Alaska Business July 2025

Construction

Construction

INTERNET FROM SPACE

STAY CONNECTED WITH A BROADBAND PROVIDER YOU CAN REL

10 40TH ANNIVERSARY

Is a Headline Question

Always Answered No?

According to Alaska Business covers, it depends

By Scott Rhode

20 SMALL BUSINESS

Innovative Sustainable Startups

Fostering important environmental, economic, and social impacts

By Tracy Barbour

28 FINANCE

The Life of a Bank Economist

Narrowing the lens on Alaska numbers By Rachael Kvapil

40 HEALTHCARE

Kudos for Care

Award-winning hospitals meet Alaskans’ health needs By Terri Marshall

92 MARKETING

Blasting Impact

Effective email for public outreach By Christi

Foist

98 NONPROFIT

Collaboration at the Core

Strengthening Alaska’s food economy By Leah Moss

104 REAL ESTATE

Commercial Real Estate Management

Expert upkeep of business properties

By Vanessa Orr

110 OIL & GAS

A Working Field

Cook Inlet producers hope busy season will boost region’s natural gas options By Tasha Anderson

32 MINING

The Critical Minerals

Collaborative

How geologists are reshaping Alaska’s resource future By

Alexandra Kay

114 TOURISM

Riverboat

Discovery Tour

Showcasing authentic Alaska, generation after generation By Amy Newman

Riverboat

Discovery

Ancheta

Geophysical

A PERFECT 10

Thank you, Alaska, for voting First National the Best Place to Work for an incredible 10th year in a row, Best Bank for the fifth straight year and Best in Customer Service for the second year running.

Your support means the world to us. It’s your trust that drives us to create a place where employees and customers thrive. Together, we’re not just doing business – we’re building a brighter future for all Alaskans.

Betsy Lawer BOARD CHAIR AND CEO/PRESIDENT

SPECIAL SECTION: BEST OF ALASKA BUSINESS

56 BEST 2024 STARTUPS

907 Ammo, Play Palace, and Alaska Enchanted Events

By Jamey Bradbury

74 POSING QUESTIONS

How three yoga studios became Alaska’s favorites By

Terri Marshall

82 THAT ALASKA SOUND

Favorite local musicians put fans first By Vanessa Orr

90 2025 BEST CORPORATE CITIZENS

Wells Fargo, Matson, and Alaska Airlines in the community By

Tasha Anderson

48

64 QUICKFIRE Q&A

Your votes, our questions, their answers By

Katie Pesznecker

ABOUT THE COVER

The irony does not escape Chad Carpenter. “When I was a kid, my least-favorite comics were single-panel comics— like the ones I now draw,” he admits. Multi-panel strips were a better value, with more room for character. Berkeley Breathed was an influence, along with Walt Kelly, but it was a Garfield book by Jim Davis that convinced young Carpenter to make cartoonery a career.

The artist rarely accepts commissions, butprevious jobs with Alaska Business for the April 2012 and December 2018 issues assured Carpenter that an encore would be painless. This third cover might finally propel Carpenter to the success that has eluded him after self-syndicating Tundra in more than 600 newspapers, winning a 2007 Silver Reuben Award for Best Newspaper Panel, publishing twenty-eight books, and producing two feature films.

Carpenter confesses, “I haven’t invested wisely enough to be able to retire, so desperation fuels my creativity.”

Illustration by Chad Carpenterr

Matson

Photos by Red Photography

FROM THE EDITOR

We launched the Best of Alaska Business awards in the July 2016 issue. That year we had several categories unique to that first iteration: the best town to grow a business, best job opportunity for college graduates, best Alaska app, as examples. Over the last decade we’ve had a multitude of survey-related questions that have appeared and then disappeared from the Best of Alaska Business survey. Every year, as we’re planning the July issue, we discuss each category to determine which categories do or don’t meet our goal to highlight readers’ favorite businesses.

For example, one year we asked for the best dentist; we received a robust response from our readers nominating a multitude of dental operations, many with a very close number of votes or even tied. It’s a compliment that so many exceptional dental practices were nominated by our readers, but ultimately the results weren’t publishable in our current Best of Alaska Business format because we publish a top three—and we need to be able to justify who the top three are.

Other categories, such as best job opportunity for college graduates, garnered generic responses such as “healthcare” or “oil and gas.” We intend the Best of Alaska Business awards to feature exceptional companies, not industries.

We love this special section, and every year we expand it, looking to highlight as many amazing Alaska businesses as possible. To that end, the 2025 Best of Alaska Business special section has taken on a different format from last year. The winners are presented as a concise list, and instead of brief writeups for every category, we have developed editorial content that allows many of our winners an opportunity to offer their own words about their operations. With this adjustment, we’re hoping to give our readers more direct ties to these awesome businesses and allow us to expand the number of categories and businesses that we can celebrate in years to come.

Tasha Anderson Managing Editor, Alaska Business

VOLUME 41, #7

EDITORIAL

Tasha Anderson, Managing Editor

Scott Rhode, Editor/Staff Writer

Rindi White, Associate Editor

Emily Olsen, Editorial Assistant

PRODUCTION

Monica Sterchi-Lowman, Art Director

Fulvia Caldei Lowe, Production Manager Patricia Morales, Web Manager

BUSINESS

Billie Martin, President

Jason Martin, VP & General Manager

James Barnhill, Accounting Manager

SALES

Charles Bell, VP Sales & Marketing 907-257-2909 | cbell@akbizmag.com

Janis J. Plume, Senior Account Manager 907-257-2917 | janis@akbizmag.com

Christine Merki, Senior Account Manager 907-257-2911 | cmerki@akbizmag.com

Chelsea Diggs, Account Manager 907.257.2917 | chelsea@akbizmag.com

Tiffany Whited, Marketing & Sales Specialist 907-257-2910 | tiffany@akbizmag.com

CONTACT

akbizmag.com | (907) 276-4373

Press releases: press@akbizmag.com

Billing: billing@akbizmag.com

Subscriptions: circulation@akbizmag.com

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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. © 2025 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.

For 50 years, TOTE has o ered a 3-day transit, twiceweekly sailings, flexible gate-times, and roll-on/rollo operations to support versatile

Is a Headline Question Always Answered

He adlines that ask yes-or-no questions can always be answered “no.” British tech journalist Ian Betteridge codified this law in 2009, but headlines have ended with question marks for as long as newspapers have existed. A compilation of Murphy’s Law variants published in 1991 called it “Davis’ Law” (for unclear reasons). Whether known by that name or as Betteridge’s Law, this wisdom is honored more often in the breach than in the observance.

According to Alaska Business covers, it depends

By Scott Rhode

Or not often at all. This magazine employed question marks on its cover seven times in its first sixty issues, including the first one ever printed. Does “no” automatically apply?

“Juneau Learns to Boom, but Will It Bust?”

Shakey’s Pizza was on the way to Juneau when this magazine debuted in January 1985. Baskin-Robbins was, too, attracted by recordsetting sales when McDonald’s opened in the capital city in 1982, which also brought Fred Meyer to town in 1984. Voters in 1982 had rejected the $3 billion price tag for moving the state capital to Willow, and Juneau breathed a sigh of relief. “It was as if Lincoln freed the slaves,” wrote Southeast contributor Chuck Kleeschulte.

Home construction doubled in 1983, with 920 units built in Juneau. However, a cold storage facility closed, diminishing the local seafood industry. Then-Mayor Fran Ulmer suggested developing docks for seafood processing.

These days, Juneau has a few boutique fish canners and packers, but the waterfront is effectively deindustrialized—except for tourism.

With more than a million visitors

every summer (ten times as many as 1984), some Juneau residents have begun demanding limits on weekly port calls. Through a voluntary agreement between the four largest cruise lines and the Juneau city manager, daily cruise ship visits to the city will be capped beginning in 2026 at 16,000 passengers per day during weekdays and 12,000 per day on Saturdays.

The local population, meanwhile, is shrinking. The 2020 census counted 32,255 Juneauites, and from that peak the capital city has shed about 3.1 percent of its population, or about 700 people— more than the city gained between the 2010 and 2020 censuses. Still, Juneau has more people now than the 20,000-odd in 1985.

“There are no busts on the horizon,” said Win Gruening, grandson of former governor and US Senator Ernest Gruening. Gruening, later an executive at KeyBank, formed the Alaska Committee a decade later, with the mission

Business news overlapped with political questions at times during this magazine's first year.

Left: January 1985

Right: March 1985

of keeping the capital in Juneau. Gruening’s prediction proved true— but instead of an outright bust, Juneau grapples with uncertainty pegged to oil revenues and government spending.

Kleeschulte, previously a spokesman for Governor Jay Hammond and then an aide to US Senators Frank and Lisa Murkowski, now says, “I wouldn't want to write a follow-up story on my adopted hometown's economic outlook any time soon.”

“Limited Entry: Is It Working?”

Courts struck down rationed access to Alaska’s ocean fisheries in 1968, so a constitutional amendment in 1972 enabled a limited entry system. At the same time, enforcement of the 200-mile exclusion zone ramped up, the state toughened management of fish stocks, and some bondfinanced hatcheries opened.

By March 1985, “Even a decade hasn’t been long enough to untangle

the dozens of conflicting threads” of all those variables, Kleeschulte wrote. He quoted his former boss Jay Hammond criticizing perverse incentives: “The system produced unnecessary pressure on the fish, just so people can hold on to valuable permits.” The average permit price of $50,442 is worth about $152,500 today, yet some permits have outpaced inflation.

Hammond’s legislative ally Clem Tillion wasn’t sure the system could be called a failure. “It’s going to take a while for the effects to be known,” Tillion said. “Why the rush?”

A while later, effects are still mixed.

“The Limited Entry Act had a number of goals, and some have proven out more than others,” says Glenn Haight, a member of the Alaska Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission who has worked in seafood industry development since the ‘90s.

Limited entry succeeded, he says, in defining the maximum amount of gear allowed in the water, and state fisheries have been maintained as an owner-operator industry.

On the other hand, participation

in traditional fisheries has steadily declined while year-round commercial fisheries employ a class of professional fishermen.

An idea floated in 1985 was a permit buyback. Haight says, “There is a prevailing belief among many permit holders that too many permits were originally issued. That has yet to be analyzed in a large-scale manner which could lead to a paring down on the number of permits.”

By 2008, for example, the Southeast salmon purse seine fishery retired 35 of 419 permits by a reverse auction financed with federal grants and loans. Permit holders also paid a special assessment for subsequent buybacks. However, a retrospective analysis found that, under certain assumptions, the cost of buybacks exceeded the net benefit.

While the question remains unanswered, Haight says, “It’s our job to continue work with Alaska’s fishing industry, our communities, and the legislature to see what can be done to help in areas that are falling short.”

The fate of the oil industry and Alaska Marine Highway System continue to be hot topics today.

Left: March 1986

Right: May 1986

“Can

Alaska’s Oil Industry Survive Government Greed and Environmental Extremism?”

Editor Paul Laird gave his cover story a more open-ended headline inside the March 1986 magazine: “1996: What lies over the rainbow for the Alaskan oil industry?” Government greed doesn’t appear until halfway through, quoting Scott Hawkins, then a corporate economist at Key Bancshares of Alaska, who warned, “If the legislature increases taxes on the oil industry again, we’ll have a contracting industry.”

In 1989, soon after the Exxon Valdez oil spill, the legislature revised the Economic Limit Factor, which had eliminated taxes on low-producing wells, and production has never repeated the 2-million-barrel-per-day peak from the previous year.

“Alaska’s oil and gas industry did survive the last forty years regardless of all the efforts to derail them, but not without pain,” says Rebecca Logan, CEO of the Alaska Support Industry Alliance. “Over the last four decades, there have been years when

Alaska lost out on oil and gas revenue and the jobs associated with them, due to the political winds in Juneau and [Washington,] DC.”

Laird defined “survival” as continued aggressive exploration and development by 1996 and not retreating to legacy production. Even without hoped-for game-changers like lifting the oil export ban (not until 2015), opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (not until 2017), and marketing North Slope natural gas (still pending), Exxon discovered the Point McIntyre satellite of Prudhoe Bay in 1988 and began production in 1993; Conoco discovered Badami in 1990; and ARCO Alaska discovered the Alpine field in 1994.

However, rather than contrast “survival” versus retreat, Logan contrasts bare-minimum survival

against robust thriving. She says, “Alaska’s resource development activity will continue to thrive when the business climate is favorable and survive when it is not.”

By the way, the 1986 article doesn’t mention environmental extremism, except possibly the example of a 121page book of federal regulations for disposing of crankcase oil.

“Is It Time to Get the Politics Out of Alaska’s Ferry System?”

Laird’s May 1986 cover story notes, “The subsidized services of the Alaska Marine Highway System, along with many other expenditures taken for granted during the carefree days of petro-obesity, are in for close scrutiny in the months or years ahead.” The ferry system’s

1986 operating budget of $60 million would be about $175 million today, adjusted for inflation, and indeed it is. However, a twenty-year plan drafted in March 2025 would budget more than $200 million annually, with increased service.

A working group for reshaping the Alaska Marine Highway System (AMHS) issued findings in 2021. The group stated, “Operations are hindered by frequent turnover in politically appointed positions, shortterm planning horizons, cumbersome procurement processes, indirect labor negotiations, and political influence over operational decisions.” Thus, Southeast Conference and the AMHS Reform Committee recommended transitioning AMHS to a state-owned corporation, not unlike the Alaska Railroad.

Global Credit Union Putting people over profit

As one of the top twenty credit unions in the country, Anchorage-based Global Credit Union has made a profound impact on Alaska’s financial landscape. Global’s community-focused financial services, unwavering commitment to its customers (known as members), and meticulous growth strategy make it excel as a member-owned cooperative.

Global is dedicated to improving the lives of its members and the broader community. “We work every day to put people before profit,” says President and CEO Geoff Lundfelt.

HISTORY AND STRATEGIC GROWTH

Since its inception, Global has undergone a significant transformation. Previously known as Alaska USA Federal Credit Union, it acquired Spokane, Washington-based Global Credit Union in 2023. Then Alaska USA FCU—founded as Alaskan Air Depot Federal in 1948—changed its name to Global Federal Credit Union to better reflect its expanding reach and continued aspirations to be a world-

class provider of financial services to members no matter where they are.

The credit union had been employing growth strategies outside Alaska since the mid-80s, but its merger and acquisition activities accelerated in the last few years. The name change was one of the primary drivers of that growth. The strategic rebranding has allowed Global to attract new members and execute acquisitions more effectively.

Take, for example, Global’s recent purchase of Renton, Washingtonbased First Financial Northwest Bank. “I’m not sure we would have been considered a viable option for that bank had our name been Alaska USA versus Global Credit Union,” Lundfelt says. “With retaining the business and employees that were coming along with that acquisition, the name itself just made that a lot easier.

COMMITMENT TO SERVICE

With twenty-seven branches in Alaska—and another two expected by next year—Global has solidified its presence in the state’s financial

sector. But its influence extends well beyond Alaska’s borders. Global has more than $13 billion in assets, 2,000 employees—half of whom are in Alaska—and 78 branches across its network. It also has locations in Washington, California, Arizona, and Idaho, along with three branches on US military installations in Italy. The credit union also owns and operates Global Insurance Brokers in Alaska, Arizona, California, Idaho, and Washington, and Global Credit Union Home Loans in Alaska, Arizona, Idaho, and Washington.

Additionally, Global operates a member service center that employs more than 200 US-based staff who provide 24/7 support across various time zones. This allows users to obtain personalized assistance when they need it. “While digital and mobile are great offerings and can do the bulk of transaction activity, every once in a while you need that personal touch or have questions that a computer can’t answer,” Lundfelt says.

Global provides financial services to 775,000 members, with 300,000 of those residing in Alaska. As an

Photo by Mary Lila Photo

Photo by Mary Lila Photo

indication of its geographic reach, the credit union’s members—many of whom are military veterans and expatriates—have physical addresses in every congressional district in the United States and in twenty-four countries. In Alaska, Global operates in fifteen distinct communities, ensuring that its commitment to service extends statewide.

As part of its dedication to community service, Global supports locally based charitable causes. One of its prime efforts is raising money to alleviate food insecurity through the annual Cash for Cans program. In addition to combatting food insecurity, Global contributes to numerous nonprofits across Alaska. These organizations focus on various issues, from military and veterans’ support to children’s welfare. “Whether it’s in Anchorage, Fairbanks, Kodiak, Kenai, Juneau, or Bethel, we try to be a very meaningful part of the community,” Lundfelt says.

EXPANDING ITS OFFERINGS AND COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE

Global is constantly working to evolve its digital ecosystem to enhance overall member experience and improve efficiency. This includes leveraging business process automation and AI to streamline back-office support and assist frontline staff in providing accurate and timely information to members. “Most of our interactions occur through the digital and mobile channels,” Lundfelt says. “So, we’re making sure that for money movement and money management we have tools that are both cutting-edge and reliable for our members.”

In addition, the credit union is making significant strides in supporting small businesses in Alaska and the Lower 48. With nearly $900 million in small business deposits, Global has expanded its efforts to provide essential financial tools that enable companies to thrive in today’s challenging economic environment. This includes offering transparent, low, and often no-fee pricing, along with enhanced service and convenience benefits. Lundfelt explains, “We are accelerating the

number of tools available to help small businesses be successful.”

While other companies are cutting back, Global is constantly making investments to benefit its stakeholders. Its enhancements in small business offerings, branch services, and technology give the credit union a strong competitive advantage. Global’s commitment to its members, its employees, and the community has not gone unnoticed. Recently, it received the 2024 Small Business Administration Alaska 504 Third Party Lender of the Year award; was recognized by Forbes magazine as one of the best in-state credit unions in Alaska, Washington, California, and Arizona; and made Forbes’ list of America’s Best Midsize Employers 2025. “I’m incredibly proud of our team members; their hard work has earned us recognition that highlights our commitment to service and excellence,” Lundfelt says.

FUTURE PLANS

Global will continue to focus on modernizing its branches to enhance member interactions. These branch transformations—which are reflected in its new Juneau branch—are designed to create a more open environment that facilitates deeper conversations and relationships with members. For example, members could receive in-branch assistance with auto or homeowners insurance from a licensed agent. In fact, all Global branches have at least one licensed personal-lines

insurance representative who can provide quotes for multiple carriers and help members find suitable coverage at competitive prices.

Meeting the broad needs of members helps reinforce Global’s leadership in financial services. Lundfelt says, “This significant development helps us continue being a trusted provider of all financial services—to support our members’ global financial picture.”

Geoff Lundfelt President and CEO

4000 Credit Union Drive Anchorage, Alaska 99503 globalcu.org

Member Service Center

Open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year Call: 800-525-9094

AlaskaBusiness Business Profile

Photo by Mary Lila

Photo

Photo by Global Credit Union

GEOFFLUNDFELT,PRESIDENT &CEO GLOBALCREDITUNION

That recommendation is a half-step away from divesting AMHS to a private buyer, which Representative Andrew “André” Marrou was sponsoring in 1986— “so it doesn’t have to be done in a crisis situation later,” he said. A Libertarian elected for one term from Homer, Marrou was his party’s vicepresidential candidate in 1988 and presidential nominee in 1992. His privatization idea seemed unlikely at the time; AMHS officials told legislators that private operators would likely keep the system’s only profitable route, the mainline run from Seattle to Skagway, and jettison the other routes. Marrou suggested that off-season fishing boats could pick up the slack.

A 2020 report commissioned by Governor Mike Dunleavy likewise concluded that privatization would be impractical. It echoed a 1986 observation by economic researcher Eric McDowell: “It’s difficult to view public services and conveyances like roads, airports, and the marine highway in the context of private enterprise.” Laird’s article counters

with examples of privatized parks, prisons, and street sweeping, and Laird says the state might still subsidize service, but “the check may be smaller than it is today.” Not according to the long-term plan.

“Foreign

Investment: Is It Alaska’s

Economic Cure or Its Ailment?”

While the November 1986 cover posed an open-ended question, the subtitle inside the magazine could be answered yes or no: “Is foreign investment a safe long-term prescription for Alaska’s economic ills?”

In his article, Kleeschulte noted Japanese ownership of Alyeska Resort (now owned by a Canadian company) and Alaska Pulp Co. in Sitka (now defunct) and Canadian investment in Red Dog Mine and, through Yukon-Pacific Corp., attempts to market North Slope natural gas. “Japanese, Korean, and Taiwanese firms may buy into the project as part of any agreement to buy the gas,” Kleeschulte predicted, anticipating occurrences in early 2025.

Alaska as a vending machine for foreign investors, while the module story backed up questions about protecting fisheries.

Left: November 1986

Right: June 1988

According to the Global Business Alliance, international investment in Alaska supports 15,200 jobs, or about 6.2 percent of the state’s current workforce. That’s down from more than 7 percent in 2017 but higher than the US average of 6 percent. Of the 117 international employers operating in Alaska, the biggest foreign investors are from Canada, Japan, and the United Kingdom, and manufacturing (read: seafood processing) is the largest sector.

In the ‘70s, the US Department of Justice was so concerned about Japanese ownership of seafood processors that it launched a special investigation. It found no significant problems, other than a dependence on foreign capital to modernize equipment and develop new products. However, a surge of Japanese investment in Alaska seafood processing had already declined by 1986, and Japan's roaring economy in the late '80s deflated by 1992.

Seafood conglomerate Maruha Nichiro Corporation exited Alaska in 2020, selling Peter Pan Seafood

Company to American investors. Peter Pan has been going through tough times, but what remains is still under domestic ownership.

Canadian companies still have major stakes in Alaska, with Teck operating Red Dog Mine and Novagold pursuing the Donlin gold project. Western Australia-based Northern Star Resources acquired the Pogo gold mine in 2019, and other Aussie mineral companies are exploring Alaska. Australian investment arrived on the North Slope in 2021 when Santos acquired Pikka developer Oil Search, a company based in Papua New Guinea.

“Can

Alaska Measure Up in Module Manufacturing?”

Tim Bradner, now editor of Alaska Economic Report and Alaska

Legislative Digest, spoke to executives at Veco, which by June 1988 had just fabricated two small modules for ARCO to use in the Kuparuk River Unit. Bradner reported that Veco underbid an Oregon company for the Kuparuk job, anticipating no profit, even with a discount by the Municipality of Anchorage for the lease of workspace at the city-owned port.

Lack of infrastructure and skilled labor were two factors limiting the fabrication of larger sealift modules. However, then-Veco President Pete Leathard said that Trans Alaska Pipeline System construction had left Alaska with a skilled workforce.

Nearly forty years later, Leathard still sees local laborers as the core of a module industry. “Alaska has a good solid base of good tradesmen, and

the additional workforce will come,” he says. “Construction tradesmen travel across the country and to Alaska when long-duration work at reasonable pay is available. A company just needs to know how to source these people.”

Leathard acknowledges that Alaska’s capabilities are suited to smaller, truckable modules. However, he sees this as an advantage over sealift modules built at Gulf Coast shipyards. “It is an extra five-week journey by barge to the North Slope versus Anchorage. Five weeks can mean a lot when it comes to minimizing costly extra work and meeting the startup schedule,” he says.

The logistical math pointed to Anchorage last year when ConocoPhillips Alaska needed a

DOWNTOWN ANCHORAGE

production module for its Nuna project at Kuparuk. The module, built near the Don Young Port of Alaska at the Anderson Dock owned by North Star Equipment Services, was the first of its kind fabricated in Alaska in twenty years.

One-off jobs are great, but Leathard still sees potential for sustained module making. He says, “I have been involved with many major projects in many countries throughout the world. I have been involved with major projects on the West Coast and the Gulf Coast and Canada. Alaska is equal and better than most in quality and productivity.”

“Greenhouse Effect in Alaska: For Better or for Worse?”

By the November 1988 issue, climatologist James Hansen raised the alarm in Congress about global warming, and the United Nations formed the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that year.

“The year’s hottest scientific topic— the so-called greenhouse effect— may be more relevant to residents

A special section about exporting seafood, Nikiski petroleum, and even North Slope gas dominated the cover, but the relatively new topic of global warming was growing in urgency.

Left: November 1988

of Alaska than you think,” wrote Kleeschulte, immediately quoting three sources who said evidence for human-caused climate change was already convincing.

Broad predictions about permafrost melting, coastal flooding, and major displacements of fish populations have come to pass, more or less, if not to the degree anticipated: “Southeast’s average temperature is likely to rise by 11°F by 2030—when the equivalent of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere doubles,” for instance, is on track to miss the mark.

Last year, the Alaska Center for Climate Assessment and Policy at UAF published Alaska’s Changing Environment 2.0 , updating the inaugural 2019 report. It states that average temperatures increased in Alaska by more than 3°F in less than fifty years; prior to the ‘70s, annual averages had changed very little. Six of the top ten warmest years in Alaska have been recorded since 2010.

Atmospheric carbon dioxide, measured at Mauna Loa Observatory, was about 350 parts per million

in 1989, and now it stands at 428. An adjusted forecast by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change anticipates the doubling to 700 by 2075.

The 1985 article predicted longer growing seasons in Alaska, extending by ten days for each 1.8°F rise. In fact, Alaska’s Changing Environment 2.0 notes a nearly thirty-day extension, two weeks earlier in the spring and two weeks later in the fall, compared to a century ago.

“I wish in 1988 I had had the foresight to write more about permafrost melt and its economic impacts on Alaska's infrastructure and the expense of village relocation,” says Kleeschulte, who now maintains a ten-acre farm in Virginia near the Blue Ridge Parkway. “That 1988 article on greenhouse gases did impact my thinking on the need for renewable energy and how it could play a big role in Alaska's future economy.”

Since retiring in 2018, Kleeschulte says he spends his time volunteering at a local food pantry while not “inflicting my political views on anyone.”

Final Answers

Kleeschulte’s writing is overrepresented in this retrospective, and he cops to it. “I hate question headlines, but I undoubtedly was responsible for them being used on many of my stories, since I almost always presented both sides of an issue in boring detail and almost never could settle on which side was right at the time,” he says. Kleeschulte’s assignments often tackled politically adjacent topics without conclusive answers.

In Betteridge’s formulation, question headlines indicate that an article lacks firm factual support. That is, if a publisher could confidently answer “yes,” then the headline would be a declarative sentence.

For example, “Alaska’s Oil Industry Can Survive Government Greed and Environmental Extremism.”

Or this one: “Foreign Investment: A Safe Long-Term Prescription.”

If the answer is “no,” then declarative headlines signal boring or depressing stories: “Juneau Will Not Bust.” “Not Time to Get Politics Out of Alaska’s Ferry System.”

“Alaska Can’t Measure Up in Module Manufacturing.”

These three headlines abide by Betteridge’s Law, but two of these seven flout it, and two have no definitive answers: “Limited Entry Is Working (with Mixed Results).”

“Greenhouse Effect: Bad for Alaska (But Not as Bad as Predicted).”

Therefore, this article’s own headline refutes itself. Questions in headlines are not always answered “no.” Which could’ve been the headline all along.

PISTIL HOKA KEEN HAIKU PRANA SOFFT

Innovative Sustainable Startups

Fostering important environmental, economic, and social impacts

By Tracy Barbour

Ad istinctive entrepreneurial spirit thrives in Alaska, driven by enterprises that balance sustainability and environmental stewardship with their economic activities. These organizations work to reduce their ecological impact while contributing to the economy and society. They are not just seeking to make a profit; they are dedicated to making a difference.

Take Spruce Root, for instance.

The Juneau-based, Native-led nonprofit gives local entrepreneurs access to business development and financial resources in the form of loan capital, business coaching, workshops, and competitions. For more than a decade, Spruce Root has operated its annual Path to Prosperity Business Competition. The program trains entrepreneurs

in Southeast to develop business models based on the “triple bottom line” approach, which considers social, environmental, and economic impacts, also known as the Three Ps: people, planet, and profit.

“We have designed business plan templates as well as other resources that support entrepreneurs looking to model sustainable businesses,” says Executive Director Alana Peterson.

Barnacle Foods

“We specifically support sustainable startups and other small businesses through business planning, financial analysis, and creation of measurable sustainability goals.”

For example, 2024 Path to Prosperity winner Sitkana received $20,000 to develop its renewable ocean energy business. The company—which was founded in 2021 and relocated to Alaska in 2023—also gained valuable business guidance and connections.

“They brought in experts and mentors to teach great practices,” says Sitkana founder and CEO Lance McMullan. “It is great to feel a sense of community with other founders building companies here.”

This year, Spruce Root is trying a new approach with the Path to Prosperity competition: it will connect entrepreneurs with science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) specialists. This will enable Spruce Root to engage with a broader variety of business owners.

“Often, Alaska Native entrepreneurs don’t see their ideas as being STEM,” says Peterson, “and the competition this year gives us an opportunity to really tell another narrative and reach entrepreneurs that have been thinking about STEM businesses for years but maybe would never have used such a Western term to describe it.”

Peterson is seeing sustainable practices across industries in Alaska. Entrepreneurs are investigating alternative fuel sources, sharing healing herbs and healing arts, building electrical fishing boats, and launching kelp harvesting and manufacturing businesses.

“We have found that when the values of a company are guiding the decisions

“We still get a kick [out of] walking into stores outside of Alaska and seeing jars of kelp salsa on the shelves… It proved that a product made with Alaskan kelp can resonate with a much larger audience.”

Max Stanley,

Barnacle Foods

Co-o wner,

at every level, it is increasingly likely that the cumulative impact of those decisions will be grounded in sustainability and ensuring balanced use of natural resources,” she says. “Any company can meaningfully integrate sustainability into their business model when they are clear on their values and are guided by them.”

She adds, “This is not a new concept but an Indigenous way of operating within the world around us. Tlingits have practiced ‘sustainability’ strategies for thousands of years, from harvesting resources in ways that ensure plentiful regrowth to innovating new solutions like halibut hooks and more.”

Peterson says she believes sustainable businesses provide immeasurable benefits. “I believe that inherent in this concept is the value these businesses have in Alaska: they

give life to people and places, creating a cycle of abundance that allows future generations to continue to thrive here,” she says. “That, I think, is the ultimate impact these businesses can have.”

Renewable Ocean Energy

As an example of its impact, Sitkana is taking an innovative approach to generating reliable renewable energy from ocean currents. The Juneau-based startup produces hydrokinetic energy devices that act like wind turbines underwater, creating electricity when they spin in the flowing water.

“Sitkana is building technology to deliver reliable, affordable, and clean power to remote and coastal communities,” says McMullan, a fisherman turned engineer. “Many places in Alaska rely on diesel

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generators while they are surrounded by some of the most powerful tides and tidal currents in the world. I wanted to build a solution that not only made sense for Alaska but could also scale globally.”

Some of the strongest tidal currents in the United States are in Southeast, where 20-foot tides fill 100-milelong fjords, according to Sitkana’s website. Sitkana aims to generate low-cost electricity for cities in Alaska and other places situated near ocean currents. And its hydrogenerators are designed to be installed in just hours—without the need for underwater foundations or divers.

Sitkana’s innovative ambitions have won the approval of the US Department of Energy. Last year, the company secured a grant from the Office of Technology Transitions

to revolutionize the capture of tidal energy by using idle fishing vessels in Alaska. Sitkana—in partnership with Sandia National Laboratories—will equip vessels with its hydroelectric devices during the off season, transforming them into floating power generators. This will provide energy during peak demand periods but also offer an additional income stream for vessel owners.

Sustainable Food

Barnacle Foods, also a previous Path to Prosperity winner, champions the use of local, sustainable ingredients in food products that showcase the rich culinary heritage of Alaska while promoting environmental responsibility.

Based in Juneau, Barnacle Foods was established in 2016 as a small

experiment in a home kitchen. It has grown into a business that has sold more than a million units, according to co-owner Max Stanley. “We’re passionate about creating delicious, sustainable foods using Alaska-grown ingredients—most notably kelp,” he says. “Our products include hot sauces, pickles, salsas, seasoning blends, and more. This summer, we are releasing a new product line that uses some of the same ingredients but in a new form: cookies.”

The inspiration for the business was the owners’ love for food, the ocean, and a desire to create a company that gives back to the community. “We saw an opportunity to use abundant, underutilized resources like kelp in a way that supports both the environment and local communities,” Stanley says.

That opportunity, guided by the Three Ps model, grew into product lines sold in stores nationwide. Stanley says, “We believe food is one of the most powerful ways to connect people to place. At Barnacle we’re committed to continuing to grow in a way that honors the environment, supports our community, and inspires others to reimagine what’s possible with the resources we have right here in Alaska.”

Eco-Friendly Travel

Homer-based Gondwana Ecotours is taking a unique perspective on sustainability by combining tourism with environmental awareness. Its eco-friendly tours educate visitors about the importance of preserving natural habitats while providing memorable experiences. Guides take

guests on adventures throughout Alaska and in global destinations like Rwanda, Tanzania, Ecuador, Argentina, Costa Rica, and Norway. In Alaska, its top experiences are the Northern Lights Adventure tour and the Glaciers and Grizzlies Adventure trip.

Gondwana Ecotours specializes in all-inclusive, smallgroup, multi-night tours known as “soft adventures.” “They are adventure trips that are as comfortable as possible and accessible as possible for the places we are going,” says founder and President Jared Sternberg. “And we try to share bucket-list, natural, and cultural phenomena with our guests.”

Sternberg’s motivation for launching Gondwana Ecotours in 2013 was deeply rooted in his personal values. He had studied environmental law at Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana, and envisioned using his degree to conserve and protect wildlife, national parks, and Indigenous cultures.

But reality altered his plans. “As I went deep down that rabbit hole, I realized how political that work was, and I also realized that wasn’t necessarily for me,” he explains. “So rather than arguing with people in a courtroom or in research and writing, I decided it would feel productive and more suited to my skills and goals to share beautiful places worth protecting with people… to let them experience them and perhaps develop their own passion.”

Managing Challenges

Running a sustainable business includes all the typical entrepreneurial challenges. Peterson explains that entrepreneurs must be willing to innovate, think creatively, and be open to feedback—attributes that apply to all business owners. Entrepreneurs often find that not only is operating sustainably possible, it has positive impacts on their business’ bottom line. “Entrepreneurs have demonstrated time and time again that operating a sustainable business is a choice, and it doesn't have to mean you are giving up economic success,” Peterson says.

At Barnacle Foods, a major challenge has been working with an ingredient, kelp, that had no existing supply chain in Alaska. When the company started, there were no established systems for farming, harvesting, processing, or transporting kelp. So company leaders created a solution.

Jared Sternberg, founder and president of Gondwana Ecotours, with his wife Ashley Sternberg on a hike near Seward. Gondwana Ecotours

With turbines like underwater windmills, Sitkana CEO Lance McMullan aims to tap the energy of Southeast fjords. Sitkana

Lance McMullan (left), founder and CEO of Sitkana. Sitkana

Alana Peterson, executive director of Spruce Root. Spruce Root

Stanley explains, “We had to build that from the ground up, working directly with seaweed farmers, harvesters, regulators; helping develop harvesting methods; and figuring out how to transport and process efficiently. On top of that, we face all the usual logistical hurdles of running a business in Alaska: staffing, high shipping costs, et cetera.”

For Gondwana Ecotours, a frustrating issue has been travel spending’s dependence on discretionary income, which fluctuates with broader market conditions beyond the company’s control. For example, the COVID-19 pandemic significantly reduced travel for Gondwana Ecotours, and recent events such as tariffs have slowed bookings this spring. Sternberg says his biggest challenge is being a good partner and boss while delivering business growth despite unpredictable external factors. “It feels a little outside of my control,” he says.

Sitkana had to overcome financial adversity. A key issue, McMullan says, was funding for early-stage technology development, especially in hardware technology. Yet the company has persevered. “Developing ocean energy systems takes patience because it can’t scale like an app,” he says. “On top of that, tidal currents are not well known because they only form in a few places in the United States, so we have found the most support from our local community.”

Having a Positive Influence

Despite initial and ongoing challenges, sustainable startups are having positive environmental, economic, and social impacts.

Sitkana—despite still being in the development phase—is already changing the narrative around ocean energy accessibility, McMullan says. Recently, Sitkana achieved an important milestone: testing its prototype in ocean conditions. This proved that the company’s core technology works and provided critical data to help the next phase of development. “Our biggest steps are still ahead,” McMullan says. “We are proud to be working alongside Southeast Alaska communities as we build low-impact systems for generating predictable daily energy.”

Barnacle Foods takes pride in being one of the few Alaskabased, consumer-packaged-goods businesses using local ingredients— especially something as unique as kelp. By turning a local, underutilized resource into value-added products, the company is helping to build a new kind of food economy in the state. “It’s exciting to create products that are grown and made in Alaska and then shipped to stores across the country,” Stanley says. “We see this as an important step in the value chain that creates opportunity—not just for our team, but for seaweed farmers, processors, and other small businesses in coastal communities.”

One of Barnacle Foods’ proudest accomplishments was getting its products onto the shelves of national retailers such as Whole Foods Market and World Market. “We still get a kick [out of] walking into stores outside of Alaska and seeing jars of kelp salsa on the shelves,” Stanley says. “It proved that a product made with Alaskan kelp can resonate with a much larger audience.”

Gondwana Ecotours itineraries incorporate boutique local operators, including family-owned bed-and-breakfasts, restaurants, and individuals. This partnership allows families to improve their livelihood and, in some cases, exp and their business.

For example, one family that gets visited on the Northern Lights Adventure tour was able to stop working another job far from their homestead due to increased income from the tour. Also, a family-owned bed-and-breakfast that Gondwana Ecotours uses expanded to a second location. Gondwana Ecotours also hires an Alaska Native guide to provide custom group tours, which significantly supports his family and provides the flexibility he needs to care for his children.

In essence, the local economic impact of Gondwana Ecotours empowers people to pursue their own busines s goals and dreams.

Another rewarding achievement is Gondwana Ecotours’ carbon neutrality status. “We became fully carbon neutral about three years ago, and it was very exciting,” Sternberg says. “It was something I'd a lways wanted to do.”

Sternberg says he enjoys creating symbiotic relationships where everyone wins. It makes his tours more unique and competitive, enhances the guests’ experiences and access to authentic culture, and supports othe r local businesses.

Sternberg says, “It’s a situation where it’s in everyone’s best interest to make it sustainable— and that's kind of the goal.”

The Life of a Bank Economist

Narrowing the lens on Alaska numbers

By Rachael Kvapil

Since Adam Smith wrote the first two treatises on economics, all the technological advances in the last 250 years still can’t accurately predict the financial future. What technology can do is provide data to economists, who distill it into usable information for strategic planning. Economists traditionally work for governments, higher education, and private companies, but financial institutions hire them as well.

Crunching the Numbers

Take, for example, Mark Edwards. When Northrim Bank’s executive vice president, chief credit officer, and bank economist joined the company in 2007, he was the only bank-employed economist in Alaska.

Fast-forward seventeen years, and he

says it’s possible that he may still be the only one working for an Alaskabased community bank.

Founded thirty-four years ago as a strong, independent, local bank with community and customer service at its heart, Edwards says Northrim has matured from a small community bank with 21 employees, one branch, and $8 million in assets into an active and engaged community leader with more than 400 employees and more than $2 billion in assets. Northrim Bank now has twenty branches in Anchorage, Eagle River, Fairbanks, Homer, Juneau, Ketchikan, Kodiak, Nome, Sitka, Soldotna, and Wasilla. It serves approximately 90 percent of Alaska’s population, with an asset-based lending division in Washington state and a wholly

owned mortgage brokerage company, Residential Mortgage.

“Our employees are engaged, accountable, and aligned,” says Edwards. “Our mission, vision, and values guide us in everything we do. We seek to be Alaska’s most trusted financial institution. We strive to be Alaska’s premier bank and employer of choice. We are proud to be Alaskan. We have a sincere appreciation for our customers. We look for growth opportunities. We are a trustworthy, reliable, and ethical organization. We do what is right.”

Economic analysis is a tool for Northrim to achieve its vision. Edwards says his primary goal is to research data from multiple sources and boil it down into useful information. Internally, his role

as an economist helps inform the bank’s management and board about economic issues that could positively or negatively impact the business. Externally, he also shares data and ideas with customers who are facing significant personal or business decisions.

Sharing the Wealth

Northrim Bank also created the Alaskanomics Blog to share its perspective of news, analysis, and commentary on Alaska’s economy. With posts from economists such as Edwards, business leaders, policymakers, and everyday Alaskans, Alaskanomics aims to engage readers in an ongoing conversation about the economy and its potential future. Although most posts are brief, they present relevant numbers in a concise manner, often supplementing analysis with tables and charts. Topics range from labor and economic forecasts to industry impact, infrastructure, and fiscal policy.

In addition to the blog, Alaskanomics offers a list of resources where readers can find more economic information from organizations and publications, as well as updates and forecasts from Northrim Bank employees. The site also has a list of organizations that regularly host economic events.

“The economy is always changing, so it is never a boring field,” says Edwards. “I look for paradigm shifts in the US and global economy that could impact Alaska.”

Since Northrim Bank is a publicly traded company on the NASDAQ, Edwards generally writes two pages quarterly on the most recent www.akbizmag.com

economic indicators in Alaska for Northrim’s earnings release. Although it’s common for national banks to have economists on staff, even those in Alaska, Edwards says that they are not overly focused on the unique economic issues Alaskans face.

Careers in the Dismal Science Economics was Edwards’ route into the banking world. He earned a degree in economics from the University of Virginia before completing his graduate studies in international management from Arizona State University’s Thunderbird School of Global Management. He was with Northrim for a dozen years before being promoted to Bank Economist in 2019.

Banking and financial services economists are just one career path in a larger professional umbrella. There are multiple subfields within the economics discipline, including econometrics, macroeconomics and microeconomics, public finance, labor economics, international economics, and industrial and organizational economics. Economists use a combination of these subfields depending on their career path.

It’s common to find economists working for corporations, governments, academia, and in banking and financial services. The most frequent positions within the banking structure are chief economists, who provide intellectual leadership and direction to the bank’s overall international development strategy; research economists, who conduct research and analysis on economic and financial issues; and financial economists, who analyze

economic and monetary trends, particularly as they relate to policy.

Edwards understands the different sub-fields. Previous to his position with Northrim Bank, he served the State of Alaska as its state economist in the Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development as the director of the Office of Economic Development, where he worked on diverse issues ranging from economic development in rural Alaska to international exports, and in the Department of Revenue, focusing on developing the natural gas pipeline, petroleum tax issues, and the state’s long-term fiscal plan.

In his current position, he conducts research and analysis—including economic trends, market conditions, and financial regulations—to forecast potential effects over time. He achieves this by tracking the same data sets over extended periods to gain insight into the underlying reasons for the changes. Over time, he can see which variables impact each other. Population data, job growth, oil prices and production, government budgets, interest and inflation rates, and housing prices are a few key indicators that can help predict larger changes.

“It is critical to read source data yourself that has not been filtered through opinion pieces,” says Edwards.

To avoid bias during analysis, Edwards says an economist should remain neutral and gather as much accurate data as possible to make an informed decision. There are no black-and-white, correct answers. Numerous risk-weighting variables

come into play, and as a result, economists adjust their opinions as new information becomes available, which he admits can be challenging to do. Eventually, the complexities of the economy will slowly come into focus, albeit briefly, before changing again. Edwards says those who can find some enjoyment in that are probably well-suited to become economists, though he suspects the ambiguity is part of the reason there are not more within his profession.

Economics for Alaskans

In addition to helping Alaskans make better financial decisions, bank economists also assist in making informed financial decisions. Fullservice financial institutions provide products and services for businesses and consumers that meet lending and deposit needs. Economists use data to provide a concentration-risk analysis, product pricing, investment strategy, portfolio diversification, budgeting, and even expansion plans.

Edwards says all these forces must be analyzed to determine which will be pulling the hardest in order to make the data relevant to individuals and businesses, as any variables can offset each other.

“We have over $2 billion in loans outstanding, in just about every sector of the economy,” says Edwards. “Therefore, any information we have on trends could improve our lending decisions.”

Edwards believes his position is one of the ways Northrim Bank differentiates itself, leveraging its detailed knowledge of Alaska's economy and its signature “superior customer-first service” philosophy.

The Critical Minerals

Collaborative How geologists are reshaping Alaska’s resource future

By Alexandra Kay

Wh at makes Alaska a treasure trove of critical minerals? According to retired state geologist Steven Masterman, it’s partly a matter of simple geography.

“We are one-sixth of the country, so even if we were just average, we would have one-sixth of the country’s resources—but we’re not average,” Masterman explains. “Because we're so large, we can supply a lot of minerals. We have a lot of geological environments in Alaska, and so we host a lot of different mineral deposits.”

JR Ancheta | UAF Geophysical Institute

Alaska already boasts the nation's largest zinc mine at Red Dog, which produces critical minerals, such as gallium, as byproducts.

The state also has significant deposits of graphite, lithium, rare earth elements—forty-nine of the fifty minerals deemed critical to national security and technological advancement, many that have yet to be fully explored.

Recognizing this potential, UAF established the Alaska Critical Minerals Collaborative (ACMC) in 2023. Based at the UAF Geophysical Institute, the ACMC facilitates research across the University of Alaska system with industry, agency, and academic partners. It brings together university faculty, staff, and labs to conduct critical mineral research that the ACMC hopes will positively impact the state’s economy and society in the near future.

The Critical Minerals Challenge

The United States currently imports many critical minerals from other countries. As international tensions rise and supply chains become increasingly vulnerable, the need for domestic sources is urgent.

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“The current federal administration is sending signals that critical minerals for the nation are a priority,” explains ACMC Director Lee Ann Munk. “If we can capitalize on that, it is probably a turning point for the United States in terms of production of its own minerals.”

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Critical minerals include elements like rare earth elements, lithium, cobalt, gallium, germanium, and dozens more that are essential components in technologies ranging from electric vehicles to advanced weapons systems. Many of these elements are currently sourced primarily from foreign countries, particularly China, creating serious vulnerabilities in domestic supply chains.

The ACMC brings together researchers and laboratories from across the University of Alaska system to tackle the complex challenges of critical mineral discovery, characterization, and extraction.

Brent Sheets, director of the UAF Institute of Northern Engineering’s Petroleum Development Laboratory and leader of its Carbon Ore, Rare Earth, and Critical Minerals (CORE-CM) program, which has been working on critical minerals assessment throughout Alaska, notes one particularly exciting discovery: “We found a very exciting area in the Yukon River region... We tested the coal. It's off the charts in both gallium and germanium. Those things should not be in the coal. It is an anomaly that is fascinating.”

Collaborative Research Infrastructure

The ACMC is organized to better serve industry needs and provide a centralized location for federal and state agencies to engage with the UA System in the critical minerals space. Its mission includes advancing interdisciplinary critical mineral and materials research, education, technology,

and

Research assistant professor Florian Hofmann of the UAF Geophysical Institute’s Geochronology Lab works on the lab’s argon mass spectrometer.

JR Ancheta | UAF Geophysical Institute

Samples from Russia’s Lake El'gygytgyn, an impact crater formed about 3 million years ago, are being re-examined at the UAF Geophysical Institute’s Geochronology Lab.

JR Ancheta | UAF Geophysical Institute

partnerships to discover and produce critical mineral resources.

“The collaborative is just starting to get its legs underneath it,” explains Nicole Misarti, director of the UAF Institute of Northern Engineering. “We’re just standing it up. It’s only been around for a year, so these are all things that we’re growing and building into.”

One of the ACMC's first major achievements has been establishing a cohesive laboratory workflow across multiple university departments. Before the ACMC was formed, researchers and lab equipment were siloed, making comprehensive mineral analysis difficult and inefficient.

“Up until now, all [sample analysis] had to go out of state,” Misarti explains. “They have to ship all of that stuff out of state, work with a commercial lab. So now we’re right here, right next door in the state.”

The ACMC leverages sophisticated instrumentation for mineral analysis across multiple facilities. The Institute of Northern Engineering laboratories house an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer that can detect extremely small amounts of elements in solution. The Advanced Instrumentation Laboratory features an electron microprobe and scanning electron microscope that can map the distribution of elements within minerals at microscopic levels. The Hyperspectral Imaging Laboratory conducts aerial surveys to identify mineral deposits from the air. And a new geochronology facility with advanced mass spectrometry capabilities helps researchers

understand when and how mineral deposits formed.

Sean Regan, chief scientist of the ACMC, notes the range of analytical capabilities: “We have several things going on right now, including a new LAICPMS [Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry], which is going to be really great for trace element

analysis of minerals and materials. The other big lab is the advanced instrumentation laboratory, which has an electron microprobe which is capable of spatially resolved analysis of major and minor elements, so detailed maps of minerals can be documented.”

The instruments and the team at the ACMC amplify what

UA System researchers could accomplish on their own.

“For Alaskans, we are building the next generation of experts in critical minerals, ensuring economic opportunities for this state’s residents for years to come,” says Masterman, who has served as president of the Association of American State Geologists and is now the ACMC’s deputy director.

Innovative Extraction Technologies

Beyond simply finding critical minerals, the ACMC is developing innovative ways to extract them responsibly, particularly in Alaska's challenging environment.

Martin Steufer stands beside a hyperspectral camera system. Steufer is the director of UAF Geophysical Institute's Hyperspectral Imaging Laboratory.

JR Ancheta | UAF Geophysical Institute

“A big focus of our CORE-CM research is how to do as much processing as you can at that remote site as cheaply as you can,” Sheets says, “so that when you ship ore off site, you've got a higher concentration of valuable products that you're after.”

Regan adds that environmentally conscious extraction methods align with the ACMC’s purpose. “Critical minerals are elements that are really needed for the green revolution and the diversification of energy, and at the forefront of the mission is, of course, an environmental conscience,” he says.

The ACMC is exploring several cutting-edge approaches:

• Biological processes using indigenous microorganisms to separate rare earth elements from ores, avoiding the need for hazardous chemicals.

• Supercritical carbon dioxide extraction techniques for processing coal ash to recover critical minerals.

• Advanced remote sensing and AI technologies to identify promising deposits without extensive onthe-ground exploration.

• Novel processing methods that work efficiently in Alaska's extreme cold conditions.

Regan notes that some researchers “have been working on ways to pull critical minerals out using algae or bacteria, which would get around a lot of the mine waste. We also have a project working with marine biologists, hydrologists, and geologists—going from source to sink—tracking solubility in ground water and testing if algae in the ocean just outside of that are actually portioning up any of the elements in order to hopefully farm algae.”

A UAF research team received a $1.9 million grant in 2023 to explore whether seaweeds near Bokan Mountain, a rare earth element prospect on Prince of Wales Island, absorb enough mineral runoff to be commercially significant.

Stewards and Partners

The ACMC emphasizes responsible development that respects Alaska’s sensitive ecosystems and the interests of local communities, particularly Alaska Native corporations that own much of the state’s land.

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“Our faculty have been working for years looking at permafrost, climate change, environmental justice issues, working within communities,” Misarti notes. “Having [Institute of Northern Engineering] be a part of this collaborative allows for all of that voice and all of that interest to come through as well.”

Lance Miller, vice president of natural resources at NANA Regional Corporation and chair of the ACMC board, underscores the importance of environmentally sound practices. “A key part of the underlying aspects of the collaborative is use-inspired R&D,” he says. “Examples might be better, more efficient ways for mining extraction so there's less waste. Or technologies with reclamation, closure, with water treatment.”

The ACMC established partnerships with Alaska Native corporations— including NANA, Bering Straits Native Corporation, Calista Corporation, and Doyon, Limited—recognizing that critical mineral development has the potential to bring economic benefits to rural communities.

Supply Chain Development

Discovering and mining critical minerals is only the beginning. The ACMC also focuses on the entire

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value chain, from exploration and extraction to processing and manufacturing finished products.

“It’s not just producing the minerals, it’s actually processing them,” Miller explains. “While that's included in the collaborative, that will be a challenge—just because it’s Alaska and there’s remoteness and power cost and labor—but we are on the Pacific, and once you get stuff on a ship, you can send it anywhere.”

The ACMC is working to ensure Alaska has the skilled workforce needed for this growing sector by integrating critical minerals education into university curricula.

“The University of Alaska really shines with strong engineering and geoscience programs directly integrated with undergraduate and graduate curriculum,” Regan says. “Classic economic geology curriculum has been brought back to the forefront for students.”

Future Prospects

The ACMC’s researchers are optimistic about Alaska’s future in critical minerals development. With initial funding from the US Department of Energy through the CORE-CM program, the ACMC has already made significant progress

in its first year. However, the ACMC’s future funding remains uncertain amid federal budget pauses, a challenge that researchers are navigating as they look toward ambitious long-term goals.

“We will know we’re successful if industry partners are clamoring at our door asking to partner with us,” Misarti notes, looking ahead to the ACMC’s future.

Miller envisions growth over the next five years. The collaborative has three broad goals, he says: “Really solidify the organization and partnerships, set up the structure so the organization is sustainable, and then have an innovation ecosystem and be recognized and grow as a national leader.”

If successful, the ACMC could play a crucial role in reducing domestic dependence on foreign sources for critical minerals while bringing sustainable economic development to Alaska.

As Masterman puts it, “We're not number one in a lot of things, but we're on the list. That's for sure.”

In the race for critical mineral independence, being on the list might just be enough to transform Alaska into the nation’s most strategic resource frontier.

Kudos for Care

Award-winning hospitals meet Alaskans’ health needs

By Terri Marshall

Al aska is home to several award-winning hospitals, recognized for excellent patient care. The recognition received helps the facilities attract top-tier medical professionals, creating a cycle of continual improvement to the overall quality of healthcare in Alaska. When asked how each medical center earns its accolades, the answer is often the same: the focus is not on award achievement but on providing each patient with the best possible care in a clean, compassionate environment.

Here are some Alaska hospitals that have earned notable recognition for their devotion to excellence.

Providence Alaska Medical Center

As the largest healthcare provider in Alaska, Providence Medical Group serves six communities: Anchorage, Eagle River, Kodiak Island, the MatanuskaSusitna Borough, Seward, and Valdez. Providence Alaska employs more than 4,000 full- and part-time employees statewide.

Providence’s history dates to 1856, when Mother Joseph and four Sisters of Providence established hospitals, schools, and orphanages throughout the Pacific Northwest. Over time, other Catholic sisters have transferred their ministries’ sponsorship to Providence along with secular organizations that share a commitment to serving all community members. Today, the Providence network serves Alaska, California, Montana, Oregon, and Washington.

Annual rankings from US News & World Report focus on hospitals in fifteen adult specialties and twenty procedures and conditions, as well as high quality across all care areas. A “high performing” rating indicates a hospital was significantly better than the national average across numerous categories.

Providence Alaska Medical Center earned the following rankings for 2024–2025:

• High Performing Hospital in treating Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

• High Performing Hospital in treating Heart Attack

• High Performing Hospital in treating Heart Failure

• High Performing Hospital in treating Kidney Failure

• High Performing Hospital in Maternity care

• High Performing Hospital in treating Pneumonia

• High Performing Hospital in treating Stroke

In addition to these significant high-performance rankings, Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage recently earned the Comprehensive Stroke Center certification by DNV, a global independent certification, assurance, and risk management provider operating in more than 100 countries. The accreditation reflects the highest level of stroke care a hospital can achieve.

“We are really proud of this certification because we see the highest number of stroke patients in Alaska. Our goal is to create an environment for our providers and caregivers to be very wellversed in how to care for stroke patients or patients presenting with the possibility of stroke symptoms,” explains Providence Alaska Chief Executive Ella Goss.

“This designation tells everyone in the state and the country that we have achieved the highest standards set forth by the Brain Attack Coalition in the American Stroke Association to meet the stringent standards necessary to deliver the highest quality of care to the most comprehensive stroke patients.”

One distinct advantage of obtaining this certification is Providence’s increased ability to prioritize funding to purchase more innovative technologies to deliver the necessary care for stroke patients. “This designation supports us as an organization when budgeting for our capital improvements. It allows us to prioritize where our funds are spent,” says Goss.

A prime example of the innovative technology at Providence Hospital is www.akbizmag.com

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the da Vinci 5 robotic-assisted surgical system. “This robot can go into the patient’s arteries through their groin and extract the clot from the brain,” explains Goss. “Neurosurgeons are very particular about where they want to work because they want to have the latest and greatest equipment. This type of equipment ensures that we can recruit the best and the brightest to Alaska, which is really important.”

Alaska Regional Hospital

Serving Anchorage and the surrounding communities for more than sixty years, Alaska Regional Hospital boasts more than 1,000 employees. The hospital’s physicians represent a range of specialties, including cardiology, neurological care, neonatal intensive care, oncology, orthopedic care, pediatrics,

weight loss surgery, and women’s care. The hospital also provides diagnostics and laboratory services, emergency care, imaging, and inpatient physical rehabilitation.

“Alaska Regional Hospital is a part of HCA Healthcare, and together we improve more lives in more ways,” says Kjerstin Lastufka, director of communications and community engagement.

HCA Healthcare, which serves more than 1.5 million patient interactions annually through its Mountain Division facilities in Utah, Idaho, and Alaska, has been recognized more than once on Fortune ’s 2025

“World’s Most Admired Companies” list. The organization ranked Tennessee-based HCA Healthcare first in its industry and recognized it as one of America’s Most Innovative Companies.

Widely recognized for having won multiple awards, Alaska Regional Hospital and HCA Healthcare’s Mountain Division’s most recent recognitions include:

• Top Fifteen Health Systems: According to an independent analysis by consulting firm Premier Inc., HCA Healthcare’s Mountain Division made the prestigious list in 2023, 2024, and again in 2025. The Mountain Division comprises more than 100 care sites, including 11 acute-care hospitals, 6 satellite emergency departments, and a behavioral health campus.

• Patient Safety: Gold Seal of Approval from the Joint Commission accreditation organization signifying a devotion to patient safety and quality of care, and a 2024 Patient Safety

For Alaska hospitals, striving to earn accolades for patient satisfaction, quality of care, and safety is secondary to the goal of doing the work itself.

SouthEast Alaska Regional Health Consortium

Excellence Award from evaluation company Healthgrades.

• Heart: American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation-certified Cardiac Rehab Program, emergency room staff certified in advanced cardiac life support, pediatric advanced life support, trauma care, and stroke screening (National Institute of Health).

• Neurology: Alaska’s first Comprehensive Stroke Center, certified by DNV.

• Orthopedics/Surgery: Joint Commission-certified Total Hip Replacement, Certified Total Knee Replacement, Center of Excellence in Robotic Surgery by the Surgical Review Corporation, Healthgrades’ “America's 100 Best Hospitals for Spine Surgery”

for the second straight year (2024–2025). Alaska Regional also received five-star ratings for spinal fusion surgery, total knee replacement, back surgery, and total hip replacement.

• Clinical Care: Gold Seal of Approval from the Joint Commission, accredited by the College of American Pathologists, and accredited by the American College of Radiology.

• Cancer: Commission on Canceraccredited program by the American College of Surgeons.

• Radiology: Accredited by the College of American Pathologists and the American College of Radiology.

“As a part of HCA Healthcare, our hospital is connected to something bigger, which means more

“You have to be creative and innovative and think outside the box. SEARHC has accomplished this while remaining financially stable… That keeps me motivated.”

Dr. Cate Buley

resources, more solutions, and more possibilities for everyone who walks through our doors,” says Lastufka. “Every day, we seek to raise the bar higher for our community.”

PeaceHealth Ketchikan Medical Center

The bar is as high as can be at PeaceHealth Ketchikan Medical Center. “We strive for 100 percent perfect patient care, so we’re focused on clinical excellence,” says Chief Administrative Officer Sarah Cook. “Focusing on clinical excellence includes engagement with our board, management, leaders, and staff. We all have a part in that.”

The hospital in Ketchikan is part of a network based in Vancouver, Washington. PeaceHealth is a nonprofit Catholic health system providing care to communities in Washington, Oregon, and Alaska.

Founded in 1890 by the Sisters

of St. Joseph of Peace (not to be confused with St. Joseph of Orange, a separate Catholic order that partners with the Providence network), PeaceHealth continues the legacy of the founding sisters by holding to a vision that every person receives safe, compassionate care— every time, every touch.

One focus at PeaceHealth is culture and safety. “We do systemwide safety training on this to ensure that everyone within PeaceHealth is aware of our personal contribution to this culture of safety,” says Cook.

When something doesn’t go right, the focus of culture and safety is not to blame a person but to look at the process. “We focus on evaluating the process to determine if the cause is a system issue or a human error,” explains Jen Moyes, Ketchikan Medical Center’s interim chief nursing officer. “We examine what we need to do to make sure the mistake doesn’t

happen again. A lot of training goes into this to ensure we remove biases as we continue on this journey of culture and safety.”

Another focus at PeaceHealth is clinical standardization. “We have a systematic way of approaching our work so that we’re efficient in delivering our care every single day so that our patients receive our best practices,” says Moyes.

The US Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services recently ranked PeaceHealth in the top 5 percent of hospitals nationwide in hospital cleanliness, giving it a five-star rating; it is one of only two hospitals in Alaska to earn this rating and one of only 350 nationwide.

Staffing is key to maintaining this cleanliness status. “We make sure we are fully staffed in the environmental services department,” explains Cook. “That is really important to be able to keep up that cleanliness. The second

Staff and patient interviews are part of the process for accreditation by DNV, an organization formed in 1864 originally as a Norwegian maritime insurance coalition.

SouthEast Alaska Regional Health Consortium

key part is the training that goes into that. Everyone has to do a standard training to ensure they know which chemicals they’re working with, especially when cleaning rooms where a patient has an infection. We also bring in other companies to do audits on us and advise if there is anything we could change about our practice to maintain this level of cleanliness.” The hospital also hires companies equipped to take beds and big pieces of equipment apart for deep cleaning.

“It’s tough to get this award, but we take pride in it,” says Moyes. “If we start with a clean environment, we can reduce the infection rates and provide better quality care. It also increases the satisfaction with our patients and their families when they come into our hospitals because

there’s a sense of relief that comes from a clean environment.”

SouthEast Alaska Regional Health Consortium

Established in 1975 under the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act, SouthEast Alaska Regional Health Consortium (SEARHC) is one of the largest Nativerun healthcare organizations in the country. An independent and nonprofit health consortium, SEARHC provides a comprehensive range of health-related services serving twenty-six communities across the diverse region of Southeast.

The complicated structure of providing healthcare across this archipelago inspires SEARHC's senior vice president and chief medical officer, Dr. Cate Buley, every

“If we start with a clean environment, we can reduce the infection rates and provide better quality care. It also increases the satisfaction with our patients and their families.”

Jen Moyes Interim C hief Nursing Officer PeaceHealth Ketc hikan Medical Center

Optimizing Success with ‘Made in Alaska’ Branding

Alaska Business is proudly Alaskan, with our headquarters and the majority of our team based in Alaska. We are committed to supporting local businesses and celebrating the spirit of Alaska’s economy. For Alaskabased manufacturers, the Made in Alaska program is one valuable way to brand their product as locally crafted. Displaying the Made in Alaska logo can help businesses connect with consumers eager to support products that reflect the state’s unique identity. It’s a trusted symbol of authenticity that resonates with both residents and visitors alike.

Alaskan entrepreneurs whose goods qualify for the program may want to consider the Made in Alaska program to create a strong local identity in their core business strategy. Beyond the Made in

Alaska program, here are some other ideas local businesses might want to consider as part of their marketing strategy:

• Emphasize why local matters by highlighting support for the economy, use of local resources, and community connection.

• Use compelling storytelling: Share your founder’s Alaska journey, introduce your team, and explain how Alaska inspires your offerings.

• Employ strong visual branding with high-quality images and videos showing products in authentic Alaska contexts.

Advertising in Alaska Business allows you to reach local decision-makers and purchase influencers focused on Alaska. People engage with our magazine

electronically and through our many print distribution channels, such as hotels, airlines, conventions, and newsstands, so in-state readers and those visiting Alaska will see your advertising.

Ready to amplify your Alaska brand? Ask us how a targeted print/digital campaign can effectively share your story.

Christine Merki has worked in Anchorage media for more than twenty years. Her sales and marketing skills help clients connect with their target audience and meet their annual goals. She unapologetically lures clients in with her homemade raspberry jam and enjoys pickleball, hot yoga, and Pilates.

CHRISTINE MERKI 907-257-2911 | cmerki@akbizmag.com

day. “You have to be creative and innovative and think outside the box. SEARHC has accomplished this while remaining financially stable,” says Buley. “That keeps me motivated. I come to work every day thinking about how we get to serve these communities and the role modern technology plays in that.”

Buley recently embraced modern technology during a visit to a small clinic in Tenakee Springs, where Starlink satellite internet provides access to electronic health records. Buley recounts, “A virtual scribe lets me put down my phone and talk to the patient while the program types up all my notes. The technology now available in those rural areas also enables residents to sign up for our patient portal and stay connected to their medical team. Additionally, I can look at an MRI for a patient in a rural community and get them connected to a surgeon when necessary. That’s an example of getting them the healthcare they need at the right time.”

Recently, SEARHC successfully completed the DNV accreditation survey. “We’re very excited about the DNV accreditation because it shows our patients and communities that we’re providing the highest quality of healthcare,” explains Buley. “DNV looks across the spectrum of the healthcare organization with a microscope. They look at our facilities, our nursing staff, and the medical staff we’re hiring to ensure we follow the highest safety standards to prevent harm to any patient. To pass that with high marks in our first year of using DNV is a great accomplishment.”

DNV surveys are conducted annually, further motivating SEARHC to always have the highest standards. “You don’t get ready or specifically prepare for any type of survey or accreditation; we’re just constantly in a state of preparation,” says Buley.

Community service is key to everything at SEARHC. Martin Benning, senior vice president

and chief of clinic and hospital operations, states, “One of the things we realized about four years ago was that almost half of our patients were leaving Southeast Alaska to get specialty care and other types of services. As a result, we’ve invested in that infrastructure to bring those types of physicians into Southeast Alaska and build the practices needed to take care of those patients, so people don’t have to leave. It’s been a tremendous focus of ours.”

SEARHC opened a 45,000-squarefoot medical center in Juneau a little over a year ago. “We have expanded our service in that medical center,” says Benning. “But it has also allowed us to create better access to specialty care at some of our other locations, and we’re continuing to grow that.”

Continuing to look forward, SEARHC recently introduced View 2028, a strategic vision for driving growth, innovation, and lasting impact, with three core themes:

• Caring for caregivers: Everyone who works at SEARHC is a caregiver, working together to build a strong, resilient team.

• High-quality healthcare for all: SEARHC ensures all who live in its communities have access to its high-quality care.

• One SEARHC: Delivering accessible and seamless healthcare that enhances the health and well-being of those it serves.

The goals of SEARHC and the other medical institutions noted above provide an encouraging picture of Alaska's healthcare future.

Excellence in Alaska healthcare is measured not just by the highest quality available in cities but by the accessibility of basic services in remote communities.

SouthEast Alaska Regional Health Consortium

Providence Imaging Center

Mobile Mammography

Celebrating 30 years of bringing mobile mammograms to the women of Alaska.

Thank you for supporting Providence Imaging Center Mobile Mammography for 30 years. We’re committed to providing 3D digital mammography to women in Alaska’s larger cities, and in Southcentral Alaska where mammography is not provided, including stops along the Alaska Marine Highway.

Schedule Mobile Mammography today at your business, event, or place of worship.

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 Financial assistance is available for mammograms. provimaging.com

I2025

n its tenth year, Best of Alaska Business is better than ever! Bigger, certainly: the survey in March 2025 saw the most votes cast of any year by far. Respondents chose their favorites in forty-one categories, plus nominees for Corporate Citizen, chosen by the editors. New categories include Engineering Firm, Martial Arts Studio, and Festival, each chosen to represent a cross-section of business-to-business services and customer-facing excellence. Best Boutique adds recognition for more retail shops, but the surface is barely scratched.

By presenting the winners in three concise pages, this section has room for deeper coverage of some featured businesses. Carrying this format into the next decade of Best of Alaska Business opens the possibility for additional categories in the future.

Please read on, meet the returning champions and the fresh faces, and learn from them what it takes to become the Best of Alaska Business.

General Contractor

Denali Watterson Construction

Anchorage

St. Elias Cornerstone General Contractors

Anchorage

Foraker Cruz Construction Anchorage

Law Firm

Denali Landye Bennett Blumstein Anchorage

St. Elias Crowson Law Group Anchorage

Foraker Birch Horton Bittner & Cherot Anchorage

Printing Services Provider

Denali Color Art Printing Anchorage

St. Elias Pip Marketing Signs Print Anchorage

Foraker Inkspot Wasilla

Snow Removal Company

Denali Glaciers Edge Maintenance Anchorage

St. Elias Signature Land Services Anchorage

Foraker Peak Integrated Contracting Anchorage

Staffing Agency

Denali ASRC Energy Talent Solutions Anchorage

St. Elias Opti Staffing Group Anchorage

Foraker PeopleAK Anchorage

Swag Supplier

Denali Headquarters Custom Embroidery Wasilla

St. Elias Stellar Designs Anchorage

Foraker Bore Tide One Source Anchorage

Telecommunications Provider

Denali GCI Anchorage

St. Elias AT&T Anchorage

Foraker MTA Palmer

HEALTH & ACTIVITY

Animal Hospital/Clinic

Denali VCA Animal Hospitals Anchorage

St. Elias Borealis Veterinary Clinic Wasilla

Foraker College Village Animal Clinic Anchorage Hospital

Denali Providence Alaska Medical Center

Anchorage

St. Elias Alaska Regional Hospital

Anchorage

Foraker Alaska Native Medical Center Anchorage

Hotel

Denali Hotel Captain Cook Anchorage

St. Elias Eagle Hotel Palmer

Foraker Copper Whale Inn Anchorage

Indoor Recreation/ Activity

Denali Fresh Cup Playhouse Anchorage

St. Elias Play Palace Anchorage

Foraker The Dome Anchorage

Martial Arts Studio

Denali Primal Martial Arts Wasilla

St. Elias Champ Martial Arts School Anchorage

Foraker Anchorage Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Anchorage

Pharmacy

Denali Bernie's Pharmacy Anchorage

St. Elias Fred Meyer Anchorage

Foraker Carrs Pharmacy Anchorage

Yoga Studio

Denali The Alaska Club Anchorage

St. Elias Anchorage Yoga Anchorage

Foraker All Life Is Yoga Eagle River

RETAIL

Bookstore

Denali Title Wave Books Anchorage

St. Elias Barnes & Noble Anchorage

Foraker Black Birch Books Wasilla

Boutique

Denali Bottoms Up Boutique Anchorage

St. Elias Poppy Lane Palmer

Foraker Circular Anchorage

Cannabis Retailer

Denali Catalyst Cannabis Company Anchorage

St. Elias Great Northern Cannabis Anchorage

Foraker Hollyweed 907 Anchorage

Jewelry Store

Denali 5th Avenue Jewelers Anchorage

St. Elias Michael's Jewelers Anchorage

Foraker Fred Meyer Anchorage ENTERTAINMENT

Band/Musician

Denali I Like Robots Anchorage

St. Elias Schaefer Mueller Anchorage

Foraker Glacier Blues Band Anchorage

Festival

Denali Bear Paw Festival Eagle River

St. Elias Salmonfest Alaska Ninilchik

Foraker Girdwood Forest Fair Girdwood

Influencer

Denali This Alaska Life Kodiak

St. Elias Salina Alsworth Peterson Port Alsworth

Foraker Far North Fashion Anchorage

ALL INDUSTRIES

Charitable Organization

Denali Set Free Alaska Wasilla

St. Elias Family Promise Mat-Su Wasilla

Foraker Alaska SPCA Anchorage

Customer Service

Denali First National Bank Alaska Anchorage

St. Elias Play Palace

Anchorage

Foraker Credit Union 1

Anchorage

Place to Work 1-250 Employees

Denali Altman, Rogers & Co. Anchorage

St. Elias Set Free Alaska Wasilla

Foraker Watterson Construction Anchorage

Place to Work 250+ Employees

Denali First National Bank Alaska Anchorage

St. Elias ASRC Energy Services Anchorage

Foraker Credit Union 1 Anchorage

Startup Business (2024)

Denali Play Palace Anchorage

St. Elias 907 Ammo Anchorage

Foraker Alaska Enchanted Events Anchorage

DINING & DRINKS

Bakery/Dessert Spot

Denali Fire Island Rustic Bakeshop Anchorage

St. Elias The Flying Dutchman Pastry Shop Anchorage

Foraker Snowy Berry Anchorage

Brewery

Denali 49th State Brewing Anchorage

St. Elias Odd Man Rush Brewing Anchorage

Foraker King Street Brewing Co. Anchorage

Catering Service

Denali Main Event Grill & Catering Anchorage

St. Elias Peppercini's Catering Anchorage

Foraker Wild Fork Catering Anchorage

Coffee Spot

Denali Kaladi Brothers Coffee & Black Cup Anchorage

St. Elias Fresh Cup Espresso Anchorage

Foraker Jitters Eagle River

Distillery

Denali Anchorage Distillery Anchorage

St. Elias Amalga Distillery Juneau

Foraker Alaskan Spirits Distillery Anchorage

Food Truck

Denali Mochileros Street Food Anchorage

St. Elias Yeti Dogs Anchorage

Foraker The Hungry Deckhand Anchorage

International Cuisine

Denali Ray's Place Anchorage

St. Elias Turkish Delight Anchorage

Foraker My Shawarma House Anchorage

Pizzeria

Denali Moose's Tooth Anchorage

St. Elias Sicily's Pizza Anchorage

Foraker Uncle Joe's Pizzeria Anchorage Tacos Denali Taco King Anchorage

St. Elias Serrano's Mexican Grill Anchorage

Foraker El Jefe Taco Joint Anchorage

BEST 2024 STARTUPS

907 Ammo, Play Palace, and Alaska Enchanted Events

By Jamey Bradbury

Wh at do an ammunition delivery service, an indoor playground, and a fantasy-themed event planner have in common? Two things: they started business in 2024, and all three quickly earned enough fans to be voted Best Startup. This year’s best startup businesses all found unexpected ways to tap into community am ong their clientele.

NUMBER ONE WITH A BULLET

From a single pallet of ammunition, James and Meredith Lewis built 907 Ammo, Alaska’s first online ammo delivery service.

The couple—both former military and competitive shooters—had been talking about the idea since 2012, when James found himself dashing from one local retailer to another, last minute, trying to locate the bullets he needed for his first Alaska

hunting season. He’d been used to life in the Lower 48, where he could hop online, order what he needed, and have nearly any ammunition delivered to his doorstep.

“You can’t just order from Lower 48 stores and have it delivered to Alaska,” he explains. “There’s too many regulations—and that’s created an opportunity for us to do this business.”

Once those regulations were ironed out, the Lewises envisioned a convenient and cheaper way for Alaskans to get their ammunition. By foregoing a retail space, they could pass the savings on to their customers. And Alaskans—who had by 2024 gotten used to Uber, Instacart, and quicker Amazon deliveries—would likely welcome the convenience of ammunition delivered directly to them.

To get 907 Ammo rolling, James initially ordered a single pallet of

ammunition that cost him a couple thousand dollars. The expense was a great motivator to commit to the enterprise; so was the fact that, once it arrived, the pallet took up most of the space in the couple’s garage. “Every day we looked at it, and it was an inconvenience—so we had to figure out how to get this business going,” James says.

The Lewises quickly built a website that initially offered just eight products. The very first day the site went live, they received their first order for a caliber of ammunition that happened to be packed in the middle of the pallet.

“We were sweating, trying to get in there, then get it off to delivery for the first time,” James describes. “I remember standing at the shipper’s office until seven on a Friday night, trying to get this first order out the door, because that’s your first impression.”

That first order got to its destination—and earned 907 Ammo its first loyal customer, a client who still buys from the business today.

In just a year, demand for what 907 Ammo can deliver has sparked fast growth: That early website now offers more than 500 different products. Beyond convenience and cost, the business also offers a unique variety of ammunition, bringing brands up from the Lower 48 that have never been available in Alaska before.

The Lewises also depend on partnerships with local retailers. In addition to carrying the full

product line from 49th Cartridge Company, 907 Ammo works with the Fairbanks-based vendor to develop specialized ammunition for their customers’ specialized needs.

“Alaskans love supporting small businesses, and the small business community has been really supportive to us, as well,” says Meredith.

For some customers, 907 Ammo seems almost too good to be true. “You get the odd person now and again who’s like, ‘Are you real?’” Meredith shares. “Alaskans also seem to want to meet people face to face; they want to come see the warehouse.”

“You can’t just order from Lower 48 stores and have it delivered to Alaska… There’s too many regulations— and that’s created an opportunity for us to do this business.”

James Lewis Founder and Owner

907 Ammo

907 AMMO, ST. ELIAS

Applying the innovation of grocery delivery to ammunition.

Patricia Morales | Alaska Business

Although 907 Ammo is primarily a delivery service, the Lewises do offer pickup at their no-frills warehouse, especially for rural Alaskans, who can call ahead and ask for an order to be held until they fly in. The couple is still working out the logistics of offering delivery in places off the road system, but for now, they have been managing two-day delivery anywhere from Homer to Fairbanks, as long as an order is placed by 2 p.m.

“There’s a lot of interest and a lot of demand, especially from folks in communities where they’re subsistence hunting,” James says. “It feels really good, considering the blood, sweat, and tears we’ve put into this. It’s very validating that Alaskans want and need this, and we can serve them.”

PLAY TO WIN

Rain means a boost in business for Alaa Sheikh. When unexpected rain hit Anchorage on a Monday this May, the co-owner of Play Palace rescheduled an interview she had on the calendar. “I didn’t realize we’d get rain,” she explains. “It’s always busier here when the weather is bad.”

The following day, the sun was out—but that didn’t mean Sheikh got a break. Anytime she and her business partner, Rebecca Samuel, aren’t welcoming children to the indoor playground, they’re busy giving it a deep clean. To keep Play Palace safe and sanitary for the kids who use it, Sheikh and Samuel do wipe-downs every 90 minutes, plus deep cleans each night.

And they do it all themselves. Just a little over a year in business,

the partners are focused on saving their profit and reinvesting it into purchasing new playground equipment and offering new experiences to their clientele. Right now, it’s manageable for a two-person team—although Sheikh admits it can be a lot of work, especially because she plans to go back to school this fall.

At 23, Sheikh never imagined she’d be running her own children’s entertainment business. She and Samuel had been saving money for more than two years with the idea of buying and renting out a fourplex when they pivoted on their business plan.

“It was a connection that happened when we were on vacation,” Sheikh recalls. “In Arizona, they have really cool indoor playgrounds. We put two

PLAY PALACE, DENALI Also voted Best Indoor Recreation Activity and Best Customer Service.

Patricia Morales | Alaska Business

and two together, and we’re like, okay, this is something we can do.”

Sheikh was researching play equipment and calling potential rental spaces before she’d even returned to Anchorage from vacation.

While it’s not the first indoor playground in Anchorage, Play Palace’s business model offers a unique and convenient alternative for parents looking to occupy their little ones. Its location at the Midtown Mall means families can take a break while shopping to let kids expel some energy in a safe, clean, and fun environment.

Play Palace offers a variety of toys, games, and equipment to engage children of all ages. While everything is designed with kids in mind, Sheikh points out that

Patricia Morales | Alaska Business

accompanying teens and even adults enjoy the playground too.

“What’s funny is, I often see the adults playing here. We have a giant Connect Four game and a giant Tetris, and the adults and older kids just love that,” she says.

Although Sheikh and Samuel worked hard to source the right equipment for their playground, Sheikh says Play Palace’s success isn’t really about the toys or even the space. It’s about the experience.

“It’s about how you make people feel when they come in, how you treat them, and what type of vibes you’re putting out.”

Play Palace’s “vibe” is community minded. In addition to revenuegenerating events, Sheikh and Samuel regularly do giveaways of free playtime through their

Facebook page. This summer, they plan to use a portion of their sales to provide food for the homeless population in their area.

Since opening, Play Palace has expanded to hosting birthday parties and pop-up events, with appearances by costumed characters, like Bluey and Bingo from the ABC Kids show Bluey or the pups from Paw Patrol. Sheikh and Samuel throw events just for kids, as well: dance parties, slime parties, and buildyour-own-ice-cream-sundae parties. They even had a kid-friendly New Year ’s Eve balloon drop.

“We’re just trying to create space that’s unique and different and just for kids,” Sheikh says.

It’s clearly something families are craving: Play Palace now has families who come by regularly and

hype the business through word of mouth. Best of Alaska Business voters also ranked Play Palace as one of the Best Indoor Recreation Activities—above trampoline parks, climbing gyms, and game arcades—and having the Best Customer Service on par with First National Bank Alaska and Credit Union 1. A triple winner in its first year. It’s exciting, Sheikh shares, to know customers voted for Play Palace as one of 2024’s best startup businesses because it means people believe in what she’s doing.

ONE ENCHANTED EVENING

Last year, Brianna Cotter logged into Facebook to check RSVPs for a party she was organizing. Initially meant as a book-themed celebration for some friends’ birthdays, the event

ALASKA ENCHANTED EVENTS, FORAKER

The Calanmai ball gave fantasy fans a reason to masquerade.

Patricia Morales | Alaska Business

had shifted to an excuse to dress up and have a fun time with whomever wanted to buy tickets.

Suddenly, more than 600 people were interested in attending.

“I did not expect it!” Cotter says. “I went from [having] a fun little social dinner for six or seven girls to having hundreds of people wanting to come and dress up and pay to be part of this event.”

Cotter immediately went into planning mode—and found herself unexpectedly launching Alaska Enchanted Events, an event organizing business that specializes in “magical experiences” inspired by popular fantasy books.

Her first event—the one that was supposed to be a few friends glamming up and chatting about their favorite book series—was

Patricia Morales | Alaska Business

held in October 2024 at the Hilton Anchorage, a venue Cotter had to secure when the attendee headcount climbed into the hundreds.

The Alaska Starfall Ball took its inspiration from the popular Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas and featured a cast of actors who embodied characters based on the ones Alaska’s fantasy readers had fallen in love with.

“It’s something so many of us have in common, this love for books,” Cotter explains. “[These events] are actually really popular all over, but here in Alaska, we don’t have anything like it. There’s a niche here that nobody has touched.”

Cotter’s first event also offered attendees a themed dinner, professional photography, photo booths, and—for VIP ticketholders—a swag bag full of products from Alaska vendors. Guests could get a book-themed flash tattoo, buy a custom-designed Alaska Starfall T-shirt, or shop with several local vendors who sold fantasy book-related items.

Organizing all these details was a one-woman job; Cotter doesn’t

have any employees. She also balances a day job and being a mom, so to get everything done she relies on a network of local businesses, volunteers, and the community of readers that her first event brought together.

“It feels like I struck gold here in Alaska with the people and the businesses here that want to be part of this because there’s nothing else like it,” Cotter says.

She most closely works with Sterling-based Leilani Love Creative, a more conventional event planning service whose owner, Tatyanah Shassetz, collaborates with Cotter on elaborate decorations to bring a fictional world to life. Cotter contracts with local vendors for lighting, photography, music, and entertainment, such as a quintet from the Anchorage Symphony Orchestra.

Cotter also relies heavily on volunteers—a reflection, she says, of the desire that brought people together for the Starfall event in the first place.

“I have women over here, gluing moss on a wall with me,” she

describes. “A lot of people have made friendships through this, and I think it’s because it’s hard, as you get older, to create relationships with other women. They’re looking for that.”

The success of last year’s event paved the way for this year’s Calanmai Spring Equinox Masquerade, another wellattended festival inspired by the same fantasy series. For that event in May, Cotter added a vendor market that featured thirty-two businesses and local authors.

Only one day out from holding the Calanmai Masquerade, Cotter was already considering ideas for future festivals, including a dragon-themed event inspired by Rebecca Yarros’ Empyrean series and a yule ball at Christmastime. In the meantime, interested fantasy fans can rent costumes and backdrops from Alaska Enchanted Events.

Cotter credits those same fans as the reason her one-woman startup has gotten attention this year.

“I feel like people want to be part of something,” she says. “They feel so passionate about what this is and what it stands for.”

QUICKFIRE Q&A

Your votes, our questions, their answers

By Katie Pesznecker

Ev ery year, Alaska Business readers honor a unique and broad range of best-in-class Alaska companies. This Best of Alaska Business distinction is a sought-after honor that’s evidence of top-shelf customer service and memorable and meaningful performance.

Alaska Business reached out to some of this year’s winners to learn more about their differentiation, distinctiveness, and future direction. Here’s what they had to say.

THE HUNGRY DECKHAND

A funky food truck serving ample portions of creative sandwiches.

Randy and Hol ly Bernosky, Owners

Q: What is your company best at?

A: Making sandwiches with lots of flavor.

Q: What makes your company unique?

A: I think what makes us unique is our supporters and the vibe and

experience we try to create. Our customers have made (and continue to make) our ideas come to life, and we thrive off that energy from them. We try to show our lives through our love for sandwiches.

Q: What's upcoming for your company that you're most excited about?

A: All the opportunities to share The Hungry Deckhand with everyone again this summer. We appreciate you all so much.

BERNIE’S PHARMACY

An Alaskan-owned, patientfocused independent pharmacy founded in 1980 that prides itself on investing in the community.

Terri Ha ll-Klouda, President

Q: What is your company best at?

A: Bernie's Pharmacy offers personalized patient care. We take time to build relationships with our patients. A community pharmacy

to all Alaskans. Our presence in the Anchorage area and the state provides thoughtful, ethical, and professional care.

Q: What makes your company unique?

A: We are the only independent community pharmacy in Anchorage. We are a compounding pharmacy, providing custom medications to you, your family, and pets as prescribed by your physician that are not commercially available. We support the education of future pharmacists, partnering with the UAA/Idaho State University Doctor of Pharmacy program. Pharmacy students gain experience working with our pharmacists and gain knowledge working in a community pharmacy.

Q: What's upcoming for your company that you're most excited about?

A: We are celebrating our 45th anniversary on June 1. Bernie's Pharmacy was founded in 1980 by

Bernie Klouda, a fifth-generation Alaskan. We are excited about our commitment to be your healthcare provider for years to come.

CORNERSTONE GENERAL CONTRACTORS

General Contractor working to build a better Alaska by delivering the best construction experience for all involved clients, architects, engineers, and subcontractors.

J oe Jolley, President

Q: What is your company best at?

A: Cornerstone differentiates ourselves through exceptional customer satisfaction by delivering beyond our clients’ needs and expectations in every way, every time. Our execution comes from superior operational efficiency—we eliminate anything that doesn’t produce value for our clients and stakeholders. We’ve built our reputation on developing productive relationships and a collaborative approach that enables us to deliver accuracy, predictability, and certainty throughout all phases of preconstruction and construction.

Q: What makes your company unique?

A: Our core values guide our approach to every project and relationship, creating win/win solutions that set us apart. We prioritize speed and efficiency in our business cycles, our adaptability, and our construction processes. Our business development process emphasizes strong relationships that improve customer relations. We want our employees to have fun and find their work rewarding.

Q: What's upcoming for your company that you're most excited about?

THE HUNGRY DECKHAND, FORAKER

A repeat favorite for Best Food Truck, two years running.

The Hungry Deckhand

A: We’re most excited about executing our strategic growth objectives while maintaining a commitment to financial success and exceptional stakeholder experiences. We’re actively expanding our customer base by entering new markets and offering new services, and we have a goal of complete client satisfaction.

COFFMAN ENGINEERS

An Anchorage engineering firm with diverse, in-house multidiscipline services and decades of on-theground experience in Alaska’s challenging conditions.

Ben Momb low, General Manager

Q: What is your company best at?

A: We take pride in building trusted relationships. Our team’s attention

to detail and communication with our teaming partners and clients greatly contributes to the success of our projects.

Q: What makes your company unique?

A: Coffman has a unique, intentional company culture. We value a collaborative and engaging work environment, and it shows in how we work together and with our clients to solve problems.

Q: What's upcoming for your company that you're most excited about?

A: Now that we’ve settled into our new office and celebrated our 45th anniversary in the past year, we’re excited for summer projects to take off. It’s a busy season for our corrosion control engineering team, who will be conducting extensive fieldwork across

and

products, every year since 2018.

Patricia Morales | Alaska Business

the state, as well as for several major projects ramping up.

STELLAR DESIGNS

Offering unique, quality promotional products, excellent service, and customer-focused marketing, featuring promotional items with the newest, hottest, and trendiest products.

Tim Ellis, President

Q: What is your company best at?

A: Stellar Designs is a one-stop business for marketing and branding products. We offer in-house graphic design, garment screen printing, and embroidery services, as well as representing hundreds of the top promotional products manufacturers. If you want anything with your branding on it, Stellar Designs has you covered.

Q: What makes your company unique?

A: Stellar Designs is a locally owned

family business that has been working with Alaska businesses and organizations for over forty years. We have been recognized as a Best of Alaska Business in our industry annually since 2018, and for that we are truly grateful to our loyal customers and the Alaska community we do business in. We are very proud of the fact that we employ seventeen Alaskans. Their skills and craftmanship show through on all the products that we deliver to our customers. The fact that we do our own graphics, in-house embroidery, and screen printing really sets us apart from competition. We have quicker turn-around times and more control at every step of the process.

Q: What's upcoming for your company that you're most excited about?

A: Continuing to work with our network of supplier partners that help us with product selection and

education to keep Stellar Designs and our clients on the leading edge of trends and proven winners when it comes to apparel and promotional products. We are a local Alaskan company that is very proud to deliver national-caliber quality products and service to our community.

GLACIERS EDGE MAINTENANCE

Year-round property-maintenance company specializing in snow removal and expert lawn care.

Chris Gray, Owner

Q: What is your company best at?

A: Residential snow removal is our specialty. Our tractors with snowblowers are capable of clearing snow from your average two-car wide, two-car deep driveway in minutes, without damaging your lawn or running out of snow storage. Even with the smallest zero-lot-line driveway, with just a foot of lawn

STELLAR DESIGNS, ST. ELIAS

space between you and your neighbor, we can stack that snow ‘til it’s taller than our tractors.

Q: What makes your company unique?

A: We have a limited service area in town [mainly South and Southwest Anchorage]. We don't drive to Muldoon, Government Hill, Downtown, or even Midtown. We keep our equipment and operators in a smaller service area for quicker service response times. We offer text-ahead service as well; not everyone can park inside their garages. Our software lets you know that your driver is on the way, giving you time to move any vehicles from the driveway for the best clearing possible.

Q: What's upcoming for your company that you're most excited about?

A: We are the only company in town with scraping edges on our snowblowers and were very impressed with their performance last year. Concrete, pavers, asphalt—there isn't a hard surface we can't clear down to the pavement after a snowfall. With our warming winter temps over the last few seasons, we have seen more and more hard-pack buildup on our customers’ driveways. Last winter, our tests with these new cutting edges had no buildup whatsoever. Next season we will be introducing a special blower designed specifically for gravel driveways. This will be a game changer for our Hillside customers with gravel driveways.

PEPPERCINI’S CATERING

Caterer delivering to more than 2,200 events every year and feeding more than 100,000 guests in Anchorage and across Alaska.

Jason Kimmel, Owner

Q: What is your company best at?

www.akbizmag.com

VCA Alaska Pet Care 2025 Best of Alaska Business Award Winner

We’re incredibly honored and we owe it all to you, our amazing community of pet parents and furry friends!

At VCA Alaska Pet Care, we’re proud to combine state-of-the-art veterinary medicine with warm, personalized service—right in the heart of Anchorage.

As a Fear Free Certified practice, we make your pet’s comfort and emotional well-being a top priority during every visit.

From the bottom of our hearts—thank you for your trust, your votes, and for letting us care for the pets you love most.

TURKISH DELIGHT, ST. ELIAS

Making some of the Best International Cuisine are (left to right) front house staff Ashutosh, prep chef Nesim, co-owners Zeynep and Engin, and grill chef Cüneyt.

Turkish Delight

PEPPERCINI'S

CATERING, ST. ELIAS

Having mastered Best Catering with team members like all-arounder Austin Hardt (left), co-founder Jason Kimmel (right) is venturing into wholesale foods.

Peppercini's Catering

A: Peppercini’s provides top-notch service and delicious-tasting food with good value.

Q: What makes your company unique?

A: Our team loves what we do. Almost all of the twenty-plus Peppercini’s crew have been here for years. We prioritize making people’s life easier by simplifying the entire catering process. Peppercini’s is unique in that it is a “big, small company.” With

a large, full-time team and dozens of part-timers, Peppercini’s is well equipped to handle huge, 2,000-plusperson events while still maintaining local, personalized service.

Q: What's upcoming for your company that you're most excited about?

A: 2025 is an exciting year at Peppercini’s. This is our eighteenth year in business, and we are hiring a wholesale manager for the first time.

The wholesale aspect of our business has seen the highest growth over the past couple of years, and this relatively new portion of our business has unlimited potential!

MATSON

Hawai'i-based transporter specializing in carrying a wide range of commodities needed to support economies that rely on ocean

transportation, allowing communities to continually replenish their inventories and supplies.

Dylan Faber, Government an d Community Affairs and Business Development Manager

Q: What is your company best at?

A: Matson delivers what Alaskans need when they need it, but Matson is much more than containers and cargo. It strives to improve the communities it serves through programs like Caring for Alaska, which provides small grants to community organizations to fund cleanup and rehabilitation projects, to funding large projects like the new Matson Ocean Education Center at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center expected to open this fall.

Q: What makes your company unique?

A: Matson is an industry-leading USowned and -operated transportation services company with specialized services and unique competitive advantages in the global supply chain. The company has been a lifeline to communities in the Pacific since 1882, when the first Matson sailing ship carried food and plantation supplies from San Francisco to Hilo, Hawai'i. Over the years, the company pioneered innovations that are now global industry standards, such as cargo refrigeration, containerized shipping, gantry cranes, and environmental stewardship policies such as zero solid-waste discharge

Q: What's upcoming for your company that you're most excited about?

A: The new Matson Ocean Education Center now under construction at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center. This 1,000-square-foot building— complete with a fully articulated Cook

Anchored in Alaska

MATSON, CORPORATE CITIZEN

Beyond the main job of cargo and logistics, Matson's team supports the community through events like the Polar Bear Plunge for Special Olympics Alaska.

Matson

CRUZ CONSTRUCTION, FORAKER

Outstanding remote Arctic transport is one of the services that earned Cruz Construction a spot as Best General Contractor.

Cruz Construction

Inlet beluga skeleton suspended from the ceiling—will enable AWCC to build on its existing education and monitoring work and expand its capacity to support efforts to preserve the highly endangered Cook Inlet beluga whales and other sea life.

TURKISH DELIGHT

Anchorage’s only Turkish-inspired restaurant embraces a welcoming

cultural atmosphere and fresh, made-to-order dishes.

Engin Kilic, Zeynep Kilic, and Wayne Gould, Owners

Q: What is your company best at?

A: Türkiye’s cuisine is very diverse. Hence, no restaurant can claim to represent the whole country. Our restaurant reflects our personal culinary highlights. Engin loves kebaps and meat dishes while

Zeynep prefers mezes and appetizers, and we both adore desserts. It also reflects our parental roots while sticking to a more classic preparation and technique rather than fusion or wild interpretation. We curated a wide range of dietary options on our menu, so everyone at the table can find something they love.

Q: What makes your company unique?

A: We are the only Turkish restaurant in town, and we offer many dishes that are not available anywhere else in Alaska. With the exception of naan, almost everything is made in house (including yogurt, pickled cabbage, sourdough, and gluten-free sourdough), and most of our menu is prepared daily.

Q: What's upcoming for your company that you're most excited about?

A: We are excited to offer Turkish brunch on weekends later this year. Breakfast in Türkiye tends to be epic, so look forward to an announcement soon.

CRUZ CONSTRUCTION

A prominent heavy civil/oil field service company with an exemplary reputation for workmanship and service, specializing in remote projects with logistical challenges.

Stephen Nowers, Corporate Healt h and Safety Manager

Q: What is your company best at?

A: Cruz Construction is at its best when executing remote, logistically challenging infrastructure projects. Remote oil field work—exploration, construction, and support—is what we do.

Q: What makes your company unique?

A: We take a can-do construction attitude and apply it in the wildest, most remote places in Alaska. Cruz has created a team capable of planning, supporting, and executing complex work from the North Slope to Western Alaska to the Kenai Peninsula. The knowledge and ability to succeed at these types of projects requires a deep understanding of Alaska, and we spend a lot of time finding and

developing in-state talent, both University of Alaska graduates and trade workers.

Q: What's upcoming for your company that you're most excited about?

A: There is a lot to be excited about right now! In the oil field, we’re looking forward to helping ConocoPhillips [Alaska] and Santos produce first oil from

their respective Willow and Pikka developments and working with Hilcorp as they modernize and expand their footprint on the North Slope. On the civil construction side, we’re thrilled to have the opportunity to improve Alaska’s village infrastructure in Chevak, Russian Mission, Atqasuk, and Kongiganak. And it appears that

construction of an Alaska gas line is gaining momentum; that would be a once-in-a-generation project.

BLACK BIRCH BOOKS

Owned by a female disabled veteran who hires homeless youth and the only bookbinder in Alaska, striving to create a safe space for all guests.

Taylor Jordan, Owner

Q: What is your company best at?

A: Community contributions! We love our diverse community and try to help where we are needed.

Q: What makes your company unique?

A: Most of the events at the store are free, and it never costs anything to hang out at the bookstore. We also have a full-service café, and the hot drinks are free. We exclusively hire homeless and at-risk youth from the My House homeless youth drop-in.

They are paid as part of a job-skills training program.

Q: What's upcoming for your company that you're most excited about?

A: We boast approximately twenty events per month and host events by community request. If you need it, we do it!

WATTERSON CONSTRUCTION

A general contractor combating hazardous sub-Arctic conditions and taking pride in always providing clients with a quality project delivered safely, on time, and within budget.

Ryan Watterson, Preconstruction and Development Manager

Q: What is your company best at?

A: Watterson is best at working with clients and designers during the design phase. We work with project teams to help achieve project goals within limited budgets.

Q: What makes your company unique?

A: Something that makes Watterson unique is our low employee turnover rate. Many of our employees have been with us for over a decade, with quite a few having been at the company for multiple decades.

Q: What's upcoming for your company that you're most excited about?

A: Watterson Construction and our joint venture partner Ironwood General Contractors are excited to be working with Pomeroy Lodging on their major expansion of the Alyeska Resort in Girdwood.

SIGNATURE LAND SERVICES

Offering expert concrete and asphalt paving for commercial and residential needs.

Je n Schrage, President

Q: What is your company best at?

A: Developing longstanding relationships with solid communication, establishing and continuing to build trust with our clients, and delivering a quality service consistently.

Q: What makes your company unique?

A: We’re solution providers. Asphalt and concrete have their challenges in an Arctic climate, and snow in Southcentral also is far more challenging than in the Lower 48. The ground is frozen, and snow is in the forecast daily. Our clients rely on us to make sure their customers and tenants have safe, well-serviced areas, no matter what conditions come about.

Q: What's upcoming for your company that you're most excited about?

A: Getting back to work. Our staff was incredibly patient during a difficult winter!

BLACK BIRCH BOOKS, FORAKER Voters for Best Bookstore didn't forget their favorite in Wasilla.

Black Birch Books

POSING QUESTIONS

How three yoga studios became Alaska’s favorites

By Terri Marshall

Yo ga, as popular as it is, has some stereot ypes to overcome.

“In Western culture, yoga is often portrayed as a place where you put on your Lululemon outfit and then stretch and sweat for a good workout. That image often keeps people from trying yoga. But there are so many facets to the practice. The physical movement is just a small piece,” says Katey Inman, coowner and director of Anchorage Yoga. “You don’t have to be able to do splits or headstands. You don’t have to look a certain way. You just have to come and breathe!”

A welcoming attitude also pervades Studio Hot Yoga at the Jewel Lake branch of The Alaska Club. The second-story space features natural light through windows on three of the four walls of the 1,600-square-foot studio with advanced heating and humidifying systems, a sound system, and expert teachers who offer empowering yoga sessions. At its entrance, Studio Hot Yoga has a lounge with lockers for storage and a place to meet other yogis.

There are no mirrors in the studio, allowing participants to focus on how they feel instead of how they look. “For someone who isn’t as comfortable or experienced in yoga, not having mirrors is more welcoming. But it doesn’t change the focus for participants,” explains Janet Warner, executive director of fitness services at The Alaska Club. “In the studio, you’re not staring at your image in a mirror; you’re

listening to what’s being said and internalizing it more.”

Mirrors are present at All Life Is Yoga, but that's mainly because the studio is also home to Eagle River Ballet. The floor was salvaged from the Alaska Center for the Performing Arts during its 2014 renovation. Mary McCormick, owner and instructor at All Life Is Yoga, likes to point out that famous danseur Mikhail Baryshnikov trod the same boards, when he performed in Anchorage in 2000.

From the floor to the subdued lighting, McCormick’s goal is to create an environment where people of all ages feel welcome. “We are about encouraging people to let go of competition and judgment and expectations so they can fully live their best life,” she says.

SALUTATION SEQUENCE

Yoga originated about 3,000 years ago as a method of achieving spiritual awareness through bodily consciousness, put very simply. Bodily consciousness through stretching, bending, and breathing is specifically known as Hatha yoga, which arose centuries later in Hindu and Buddhist practices.

Fast forward to the late ‘90s, when yoga studios became fashionable in Alaska and caught McCormick’s interest.

“When I was a buyer at Nordstrom, a lot of my co-workers were really into yoga, and they said, ‘You need to come to yoga.’ And I said, ‘No, I don’t,’ because I was into triathlons, so I was running, biking, and working out,” shares McCormick. “I didn’t have time to slow down and just breathe and stretch.”

Her future husband started doing yoga as training for hockey.

McCormick says, “I believe in signs, and since he was doing it, I decided I should try it. So I went to The Alaska Club on a Tuesday morning at 6:30 a.m., because that’s the only time I could fit it in. By the end of the class, I was literally crying. I realized yoga was what I was missing. I needed

to stretch. I needed to just breathe. I needed someone to give me permission to just be still.”

From that moment on, McCormick started taking yoga and continuing all her other physical pursuits. “It became my sanctuary,” she recalls.

The following year, McCormick became a certified personal trainer and fitness instructor through a UAA

Thank you for your vote!

BEST ENGINEERING FIRM

program and began teaching at The Alaska Club. “I taught everything but yoga at The Alaska Club until one of the bosses asked me why I didn’t teach yoga,” says McCormick. The company paid for her first certification through YogaFit, which requires students to teach eight classes as community service after obtaining certification.

“At the time, I had two small kids at home, and I was part of the MOMS Club of Eagle River,” shares McCormick. “I began teaching the moms yoga in the garage while the kids were in the house with a babysitter. I did that once a week for two weeks, which allowed me to meet my community service requirement. But the moms wanted to continue their yoga sessions, and they offered to pay me for the classes. So my yoga career started in my garage in 2005, and I haven’t stopped since!”

Inman started her journey of teaching yoga in 2005. “It was just me then, and I taught yoga classes for community schools, in a church

basement, and in other rental locations. Then I decided to actualize that into a physical space,” she recalls. “Anchorage Yoga became a brick-andmortar business in 2010. My partner, Josh Love, helped build the facility with me, and then about six months after opening he came to work for the company as a co-owner and founder.”

The team at Anchorage Yoga believes that dedicating time on the mat awakens one's inner strength.

Guided by the vision of “fitness with soul,” Anchorage Yoga takes pride in being a supportive community and aims to inspire Alaskans to become healthier and happier through the practice of yoga.

The company’s mission is to “bring people from all backgrounds together to breathe, move, and inspire one another through both ancient and modern workout modalities.” As stated on its website, “Your heart will race, your muscles will burn, but most of all, your spirit will SOAR!”

Hot yoga, also known as Bikram yoga after the fitness guru who

invented the style in the ‘70s, became popular after the more traditional forms had gained a foothold. As the largest fitness network in the state, The Alaska Club took notice of the trend.

“Studio Hot Yoga originated from the brainstorming of our CEO, Robert Brewster, and our vice president of sales and marketing, Debbie Sedeno, to bring the hot yoga experience to The Alaska Club,” says Warner. “It is a unique stand-alone boutique, and you do not have to be a member of The Alaska Club to participate at Studio Hot Yoga.”

MENU OF STYLES

Classes offered at Studio Hot Yoga include options for people new to yoga and for those with physical limitations. “One of the main principles of yoga is breath. Everything else is extra, and, of course, there are always modifications,” explains Warner. “We have classes for experienced yogis that may be a little more fitness

ALL LIFE IS YOGA, FORAKER All ages and abilities welcome to the studio in the Parkgate Building. All Life Is Yoga

oriented. We also have people that are accustomed to fitness classes but are new to yoga that we introduce to the benefits of yoga. Then we have people who need both. They could be new to fitness and new to yoga as well. Everyone is welcome.”

Non-members can participate in hot yoga sessions by booking a single class, a class pack, or an unlimited monthly studio-only option. Studio Hot Yoga is automatically included with membership for Alaska Club Gold and Platinum members.

The studio accommodates up to forty people per class. Hot flow is the signature class with a room temperature of 95°F. “This heat is not just about turning the thermostat up to 95 degrees,” says Warner. “This is infrared heat, and there are panels in the ceiling from which the heat radiates down. It almost feels like being in an infrared sauna.”

All Life Is Yoga provides a variety of classes to meet everyone’s yoga needs and interests. In the summer, baby goats from Tiny Homestead in Chugiak visit Eagle River to join goat yoga, where kids (the hoofed kind) frolic around and upon posing yogis. Other unique offerings include Sound Bath—an immersive, full-body listening experience to promote healing and relaxation. Gentle yoga is a calming floor-based class focused on seated stretches, restorative postures, and deep relaxation. The studio also offers hot yoga, restorative yoga, tai chi, and conventional weight training. More than thirty-five classes each week are held in person and online.

Anchorage Yoga likewise accommodates a broad clientele,

including those with physical disabilities. “We have practices for everyone in every state of life because it’s not all about the physical posturing. If you’re in a wheelchair, for example, you could absolutely practice yoga. You can practice hundreds of breath work techniques and hundreds of chanting,” explains Inman.

At its Midtown studio at 36th Avenue and Arctic Boulevard, Anchorage Yoga offers numerous class styles. “We offer so much, from a slow, deep stretching class to lying on props and just breathing, and then we have more vigorous classes. When people ask what kind of yoga we teach, I say we teach all types of yoga for all types of people,”

says Inman. “We have people of all shapes, sizes, and ages. We even have people in their 90s that are practicing with us.”

CHAKRA TO THE SYSTEM

Whether yoga leads to spiritual liberation through moksha or nirvana is up to the practitioner. What’s certain is the material benefits that come from moving and breathing.

“If you’re looking for stress relief, you’re going to find it with yoga because you are concentrating on manipulating the movement of your breath, which affects your autonomic nervous system, and that is how we regulate our stress responses in the body,” says Inman. “Yoga positively impacts neural communication and brain function by promoting neuroplasticity and

enhancing connectivity between brain regions, and that helps everyone regardless of disability.”

Yoga is also valuable for people working to overcome illnesses. “At one point, I had parasites. I lost all the muscle in my body, and I had vertigo for forty days. I had to start all over again, and that’s what led me to yoga,” shares Inman. “I strengthened my body with the practices of yoga—not a rigorous yoga, but a slow, methodical, very concentrated practice.”

Inman also notes that hydration and lubrication are the most important things to maintaining a useful body at any age. “Joint deterioration and dehydration affect our ability experience mobility, especially as we age. Yoga helps to lubricate and hydrate

our joint systems,” says Inman. “And why couldn’t you run around the planet in your 80s or 90s if you focus on mobility!”

Hot yoga has the extra stimulation of elevated skin temperature. “It improves circulation and helps with inflammation,” Warner says, adding that Studio Hot Yoga’s radiant infrared acts on the body differently than warming the air in the room. “This benefits the body significantly compared to regular thermostat heat. Also, the studio has humidifiers, which are helpful for everyone, but even more so for anyone who might experience things triggered by dryness, like allergies.”

McCormick sees the benefits of yoga as part of a life-enriching totality. “We are about creating an environment where people feel safe,”

she says, “where you can explore and be curious about how to get stronger, how to get more flexible, how to increase your balance, and maybe how to look at things from a different perspective.”

WINNING SPIRIT

Inman lights up when focusing on helping the Anchorage community through yoga. “We all have those moments in life when we feel that nobody really understands what we’re going through,” she observes. “Through yoga we’ve built a space for individuals to validate each other’s experiences, whether you’re a stay-at-home mom meeting the needs of your children, running a business, managing a medical career, or working as a public defender. I believe connection is at the core of all

ANCHO RAGE YOGA, ST. ELIAS A boutique adjoins the Midtown studio. Anchorage Yoga

healing, and yoga provides a unique opportunity to connect with others.”

Connection to community helped Anchorage Yoga, Studio Hot Yoga, and All Life is Yoga stand out as Best of Alaska Business winners in the first year for the category.

“What I hear from a lot of the folks, especially in the Jewel Lake community, is that they love having this type of business in their neighborhood,” shares Warner. Studio Hot Yoga is one side of the building; the other side is an express version of The Alaska Club. Warner adds,

“Members enjoy the convenience of doing cardio and weights on the fitness side of the building and then participating in hot yoga at the studio boutique on the other side.”

Making everyone feel welcome is always a priority at Studio Hot Yoga. Warner says, “If you look around, you’ll see someone modifying movements in the class, and you might think that’s something you need to do. Or you might see someone taking it to another level or two, but that’s OK because you’re working at the level you need to be,

finding benefits, and feeling strong. That’s where we grow!”

McCormick believes the selfimprovement that comes with regular practice of yoga frees energy for individuals to connect with family and friends. And she says it’s accessible for anyone who can breathe. “In one of our rooms, we have an area where people can come in their wheelchairs and practice breathing techniques,” she explains. “We want people to try and see what they can do, and sometimes all they can do is breathe, and that’s enough.”

THE ALASKA CLUB, DENALI

Feel the 95°F radiance in Studio Hot Yoga.

The Alaska Club

THAT ALASKA SOUND

Favorite local musicians put fans first

By Vanessa Orr

Alaskans love their music and the performers who make it—and the musicians love them right back.

Fans voted for three local groups—the Glacier Blues Band, Schaefer Mueller, and I Like Robots—as their top musical groups in this year’s Best of Alaska Business survey. One thing they all have in common? They’re all about the audience.

“All of us up there love what we’re doing, we love to entertain people, and we have a lot of fun doing it,” says DeLon Chavez, lead singer of the Glacier Blues Band. “We feed off the energy of the crowd, and they feed off of us.”

The relatively small circle of Alaskan music fans helps Chavez get to know the audience. “There are a lot of familiar faces out there when we play. Because there are a limited number of venues up here that have live music, you see the same people at different venues. You build relationships and become friends with them; it’s what makes the Alaska music scene so special,” he says.

THE GLACIER BLUES BAND

Chavez, along with drummer Ric Axtell, rhythm guitarist and background singer Kent Crandell, lead guitarist Jerry Berg, and bass player and singer Bonnie Thayer, play a variety of genres, ranging from classic rock, R&B, and country to oldies.

“If it’s good and you can dance to it, we’ll play it,” Chavez says.

Chavez, who grew up playing music, decided to start the band after his children graduated from high school. “I’ve always been involved with music; my dad played lead guitar in several country bands when I was growing up, and my siblings, uncles, aunts, and cousins are all musicians. I’ve been singing for as long as I can remember. After my kids graduated and moved away, I decided to get back into the music scene.”

Unfortunately, Chavez started the band in 2019—right before the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

“It stalled things for a little while, but in 2022, things took off for us. We’ve been booked steady every weekend since,” he says.

The band plays mostly covers and some originals written by Chavez, whose influences include Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, AC/DC, and Scorpions, among others.

“Sometimes you feel like you want to sit down and write something, and some notes pop in your head, and you build on that; it goes from there,” he says.

While the band most often plays in Anchorage and the MatanuskaSusitna Borough, they have also performed in Homer, Talkeetna, Bethel, McGrath, and elsewhere in Alaska. They are hoping to get into the studio soon to record some original music as well.

Chavez and the Glacier Blues Band plan to continue performing live music for the local crowd they love.

“We’re always looking for new venues,” says Chavez. “Our goal is to continue to have fun and to help others have a good time.”

SCHAEFER MUELLER AND THE NEON HIGHWAY

Schaefer Mueller started playing early; his grandfather, who played guitar in Richmond, Virginia in a funk/rock and soul band, bought him his first guitar.

“I faked it along with him, strumming the chords until I was actually playing,” he says with a laugh. “I’ve been playing my whole life.”

It wasn’t until Mueller was in the US Army that he began to play professionally, when his friends pushed him into doing an open mic night. “I played at Humpy’s [Great Alaskan Alehouse], and the bar asked me if I could come up with four

“In Afghanistan, there was no cell service or electricity where I was, so it gave me a lot of time to sit and write stuff. When I came back, I had a passion for writing again.”

Schaefer Muelle r, Singer/Songwriter

FUEL YOUR TEAM WITH SUBWAY

CATERING

hours of music and do a set,” says Mueller, who was stationed at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson from 2015 to 2019. “I’d never played more than fifteen minutes at a time, but I thought, ‘Let’s do this.’”

Once back from a deployment in Afghanistan, Mueller started playing jam sessions on open mic nights a couple of times a week around Anchorage. He would also travel down to Nashville, Tennessee, for writers’ rounds and began playing at veterans’ events out of state.

“Alaska is where it all started for me,” says the singer/songwriter. “People were super welcoming when I played around town, and that gave me the opportunity to make a living out of it.”

The 49th State also inspires his lyrics. “Living here helps my songwriting as well, because I can hike a mountain with my guitar

and there’s nothing but me and the music,” he adds. “All my songs are stories about my life, and ways of dealing with things. Any kind of issue or emotion I have, I write a song about it.”

Mueller credits Jimmy Buffett and singer/songwriter Corey Smith as inspirations for his music, which is a blend of funk, country, rap, hip hop, rock, and more. His time in the military also influences his writing.

“In Afghanistan, there was no cell service or electricity where I was, so it gave me a lot of time to sit and write stuff. When I came back, I had a passion for writing again,” he explains.

Through his experience, Mueller became a member of Operation Encore, a nonprofit which helps military veterans record songs and play at festivals. He continues to pay it back by attending veterans’ events

to talk about how to deal with posttraumatic stress disorder and more.

“At least once a year, I’m called to play somewhere and to talk to veterans,” he says, noting that his song “Happy,” which is about suicide and feeling lost, seems to strike a chord among veterans.

Mueller plays solo as well as with The Neon Highway, which is made up of active duty US Air Force drummer Chris Simpson, bass player Roy Webb, US Air Force spouse and fiddle player Adah Heykoop, and US Coast Guard veteran and lead guitarist Sergio Castillejo.

“We put a lot of work into our shows. We spend a week prepping the right set list, we’ve got a whole light show—it feels like a nice, big concert,” he explains. “We want to give people a reason to go out and to come back.”

Mueller believes it’s the extra effort the band puts into their

performances that landed them among Alaska’s best bands.

“I think people notice the small details and the time and effort we put into creating a good production, and it’s helping us build a following,” he adds.

Mueller is in the process of getting his PhD at UAF and plans to continue performing and living in Alaska. “My end goal is to play just my originals and make a full living out of it,” he says.

I LIKE ROBOTS

The five members of I Like Robots—singer and rhythm guitarist JJ Tranquilla, lead guitarist Lisa Ballard, drummer Eric Hoover, keyboardist Greger Wright, and bass player Bart Boggan—have been playing together for the last three years and attracting audiences every step of the way.

Although the original band was started eleven years ago, this current configuration has gained popularity through its choice of music: great pop songs of the ‘80s.

“In our sunset years, we just wanted to enjoy playing great songs, and ‘80s cover songs are tongue-in-cheek fun,” says Tranquilla who, at age 52, is the youngest member of the band. “We like being a party band. The vibe is super fun and happy; there’s nothing self-indulgent or introspective about it.”

The band plays throughout the state in bars, restaurants, at festivals, weddings, and private events.

“We’re all seasoned musicians who have been playing for twenty to thirty years, so we execute it pretty well by now,” says Tranquilla. “We dress up,

“All of us up there love what we’re doing, we love to entertain people, and we have a lot of fun doing it… We feed off the energy of the crowd, and they feed off of us.”

DeLon Chavez, Lead Singer, Glacier Blues Band

BUILDING ALASKA’S FUTURE

Owned and Operated Since 1954

Alaskan

one tough animal

have a nice backdrop, have black lights… We make it a whole show.

He adds that I Like Robots works hard to provide an excellent experience for all ages, even those for whom the ‘80s are ancient history. “It’s really fun for the whole family,” Tranquilla says. “People bring their kids out and it’s a really positive vibe.”

While the origin of the band’s name has been lost over time, the band’s talent and willingness to continue performing has not.

“We’re punching middle age in the face, and we plan to keep going as long as we can,” Tranquilla says with a laugh. “After every show, I’m downing Advil because my knees are killing me from jumping around.”

The weakness of flesh puts a time limit on how long I Like Robots can rock on. “We realize we’re in a finite situation and can’t go on forever, but we’re going to enjoy it while it lasts and is popular,” Tranquilla says. “When we start to suck, I think we have enough self-awareness to know it’s time to hang it up.”

That said, the end is not yet in sight. “Usually the mark of a band going downhill is that they start to play state fairs,” Tranquilla says. “But we were there from the beginning.”

GLACIER BLUES BAND, FORAKER

Booked every weekend playing classic rock and originals.

Glacier Blues Band

SCHAEFER MUELLER, ST. ELIAS

Schaefer Mueller's music is inspired by Jimmy Buffett and singer/songwriter Corey Smith. Schaefer Mueller

SAZÓN BRINGS FUNK SOUND TO BEST OF ALASKA BUSINESS EVENT

By Vanessa Orr

On July 17, 2025, attendees of the Best of Alaska Business Awards will have the opportunity to dance the night away during a performance by Sazón, imparting a Best of Alaska Business glow by association.

“We play a lot of funk, neo-soul, and alternative R&B,” says singer Denali Romero. “Those genres are kind of at the cross point of all of our music bases. From jazz, rock, gospel, and soul, we are able to combine all our sounds through those genres.”

Band members Romero, sax player Josh Antonio, drummer Kengo Nagaoka, bass player Garrett Monroe, and guitarist Levi Betz are from five different cultural and musical backgrounds, and their combined sound brings something fresh to the table, explains Romero.

All of the musicians started at a young age: Nagaoka and Monroe both got into playing music while attending school in Fairbanks. Romero started piano lessons at age 3 and singing lessons not long afterward. Betz is mostly self-taught, and

Antonio started playing while attending school in Anchorage. The musicians all came together for a show that Romero was performing, and something amazing occurred.

Romero recalls with a laugh, “After what was supposed to be a onetime show, people kept asking to book us and here we are!”

The band is currently working on recording its first EP, which will be released later this summer, and is performing original songs now. The band performs throughout Alaska but spends most of its time at its “summer home” at Anchorage Brewing Company, where the Best of Alaska Business Award celebration is being held.

“We're excited to expand into playing in more towns around the state, hopefully sooner rather than later,” says Romero. “The first thing is to get the EP released and have fun with our summer gigging season. After that, we're looking forward to bringing back our show, Sazón & Friends, in the fall and start working on our next project.”

T2025 BEST CORPORATE CITIZENS

Wells Fargo, Matson, and Alaska Airlines in the community

By Tasha Anderson

he Best Corporate Citizen category is unique in the Best of Alaska Business awards. While our readers provide all of the nominations, the final unranked winners of this category are selected by the Alaska Business editorial team. We consider the number of votes provided by our readers, as well as our knowledge of how these companies choose to support communities across Alaska through volunteer efforts, charitable programs, in-kind donations, and direct funds. This year we’re excited to share a little more about the efforts of Alaska Airlines, Matson, and Wells Fargo to enrich the everyday lives of their Alaskan neighbors.

MATSON

In total, ocean transportation and logistics company Matson contributed $1.4 million in cash and in-kind services in Alaska in 2024, spread among 110 community organizations and nonprofit programs. Of that, 43 percent was cash, and the remaining 57 percent was donated services or equipment. Approximately $1 million was directed to environmental stewardship through entities such as Alaskans for Litter Prevention and Recycling, Matson’s Caring for Alaska program, Zender Environmental Health and Research Group (in support of Backhaul Alaska), and the Prince William Sound Science Center. Other large contributions went to the Alaska SeaLife Center, Food Bank of Alaska, education programs, Covenant House Alaska, and Special Olympics Alaska.

WELLS FARGO

Over the last four years, Wells Fargo’s philanthropic giving in Alaska totaled approximately $4.8 million, and Wells Fargo employees in Alaska volunteered 6,700 hours of community service. Of note in 2024, the Wells Fargo Rural Alaska Disaster Relief fund, held at the Alaska Community Foundation, awarded more than $57,000 to organizations responding to natural disasters in Southeast; the Wells Fargo Foundation issued a $200,000 grant to Housing Alaskans to alleviate Alaska’s housing shortage; and Wells Fargo issued grants to the Alaska Small Business Development Center to enhance that nonprofit’s programs and services, to Alaska Resource Education for energy education outreach, to the Alaska Federation of Natives convention, and to the American Red Cross of Alaska’s Sound the Alarm campaign.

OUR READERS ALSO NOMINATED:

Aim High

Alaska Electric Light and Power

Alaska Heart and Vascular Institute

Aleut

Anchorage Senior Activity Center

Arctic Slope Regional Corporation

ASRC Energy Services

Big O's Automotive

Cook Inlet Region, Inc.

Coffman Engineers

ConocoPhillips Alaska

Costco Wholesale

Credit Union 1

Doyon, Limited

ALASKA AIRLINES

In 2024 alone, Alaska Airlines distributed $5 million in Alaska in both cash and in-kind donations in support of nonprofits, sponsorships, business partnerships, and community-focused events or items. The Alaska Airlines Foundation focuses on supporting youth, in particular those in underserved areas in Alaska and Hawai'i. The goal of grants issued by the Alaska Airlines Foundation is to empower and engage young people in their pursuit of careers through career exploration, mentorships, critical thinking, soft skills, leadership development, job training, or advanced degree or technical certification preparation. In addition to supporting youth, Alaska Airlines prioritizes donations to nonprofits working on care and belonging, environmental sustainability, and com munity resiliency.

Filipino Community

Fire Island Rustic Bakeshop

First National Bank Alaska

GCI

Global Credit Union

Hilcorp

Hope Community Resources

Hotel Captain Cook

MTA

Northern Hospitality Group

Northrim Bank

Nuvision Credit Union

Odd Man Rush Brewing

PeopleAK

Progressive Physical Therapy

Providence

Rage City Vintage

Rasmuson Foundation

Santos

Shadow Mountain Locksmith

Skinny Raven Sports

STAR Alaska

The Hungry Robot

This Alaska Life

Walmart

Watterson Construction

ABlasting Impact

Effective email for public outreach

By Christi Foist

b usiness proprietor or employee needs to communicate information to the company’s clients and luckily has an email list to facilitate that communication. But shortly after sending the blast, it becomes clear many of the emails are bouncing back. It turns out the recipient’s email client blacklisted the sender, tagging the email outreach as spam. One workaround is to email customers one at a time; another is to hope customers check the business’ website or social media pages for updates. Both are less effective and stall the outreach campaign.

Blacklists are one of the worst-case communication scenarios a business can face. Even as digital communication evolves, email remains a key tool for organizations of all types and sizes. Successful email outreach must break through crowded inboxes and the regulatory framework laid out by the Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act of 2003 (CAN-SPAM Act).

Email best practices can improve how many people open a message (a metric called “open rates”) and click on links, make a purchase, and so on (responses usually termed “engagement”).

Writing a successful email starts with clearly defining goals. “You really have to understand who

you’re talking to and what you’re trying to say,” says Kayc Ullrich, vice president of client and media services for Anchorage advertising agency Yuit Communications. “What are you trying to communicate and who is your audience?”

Four Factors of Context

Understanding the audience goes beyond names on a mailing list. It centers readers in their communications context. Four factors shape a reader’s context: federal law, inbox volume, mobile use, and email client intervention.

To begin with, the CAN-SPAM Act limits communications with email recipients. According to the Federal Trade Commission’s CANSPAM Act: A Compliance Guide for Businesses , the CAN-SPAM Act “covers all commercial messages… including email that promotes content on commercial websites.”

Key provisions of the act include: 1) having a physical address in each message and 2) providing a way to unsubscribe from future messages. Emails must also use honest sender information and subject lines.

“This act applies to any business or organization. They could be for profit or nonprofit, but basically anyone that’s sending out promotional emails,” says Colleen Chaloupka, account coordinator for Anchorage marketing company

ARM Creative. The only exception would be transactional emails, like a shipping update or receipt.

Compliance goes beyond just following the law’s letter. “The ‘why’ is super important,” Chaloupka says. In addition to providing an opt-out link, businesses should make finding and updating such requests as simple as possible. Failure to comply could lead to penalties.

The second facet of a reader’s email context is that recipients get more email than ever. According to research by the Radicati Group published in its email statistics reports, total worldwide emails per day increased 29 percent from 2018 to 2024. That means every message faces more competition for readers’ attention.

“Everyone’s inbox is flooded,” says Kelsey Baker, vice president at Anchorage public relations firm Thompson & Co.

Third, readers increasingly check emails by phone. ZeroBounce’s Into the Inbox: Email Statistics Report 2025 reports that, of 985 respondents, 64 percent checked email on a mobile device. The size of screen shapes the content of the message. “If your emails aren’t easy to read and scroll through on a phone, you’re going to lose people fast,” says Chaloupka.

And the last bit of context is the sometimes invisible interface supplied by the email client, which increasingly limits what gets through. As email

volume has grown, clients like Gmail and Yahoo have taken an increasingly assertive role in shaping inboxes. Multiple companies filter messages that look more like marketing into a “Promotions tab.” They may or may not highlight when new messages arrive there, and if they don’t, the message is out of sight, out of mind.

Baker notes that Microsoft Outlook limits images by default. To see them, a user has to click the download button, which has implications for how senders design their messages. Other clients may cut off very long messages unless users click to view the whole message in a new window.

How to Write the Email

Having carefully considered the audience and an email’s goals, the next step is to develop the email itself. Marketing professionals have devised some best practices for the subject line, sender details, body content, and integrating email with other communications.

In all elements of an email, Chaloupka says its best to avoid “spammy” words or phrases. “You want to write like you’re human,” Chaloupka says. Words and phrases to avoid might include “free,” “buy now,” “cash bonus,” or “risk free.” Many email companies provide lists of phrases to avoid as part of their marketing/educational materials.

“If your emails aren’t easy to read and scroll through on a phone, you’re going to lose people fast.”

Colleen Chaloupka, Account

“Test your email with your phone in dark mode and with different font size settings and see how that looks… Use those tools to help you make emails that are going to work for a wide variety of audiences.”

Krysten Demientieff, Partner and CEO, Brilli ant Media Strategies

Starting at the top, give special attention to the subject lines and preview text. “Start with a subject line that makes people want to open the email,” says Chaloupka. Baker agrees: “Subject lines are the first thing that your audience is going to see.”

An effective subject line should concisely say what’s at stake. Pay particular attention to the first few words and characters. Depending on the email client, people may see just part of the subject line, especially on mobile, so the first forty characters of a subject line deserve special focus.

Baker says the preview text that appears below a subject has equal importance. Together, the two provide the main information readers weigh when deciding to open or skip an email.

“If you can’t tell what an email is about in three seconds, you’ve probably lost the reader,” Ullrich says. Strong subject lines and preview text use shorter, simpler words (think “use,” not “utilize”). Capitalization matters, too. Sentence case is preferable for sentencelength statements, but title case is fine for short phrases.

Subject lines shouldn’t include the organization’s name or the current date or month; that

information is contained elsewhere in the message. If an email is “not adding value, it’s going to be left unread,” Ullrich says. Skip repeated or nearly identical subject lines, too: this makes it hard to tell messages apart.

When in doubt, try an A/B test to compare versions. Some email clients will do this automatically, but senders can also divide the email list manually, sending one version to group A and the other to group B. Open rates and other metrics will reveal which version did better with readers.

A step down from the subject line, ensure sender details emphasize branding and transparency. For both strong branding and CAN-SPAM Act compliance, the sender field should contain the organization’s name. What if a program like MailChimp wants a sender first and last name?

Krysten

Demientieff, partner and CEO of Anchorage ad agency Brilliant Media Strategies, usually splits the organization name in two parts.

Send test emails to multiple devices and clients (e.g., Yahoo, Google, and Outlook) to fine-tune how the sender’s name and image display. In most cases, organizations should use their logo as the sender image.

Before trying the recent trend of including or solely using a person’s name as the sender, consider what’s at stake. Using a person’s name could misrepresent the real sender— usually an organization—and thus violate the CAN-SPAM Act.

Also, the people on recipient lists are more likely to know the organization’s name than any person’s. Using an unfamiliar name runs the risk that more people will flag a message as spam, which could lead to blacklisting. Over-relying on human names in the sender field also becomes a problem when personnel change. It’s far better to build brand recognition.

Erik Cufino, who sends about 100 emails a month for the American Academy of Ophthalmology, suggests other ways to personalize an email within the message. The subject line and preview text could be a great place for this, if the person has enough standing. For example: Subject: “How do we succeed amid tariffs?”

Preview: “Our CEO shares our efforts to support you.”

Baker adds that if someone wanted to use a person’s name as the sender, she would test results more than once. “My sense, personally, is that

that might work the first time” but probably not after, she says.

Moving into the body, make sure to keep any “promises” made in the subject line. Clean, clear text should anchor the body of the message.

“You want your emails to be very scannable,” says Cufino, who’s sent emails to the academy’s 30,000 members for nearly two decades. Not everyone gets to the end of a long email. Demientieff advises careful consideration about where the most important story appears, for example.

Subheadings and bulleted lists can guide readers through the main points of an email and help them more quickly grasp the high points. They may also inform the AI summaries that more and more email clients generate as part of email display.

Pictures, however, add scroll time and might be turned off in clients like Outlook. When using images, Baker suggests adding alternative text (or “alt tags”) for each picture. This keeps emails accessible for those who may not download pictures.

In most cases, shorter emails do better. “If there’s a whole bunch of information you want or need to give them,” use a link and send readers to your website, Cufino says. At the same time, tell readers enough in the body that they understand the call to read more. Too little text could also tr igger a spam filter.

Baker says it’s best to lay out text in the email platform rather than draft a separate document that’s exported as email. File attachments merit even more caution. “Attaching PDFs to an email is usually not

recommended,” Chaloupka says. This can affect deliverability or even trigger spam filters. Many email clients don’t even allow attachments. PDFs can also display poorly on mobile devices, especially those with multi-column layouts.

To share a file, consider linking to a cloud-based version. This gives readers more flexibility and lets

senders update the online version without changing the link to it.

Lastly, the body content should always include details required for CAN-SPAM compliance. This includes a real physical address and way to opt out of emails. Making this text too small to read contradicts the law’s intention: that recipients can easily unsubscribe.

Testing, Sending, and Analyzing

Writing the email isn’t the last step; test blasts thoroughly to doublecheck details, links, and how the email displays. Aim for multiple testers in multiple settings. At a minimum, test all hyperlinks. Even a small organization should try to have at least one reader besides the author.

“It’s important to test everything, especially formatting, because what looks great on the desktop might break on mobile,” Chaloupka says. Make sure to view the blast on both desktop and mobile, and ideally on both PC and Mac and Android and iPhone. Baker says it’s also wise to set up a few test accounts like Gmail, Yahoo, and so on.

“Test your email with your phone in dark mode and with different font size settings and see how that looks,” Demientieff says. “Use those tools to help you make emails that are going to work for a wide variety of audiences.”

Once tested, the email is ready to send. Who’s on the recipient list can make the difference between successful outreach and ending up on a blacklist. “If you don’t have an established business relationship that’s under three years old, you should drop that email address,” Cufino says. “That helps keep your email senders’ reputation score high.”

Always review past emails sent to the same list to check for bad addresses. Remove anyone who unsubscribed or to whom an email bounced. Email clients will always report when they can’t deliver a message or don’t recognize an address.

“If you can’t tell what an email is about in three seconds, you’ve probably lost the reader.”

Kayc Ullrich Vice President of Clien t and Media Services Yuit Communications

Baker points out that a large list could be segmented. “You might have content that makes sense for multiple audiences, but it should be framed a slightly different way, depending on if you’re sending it to consumers or to a more business audience or to journalists, for example,” she says.

The more personalized the message, the more relevant the email, so a smaller batch of recipients improves the effectiveness of the email.

Once an email goes out, check analytics. For blasts themselves,

wait a few days before pulling final reports on things like open and click-through rates. If the message directs people to certain content or products, though, results could appear sooner in website analytics rather than email reports.

Pay careful attention to bounce rates. High bounce notifications from a certain domain indicate “there’s a really good chance you’ve been blacklisted,” Cufino says. He checks these once a week. He also periodically checks email server IP address against certain lists of bad senders. Spamhaus Project maintains one of these. Senders can check their ISP at check.spamhaus.org.

How can a business fix a blacklist? “First you’ve got to find out why you’re blacklisted,” Cufino says. “Basically, you’ve got to stop doing whatever you were doing to get blacklisted.” A remedy might entail contacting a particular domain directly to show proof of validity.

Open rates provide another crucial insight on blast success. If only 10 percent of recipients open a message, Ullrich says, “Can you really say you effectively communicated?” Sending something doesn’t guarantee people will read it. True communication goes beyond mere transmission.

Baker says analytics can also inform other communications. If a social media post really strikes a chord, for example, it might make sense to create a more persistent blog post version or share the social post in an email. “All of your content should work together,” Baker says. “Everything should feel cohesive and help brand recognition.”

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Collaboration at the Core

Strengthening Alaska’s food economy

By Leah Moss

Al aska’s food systems face some of the nation’s most unique and complex challenges, with limited infrastructure and harsh climate conditions.

Compared to the Lower 48, costs of inputs like labor and supplies are significantly higher here, making it difficult for local producers to compete with imported food. Imports face endless transportation challenges that leave many communities, especially in rural areas, vulnerable to supply chain disruptions, high prices, and limited access to fresh food.

At the same time, these challenges present powerful opportunities. Across Alaska, a growing network of farmers, entrepreneurs, tribal entities, educators, and community leaders are working to build a

stronger, more self-reliant food economy. A vital part of this work is the Alaska Food Policy Council (AFPC) and its monthly working groups.

These working groups are not just about talking. They are about doing. By collaborating across sectors and communities, these working groups help Alaskans co-create solutions that support economic development, entrepreneurship, and local leadership of food systems. Whether through new growing techniques, policy reform, or market access strategies, AFPC’s working groups fuel small business growth and build a more resilient, inclusive economy for all Alaskans.

Each AFPC working group focuses on a key part of Alaska’s food systems. They are designed to connect Alaskans with others

working in similar food systems sectors, to share solutions and challenges, and to expand opportunities and collaboration.

By connecting people with shared goals but diverse experiences, these groups are helping Alaskans start, grow, and sustain food-focused enterprises. They offer peer support, practical tools, and a collaborative environment that is deeply responsive to local needs.

Here’s how each working group is helping strengthen Alaska's food economy, one relationship and one region at a time.

Advocacy Working Group

The Advocacy Working Group plays a critical role in helping Alaskans understand how policy decisions impact our food systems, economy,

Kjekol

and the success of small food businesses. It focus on making food policy accessible, understandable, and actionable by developing well-researched policy briefs, fact sheets, and educational tools that clearly explain how legislation and regulations affect areas such as food production, distribution, licensing, labeling, and local procurement.

Members include small business owners, nonprofit leaders, farmers, tribal representatives, educators, public health professionals, and engaged citizens from across the state. What unites this group is a shared commitment to improving food access, supporting local producers, and shaping policies that build more resilient and equitable food systems.

Each year, the Advocacy Working Group identifies priority policy areas that reflect member input and statewide food system needs. It supports these priorities through collective action, resource sharing, and coordinated outreach and provides tools that help Alaskans stay informed, speak up, and participate in public processes. It also helps demystify policy and regulation by offering real-world examples of how they impact local food businesses and community food access.

Policy engagement is not limited to lawmakers and advocates. Whether you’re a farmer, food entrepreneur, chef, nonprofit leader, or community member, your voice matters. Staying engaged, showing up, and helping advance food policies supports shared goals and ensures that Alaska's food systems grow in a way that benefits everyone.

Thank

Traditional Foods Working Group

The Traditional Foods Working Group promotes Indigenous food systems’ cultural and economic importance. These systems are vital to food sovereignty and wellness and represent significant potential for small business development in rural Alaska.

This group includes tribal leaders, traditional harvesters, culture bearers, and Indigenous entrepreneurs. Together, they work to secure continued access to harvest areas, advocate for state-tribal collaboration, and build support for Indigenous-led food businesses.

By creating space for dialogue and collaboration, the group helps elevate Indigenous foodways as essential to cultural

resilience, food sovereignty, and community well-being.

Through networking around grants, programs, and policy opportunities, the group supports efforts that strengthen traditional food systems in rural and tribal communities. As interest in locally harvested and culturally grounded foods continues to grow, the group helps ensure that Indigenous knowledge holders and food producers are resourced, respected, and given a seat at the decision-making table.

Food Waste Working Group

Food waste is not only an environmental issue. It is also an economic one. Every year, valuable food is lost across Alaska due to spoilage, surplus, or lack of coordination between suppliers

and those in need. The Food Waste Working Group is helping communities and businesses turn that loss into opportunity.

By connecting food recovery organizations, anti-hunger programs, food security projects, and sustainable businesses, this group fosters a network of partners working to reduce waste and redistribute surplus food efficiently.

For small food businesses, reducing waste means lower costs and higher margins. For nonprofit partners, it means serving more people with fewer resources. For communities, it means strengthening local food security and building smarter food storage and distribution systems.

The group also supports composting and circular economy models that create local jobs and

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Alaska Food Policy Council staff on the capitol steps in Juneau to advocate for improving Alaska's food system.

Alaska Food Policy Council

By connecting people with shared goals but diverse experiences, these groups are helping Alaskans start, grow, and sustain food-focused enterprises. They offer peer support, practical tools, and a collaborative environment that is deeply responsive to local needs.

value-added products from food scraps. Through data sharing, education, and collaboration, the Food Waste Working Group is helping Alaskans design food systems that are both economically and environmentally sustainable.

Hydroponics Working Group

Hydroponics is a powerful tool for expanding food production, especially in places where

traditional agriculture is difficult. The Hydroponics Working Group brings together a growing network of farmers, educators, researchers, growers, and entrepreneurs exploring how this method can support yearround farming and rural job creation.

Participants learn from one another through monthly meetings, where guest speakers share their experiences with system design, nutrient management,

crop selection, and business planning. These discussions help demystify the technology and make hydroponic farming more accessible for small businesses, schools, and tribal programs.

In addition to supporting greater food security, hydroponic production can also increase economic opportunities. It enables new farm-based enterprises to thrive in places that lack arable land,

supports STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) education and workforce development, and creates business models that are scalable, sustainable, and tailored to Alaska’s unique climate.

This group helps connect entrepreneurs to technical assistance, funding opportunities, and peer mentors. It reduces the learning curve and helps launch viable, community-led enterprises across the state.

Food Hubs Working Group

One of the most significant barriers for small food producers is market access. The Food Hubs Working Group is working to change that by supporting the development of infrastructure that connects local growers to consumers, institutions, and retail outlets. Food hubs vary in the services they provide. In general, food hubs aggregate products from multiple producers, and some handle storage, processing, marketing, and distribution. In Alaska, food hubs can take many shapes to best adapt to communities’ unique challenges. This allows even the smallest farmers and food businesses to reach individuals and, in some cases, markets like schools, hospitals, and grocery stores.

This working group includes farmers, tribal organizations, nonprofit leaders, economic developers, and logistics experts who are building and supporting food hubs statewide. They provide peer learning opportunities, planning resources, and technical guidance. In 2024, the group released a statewide report

titled How the Alaska " Food Hub " Network Can Best Move Forward , offering recommendations and potential business models for success ful hub development.

By creating the infrastructure that small businesses need to scale up and reach more customers, the Food Hubs Working Group is laying the foundation for stronger local and regional food economies, with benefits that ripple across supply chains and communities.

A Collaborative Engine

What sets AFPC’s working groups apart is their collaborative structure and practical outcomes. These are not just networking spaces. They are incubators for real solutions. Creating collaborative spaces where Alaskans with hands-on experience can collaborate helps small food businesses:

• Connect with funding and technical assistance

• Enter new markets and build customer bases

• Learn from peers and industry leaders

• Develop sustainable business strategies

Whether it’s an entrepreneur selling traditional dried fish, a teacher growing greens with students, or a co-op launching a food hub, AFPC’s working groups provide the connections and knowledge needed to succeed.

A Shared Vision

If you’re passionate about strengthening Alaska’s food economy or curious about how to start a food business of your own, there’s

a place for you in AFPC’s working groups. Participation is open to all Alaskans, regardless of background or experience level.

To join a group, visit the working groups page on the AFPC website. There, you’ll find meeting schedules, group descriptions, and information about how to get involved.

AFPC believes that food systems change must be rooted in community leadership and local opportunity. Its working groups are helping ensure that all interested Alaskans can play a role in shaping more sustainable and pros perous food futures.

With its partners and participants, AFPC is building networks that support small businesses, advocate for supportive policies that strengthen local economies, and make healthy, culturally meaningful food more accessible.

From composting and commercial hydroponics to policy reform and food hubs, the innovations sparked in these groups are already reshaping Alaska's food landscape. And it’s just getting started.

Leah Moss studied political theory and philosophy at Hunter College in New York City and has lived and worked in Alaska for the past decade. Her path has included food service, activism, comedy writing, and small-scale farming, but it’s always led back to one thing: a deep love for food as connection, culture, and community. Formerly the Communications and Outreach Director for the Alaska Food Policy Council, she’s now focused on writing and continuing to explore the ways food connects people, policy, and place.

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By Vanessa Orr

Co mmercial real estate can be a lucrative investment, but keeping up with the operation, maintenance, leasing, and security of a facility can make an owner wonder whether the outlay is worth it. Real estate management companies can help make owning a property easier, taking care of day-today issues and helping owners meet their long-term goals.

Facets of managing commercial properties range from securing and maintaining the physical assets to providing financial services such as collecting tenant rents. Some companies also offer construction services to help with tenantrequested updates, as well as “à la carte” services to deal with specialized client requests.

“When we say we’re in real estate management, people automatically think of traditional property management from the residential side—companies that take care of apartments,” explains Shea Niebur,

broker, managing director, and majority owner of Anchorage-based PTP Management, established in 1998. “But the commercial sector operates differently.”

Tailored to Business Needs

For one thing, Niebur notes that PTP’s services cover a variety of property types. “The real estate owned by our clients varies from undeveloped land to high-rise office buildings, and our clients rely on our company to effectively manage their investment properties, whether it is vacant, owner occupied, or fully leased with multiple businesses as tenants.”

According to Niebur, potential clients who are new to commercial investments may not be aware of the full scope of responsibilities involved in real estate management. To guide clients, PTP offers a comprehensive list of services combining everything they’ve learned through years of experience.

“From there, potential clients can decide whether they want à la carte services or full service, and we customize and cater it to their needs and the needs of the property,” she says.

PTP manages existing and newconstruction facilities that include office, warehouse, retail, medical/ healthcare, commercial associations, and other specialized buildings, as well as vacant and undeveloped sites. It also provides rural management for properties located in remote Alaska.

“We have a diverse client base. Our clients include privately held companies, lending institutions, nonprofits, Native corporations, healthcare entities, single owners, and multi-member LLCs,” says Niebur. “We even have an LLC with over thirty members which was formed solely to invest in one property.”

PTP offers a basic real estate management package, drilled down into four categories: asset and lease administration, facility management,

real estate accounting, and project management. Clients may also take advantage of maintenance and construction services provided by its contracting company, as well as leasing and sales at the full-service brokerage.

Lieutenant Landlord

One of the biggest advantages to hiring a commercial real estate manager is having someone who can take care of issues when the owner can’t be there. Management companies also provide a local network that facilitates communication.

“We are your local representative; we not only have eyes on the property and 24/7 response, but we are the main point of contact for all stakeholders,” says Niebur, noting that PTP has built relationships with lenders, tenants, local contractors, vendors, and other owners.

Real estate management companies can also handle financial aspects for owners, including setting up bank trust accounts, collecting rents, facilitating service contracts with vendors, approving and paying invoices, and compiling and submitting financial reports.

Companies like PTP add value, too, by conducting property assessments and offering expert recommendations on safety, building operations, and potential capital improvements. Additionally, they can develop detailed project budgets and provide forecasts for future property performance and operational needs.

In addition to assisting clients, real estate management firms may also work with a building’s tenants. “If a www.akbizmag.com

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new tenant wants improvements to a suite, we can manage that project on their behalf and solicit bids from qualified contractors,” says Niebur. “Two years ago, we started our own branch of construction services, so we now have a crew in house that can perform the work. We can price it in house using our crew or work as a project manager using outside contractors, depending on the needs of the project.”

In-house Versus Outsourcing

While a building owner might think they’ll save money by hiring an in-house person to manage their properties, it may not pay off in the long run.

“If you’re relying on one person to handle all the facets of building management, that person has to

be an expert in every aspect,” says Niebur. “It can be overwhelming, and there is a risk of turnover, which can significantly impact property operations.”

Shawn Cange, owner and broker at Cange Group, agrees. “Our clients typically prefer to outsource for experience, efficiency, and scalability that can be hard to match in house, especially for owners that prefer to stay at arm’s length,” says Cange. “More specifically, hiring a management company provides value in four core domains: real estate market and building knowledge; vendor relationships; tenant connections; and software systems.”

Cange has been in the real estate industry since 2000 and opened Cange Group in 2008. Headquartered in Anchorage, the firm manages

properties from Palmer to Kenai and “everything in between,” he says.

“We work with a wide variety of properties. On the commercial side, we manage office buildings, commercial condo associations, retail spaces, industrial sites, and mixed-use developments,” Cange explains. “We also own and operate a residential property management company, Paragon Properties AK, which focuses on single-family homes, multiplexes, and HOAs [homeowner associations].”

For commercial properties, Cange Group offers leasing, sales (brokerage), leasing/advertising, lease negotiation, tenant onboarding (collecting security deposits, obtaining certificates of insurance, and lease set-up in its software), rent collection, tenant relations, project

STRUCTURAL CRANE REPAIR

and construction management, managing and negotiation of maintenance or service contracts, day-to-day maintenance concerns, payable processing and year-end reports, and monthly property reports (condition and financial reporting).

By working with a management company, clients gain a specialized level of expertise and experience in real estate management, in Niebur’s view. “Hiring a real estate management firm is similar to hiring a law firm or accounting firm; you are hiring the skill set of several individuals,” she says. “A real estate management company will provide the expertise in real estate so you can focus on running your core business.”

Clients also gain access to the management team’s connections with contractors and vendors.

“We vet these services thoroughly and then form relationships with chosen contractors and vendors in order to get quick responses, great service, and often better pricing from them,” says Niebur. “Because we manage a large portfolio of properties, our volume often affords us priority with vendors and service providers.”

Proactive Maintenance

According to Cange, hiring a management company provides a streamlined solution without the property owner dealing with the overhead of salaries, benefits, and training. In exchange for the management fee, clients access expert knowledge.

“We know the current market rates and have real estate data resources

available that the general public does not. This allows us to competitively market the property and get the best ROI [return on investment] possible,” he explains. “We also have experience in lease negotiations, outlining tenant and owner responsibilities to ensure the investment is maximized.”

He notes that, unlike owning a home, many parts of building maintenance are unfamiliar to those without experience in the commercial property world. A management company can recognize areas of concern before they become costly problems, providing proactive maintenance rather than reactive responses.

Although finding good, reliable vendors can be difficult, a property management company establishes relationships with top-quality contractors.

Photo by Sarah Trahan Umialik Employee

“The vendors we use have good track records with reliable outcomes. These relationships also allow us priority over other customers, as well as flexibility with payment terms, if necessary,” says Cange. “Strong relationships with local vendors can lead to better pricing and faster service. A smart property manager often pays for him or herself through cost savings alone.”

Maximize Profits

Since a property sitting vacant is the last thing any building owner wants, property managers and real estate licensees often network with one another, simplifying the placement or referral of tenants to occupy the space. It’s also advantageous within properties managed by the same business.

“If we have a tenant who is moving out and looking for space elsewhere, we can transfer them to a unit in another building that we manage,” says Cange.

He notes that “smart” management companies also take advantage of software that is engineered for managing spaces with multiple units and tenants.

“Let me just say that QuickBooks is not geared toward property management,” he says with a laugh. “With the right software, leases can be set up such that rent increases, recoveries, renewals, and amendments are all automated to ensure the lease is executed as written to maximize the profits the owner is entitled to. Income and expenses are tracked and reported with a variety of detailed financial reports available—

“Strong relationships with local vendors can lead to better pricing and faster service. A smart property manager often pays for him or herself through cost savings alone.”

Shawn Cange Owner and Broker, Cange Group

tailored to customer needs—and reports can be sent out to owners on a monthly basis.”

Do Homework When Hiring

When it comes to hiring a property management company, a building owner should keep certain things in mind, according to the professionals.

“They should look at qualifications, the range of services offered (such as accounting, maintenance), fee structure, and overall industry knowledge,” says Cange. “It’s also important to find a manager who will treat your property like their own: with care, urgency, and attention to detail.”

Niebur says it’s important for building owners to ask real estate management companies about their past and current portfolios, meet with the team members, and see if the relationship fits the owners’ needs. “Understanding their background and level of involvement can give you confidence in the firm’s ability to manage your property effectively,” she notes.

It’s also important to ensure that property managers understand less-

traditional issues that can affect an owner’s investment—which, in Alaska, might be a little different than in other locations.

“If anything, it’s the weather. The weather conditions here demand extra planning and responsiveness, especially when it comes to maintenance and snow management,” says Cange.

“Snowfall amounts can significantly impact budgets and, recently, structural integrity of buildings,” Niebur adds. “Our team also has to consider the potential impact of natural disasters—like earthquakes or volcanic activity—and ensure we have comprehensive emergencypreparedness plans in place to communicate with owners and tenants, and the means to quickly restore building operations.”

PTP also specializes in rural property management, which is fairly unique in Alaska. The company manages properties off the road system, which means dealing with limited services and logistics issues.

“Running a commercial property management company is as unique as each property we manage,” says Niebur. “Each property presents its own set of challenges that requires our team to problem-solve; our ability to adapt and grow has been key to delivering solutions to our clients.”

A commercial investment property operates like a business, with a focus on return on investment for the owners. Thus, Niebur says, “Ultimately, the property needs to perform and generate value. Having a reliable, professional real estate management company as part of the investment is invaluable.”

A Working Field

Cook Inlet producers hope busy season will boost region’s natural gas options

By Tasha Anderson

Hi lcorp gave notice to several Southcentral Alaska utilities in 2022 that it would be unable to renew all of its then-current contracts to supply natural gas—the region’s primary source of energy—alarming residents and businesses alike. At the time of the announcement, Hilcorp stated that an ongoing drilling program could resolve the shortage, since additional natural gas exists in Cook Inlet but is not being produced. While local utilities are considering options to secure an adequate supply of natural gas—including transporting it from the North Slope or importing it from other countries— to meet their obligations to their customers and members, ongoing exploration activity in Cook Inlet may help ensure Alaskans have the heat and power they need.

$40 Million Drilling Program

In April, Furie Operating Alaska, the state’s only Alaskan-owned

natural gas producer, announced it is drilling new wells in Cook Inlet as part of a $40 million in-field gas development program “that will demonstrate that Alaskans can drill and produce more gas out of Cook Inlet,” said John Hendrix, president and CEO of HEX, Furie’s parent company. Furie had already moved the Spartan 151 jack-up rig to the Julius R platform in the Kitchen Lights Unit and had identified twentyseven targets within a 3-mile radius of the Julius R platform. The Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority is supporting Furie on the project in the form of a $50 million multi-year revolving line of credit to “help accelerate drilling operations to increase Cook Inlet gas production and ensure a more secure and stable energy future for Alaskans,” the organization stated in May. The state-backed investment authority stated that the drilling program is expected to create up to 100 jobs during development and add 5 new permanent positions.

In Furie’s 2025 Plan of Development (POD) for the Kitchen Lights Unit submitted to the Alaska Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Division of Oil & Gas in late 2024, Phase I of the full field development plan will extend into 2026 and includes drilling up to two new penetrations (“contingent upon various factors”); obtaining approval from the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation for increased produced water discharge; installing three 30-inch and two 20-inch conductors; increasing the total number of surface slots on the Julius R platform from six to eight; modifying the existing manifold or installing a new manifold to accommodate more wells than Julius R was originally designed to operate; and continuing to maximize recovery and optimize production in the existing Kitchen Lights Unit wells.

According to Hendrix, the two new penetrations are grassroots wells, which means the wells are not exiting from an existing well-base

but are being drilled “from scratch.”

The hope, he said, is to “bring us [HEX/Furie] up over 10 percent of Alaska’s gas supply.”

Modified Royalty

In addition to new drilling, Furie is also looking to extend the life of its currently producing Kitchen Lights Unit wells by improving the economics of operating them. As part of that effort, the company successfully petitioned the state to modify the royalty applied to seven leases in the Kitchen Lights Unit. According to DNR, Furie asserted that “royalty modification was warranted to prolong the economic life of a gas field or pool as per-barrel equivalent costs were projected to increase sufficiently due to declining production to make future production no longer economically feasible,” and the company provided technical and financial documentation to that effect.

The state was persuaded, in part. While Furie sought the modification for all thirty leases in the unit, DNR’s final findings and determination report found that granting royalty modification—reducing state royalties to 3 percent until the unit’s gross revenues total $712 million (with a start date of September 2024)—for “select” Kitchen Lights Unit leases was in the best interest of the state for two reasons: reducing the royalty would extend the life of the unit, resulting in the state gaining approximately $36.4 million in direct revenues over time, and there would be a “significant indirect benefit” of continued Cook Inlet gas

Hilcorp Acquires North Fork Unit

As the dominant natural gas producer in the region, Hilcorp is also pursuing several opportunities to boost production and storage in Cook Inlet. In February it

“Alaskans can drill and produce more gas out of Cook Inlet.”

John Hendrix, Pr esident and CEO, HEX

acquired 100 percent working interest of the North Fork Unit from Vision Resources, a subsidiary of Gardes Holdings; Hilcorp took over operations in May.

Gardes Holdings stated that it was struggling to raise money to drill new wells. In 2024, this came to a head when DNR approved the North Fork Unit POD for 2024 with modifications, the most significant of which was that Vision Resources needed to drill a new well by the end of 2025 and maintain operations to bring that well into production. Hilcorp Corporate Manager of Alaska Government and Public Affairs Matthew Shuckerow told the Northern Journal in May that Hilcorp plans to drill new wells as soon as this winter and that the company is “excited about the opportunity to further develop the North Fork Unit—a field that is largely undeveloped but shows potential for new production.”

Cook Inlet Unit Work Planned

In Cook Inlet, Hilcorp also operates the Lewis River, Ivan River, Pretty Creek, Beluga River, North Cook Inlet, North Trading Bay, Trading Bay, Granite Point, Kenai/ Cannery Loop, Ninilchik, Deep Creek, and Seaview units.

It has filed PODs for several of its units that include drilling in the 2025 POD time period, which runs from approximately mid-2025 to mid-2026, though there is some variation from unit to unit.

For the Pretty Creek Unit, Hilcorp is planning to drill two exploration/ delineation wells from its new

“[Hilcorp is] excited about the opportunity to further develop the North Fork Unit—a field that is largely undeveloped but shows potential for new production.”

Matthew Shuckerow Corporate Manager of Alaska Governmen t and Public Affairs Hilcorp

Diamond Pad, testing for sand presence and hydrocarbon charge, and one development well targeting Sterling and Beluga sands from the Pretty Creek Pad.

In its North Cook Inlet Unit, Hilcorp plans to drill three sidetrack wells and to perform a slot expansion to allow for four additional grassroots wells.

At the Granite Point Unit, Hilcorp is planning to drill one grassroots well targeting a potential gas accumulation within the Tyonek Formation from the Bruce platform.

At its Ninilchik Unit, it is planning to drill two wells, and possibly up to four, targeting the Tyonek and Beluga gas formations.

Other significant planned Cook Inlet activities for Hilcorp include the Steelhead platform oil simplification project in the

Trading Bay Unit and evaluating production facility and pipeline capacity restraints to optimize the deliverability of gas between existing platforms and the Granite Point Tank Farm. Also, in January, Hilcorp subsidiary Hilcorp Alaska Gas Storage applied for a certificate of public convenience and necessity from the Regulatory Commission of Alaska to own and operate a natural gas storage facility at the Kenai Gas Field.

Kenai Gas Field Storage Facility

In its application, Hilcorp Alaska Gas Storage says the facility would help “meet current and future needs of Alaska natural gas customers and enhance the deliverability and geographic diversity of natural gas storage during cold winter weather and other times when natural gas demand in Southcentral Alaska is especially high.” The facility would operate similarly to Cook Inlet Natural Gas Storage Alaska, which stores natural gas in a depleted gas field. The Kenai Gas Field facility began operations in 1961 producing natural gas, and it transitioned into producing and storing gas in 2006; Hilcorp acquired the facilities from Marathon in 2012. No additional infrastructure is necessary for Hilcorp to operate the facility to accommodate storing gas from third parties, and the company believes it can increase the facility’s storage capacity from 38 billion cubic feet to 70 billion cubic feet and its deliverability from 130 million cubic feet per day to 225 million cubic feet per day.

Riverboat Discovery Tour

Showcasing

authentic

Alaska, generation after generation

By Amy Newman

Time has a way of marching forward. But every summer, three generations of the Binkley family turn back the clock—for a few hours, anyway. For seventy-five years, their Riverboat Discovery tour has steered guests down Fairbanks’ Chena and Tanana Rivers for a glimpse of the Interior ’s past and present.

tourism industry, all while remaining true to their roots.

“They’re not going to rest on their laurels at all,” says Jay Lewis, “The Voice of Discovery,” who narrated the tour for thirty years. “It’s the only way you survive seventy-five years.”

From Chilkoot Pass to Chena River

Through the years, the Binkleys have adapted to grow with the

“The goal of the tour [is] to introduce guests to the people of the Interior and to create a conversation so that the guests can understand what draws people to this unique part of the state and why we continue to live here and call this place home,” says Wade Binkley, president of Riverboat Discovery and a fourthgeneration Alaskan who, along with his siblings and cousins, runs the Binkley family business.

Riverboat Discovery’s first cruise was in 1950 when Captain Jim Binkley Sr., known as Captain Jim or “The Captain,” and his wife, Mary, purchased a twenty-five-passenger boat named Godspeed from an Episcopalian bishop. But the tour’s origins, and the family’s steamboat legacy, stretch back to 1898 when Jim’s father, Charles Binkley, left

Charles Binkley was 18 years old when he came to Alaska in 1898 in search of gold.

Riverboat Discovery

Fort Wayne, Indiana, and headed west in search of gold.

The 18-year-old caught a steamship to Skagway and joined the hordes of would-be prospectors on the trek over the Chilkoot Pass. But when Charles reached Bennett Lake, just across the border in British Columbia, he saw that many of his fellow travelers lacked the understanding of the water he had gained from working around boats and shipyards on the Ohio River.

“People were losing their lives trying to build these homemade rafts and traveling down the rivers with no experience,” Wade says. “Rather than join in the mining, [Charles] started building boats and transporting people to and from the gold field.

Really quickly, he found a niche in the transportation industry.”

Charles partnered with Sydney Barrington, and the duo made a name for themselves hauling freight along tributaries of the upper Yukon River and eventually the Susitna and Stikine Rivers. When Charles died of pneumonia, 5-year-old Jim and his mother left Wrangell for California.

But stories of Charles’ legendary status as a boat captain, builder, and engineer lured Jim back.

“At the time, the Yukon River was kind of the last bastion of this steamboat era, so he decided to come up here and relive the adventures his father had had,” Wade says.

Jim worked as a deckhand in Wrangell before making his way to

Riverboat Discovery

DOWNTOWN ANCHORAGE

The only Alaskan place to stay for charm, culture and cuisine.

Fairbanks. A summer job on the river turned into jobs aboard steamboats and sternwheelers. Jim worked his way up to captain and hauled freight from Nenana to Galena during World War II, Wade says. He met Mary at UAF, and the couple married in 1947. In 1950 Chuck West, “the godfather of Alaska tourism,” asked if Jim could

give his guests a tour of the river.

Jim and Mary agreed.

“They took a few trips, made coffee and doughnuts for every passenger, and entertained the guests,” Wade says of those early cruises aboard Godspeed . “The trip was really a recreation of [Jim’s] time on the Yukon River and what his experiences were

as he traveled these rivers and met the people along the riverway.”

After five years, Jim and Mary decided to turn their hobby into a fulltime venture. It’s now a family legacy.

A Floating Stage

Jim “developed this love for the Interior of Alaska and… the people

Since the Klondike Gold Rush, the Binkley family has kept the steamship era alive on Yukon River tributaries.

Riverboat Discovery

of the Yukon River, the Athabascan people” during his early years on the river, Wade says. That love has always been at the heart of the Riverboat Discovery tour.

“We haven’t really tweaked the main formula,” says Ryan Binkley, Wade’s brother and president of Godspeed, Inc., the holding company for the Binkleys’ tourism interests. “The main idea is still that we’re showcasing life in Alaska for today and yesterday.”

Jim and Mary recognized that Alaska was a once-in-a-lifetime trip for many of their guests and that, in addition to experiencing Alaska, visitors wanted to have a good time. The couple aimed to give it to them.

“I’ll never forget one time Captain Jim said, ‘Look, we’re not in the boat business, we’re in show business,’” Lewis recalls. “Even though they promote the boat, it’s really a floating stage.”

Jim shared personal stories of his life as a riverboat captain and of life in the Interior. Jim and Mary

worked closely with Alaska Natives to develop the cultural portion of the tour and share their stories directly with guests. In 1985, the cultural tour moved to Chena Village; during the hour-long stop, Alaska Native guides share Athabascan traditions and culture and take guests on a walking tour of the replica village.

“This idea of seventy-five years of cultural tourism, this opportunity to share Alaska Native culture and to allow young Alaska Natives to tell their story, is a really special part of our tour and what makes this experience so authentic to our guests,” Wade says.

As Alaska’s tourism industry grew, the Binkleys tweaked the cruise to enhance the experience. The biggest change was the stage itself.

A full-time business required a larger boat, so in 1955 Jim built Discovery I, followed by the 335-passenger Discovery II in 1971. That was replaced with the 900-passenger Discovery III, the only vessel Jim didn’t

build; it was launched in 1987 and is still in use today.

In 1992 Trail Breaker Kennel, owned by late four-time Iditarod champion Susan Butcher and her husband, David Monson, joined the show.

“The idea was just to come by, and Susan or I would go out and have puppies to show,” Monson says. “The problem for them was that, when they got near our house, the guests started yelling questions from the boat.”

Mary handled the back-andforth between Susan and the guests, but when her and Jim’s son Skip Binkley took control of the wheel when Jim retired, he eliminated the middleman.

“One day, they just nosed the boat in and threw Susan a microphone so the actual narrator [Lewis] could ask the questions of Susan directly,” Monson says. Later, Butcher and Monson added a sled dog demonstration and set up a kennel at Chena Village.

By sharing local culture with the input of Indigenous guides, with the input of Indigenous guides, the Riverboat Discovery tour ensures that guests never forget their experience in Alaska.

Riverboat Discovery

The Binkleys added a bush pilot demonstration and expanded the tour’s dock, Steamboat Landing— “Binkleyland is really what it is,” Lewis says with a laugh—to mimic an old Alaska trading post. Guests can also step into a room cooled to -40°F to briefly experience a Fairbanks winter. In 2010 they added a sit-down restaurant at Steamboat Landing and a grab-andgo counter onboard Discovery.

“It was little innovations like that, to try to give people as much of an Alaskan experience in three hours as we could,” Lewis says.

Growing Beyond the Riverboat

After forty-three years of riverboat cruises, the Binkleys began to slowly expand their tourism portfolio. In the early ‘90s, John Binkley, Jim’s son and Wade and Ryan’s father, built and developed the Eldorado Gold Mine to showcase Fairbanks’ gold rush history. After Ryan

assumed leadership of the family business in 2006, the Binkleys transitioned the attraction to Gold Dredge 8, which it purchased from Holland America in 2010.

In 2015 the Binkleys initiated what Ryan calls “the biggest shift” when the family began looking for expansion opportunities beyond Fairbanks. The strategy is to partner

with similar operations.

“We’re interested in partnerships with companies like us, meaning companies that have been in the visitor industry for a long time, are well-regarded, provide high-quality tourism, and are kind of iconic for their region,” Ryan says.

The expansion has taken them to the skies and the seas. A partnership

Come Together

The late Susan Butcher donned a headset mic to narrate her experiences as a four-time Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race champion. Riverboat Discovery

with Alpine Air Alaska in Girdwood was a natural fit; in addition to being boat captains, Wade, Ryan, and John are helicopter pilots as well. They became majority owners of Wings Airways & Taku Lodge in Juneau, and they have partnered with Norwegian Cruise Line and the Spokely family to build a cruise ship dock at the old Ketchikan Pulp Mill in Ward Cove and repurpose the mill.

Wade believes that the family’s longevity in Alaska and the tourism industry is a benefit in their pursuit of future partnerships.

“We’re committed to Alaska, we’re committed to this industry, and we’re committed to being here,” he says. “We’re not going anywhere.”

Big Wheel Keep on Turnin’

Lewis and Monson witnessed the generational handoff of the Binkley family business from Jim and Mary to their sons, and from their sons to Ryan and Wade’s generation, whom Ryan calls the G4s. Both brothers attribute the seamlessness of the transitions to the family’s dedication to each other and their guests.

“I think honestly the only difference is there are more of them involved now,” Monson says. “Each generation works with the other for a long time, so we’ve seen this generation go basically from when they were little kids, washing the windows, to

now sitting up in the office, making decisions for the riverboat.”

Lewis remembers watching Captain Jim and his sons Skip, Jim Jr., and John in the wheelhouse teaching the G4s how to captain the boat and the business.

“I watched this being passed on from father to son and father to daughter,” he says. “Nothing was really different because of this thread of passing down the dedication and how important it was to make sure the customer had a good time.”

Six of the eleven G4s are involved in the businesses’ daily operations. In addition to Ryan and Wade, who also step behind the captain’s wheel every summer, their brother James Binkley is the construction and operations manager at Ward Cove; cousin Scott Binkley is the IT manager; and sister Kai Binkley Sims and cousin Madison Binkley Hanneman captain Discovery III during the summer. The older members of the fifth generation, who range in age from 4 to 19, work on the boat during the summer and are learning to captain.

But even when the reins are handed over, nobody in the earlier generations truly leaves.

“I don’t know if you ever really take over in a family business,” Ryan says. “They [his father and uncles] are still very much involved, not on a day-to-

day level, but on a strategic level.”

Skip, John, and Jim are all members of Godspeed, Inc.’s board of directors and occasionally steer Discovery. John sits on the board of Wings Airways and works alongside James at Ward Cove. Mary, who is 99 and lives on the Chena River, waves to passengers every day as the boat returns to Steamboat Landing.

Deep Connection

Working so closely with family has its ups and downs, though both Wade and Ryan say they’re mostly ups.

“It’s not always rosy,” Ryan says with a laugh. “It depends on which day you catch us, but I think generally we make it work. We all are still getting along fairly well.”

“It’s just so rewarding to have people that you care about and trust with you day in and day out,” Wade adds. “And as you make these achievements and find success, it’s really gratifying to be able to do that with the people you care about the most.”

Wade and Ryan say there is only hope, no pressure, that successive generations join the business. Each of them earned engineering degrees with an eye toward different career paths—but the business, and the connection it provides to the past and the family, pulled them back in.

“I do feel a deep connection to the past in a way that’s a bit unique,” Ryan says. “It’s pretty rare for a kid my age to be doing something that his great-grandfather was doing a hundred years ago. It gives me a sense of my place in the universe, that I’m doing something that I’m meant to be doing.”

Four generations of Binkleys have a hand in the Riverboat Discovery tour.

Riverboat Discovery

THE FOCUSED MANAGER

Five Shifts for Success

Meshing gears to drive teams forward

By Brian Walch

One of my first long bike races was on a course with rolling hills. As a novice rider, I hadn’t quite mastered the gears. Going down a hill, I wouldn’t get into a hard gear, and my legs would spin fast but generate little power. Going uphill, I’d wait too long to shift into an easier gear, and I’d lose all my momentum.

The smarter and more experienced riders would easily pass me during these transitions. It wasn’t that they were working harder; they were shifting smarter.

The same is true in leadership. Managers who hold onto habits too long or react to changes too late will miss the moment. Managers need to understand and navigate the inevitable transitions and make the shifts necessary, so they are the ones doing the passing rather than being passed.

The first shift managers must make is a mindset shift.

Shift From Reactive to Proactive

Many managers start their morning by opening their inbox only to find it full. They think, “I’ll just respond to a few of these and then start work on my big project.”

But the day is already lost. More emails arrive, a Teams chat starts, and someone pops in for advice. They think, “Tomorrow will be different.”

But it isn’t.

This reactive approach exhausts managers. They are busy, but they don’t feel successful. To shift to a proactive mindset, managers can build small habits with simple frameworks to take more control of their day.

For example, a manager can spend the first fifteen minutes of each day alone, preparing for the day. No email, no phone, no distractions.

During that time, they answer these three questions:

• What are your three most important initiatives or goals for this month?

• What is one thing you can accomplish today to make progress on one of those?

• What do you need to accomplish that one thing? Building this habit provides clarity and helps the manager stay focused on their priorities.

Of course, the day of a manager never goes as planned. There is a steady stream of tasks to process throughout the day, which is why the next shift is a nice complement.

Shift From Urgent to Important

The manager starts their day off strong, clear on what is going to move the business forward. But then reality hits: last minute meetings, requests from the boss, and unexpected issues come from all directions.

Being proactive is a good way to start the day, but managers need a way to process requests in real time so they stay focused on the important work that only they can do, like mentoring an employee, rethinking a process, or strengthening a relationship. No one notices when these types of tasks get ignored, until they fail. Then everyone sees the result, and it isn’t pretty.

This shift isn’t about solving problems; it’s about preventing them.

To make this shift, managers need a model that helps them process tasks as they come into their purview. A classic and usable triage model is the Eisenhower Matrix.

To use this framework, managers evaluate each task on its importance and urgency.

• Urgent + Important = Do it now

• Not Urgent + Important = Schedule it

• Urgent + Not Important = Delegate it

• Not Urgent + Not Important = Eliminate it

As managers take more control of their schedule, they can begin blocking daily or weekly working time for their “Important , not Urgent” tasks.

Even important work can become busywork if it’s not connected to outcomes, which is why the next shift is so critical.

Shift From Activity to Impact

Like everyone, managers want to be productive. Staying busy by checking items off the to-do list, responding to emails, and keeping a full calendar feels good. However, if their work isn’t helping accomplish business objectives, they aren’t going to be successful.

Managers must measure their value by the outcomes they create for their teams, clients, and the organization, not by how busy they are.

Here are three steps managers can take to clarify priorities and align their team.

1. Articulate and communicate how success is measured. Identify the one, two, or three results that are critical for this quarter. Make them visible to the team so everyone knows them and how progress is measured.

2. Connect daily work to outcomes. Identify how the team’s work drives those results, and engage employees in discussions about how they can best contribute to the outcomes.

3. Review progress consistently. Have regular check-ins with the team to hear updates, offer support, and make adjustments. Track progress and keep the team informed.

This shift will elevate a manager’s impact and help the team engage more. To grow as a leader, they must also learn how to multiply their efforts through others.

Shift From Containment to Multiplication

Managers want to provide a stable work environment and deliver predictable results. To do this, they adopt a containment strategy to limit risks, reduce variables, and create repeatable processes.

They intend to protect their team, but this strategy can lead to inefficiencies. Employees can become hesitant to act on even small matters without approval. The manager gets overwhelmed, bottlenecks form, employees stagnate, and the team hits a ceiling.

That all can change when the manager shifts their strategy from containment to multiplication. Instead of being the source of solutions, the manager becomes the fuel that allows others to innovate and lead.

Here are three strategies for multiplication.

1. Make it safe to fail. It seems counterintuitive. Failure is a setback, right? However, managers can create a culture where misses are not mistakes; they are learning opportunities. To build this culture, managers must model humility and adaptability. Others will follow suit if the manager is open to feedback, shares their mistakes, and shows what they learned.

2. Connect the work to the mission. While showing employees how their work supports department or company goals is important, it isn’t enough for multiplication. Managers must take the extra step of showing how those individual contributions help the team and how the team supports the organization’s mission. According to McKinsey, employees who find purpose in their work are more productive, healthier, more resilient, and more likely to stay with their company. Managers can create multiplication by helping employees feel more ownership, energy, and mean ing in what they do.

3. Cultivate trust. When managers show consistent belief in their employees, even when outcomes vary, they signal that risk, growth, and ownership are safe. They build trust, which accelerates development and deepens commitment. Cultivating trust with the team is more than handing off tasks, it’s standing behind people as they take the lead. When managers create a high-trust environment, their teams see faster growth, stronger performance, and higher engagement.

A contributor asks, “What do I need to get done today?” A leader asks, “What do my people need to grow, succeed, and stay aligned to what matters most?”

Contributors work the system; leaders create systems that empower others to be more successful and fulfilled.

“What do my people need to grow, succeed, and stay aligned to what matters most?” Contributors work the system; leaders create systems that empower others to be more successful and fulfilled. Management isn’t about stepping away from meaningful work. It’s about stepping into a more meaningful impact.

When managers show up proactively, focus on what matters, pursue impact over activity, and multiply it through others, they enable all of us to reach higher. People feel inspired, organizations set their sights further, and progress becomes sustainable.

That’s the kind of leadership Alaska needs. As Alaskan-owned businesses grow and evolve, they will depend on managers who can create clarity, develop their people, and shape what comes next. These are the leaders who will carry our communities, industries, and innovations into the future.

Making this shift to multiplication can change the trajectory of the manager’s career because it prepares them to fully embrace the final shift great managers must make.

Shift From Contributor to Leader

Most managers start with a contributor mindset. They work hard as individuals and are recognized for getting things done. They get promoted and begin to realize it’s more than a change in responsibilities. It's a shift in identity.

A contributor asks, “What do I need to get done today?” A leader asks,

Like any long ride, it starts with one push of the pedal. One action, then another. Shifting as needed and adjusting to the conditions.

That’s how great managers build momentum. That ’s how they lead.

Brian Walch is an executive coach, consultant, and speaker on leadership development. He uses his extensive experience in people and systems to provide tools and services to empower managers to lead themselves, their teams, and their organizations. Learn more at shiftfocus.com.

INSIDE ALASKA BUSINESS

Donlin Gold

Vancouver-based NOVAGOLD Resources upped its investment in Donlin Gold. Its joint venture partner, Toronto-based Barrick Mining Corporation, sold its 50 percent stake in the Middle Kuskokwim project for $1 billion in cash. NOVAGOLD becomes a 60 percent partner, and New York hedge fund billionaire John Paulson bought the bulk of Barrick Mining’s stake, to hold the other 40 percent. Paulson also owns a one-third stake in Vancouver-based International Tower Hill Mines, which is developing the Livengood gold project north of Fairbanks. novagold.com/donlin-gold

Petroleum Equipment & Services, Inc.

Federal loans are helping Anchoragebased Petroleum Equipment and Services, Inc. (PESI) expand its business and invest in new technology and logistics for oil field services. PESI received a $1.3 million loan this spring from the US Small Business Administration, facilitated by Thomas Financial Group. The company closed on a $3.7 million loan from the Small Business Administration last December and more than $8 million from the US Department of Agriculture in April 2024. PESI says the capital will support more than thirty employees, strengthen operations, and boost business activity, creating a ripple effect for local suppliers, contractors, and service providers. pesiak.com

The Wildbirch Hotel

As the summer visitor season began, the former Holiday Inn at Third Avenue and C Street in Downtown Anchorage was still operating as the Aviator Hotel. The refurbished property hung a new shingle when it officially joined the JdV (“joie de vivre”) by Hyatt brand, under the name The Wildbirch Hotel. Aleut Real Estate, a subsidiary of Aleut regional corporation, signed on as a strategic partner in exchange for a goal of hiring 10 percent of the hotel’s workforce from Aleut shareholders and descendants. Alaska Hotel Group, co-led by former US senator and mayor Mark Begich, also received $25 million in loan participation from the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority, for cheaper financing. wildbirchhotel.com

Wayland Baptist University

Leveraging the reach of its WBUOnline network, Wayland Baptist University is ending in-person classes for Alaska students. The school’s campus in Anchorage will be sold, its leased location in Wasilla vacated, and classrooms at Joint Base ElmendorfRichardson, Fort Wainwright, and Eielson Air Force Base returned to military service. “In recent years, we’ve seen a growing preference for online learning,” says Vice President of External Campuses David Bishop. Texas-based Wayland Baptist set up its Alaska branch in 1985; current enrollment in Anchorage is eighty-two

students, mostly online. Bishop says just twenty-four students took a faceto-face class in the current term. wbu.edu

American Pacific Mining Corp.

When Japanese smelting company Dowa Metals and Mining America, the biggest backer of the Palmer mining project near Haines, gave up its 70 percent stake late last year, Vancouver-based American Pacific Mining Corporation was left with full ownership. In May, American Pacific decided to exit, too, announcing that it would “transact” the zinc, copper, gold, and silver prospect, possibly to an Alaska-based buyer. americanpacificmining.com

Vitus Energy

The Vitus Energy family of fuel delivery companies secured $37 million in US Department of Agriculture loans, adding to previous federal financing for infrastructure expansion. Phoenix Lender Services facilitated the loans with Community Bank and Trust. Vitus received a total of $25 million in three US Department of Agriculture Business and Industry loans in June 2024. The company says the investments support existing jobs, improve access to energy resources, and bolster remote Alaska economies. vitusterminals.com

Hilcorp Alaska

Exploration that began in 2019 at the Whiskey Gulch unit in Anchor Point is beginning to pay off for Hilcorp

Alaska. The company is installing gas production infrastructure on the pad at the end of Cape Ninilchik Avenue. Hilcorp previously tapped gas in Anchor Point from its Seaview Unit in 2021, but production there ended in 2022. hilcorp.com

Anchorage Chamber of Commerce

The Anchorage Chamber of Commerce hosted its Young Professionals Summit in April and recognized some entrepreneurial excellence. Nathan Bentley, owner and executive chef of Altura Bistro, was named Alaska Entrepreneur of the Year. Other finalists for the award were Elizabeth Freeman, founder of internet marketing service NUNA LLC, and Joey Barranco, owner of

THIS

video marketing studio Mary's Rose Creative. The chamber also named Celeste Earley, philanthropy officer for the Alaska Community Foundation, as its Alaska Young Professional of the Year. anchoragechamber.org

The Alaska Club

Anchorage Project Access, a nonprofit that facilitates access to healthcare for low-income, uninsured individuals, presented its Mt. Huntington Award to The Alaska Club, honoring the fitness network for its commitment to the cause. The Alaska Club is only the third business in fifteen years to receive the Mt. Huntington Award. The Alaska Club’s Executive Director of Fitness Services, Janet Warner, was also given the Health

Care Champion Award. thealaskaclub.com

ChemTrack Alaska Environmental services firm ChemTrack Alaska came home a winner from the Associated General Contractors of America convention in Ohio in April. The company was honored with a 2025 Baldwin Group Build America Merit Award in the Specialty Contractor category for removing debris from a former US Navy station at Cape Prince of Wales, the westernmost point on the North American mainland. “A community elder relayed that they never thought that they would see this project completed in their lifetime,” says ChemTrack Alaska President Carrie Jokiel. chemtrack.net

ALASKA BUSINESS

Suburban moms gathered for yoga in Mary McCormick’s garage, and her business was born. She jokes that her studio is therefore the Apple of yoga.

Her fitness journey began as a teenager in Eagle River. She worked as a buyer for Nordstrom and became part of The Alaska Club family. McCormick applied what she learned from both companies to establish All Life Is Yoga in a former pediatrician’s office she shares with Eagle River Ballet.

The community vibe of All Life Is Yoga propelled it into the ranks of Best of Alaska Business winners.

www.akbizmag.com

All Life Is Yoga

Scan the QR code to watch the video featuring All Life Is Yoga. Part 32 of an ongoing video series. youtube.com/@alaskabusinessmagazine

RIGHT MOVES

ConocoPhillips Alaska

· Still a few years away from producing first oil, the Willow project on the North Slope has a dedicated executive in charge. ConocoPhillips Alaska added Mo Chahal to its leadership team as Vice President, Willow, overseeing all aspects of development planning, operational readiness, and capital project management for Willow. Chahal previously had multiple assignments in Houston, Texas, including co-leading the integration of Marathon Oil Corporation, which ConocoPhillips acquired last fall. Chahal earned a master’s degree with honors in chemical engineering from Imperial College London and has held oil and gas leadership positions ranging from subsurface development and operations to asset management and corporate strategy.

GCI

· Last October, GCI reorganized certain functions—including technology strategy, product, planning and engineering, construction and project management, operations, application technology, and data and analytics—such that they would report to a Chief Technology Officer (CTO). The first person hired to fill that position is Troy Goldie, most recently an executive at Louisiana-based Lumen Technologies. GCI says adding a CTO to company leadership will advance efforts to modernize its network and systems, provide innovative services to Alaskans, and enhance the company’s overall effectiveness and efficiency. Goldie, who also carries the title of Senior Vice President at GCI, studied at the University of Rochester’s Simon Business School and earned a master’s

degree in telecommunications systems engineering from the University of Pennsylvania.

HC Contractors

· HC Contractors, a heavy civil construction company and subsidiary of UIC Commercial Services, promoted Travis Malin to the position of General Manager, overseeing strategic direction and the adoption of new technologies to improve productivity and efficiency. Malin has more than thirty-five years of experience in the field, including fifteen years at HC Contractors. His career began as a teenager, clearing and right-of-way projects before transitioning into heavy civil construction. He has led dozens of large-scale road, highway and bridge construction, and rehabilitation projects, representing more than $475 million in infrastructure improvements in Alaska.

Mat-Su Health Foundation

· Esther Pitts succeeds Elizabeth Ripley as President and CEO of Mat-Su Health Foundation. The board of the nonprofit co-owner of MatSu Regional Medical Center promoted Pitts, previously the foundation’s chief community impact officer, after a nationwide search. Pitts is an accomplished healthcare executive with more than twenty years of leadership experience in healthcare, nonprofit governance, government contracting, and small business management. She earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in business administration from Capella University and is a Certified Professional Healthcare Risk Manager. Having lived in Alaska since 1991

RIGHT MOVES IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY NORTHERN AIR CARGO

Pitts

Goldie

Chahal

Malin

and in Wasilla since 2015, Pitts has a deep personal connection to the community and a strong commitment to improving the health and well-being of its residents. Pitts also supports her community through board service with Alaska Psychiatric Institute, All Alaska Pediatric Partnership, Best Beginnings, and Mat-Su College Advisory Council.

Old Harbor Native Corporation

· Although the former CEO of Cook Inlet Region Incorporated, Carl Marrs, retired in December after fifteen years leading Old Harbor Native Corporation (OHNC), he is remaining with the corporation for the Kodiak Island village, advising the board and management and serving on subsidiary boards. A successor for Marrs as OHNC CEO has been on deck since last summer, and starting this year Kristina Woolston officially took over. Woolston was hired as executive vice president in July 2024, working alongside Marrs. In her new position as CEO, Woolston manages day-to-day operations and is responsible for achieving board and corporate goals, with a focus on maximizing opportunities for approximately 500 shareholders. Prior to joining OHNC, Woolston spent five years leading external affairs at Donlin Gold. She also spent ten years on the leadership team at Chenega Corporation and four years managing external affairs at offshore fiber company Quintillion. She recently served as senior fellow at Rasmuson Foundation working on statewide broadband issues.

Bristol Bay Native Corporation

Bristol Bay Native Corporation (BBNC) shored up its Shareholder Development department with a recent promotion and internal transfer.

· Mandeline “Mandy” Clark is promoted to Recruiter, responsible for developing strategies to attract qualified

shareholder candidates for opportunities across BBNC’s enterprise of companies. Clark, a BBNC shareholder herself, manages job listings, assists with applications and résumés, and ensures compliance with the Shareholder Hire Preference policy. Clark also supports employee development, recommends improvements to outreach and placement programs, and connects candidates with hiring managers. Additionally, she tracks recruitment efforts, responds to inquiries, and represents BBNC at job fairs and industry conferences.

· BBNC shareholder Tianna Carlson is transferring from the Finance department to Shareholder Development as a Financial and Operational Specialist. Carlson oversees key financial and operational functions, including financial reporting, vendor relations, and corporate credit card program coordination. She also organizes meetings, events, and shareholder travel while ensuring clear communication, maintaining accurate records, and supporting departmental initiatives to enhance overall efficiency.

Rasmuson Foundation

· A project manager at the Rasmuson Foundation, Sydney Copley is promoted to the new position of Partnership Manager. In this new role for the seventy-year-old philanthropic organization, Copley supports strategic relationships to advance the foundation’s mission of empowering Alaskans to help each other. A lifetime Alaskan from North Pole, Copley has been with the foundation for more than six years. Prior to joining the Rasmuson Foundation, she was a board member of the Fairbanks Montessori School and worked under three administrations at the Office of the Governor. She is also a board member of the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center.

Woolston

Clark

Carlson

Copley

ALASKA TRENDS

While studying political theory and philosophy at Hunter College in New York City, Leah Moss sold apples for a living. She then helped start a restaurant in Texas, and when she moved north, she became the spokesperson for the Alaska Food Policy Council. Although she’s left that position, Moss continues the outreach work. Her article “Collaboration at the Core” reports on the council’s working groups in the areas of advocacy, hydroponics, traditional foods, food waste, and food hubs.

The council is a perpetual nonprofit, whereas the Alaska Food Strategy Task Force was established in 2022 to inform the Alaska Legislature. The top recommendation of the task force’s 2024 report was to elevate the Division of Agriculture within the Alaska Department of Natural Resources to its own cabinet-level Department of Agriculture and to consolidate relevant offices from other departments. In March, the Alaska House and Senate blocked the governor’s executive order to establish the department, but lawmakers were open to pursuing the task force’s recommendation by statute.

Appendix E of the task force report cites a federal census of agriculture published in February 2024, using data from 2022. It shows that the top crops in Alaska are hay, cattle, and flowers. The median size of farms is 12 acres; half of farms are smaller than 12 acres, but some very large farms skew the average size to 742 acres. Just 45 percent of farmers work at it full time; the majority hold day jobs elsewhere. And busy, busy bees produced 28,941 pounds of honey in 2022, from 597 colonies around Alaska.

This edition of Alaska Trends reaps some other findings from the census.

SOURCE: “2022 Census of Agriculture - State Data” by US Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service

483,211 farms accepted government payouts nationally. 185 of those farms were in Alaska.

The total value of products sold by Alaska farms is $90.9M

Total Income From Farm-Related Sources

Of the 2M farms in the US, 1,173 are in Alaska.

1 farm for every 631 alaskans.

Alaska has 22 barley farms, 6 oat farms, and 3 wheat farms.

Alaska

Alaska has 80 orchards.

10% of farms in Alaska produce over $100K in product.

Alaska has 72,708 acres of cropland. 36,211 acres are harvested.

Alaska has 745 acres of vegetable cropland.

321 acres are planted with potatoes.

There are 869,852 acres of farmland in Alaska.

Less than 1% of that land is irrigated.

Broilers & others

Layers

Cows Sheep & Lambs

Farms Raising Poultry and Livestock

Alaska Farms by Acreage

What book is currently on your nightstand?

A history of Donald Duck by Carl Barks, the best cartoonist in the world. Or one of the best.

What’s the first thing you do when you get home after a long day at work?

[He laughs.] It’s cliché, but it’s a very important thing: I love to spend time with my family watching Netflix or Prime or whatever.

What charity or cause are you passionate about?

Anything to do with kids… I hate when kids get bullied… If I had a charity where I could beat up bullies… [he laughs].

What vacation spot is on your bucket list?

Later in life, if I was offered a one-way ticket to Mars, I’d take it.

If you could domesticate a wild animal, what animal would it be?

Easy: the capybara.

Photos by Kerry Tasker

Chad Carpenter

The most successful self-syndicated newspaper comic in history is the face of Alaska for readers of 650 papers in the United States, Canada, Europe, and the Caribbean. Chad Carpenter has been scribbling gags about outdoor life (human and animal) since Tundra began in 1991.

“When I started this, my intention was to avoid a real job and find some way to sit around and doodle and get paid for it,” he confides. However, “Making people laugh means a lot more to me now than when I started.”

Carpenter’s career has also pivoted into multimedia, producing Moose: The Movie (2015) and Sudsy Slim Rides Again (2018). “If I could make a living making silly, family-friendly, cheesy movies, I would. That would be my absolute best way to make a living,” he says. “But it’s really hard to make a living in movies.”

Alaska Business: What’s the most daring thing you’ve ever done?

Chad Carpenter: Making the movies that we made. Big financial scariness… It turned out very well, but we had no idea that was going to be the case.

Q: What’s your greatest extravagance?

Carpenter: If I were incredibly wealthy, I would be incredibly eccentric… If I had a lot of money, I would be doing lots of incredibly stupid things with it that were incredibly fun.

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

Carpenter: Abraham Lincoln. I would go to one of his lectures.

Q: What’s your favorite local restaurant?

Carpenter: The Grill at Grand View Inn & Suites.

Q: What are you superstitious about?

Carpenter: I’m a little OCD. I sometimes turn on a light switch three or four times, if that’s a superstition.

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

Carpenter: I’m constantly developing my artwork… I look at my past work and I cringe. “My gosh, I did not know how to draw.”

Q: What do you do in your free time?

Carpenter: Next question, please! Everything I do is related to creativity, but that’s kinda what I do for a living… I don’t fish, I don’t hunt, I don’t have hobbies. I’m constantly looking to create things out of nothing.

Q: What’s your best attribute and worst attribute?

Carpenter: I’m not afraid to be immature and enjoy life, and I guess my best attribute is, uh… Was that my weakness? I can’t remember.

ADVERTISERS INDEX

5th Avenue Jewelers 51 akdiamondco.com

AEDC - Anchorage Economic Development ........................ 101 aedcweb.com

Airport Equipment Rentals .... 135 airportequipmentrentals.com

Alaska Air CargoAlaska Airlines 39 alaskacargo.com

Alaska Defense Forum .............. 7 alaskadefenseforum.com

Alaska Pacific University ......... 41 alaskapacific.edu

Alaska Walking Store 19 alaskawalkingstore.com

Altman, Rogers & Co. 99 altrogco.com

Anchorage Convention Centers ........................... 89, 119 anchorageconventioncenters.com

ASRC Energy Services, LLC 97 asrcenergy.com

Bernie's Pharmacy 99 bermiespharmacy.com

Birch Horton Bittner & Cherot.................................. 79 birchhorton.com

Chugach Alaska Corporation 13 chugach.com

Coffman Engineers 75 coffman.com

Color Art Printing, Inc. 49 colorartprinting.com

ConocoPhillips Alaska ........... 113 alaska.conocophillips.com

Conrad-Houston Insurance Agency 100 chialaska.com

Construction Machinery Industrial 2 cmiak.com

Cook Inlet Tug & Barge Inc 69 cookinlettug.com

Cornerstone General Contractors 69 cornerstoneak.com

Craig Taylor Equipment ........... 85 craigtaylorequipment.com

Credit Union 1 63 cu1.org

Denali Commercial ................ 109 denalicommercial.com

Equipment Source, Inc 121 esialaska.com

First National Bank Alaska 5 fnbalaska.com

Frampton Opinsky, LLC 27 officeak.com

Fred Meyer Jewelers 87 fredmeyerjewelers.com

Global Credit Union ........... 14, 15 globalcu.org

Great Originals Inc 21 greatoriginals.com

Highmark Marine Fabrication, LLC 111 highmarkmarine.com

Hotel Captain Cook ............... 115 captaincook.com

IMA Financial Group 125 imacorp.com

Kinross Alaska 35 kinross.com

Landye Bennett Blumstein ...... 43 lbblawyers.com

Lynden 136 lynden.com

Matson Inc. 53 matson.com

NCB ....................................... 105 ncb.coop

North Star Behavioral Health System 41 northstarbehavioral.com

Northern Air Cargo 128, 129 nac.aero

Northrim Bank 25 northrim.com

Oxford Assaying & Refining Inc 37 oxfordmetals.com

Pacific Dataport 3 pacificdataport.com

Peppercini's Deli & Catering ............................... 71 peppcatering.com

Personnel Plus Employment Agency 29 perplus.com

PIP Marketing Signs Print 61 pipalaska.com

Providence Alaska ................... 73 providence.org

Providence Imaging Center 47 providence.org/locations/ak/imaging-center

Ray's Place 67 raysplaceak.com

Serrano's Mexican Grill ........... 17 serranosmexicangrill.com

Sourdough Express, Inc. ......... 59 sourdoughexpress.com

Southcentral Foundation ........ 22 southcentralfoundation.com

Span Alaska Transportation LLC 103 spanalaska.com

Spawn Ideas 55 spawnideas.com

toastofthetownak.com

Tongass

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