP Champagne Pops 7 This elegant black-tie evening features intimate cabaret style seating, fine fare, a short live auction, and a Baton Drawing—one lucky guest will conduct the Anchorage Symphony Orchestra (ASO). All proceeds benefit the ASO. anchoragesymphony.org SEP VegFest 7 Alaska VegFest is organized by the Alaska Vegan Society and is an opportunity to learn from experts about a plant-based diet and vegan lifestyle. This event takes place at Grant Hall at Alaska Pacific University and features guest speakers Brenda Davis, Emily Boller, and Jenny Brown. alaskavegfest.com SEP Battle Zone Ursa 7-8 Battle Zone Ursa is a nonprofit, by players for players, tabletop miniature convention, focused on multiple aspects of miniature wargaming, tournament play, and painting, this year at the Egan Civic and Convention Center. Battle Zone Ursa’s goal is to provide the community a space and location to come together and meet and play against new people while growing their gaming community. battlezoneursa.com SEP Hearts like Fists 7-8 In this superhero noir comedy about the dangers of love, female nurses by day become superheroes by night, battling villainous Doctor X. It’s a romantic, exhilarating, and fight-infused comedy. Shows are Thursday through Saturday at 7 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m. cyranos.org SEP Great Alaska Quilt Show 21-22 Join the Anchorage Log Cabin Quilters for the Great Alaska Quilt Show. Large bed-sized, traditional, modern, applique, machine, and hand quilted quilts, as well as wearable quilt garments made by members, will be displayed in the ConocoPhillips Atrium from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. anchoragelogcabinquilters.blogspot.com SEP Alaska Women’s Show 27-29 Vendors celebrate everything that makes Alaska women unique. The show features financial seminars, fashion shows, jewelry, healthcare 120 | September 2019
information, and more, all at the Sullivan Arena. auroraproductions.net/women.html
SEP Senshi Con 28-29 Senshi Con is an annual convention that caters to enthusiasts of Asian culture, animation, graphic novels, and gaming. It is Alaska’s largest event to share fandoms, make new friends, and enjoy a nearly endless array of costumes, live events, panels, and contests, as well as shop favorite artists and vendors. This year’s event is at the Hilton Anchorage. senshicon.org
FAIRBANKS SEP Equinox Marathon 21 Most of the Equinox Marathon’s course is on trails that climb up and over Ester Dome, making this running event a fun challenge. The marathon has a ten-hour cutoff, so those who choose to walk instead of run can complete the course as long as they maintain a steady pace. In addition, there’s a marathon relay, allowing participants to run just one-third of the course. equinoxmarathon.org SEP Potato Festival 22 Local chefs prepare a magnificent, seven-course meal featuring a different variety of potato in every dish. The Potato Festival takes place at the Westmark Gold Room, with doors opening at 6 p.m. festivalfairbanks.org
GIRDWOOD SEP Alyeska Climbathon 14 The Alyeska Climbathon is an endurance event where participants will walk, hike, and run up the steep North Face Trail of Mount Alyeska and ride the Tram down as many times as possible from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. This event is a fundraiser for women’s cancer. alyeskaresort.com SEP Oktoberfest at Alyeska Resort 20-21 Celebrate German traditions, the changing of the seasons, and, 27-28 of course, beer. This event spans over two weekends and features authentic Bavarian fare and festivities including full polka band and other live performances. Open to all ages and free admission at Alyeska Resort. alyeskaresort.com
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
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EVENTS CALENDAR
PETERSBURG SEP Rainforest Festival 5-8 The festival is a nonprofit event with the goal to bring participants closer to the natural world through education, exploration, and the arts while learning more about the rainforest and the ocean that surrounds it. Events include lectures, walking tours, workshops, and visiting artists and authors. akrainforestfest.org
SKAGWAY SEP Klondike Road Relay 6-7 The Klondike Road Relay commences on Friday evening; it follows the trail of the Gold Rush Stampeders over the famous White Pass, through British Columbia, and into the Yukon, finishing Saturday, along the banks of the Yukon River in Whitehorse. klondikeroadrelay.com
WASILLA SEP 20 Mamma Mia! OCT 6 An independent hotelier in the Greek Islands is preparing for her daughter’s wedding with the help of two old friends. Meanwhile Sophie, the spirited bride, has a plan. She secretly invites three men from her mother’s past in hope of meeting her real father and having him escort her down the aisle on her big day. Performances are on Fridays and Saturdays at 7 p.m. and on Sundays at 2 p.m. valleyperformingarts.org
JUNEAU
SEP Capital Brewfest 21
Don’t miss this popular, charity fundraiser filled with fun: live music, local food vendors, and beer from across Alaska and the world. Come grab some beer samples, bust some moves, and enjoy this annual event hosted by the Juneau Rotary Club at the Juneau Arts and Culture Center. traveljuneau.com
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Alaska Business
September 2019 | 121
INSIDE ALASKA BUSINESS Alpha Aviation
The first cohort of the collaborative veterinary program offered by the University of Alaska Fairbanks and Colorado State University graduated this year. The collaborative veterinary training program allows ten students to enroll each year, giving preference to Alaska residents. Students attend veterinary medicine courses at UAF for the first two years and at CSU for the last two years. The program was established between the two land-grant universities to give students in Alaska access to a top-ranked veterinary medicine education partially in their home state, where veterinarians are in high demand. Additionally, the partnership gives CSU veterinary students an opportunity to learn about Alaska fish and wildlife, marine animal science, and sports medicine and rehabilitation of sled dogs. uaf.edu
The Anchorage-based helicopter operator responsible for exclusive transports to a remote luxury lodge in Denali National Park and Preserve and a premier utility helicopter operator broadened its business with the purchase of Anchorage Helicopter Tours to create Alaska Helicopter Tours, powered by Alpha Aviation. The addition of Alaska Helicopter Tours expands Alpha Aviation’s model of high-end tourism experiences including charter/utility work to offer helicopter flightseeing tours from locations in Anchorage, Talkeetna, and Knik River Lodge in Palmer. flyalphaair.com
© UAF | Todd Paris
UAF
Hilton Anchorage Columbia Sussex, which has owned and managed The Hilton Anchorage since 2006, recently completed an extensive multi-million dollar renovation, including upgrades to the lobby, dining establishments, guest rooms, fitness center, and conference spaces. The hotel’s new guest room design celebrates the up-to-date and accessible feeling of Hilton hotels. The natural color palette of earth and water tones highlights the beautiful colors of Alaska’s pristine wilderness and Northern Lights with a modern and comfortable atmosphere. columbiasussex.com 122 | September 2019
NANA Construction NANA Construction plans to expand its Big Lake facility this summer, increasing its existing industrial fabrication space from 14,000 square feet to 28,000 square feet—making it the largest facility of its kind in the state. Preliminary plans include the addition of a 240-foot by 60foot, pre-engineered metal building featuring two 10-ton overhead cranes, bringing the total number of industrial cranes at the facility to eighteen. NANA Construction expects to complete the expansion by fall 2019. nana.com
Ondas Networks Ondas Networks, a developer of private licensed wireless data networks for mission-critical industrial markets, closed the acquisition of licensed spectrum in the 700 MHz band for the State of Alaska, the Gulf of Mexico, and multiple counties bordering the Gulf. In Alaska, Ondas Networks has established mission-critical wireless service covering Anchorage and the Fairbanks North Star Borough. Ondas Networks also deployed system trials with a Class 2 railroad operator in the Wasilla/Cottonwood region for mission-critical wayside connectivity, and in the Kenai Peninsula, Homer
Electric Association is testing out the company’s FullMAX system for SCADA connectivity to portions of the electric grid. ondas.com
AIDEA The Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority (AIDEA) board unanimously approved a resolution that establishes a new $10 million financing program in AIDEA for the purpose of enhancing the competitiveness of Alaska shipyards. The Alaska Ship Home-porting for Improvements Program (AK SHIP) will offer six-month to twenty-four-month financing exclusively for ship repair, conversion, and maintenance work in support of Alaska shipyards. The new program is specifically targeted to meet the seasonal financing needs of the state’s industrial and commercial fleet owners and to facilitate scheduled maintenance cycle work at Alaska shipyards. aidea.org
ARRC | A2A The Alaska Railroad Corporation (ARRC) and the Alaska to Alberta Railway Development Corporation (A2A) established a Master Agreement of Cooperation toward building a 1500-mile connection between the Alaska Railroad and Canadian railroads that also serve the Lower 48. Under terms of the agreement, the two railroad companies will cooperate in applying to the Alaska Department of Natural Resources for a right-of-way guaranteed under state law for a rail connection to Canada. The two firms will also develop a joint operating plan that will specify the new track needed to connect Alaska’s rail to Canada and identify work needed to upgrade existing rail facilities, bridges, and track on the Alaska Railroad’s 512-mile mainline. The entire project is expected to cost approximately $13 billion. a2arail.com/resources.html
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
BUSINESS EVENTS SEPTEMBER SEPTEMBER 23-25
NW AAAE Annual Conference Westmark Fairbanks: The Northwest Chapter of the American Association of Airport Executives annual conference includes a tour of the Fairbanks International Airport, networking luncheon, and educational sessions. nwaaae.site-ym.com/page/ NWAAAEannual SEPTEMBER 23-27
Alaska Fire Conference Ketchikan: The conference includes training, workshops, lectures, and a firefighter competition. alaskafireconference.com SEPTEMBER 23-27
IAWP 2019 Conference Dena’ina Center, Anchorage: The theme for the 2019 conference of the International Association of Women Police is “Mentoring the Next Generation.” iawp2019.womenpoliceofalaska.org SEPTEMBER 25-27
NASW AK Biennial Conference Centennial Hall, Juneau: The National Association of Social Workers Alaska Chapter’s biennial conference’s 2019 theme is “Nurtured Hearts Nurture Hearts,” and keynote speakers are Jes Baker, Dr. Alexis Shotwell, and Marjorie Kunaq Tahbone. naswak.org/nasw-ak-conference SEPTEMBER 25-28
Museums Alaska Annual Conference Best Western Kodiak Inn and Convention Center: This year’s conference theme is “Critical Conversations: Diversity, Equity, Accessibility, and Inclusion,” as 124 | September 2019
“the museum field is currently engaging in critical conversations regarding how our institutions can evolve to become more equitable, inclusive, diverse, and accessible.” ahsmaconference.org SEPTEMBER 26-28
ASA Fall Conference Fairbanks: The Alaska Council of School Administrators’ unifying purpose is to support educational leaders through professional forums, provide a voice that champions possibilities for all students, and purposeful advocacy for public education. alaskaacsa.org SEPTEMBER 27
Alaska Business Top 49ers Luncheon Anchorage Marriott Downtown: Come honor the top forty-nine Alaska companies ranked by revenue at our annual luncheon. 907-276-4373 | akbizmag.com SEPTEMBER 30–OCTOBER 4
AAHPA Annual Conference Elizabeth Peratrovich Hall, Juneau: This is the annual conference of the Alaska Association of Harbormasters & Port Administrators. alaskaharbors.org OCTOBER OCTOBER 7-10
ATIA Annual Convention & Trade Show Centennial Hall, Juneau: The Alaska Travel Industry Association is the leading nonprofit trade organization for the state’s tourism industry. The theme for this year’s conference is “Legend of Alaska.” alaskatia.org OCTOBER 11-12
All Alaska Pediatric Symposium
Hotel Captain Cook, Anchorage: The All Alaska Pediatric Partnership supports and links healthcare services between government, healthcare entities, social services, and payers for children and families. a2p2.org OCTOBER 17-19
AFN Fairbanks: The Alaska Federation of Natives Convention is the largest representative annual gathering in the United States of any Native peoples. Delegates are elected on a population formula of one representative per twenty-five Native residents in the area, and delegate participation rates at the annual convention typically exceed 95 percent. nativefederation.org OCTOBER 17-20
All-Alaska Medical Conference The Lakefront Anchorage: A continuing medical education conference organized by the Alaska Academy of Physicians Assistants, providing up to twenty-five CMEs. akapa.org OCTOBER 28-30
Alaska Chamber Fall Forum Hotel Alyeska, Girdwood: Open to the public, the Alaska Chamber’s Annual Conference is the state’s premier business conference. The conference draws 200 to 225 attendees and features keynote speakers, panel discussions, and breakout sessions on issues of statewide concern to Alaska business. alaskachamber.com OCTOBER 25-27
Alaska Cross Content Conference
students, and encourage leaders with the resources they need to make literacy accessible for all. akliteracy.org OCTOBER 26-28
Alaska Principals Conference Sheraton Anchorage: Keynote presenters at this year’s conference are Tom Murray and Lissa Pijanowski. alaskaacsa.org/information/ calendar-of-events OCTOBER 31-NOVEMBER 3
Sitka WhaleFest Sitka: Presented by the Sitka Sound Science Center, WhaleFest is a science festival that celebrates marine life. The core of the festival is a unique science symposium blending local knowledge and scientific inquiry concerning the rich marine environment of our northern oceans. sitkawhalefest.org NOVEMBER NOVEMBER 1-3
AASG Fall Conference Palmer High School: The purpose of the Alaska Association of Student Government is to provide leadership training, communication, and a student voice of issues at the local, state, and national levels. aasg.org NOVEMBER 3-9
Alaska Miners Association Conference Dena’ina Center, Anchorage: The fall convention includes technical sessions, short courses, a trade show, and networking opportunities. alaskaminers.org
Anchorage: The mission of the Alaska State Literacy Association is to empower educators, inspire
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n o e h c n u l s r e 9 4 Top n k! ran
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September 27, 2019 Anchorage Downtown Marriott Doors open at 11:30 a.m. Luncheon noon - 1 p.m.
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For table and individual ticket info visit: www.akbizmag.com/top49ers or call Emily at 907-257-2914. Tickets are $59 per individual or $590 for a table of 10.
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RIGHT MOVES Alaska Business Alaska Business is pleased to announce our newest staff addition, Monica SterchiLowman; she joins us as our new Art Director. For the last ten years, Sterchi-Lowman owned Sterchi-Lowman and operated a boutique design studio, where she worked with organizations around the world. Through her experience with a broad spectrum of organizations, she found her passion for design that focuses on promoting education, youth, and community development. A long-time supporter of the Anchorage community, Sterchi-Lowman has served on several nonprofit boards and was a founding member of AIGA Alaska, of which she currently serves as president. She is also a member of the Alaska Women's Hall of Fame board and a past board member of the Zonta Yellow Rose Foundation.
HealtheConnect HealtheConnect has added four new staff to its Anchorage team. Nicole Licht was hired as Communications & Engagement Manager; she spent the last six years working for Procare Home Medical as their sales and marketing manager. Licht has twelve years of experience in healthcare sales and Licht marketing in Alaska. Rachel Lawler has been hired as the Health IT Training Coordinator. Previously she was with Beacon Occupational
Health and Safety Services for eight years where she was in charge of clinical operations. She has fourteen years of Lawler experience in healthcare. Tristan Fackler has been hired as the Marketing and Engagement Manager. She earned her master’s degree in international marketing from Hult International Business School in San Francisco. She has more than ten years Fackler of experience working in healthcare sales and marketing in Alaska. Laura Revels has been hired as the Health IT Training Coordinator. She has been involved with tribal organizations for twenty-five-plus years, and seventeen-plus of those years were in tribal health in various capacities. She has Revels also taught at Clover Park Technical College as a web and graphics instructor; the University of Washington as a cancer educator and digital storytelling facilitator; and at Alaska Pacific University as adjunct faculty.
PND PND Engineers announced the following new hires in its Anchorage office. Carlos Perreira has joined PND’s Anchorage office as its IT Systems Administrator. Perreira has multiple tools in his bag, including a bachelor of arts degree in architecture and experience as both
an IT support specialist and a designer/ drafter. He has more than thirteen years of AutoCAD 2D and 3D experience, GIS experience, and has worked in design of oil and gas facilities. Claire Ellis, EIT, has worked in the engineering field since she was in high school and completed her bachelor of science in civil engineering from UAA. Shen originally Ellis joined PND part-time and is now a full-time Staff Engineer focused on general civil engineering. She has previous intern experience reviewing submittals for public and community drinking water systems as well as working on a range of water, wastewater, and soils testing and design elements. Colton Jessup, LSIT, earned a bachelor of science in geomatics from UAA in May 2017 and brings fresh enthusiasm and a growing slate of experience to PND’s Jessup survey department. Jessup previously worked for Red Dog Mine Operations as a technical intern and later as a full-time mine/ survey technician. In that role, he provided survey services for mining activities, support for GPS systems, and construction monitoring. Justin Lobdell, EIT, brings several years of experience in residential construction to back up his bachelor of science in civil engineering
Perreira
Lobdell
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Real Alaskans. Real cargo. 126 | September 2019
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from UAA. Lobdell full-time in the company’s Palmer office supporting its structural team. His previous job was with DOT&PF Civil Rights Office, where he created an ArcGIS database that is currently used to inventory all pedestrian facilities controlled by the Department statewide—a system that has achieved national recognition. Kannon Lee, EIT, has joined PND’s geotechnical group. He is originally from New Mexico, earned a bachelor of science in Lee civil engineering from UAF, and is currently completing a master’s in geotechnical engineering from UAA. He came to Alaska in 2012 to work as grants administrator for the Igiugig Village Council. More recently, he worked for Jacobs Engineering in Anchorage.
BSNC Bering Straits Native Corporation (BSNC) shareholder Ana Grayson (formerly Swanson) was recently promoted to Corporate Communications Manager. Grayson joined the company in 2013 Grayson as a summer intern and has advanced through progressively more responsible positions, most recently serving as junior corporate communications manager. She earned a bachelor of arts degree in political science from the University of Alaska Anchorage. BSNC also hired shareholder Lucille Sands for the newly-created position of Shareholder Development Director. In this new position, Sands will actively design and implement strategies to align shareholder development with organizational goals and business needs,
work to recruit shareholders and descendants for open positions, source qualified shareholders, and provide ongoing review and metrics Sands related to open positions and hiring of qualified shareholders.
Great Alaskan Holidays Great Alaskan Holidays expanded their staff of technicians with addition of a new key employee. Blaine Jenkins has recently been hired as a full-time Jenkins member of the Great Alaskan Holidays vehicle maintenance technician team. Jenkins has several years of industry experience working at Karen’s RV. He is currently in pursuit of his RVDA (recreation vehicle dealers association) certification, as well as his ASE certification.
Credit Union 1 Credit Union 1 promoted Lani Auelua to Branch Manager of its University Branch in Fairbanks. Auelua began as a teller with the credit union in 2013, with Auelua previous experience in retail service and management. She will oversee the branch’s standards for quality in providing service to its members while ensuring compliance with state and federal regulations and internal policies.
Bradison Management Group
is equipped to empower individuals and organizations to succeed in their strengths zones. Kelly Stewart is also officially a Gallup Certified Strengths Based Coach. Her new certification in combination with her Stewart project management expertise can help clients maximize their potential and improve performance.
KPMG KPMG announced two new managers in the firm’s Anchorage office. Anna Shcheglyuk was promoted to Audit Manager. Shcheglyuk brings five years of accounting experience with a variety Shcheglyuk of organizations, including utilities and Alaska Native corporations. Shcheglyuk earned both her bachelor’s degree in accounting and her master of business administration degree from UAA. Andrew Cornelius was promoted to Audit Manager. Cornelius provides audit and accounting advisory services to several types Cornelius of companies including Alaska Native corporations, telecommunications, and transportation companies, as well as governmental entities. Cornelius joined KPMG in 2014 after earning a bachelor's degree in accounting from Montana State University.
Paula Bradison, CEO and founder of BMG, recently received her Gallup Certification. With Paula's certifications BMG Bradison
Lumber. Siding. Insulation. Whatever you need, we deliver. Connect with us / 800.727.2141 / www.nac.aero /
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Alaska Business
September 2019 | 127
AT A GLANCE What book is on your nightstand? The Looming Tower: Al Qaeda and the Road to 9/11 by Lawrence Wright, which is a look at how 9/11 happened; Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari, which is a complete history of the entire human species; and The Last Magician by Lisa Maxwell, a fantasy book that takes place in historic New York City. What movie do you recommend to everyone? Silence of the Lambs is one of my all-time favorite movies just because of how amazing the acting is. Going old school—Charade with Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn. What’s the first thing you do after work? I change out of my “work armor” clothes and into something I feel is more comfortable, and then I turn on some music. If you couldn’t live in Alaska, where would you live? If I didn’t have to worry about money, New York City, without a doubt. If you could domesticate a wild animal, what animal would it be? A bald eagle—it’s got nothing to do with being patriotic, they’re just beautiful birds and being able to get one to do my bidding would be pretty awesome.
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OFF THE CUFF
J
Jason Hodges ason Hodges is the Executive Director of the Anchorage Concert Association, a role he’s
been performing for more than eleven years. He focuses on expanding the reach of the Anchorage Concert Association, giving as many people
after work just to go out and clear my head. I also really enjoy biking. AB: What are you superstitious about? Hodges: If I see a penny on the ground I always pick it up, but I don’t know if it’s a superstition as much as a compulsion [he laughs].
as possible in the community exposure to the performing arts. He says his favorite part of the job is the end of a performance when the audience applauds: “While that applause is not for me—it’s for the artist on the stage—I take a moment to experience it and take a piece for myself because we were a small part in helping put the audience
AB: What’s the most daring thing that you’ve ever done? Hodges: It didn’t feel daring at the time, but looking back on it, it became a moment that changed my life: moving from Fairbanks to Anchorage. AB: Dead or alive, who would you like most to see perform live in concert? Hodges: If I were to go dead, Prince for sure; for a living artist, Stevie Nicks.
together with the artist to create that magic, that
Alaska Business: What do you do in your free time? Jason Hodges: For the last couple of years photography has been something I’ve been really passionate about. Cooking is another huge one. AB: Is there a skill you’re currently developing or have always wanted to learn? Hodges: There was a period of time right after college when I was taking piano lessons, but then the woman who was teaching the class wanted me to do a recital… and I just wanted to learn, so I kind of gave it up then. [Playing] piano is something I wish I’d done or could learn without having to find 10,000 hours to achieve mastery, as Malcolm Gladwell would say. AB: What is your go-to comfort food? Hodges: Buffalo wings—I’ve had them in so many places all across the world, and there is an amazing little place in Portland [Oregon] called Pok Pok that has amazing Asianstyle wings. AB: Other than your current career, if you were a child today, what would your dream job be? Hodges: A writer.
AB: What’s your greatest extravagance? Hodges: Every Christmas we collect any money we’re given as a gift and buy a case of expensive wine, and then we have one really nice bottle of wine each month for the next year. AB: What is your best attribute and your worst attribute? Hodges: My best attribute lately is asking the question: What’s the problem we’re trying to solve? I think people get focused on solving a problem without necessarily knowing what the problem is. My worst attribute is I think I can be stubborn and once I get a vision in my head it’s hard to pull me back. It’s a combination of getting too focused and too uptight over an idea, not being easygoing.
AB: What’s your favorite way to exercise? Hodges: I try to do an hour-and-a-half walk every night www.akbizmag.com
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Images © Kerry Tasker
moment of community—and it's a great moment.”
ADVERTISERS INDEX Afognak Leasing LLC..................................95 alutiiq.com
Conrad-Houston Insurance Agency... 110 chialaska.com
Ahtna Inc.......................................................65 ahtna.net
Construction Machinery Industrial.......... 2 cmiak.com
Alaska Communications............................. 3 alaskacommunications.com
Cook Inlet Regional Advisory Council...93 cirac.org
Alaska Executive Search............................83 akexec.com
Cornerstone Advisors................................85 buildbeyond.com
Alaska Growth Capital.............................. 82 alaskagrowth.com
Cruz Companies.........................................53 cruzconstruct.com
Perseverance Theatre............................. 114 ptalaska.org
Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium.................................. 132 anthc.org
Davis Constructors & Engineers Inc... 105 davisconstructors.com
Petrotechnical Resources Alaska (PRA).91 petroak.com
Diamond Airport Parking......................... 45 diamondairportparking.com
PIP Marketing Signs Print......................... 54 pip.com
Dorsey & Whitney LLP...............................32 dorsey.com
Quality Asphalt Paving........................... 109 colaska.com
Alaska Pacific University........................... 49 alaskapacific.edu Alaska Traffic Company............................71 alaskatraffic.com Alaska Travel Industry Assoc. (ATIA).......41 alaskatia.org Alaska USA Federal Credit Union........... 40 alaskausa.org All American Oifield Services...................93 allamericanoilfield.com ALSCO.......................................................... 29 alsco.com Altman Rogers & Co...................................21 altrogco.com Alyeska Resort.............................................37 alyeskaresort.com American Marine / PENCO........... 116, 117 amarinecorp.com Anchorage Chrysler Dodge.................. 118 anchoragechryslercenter.com APHCO-Aaron Plumbing & Heating Co............................................ 101 aaronak.com
Doyon Limited.............................................72 doyon.com Fairbanks Memorial Hospital................... 99 foundationhealth.org Fairweather LLC..........................................57 fairweather.com
Pacific Northwest Regional Council of Carpenters................................................. 103 nwcarpenters.org Pacific Pile & Marine................................ 123 pacificpile.com Parker Smith & Feek...................................27 psfinc.com
Resource Data Inc......................................17 resdat.com SeaTac Marine Service............................ 113 seatacmarine.com
First National Bank Alaska........................... 5 fnbalaska.com
Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium..................................................76 searhc.org
Foss Maritime.............................................. 45 foss.com
Span Alaska Transportation LLC..............35 spanalaska.com
Hecla Greens Creek Mining Co............ 110 hecla-mining.com Hotel Captain Cook.................................. 34 captaincook.com JEFFCO Inc...................................................21 jeffcogrounds.com Jim Meinel CPA PC.................................. 101 meinelcpa.com Judy Patrick Photography........................33 judypatrickphotography.com
Stallone’s.................................................... 121 stallonesmenswear.com Stellar Designs Inc................................... 121 stellar-designs.com Superior Group......................................... 103 superiorpnh.com T Rowe. Price...............................................15 uacollegesavings.com
Arctic Information Technology...............13 arcticit.com
Landye Bennett Blumstein LLP...............39 lbblawyers.com
Tanana Chiefs Conference Inc.........78, 79 tananachiefs.org
Arctic Office Products............................ 108 arcticoffice.com
Leonardo DRS................................................ 9 LeonardoDRS.com
The Plans Room....................................... 105 theplansroom.com
Arctic Slope Regional Corp. (ASRC).......61 asrc.com
Lynden Inc................................................... 89 lynden.com
The Wilson Agency....................................59 wilsonalbers.com
Arctic Slope Telephone Assoc. (ASTAC).....63 astac.net
MICROCOM.................................................11 microcom.tv
Think Office.................................................83 thinkofficellc.com
AT&T...............................................................23 att.com Avis Rent-A-Car....................................... 119 avisalaska.com BDO................................................................55 bdo.com Bering Straits Native Corp........................87 beringstraits.com
NANA Regional Corporation................. 115 nana.com NCB................................................................70 ncb.coop Nenana Heating Services Inc...................76 nhsi@alaska.net New Horizons Telecom Inc......................31 nhtiusa.com
Thomas Head & Greisen...........................73 thgcpa.com Ukpeagvik Inupiat Corporation...............74 uicalaska.com United Way of Anchorage........................... 7 liveunitedanchorage.org University of Washington..........................67 foster.uw.edu
Bristol Bay Native Corporation..............131 bbnc.net
Nortech Environmental & Engineering.................................................75 nortechengr.com
BSI Commercial Real Estate.....................70 bsialaska.com
Northern Air Cargo........................ 126, 127 nac.aero
Calista Corp.................................................43 calistacorp.com
Northrim Bank.............................................51 northrim.com
Carlile Transportation Systems................25 carlile.biz
Northwest Strategies.................................81 nwstrat.com
Central Environmental Inc......................111 cei-alaska.com
Novagold Resources Inc........................ 107 novagold.com
Chugach Alaska Corp................................77 chugach.com
Odyssey Logistics.......................................47 oysseylogistics.com
Westmark Hotels - HAP Alaska...............39 westmarkhotels.com
CIRI................................................................ 80 ciri.com
Oxford Assaying & Refining Inc............ 113 oxfordmetal.com
Yukon Equipment Inc................................97 yukoneq.com
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USI Insurance Services..............................52 usi.com Visit Anchorage.......................................... 69 anchorage.net Voice of the Arctic Inupiat........................19 voiceofthearcticinupiat.org West-Mark Service Center....................... 99 west-mark.com
Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com
SHARING SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE SO THAT OTHERS MAY SHARE IN THE CATCH
This example echoes through Alaska and has helped guide Bristol Bay Native Corporation as we invest in the tourism industry, bringing revenue to our state and visitors to our rivers.
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September 2019 | 131
SPECIALTY CARE AT ALASKA NATIVE MEDICAL CENTER
Allergy and Immunology • Cardiology • Colorectal Cancer Screening • Dermatology • Ear, Nose and Throat Emergency Medicine • Endocrinology • Diabetes • Gastroenterology • General Medicine • General Surgery • GYNOncology • Hematology • Hepatology/Liver • HIV/Early Intervention Services • Infectious Disease • Infusion Therapy Maternal Fetal Medicine • Nephrology • Neurology • Neurosurgery • Oncology • Ophthalmology • Orthopedic Services • Pain Management • Palliative Care • Pediatric Endocrinology • Pediatric Neurodevelopment • Pediatric Surgery • Pediatric Urology • Podiatry • Pulmonology • Rheumatology • Sleep Medicine • Urology • Walk-in Clinic
36 Specialty Care Services at ANMC: Providing the highest quality health services Alaska Native people in our state have access to the most comprehensive medical care in the Tribal health system. Specialty care at the Alaska Native Medical Center has continuously grown with new clinics, new patient housing, new doctors and new services. ANTHC investment in Alaska Native people advances our vision that Alaska Native people are the healthiest people in the world. Learn about our newest specialty clinic, Allergy and Immunology, at anthc.org/allergy.
