Alaska Business October 2025

Unlocking More Oil and Jobs on State Lands

At Santos, we are proud to develop the world-class Pikka Project on Alaska’s State Lands - creating more revenue and more jobs for Alaskans.

Pikka is unlocking 400 million barrels of Alaska’s oil. It has already created thousands of construction jobs and will provide hundreds of permanent jobs.

This is just the beginning. By next year, 80,000 barrels per day will be added to the Trans Alaska Pipeline System. Santos is building the future of energy in Alaska.

10 40TH ANNIVERSARY

Drawing from History

Issues illustrated, 1986 and today

By Tasha Anderson

20 FINANCE

Seed Money

Financial options for expanding small businesses

By Jamey Bradbury

28 BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

Exhibit ‘A’

Trade show trends for engaging designs

By Tracy Barbour

46 REAL ESTATE

A Garage Away from Home

The sudden sprouting of garage condos

By Scott Rhode

52 ENVIRONMENTAL

Refill ‘Er Up

Businesses that specialize in reusable packaging

By Christi Foist

60 RETAIL

Shops Within Shops

Mat-Su merchants make room for makers

By Rindi White

132 OIL & GAS

Cool Chemistry

Introducing the first petrochemical facility in the US Arctic By Terri Marshall

36 CONSTRUCTION

Hackers of the Valley

H5 Construction makes its own work to build up its community

By Rindi White

138 TELECOM & TECH

Boss, Meet Bot

AI’s impact on business leadership

By Tracy Barbour

144 PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

Painting with Light

Professional photographers in an era of omnipresent cameras By Rachael Kvapil

150 MARKETING

New Opportunities, Same Spawn

Fifty years of swimming upstream By Jamey Bradbury

156 TOURISM

Making Travel Happen

Tourism marketing for a bucket-list destination By Vanessa Orr

162 SMALL BUSINESS

Connect for Success

How networks help small businesses By Vanessa Orr

168 PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Internship Track

Opportunities for up-and-comers, talent for employers

By Tracy Barbour

Shaylee

Boyles

Financing the Future of Health Care

For Imaging Associates CEO Ward Hinger, driving innovation and providing high-quality patient care starts with the right support. With customized financial solutions and unmatched local expertise from First National Bank Alaska, his team has invested in advanced diagnostic tools – improving accuracy and delivering faster results for Alaskans who need them most.

Discover how First National helps bring advanced diagnostic technology and compassionate health care to Alaskans.

CONTENTS

106 MILESTONES, AWARDS, AND PROJECTS

Recent noteworthy events for the Top 49ers

110 NEW TO THE TOP

Black Gold Express and Natives of Kodiak join the ranks

By Amy Newman

116 GROWTH FOCUS

Strategy and human connection accelerate the fastest growing 49ers

By Christi Foist

124 MAPPING THE FUTURE

Top 49ers look forward

CORRECTION: In “ Worn but not Worn Out,” published in September 2025, we misspelled Kristina Gruno’s name. Gruno is a Poshmark seller(@akkristina) and social media influencer.

SPECIAL SECTION: TOP 49ERS

66 TOP 49ERS

SPECIAL SECTION

Local companies ranked by gross revenue

ABOUT THE COVER

In 1983, artist Sharon Schumacher created an illustrated map of a vision of Cook Inlet “far in the future” in 2035, which will be 260 years after Captain James Cook charted the area in 1775. A copy of that map has hung in the Alaska Business Publishing Co. office for years, as the vision depicted is both inspirational and a warning. Incredible infrastructure covers the map, including an expansive “Alaska Transport Tube” spanning from Anchorage throughout Southcentral. But in the same vision, there’s “No Jogging Please” at “Marathon Park” at Seward and the “Tustamena Salmon Fish Factory” is the “Sole supplier of Alaska Salmon”—sad developments, indeed.

In our map (check out the fold-out, extended map in the Top 49ers Special Section), a vision of approximately the same area in 2075, we endeavored to maintain the map’s humor while ramping up the optimism for Alaska’s vast potential, matching our publication’s mission to support responsible development.

Chugach Alaska Corporation

Map Illustration by Kristin Link | Cover Design by Monica Sterchi-Lowman

FROM THE EDITOR

At the recent Alaska Oil and Gas Association conference, Alaska LNG developer 8 Star Alaska Co-President Rex Cannon said he expects there will be a final investment decision on pipeline construction this year. If it’s a “no,” 2025 will simply be another footnote in the saga of the state’s attempts to bring stranded North Slope gas to local and international markets. If it’s a “yes,” then Alaskans should hope that local leaders have learned from past mega projects to ensure that we reap the short and long-term benefits. And if that’s the case—if Alaska can capitalize on both a construction boom for a few years and longer-term revenue from an LNG line to improve the state’s outlook for the next fifty years—then 2025 will instead go down in history as a turning point (or at the very least go down in future letters from the editor).

Those who spend any time with our cover this month will see that we’ve included an LNG line as a notable feature in Alaska’s “future” topography, as well as other favorite “If only…” Alaska projects: a rail connection to Canada, the Susitna-Watana hydroelectric project, and just an endless number of bridges. All the bridges, really.

Choosing projects and details to include on the map (check out the full version of the map—it folds out!—in the Top 49ers Special Section) was a fun exercise, made even more rich by our many recent dives into Alaska Business history. In addition to discussing projects, we had multiple conversations about how controversial some of the depicted projects are. Bristol Bay salmon are valued worldwide—is an Iliamna fish farm a good thing? Drawing more tourists to Alaska creates statewide wealth, but does anyone really want to see an amusement park, much less an East Coast-style boardwalk, at Lake Clark? I hope that our readers see the optimism in this publication’s vision for the future. This map is not an assertion that every development project is actually right for the state; it’s a love-map of just how much potential Alaska holds.

What do Alaskans want our future to look like? Maybe it’s this map, and maybe it’s not. But for the record, I absolutely believe we should aim for reindeer nuggets.

Tasha Anderson Managing Editor, Alaska Business

VOLUME 41, #10

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

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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Burying Fiber in King Cove

Drawing from History

Issues illustrated, 1986 and today

By Tasha Anderson

This magazine launched its first issue in January of 1985, and throughout that debut year our cover featured photographs of various industries and individuals. After 1986, and continuing to today, Alaska Business covers are a mix of photography, illustrations, and graphics. But in 1986, the covers were all illustrated, a fascinating twelve-month sketchbook of the significant issues confronting our readers.

January

Cover illustration by Dee Boyles

According to Robert Dixon in the January 1986 cover story “Squeeze Play,” grocers had led a “recent” retail boom in Alaska, “So perhaps it should not be surprising that they are among the first to experience some shaking out as market growth slows.” He reported that in 1984 and 1985, 7-Eleven entered the Alaska market through opening twenty new stores, and both Costco and Price Savers had “introduced the membership warehouse concept to Alaska” in the same time frame. National chains entering the market pressured Alaska’s small, independent grocers, most of which ultimately didn’t survive, such as Palmer-based D&A Super and Proctors in Anchorage and Eagle River.

February

Cover illustration by Dee

Boyles

In 1985, the US Olympic Committee nominated Anchorage to host the 1992 Winter Games, which further spurred conversations in the state about how to extend the tourism season out of the summer and into the winter, since in 1986 approximately 75 percent of the state’s visitors traveled here in the summer months. In “Visitor Industry for All Seasons: Up, Up and Away, or Just More Hot Air?” Paul Laird explored the challenges of convincing visitors that Alaska is a year-round destination. While Anchorage’s nomination generated visitor interest at the time, the Olympics went to Albertville, France, and the tourism struggle continued. However, fast forward thirty-five years, and off-peak tourism grew during the COVID-19 pandemic. David Kasser, senior vice president of sales at Visit Anchorage, reports that the city now has more visitors in October through April than in the summer.

February

Ed Gohr Delta Constructors

Carol Gore Cook Inlet Housing

Meg Nordale GHEMM Company

Rudi von Imhof Delta Leasing

Dean Weidner Weidner Apartment Homes

March

Cover illustration by Dee Boyles

In 1986 Alaskans had similar concerns to 2016: global oil prices dropped, and while companies tightened belts and continued operations, there was simply less capital to go around for future exploration. “What Lies Over the Rainbow for the Alaskan Oil Industry?” explored the reality that Prudhoe Bay was a once-in-alifetime discovery, so the future of Alaska’s oil industry would depend on “‘marginal’ fields that pose higher costs in the face of lower yields and lower prices.”

Contrary to those concerns, in recent years the North Slope has seen robust investment, with production through the Trans Alaska Pipeline System not only holding steady but recently increasing, and the Pikka Unit and Willow Project are set to produce even more oil soon. Additionally, advances in technology like horizontal drilling and Hilcorp’s polymer flood technique for aging fields signal many years of operations to come on the North Slope.

April

Cover illustration by Dee Boyles

The mid-‘80s saw heated competition among airlines serving the western United States, specifically the Pacific Northwest. Alaska Airlines was caught in a

“fare war,” and in “Alaska Airlines Encounters Strong Headwinds at 9 ½ Cents,” Paul Laird pared down the challenge the airline was facing to that precise monetary figure. At the time, Alaska Airlines spent $0.095 on operating expenses for each seat-mile it flew. It was $0.01 to $0.03 more than its competitors. For context, Alaska Airlines had 4.2 billion available seat miles in 1985, so the cost added up quickly. According to the article, Alaska Airlines did have one leg up on the competition: a reputation for aboveaverage service. Clearly Alaska Airlines soared through this challenging time, acquiring Hawaiian Airlines in the last few years and routinely expanding its destinations around the world.

May

Cover illustration by Dee Boyles

The Alaska Marine Highway System is a critical mode of transportation for businesses and individuals living in Southeast. But as early as 1986, with oil money already drying up, how to operate and pay for the Alaska Marine Highway was under debate. In “Alaska’s Marine Highway System: A Bad Mix of Politics and Economics,” Paul Laird weighed a few options for funding, ranging from “just keep paying for it” to full privatization, or possibly selling off parts and pieces of the system like

a state-level garage sale. He saw the most potential in privatization, with several sources advocating for private, subsidized operations of the transportation system,

similar to Alaska’s program for subsidizing air travel and cargo to remote parts of the state. For better or worse, the Alaska Marine Highway remains under state

control—and it remains constricted by tightening stage budgets, significantly impacting service to the Southeast communities that may have few other options.

June

Cover illustration by Dee Boyles

In 1985 the federal government transferred ownership of the Alaska Railroad to the State of Alaska, and there were concerns at the time that the railroad would go the way of the Alaska Marine Highway: not enough money and a disappointing level of service. The incomparable Paul Laird used the classic tale of A Christmas Carol as a framing narrative for his article “A Caboose Carol: Can the Alaska Railroad Continue to Thrive Under State Ownership, or Will Politicians Eventually Beat the Dickens Out of It?” The ghosts of Railroad Past, Present, and Future visited “Jalmar Scrooge” (i.e., Jay Kerttula, president of the Alaska Senate during the transfer) to share warnings about what might go awry. Laird again advocated for private ownership, but the Alaska Railroad ultimately took a different track: the state owns it, but it operates like a private company, responsible for generating enough revenue to maintain its operations—which it does. While it’s not exactly the envisioned light at the end of Laird’s tunnel, it certainly is a happy ending.

July

Cover illustration by Dee Boyles

The finance industry was balancing two things as it tried to find solid footing in Alaska in 1986: a major recession and deregulation. In “Hurricane Watch: What’s in Store for Alaska’s Financial Services Industry If Recession Turns the Winds of Deregulatory Change into a Full-blown Storm?”

Paul Laird stated, “The economic downturn in Southcentral not only has limited asset growth but also has put an increasing share of existing assets in jeopardy. Banks that were most aggressive in pursuing construction financing earlier in the ‘80s are the hardest hit.” As we know today, while a few iconic Alaska financial institutions were able to weather the storm, many did not, including several of the sources for this article.

August

Cover illustration by Dee Boyles

Strap in because this gets weird. The cover of August 1986 refers to the issue’s spotlight article as “American Standoff.” Internally, the article, penned by Paul Laird, is titled “Mad as Hell.” It documents a standoff between a private company, Meteor Data, and a collaborative effort of several federal agencies called the Alaska Meteor Burst Communications System (AMBCS). Both entities provided meteor burst communications services, which is July August

essentially using the reflective trails of electrically charged particles created by meteors burning up in the Earth’s atmosphere to transmit data from one place to another. The federal agencies involved used the technology to collect climatologic data. The owner of Meteor Data asserted that AMBCS interfered with his ability to do business; AMBCS representatives didn’t feel it was the government’s responsibility to stop offering services in favor of a private company just because the company wanted it. The argument today seems settled; Meteor Data is no longer operating, and federal agencies continued using meteor burst communications to collect data as recently as 2023.

September

Cover illustration by Jarrett Holderby Alaska Business readers will be familiar with the subject of the September cover: The New 49ers, as they were called at the time. It was the second year that Alaska Business published what would become the Top 49ers, now a fixture in October. In addition to the ranks by revenue, the informal special section also included a ranking by number of employees, an introduction by then-staff writer Judith Fuerst, and an executive summary-type article by Paul Laird.

In 1986 the top five by revenue were Carr-Gottstein

Foods Co., Sealaska, Alaska International Industries (owner of MarkAir), TravelCenter, and National Bancorp of Alaska. At the time, the criteria for the Top 49ers were “the largest for-profit companies—those owned at least 51 percent by Alaskan residents with the greatest sales volume.” The criteria have since been refined to reflect that the companies were launched in Alaska, remain headquartered here, and have not been acquired, and companies report gross revenue as defined by the IRS.

October

Cover illustration by Dee Boyles

The October 1986 cover story is far less terrifying than the cover illustration would indicate. Kijik Corporation, the village corporation for Nondalton, was planning to develop the land it owns adjacent to Lake Clark National Park and Preserve, established in 1980, several years after Kijik and other Alaska Native corporations made their land selections (but before many of those lands were actually conveyed). In the article “Kijik’s Keyes to Profit,” Paul Laird explores the development plans and the concerns expressed by Lake Clark National Park officials. The concerns, though, were mild; the concluding quote of the article is from Boyd Evison, then-Alaska regional director for the National Park Service, saying, “Kijik has been darn sensitive to park values, and we recognize

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their efforts in developing the area in concert with the National Park Service rather than in conflict.” Skip forward to March of 2000, when Kijik Corporation established the Keyes Point subdivision with recreational lots in and around Lake Clark, some of which are available for sale to the public today.

November

Cover illustration by Jarrett Holderby

When Alaska was trying to dig out of an economic recession, one potential remedy was international investment. Alaska may have been strapped for cash, but it was resource rich. In “Getting By with a Little Help from Our Friends,” Chuck Kleeschulte explored the pros and cons of foreign capital and explained the reality that, for better or worse, foreign interests had already landed in the 49th State. In 1986, foreign sales accounted for approximately 80 percent of the income for the state’s seafood processing industry, and more than 90 percent of the state’s pulp and timber production was sold to international markets. Foreign investors were already investing in coal exports; mining for molybdenum, gold, silver, lead, and zinc; tourism opportunities; and natural gas exports. Today, international trade remains a vital piece of Alaska’s economic picture.

December

Cover illustration by Susan Berry

If debates could produce electricity, conversations about drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve (ANWR) would power Alaska for decades. According to Paul Laird in “Bambi Versus Godzilla: The Battle of ANILCA, Round 2,” environmentalists had framed the debate as a conflict between Bambi (representing the fragile and beloved Arctic, including the Coastal Plain) and Godzilla (the insatiable and destructive oil industry). Laird felt the representations were backward: a monster conglomerate of advocacy groups was on a rampage, hell-bent on destroying opportunities for a fragile Alaska economy while “reaping thousands of new members and millions in well-intentioned contributions.”

Environmental interests obstructed exploration until December 2020, when the US Bureau of Land Management held a lease sale in ANWR. The response was not robust, and the leases that were awarded were then cancelled. Those cancellations were challenged in court, yet the cancellations were then rescinded by a new administration. If only this back-and-forth energy could be stored in a battery, there would never be a need to drill in ANWR.

Seed Money Financial options for expanding small businesses

By Jamey Bradbury

Li ke a hothouse flower sprouting under glass while the garden is still frosty, small businesses seeking capital for growth have a place to prepare before enduring the storm of a loan application. The Alaska Small Business Development Center (SBDC) puts owners through their paces without the stress of money on the line.

Misty O’Connor is director of SBDC’s office in Wasilla. “A lot of times I sit in those first meetings with the lender and my client, and I am the ‘bad cop,’” she explains. “I know the tough questions to ask, and I’m not shy to ask them for the sake of the business owner. Can the

owner pay the loan off early? What are the fees? What’s the closing cost? What’s the entrance?”

O’Connor encourages owners to start at the SBDC, where advisors can help them without impacting their credit scores. “The lender’s going to say, ‘Let’s pull your credit so I can see what kind of loan I can give you.’ And every time a credit score is pulled, the score tanks,” she explains. “When we’re working with a lender, they don’t pull a credit score on our client until we’re really certain that the loan application is going to pass the scrutiny of an underwriter.”

One thing lenders like to see is a plan for “what if,” says Junie

Steinbeck, manager of the First National Bank Alaska branch in Kenai. She notes, “As a business owner, you’re excited, you want to go forward. But it’s important to anticipate what might happen: What if the economy drops? How soon until you’re going to see those increased revenues?”

Alaska’s approximately 75,000 small businesses help drive the state, providing employment and creating revenue. Figuring out how to pay for additional staff, inventory, or space can be daunting—but small business owners don’t have to navigate the waters of lending and borrowing alone.

“[Small businesses are] trying to hedge their bets, looking for financing for working capital; a lot of them are trying to increase their reserves in case their suppliers increase costs.”

J on Bittner Stat e Director Alaska Small Business Developm ent Center

Climate for Borrowing

This April, SBDC published an update to its annual Small Business Survey, in light of major economic shifts that happened in the first months of 2025. The spring survey revealed a significant change in the outlook of Alaska’s small businesses. Alaska SBDC State Director Jon Bittner says, “The one thing businesses really don’t enjoy, particularly small businesses, is uncertainty and chaos.”

With undulating tariffs and increases to the cost of goods, small businesses are seeking new funding to help weather economic turbulence. “They’re trying to hedge their bets, looking for financing for

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working capital; a lot of them are trying to increase their reserves in case their suppliers increase costs,” Bittner says.

Uncertainty in the US economy adds to challenges already facing small businesses. “We have the aging population in Alaska with the people that are staying, and then you have young people going away to school and not coming back,” points out Chris Brahney, sales and member experience senior vice president for Nuvision Credit Union.

Though Alaska’s population grew slightly from 2023 to 2024, topping 740,000, the state’s working-age population has been shrinking. According to the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development, almost all population gains are happening

around Alaska’s urban centers; in rural areas, which are seeing more population loss, new employees are hard to come by. Higher pay might entice them, but that heaps another financial consideration upon the strained shoulders of a s mall business owner.

How Does Your Business Grow?

Small business growth in the face of the current economy depends heavily on the sector, says Helen Mickel, president and CEO Tongass Federal Credit Union (FCU). In Southeast, commercial fishers seeking boat loans to expand their fleet is the norm. More recently, though, Tongass FCU has seen an increase in construction loans in response to a housing shortage.

In both the Matanuska-Susitna Borough and the Kenai Peninsula, housing and commercial construction are booming, especially housing for first-time home buyers. New construction is paving the way for small contractors to expand by hiring more staff and buying new equipment.

In addition to loan requests for equipment purchases, Brahney is also seeing a rise in loans for commercial space.

First National and Northrim Bank offer a variety of options for small business owners. Both administer loans from the US Small Business Administration, which provides easier access to capital and reduced risk. Not every lender is approved for such loans, so business owners specifically looking into federal assistance should

Photo by Kelsey Despain Umialik Employee

do their research or seek help from the SBDC as they explore their options.

First National also offers direct loans, including financing for facilities or real estate, and First Express Loans, which provide fast access to capital and fixed rates. The bank brands itself as a “full-service commercial bank,” and its business support goes beyond simple loans. Steinbeck says, “Our motto is, we’re a onesolution approach, which means we can help a business with basically everything— checking, savings, credit card processing services, fraud protection.”

come with lower lending rates. Furthermore, interest rates for deposits are typically higher than what banks can offer. Nuvision, in particular, has been building out its business-lending program in Alaska, expanding its lending products and support for small businesses.

“We see a huge growth opportunity in the Alaska market,” says Brahney. “We have a great group of small business advisors with fifteen to twenty-plus years of small business experience.”

Finding Funding

Credit unions offer an alternative to banks, including loans that may

Borrowing need not be as complicated as applying for lumpsum loans. “Visa business credit cards have been really popular the last couple years too,” Brahney adds. “I think businesses are looking for

“Visa business credit cards have been really popular the last couple years too… I think businesses are looking for that short-term working capital to get through the bumps.”

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Junie Steinbeck First National Bank Alaska

that short-term working capital to get through the bumps.”

Tongass FCU offers the typical array of lending options, plus additional lending through partnership with Spruce Root. As a Community Development Financial Institution, Spruce Root can take more risk with lending to entrepreneurs in Southeast, qualifying them for lower-interest loan s and grant funding.

Other types of lenders, like Alaska Growth Capital, operate under different rules and regulations than banks do, so they have more flexibility in loaning money, the amounts they can loan, the credit scores they require, and the terms of repayment. However, loans from lenders may come with hi gher interest rates.

Much like a job-seeker tailoring a résumé for each potential employer, business loan-seekers should tailor their pitches according to the institutions they’re approaching.

“Different lenders have different criteria, different focuses,” Bittner says. “One may not be doing restaurants anymore, or one might say, ‘No loans over $500,000.’ So we can really help [borrowers] save time. Our expertise is as a translator between businesses and finan cial opportunities.”

SBDC also manages the State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI). A national program, the SSBCI provides $10 billion to states, territories, and tribal governments to help small businesses access the funding they need to grow, create jobs, and strengthen local

Because First National Assistant Vice President and Loan Officer Herbert Davis personally knew Golden Heart Waste Owner John Theis, he was comfortable financing new trucks to expand the business.

First National Bank Alaska

Jolene Lyon, CEO of Bering Straits Regional Housing Authority, treats First National bankers Sherilee Keopuhiwa and Nili Sundown as part of the team helping relocate the village of Teller to higher ground.

First National Bank Alaska

Brothers Joe and Ray Martorell set up a Wealth Management account at First National to help expand Image Drywall and Paint beyond Alaska into Nevada.

First National Bank Alaska

economies. SSBCI loans can be quicker to procure, O’Connor says, so she often encourages her clients to apply for those, especially when they’re trying to sol ve a cashflow issue.

Alaska’s SBDC is the only one in the nation to manage two SSBCIs—one on behalf of the State of Alaska, and one on behalf of the state’s 125 federall y recognized tribes.

Expert Guidance

Whether a small business wants to grow its staff, space, or inventory, or wants to explore entirely new opportunities, there are a variety of financing options available—so many, says Bittner, that figuring out what’s best can be a bit overwhelming.

That’s where the SBDC comes in.

The organization offers no-cost, one-on-one business coaching to any small business, saving owners time and effort. SBDC advisors can point owners in the right direction, offering guidance on business plans, market research, budgeting, and financial projections.

For businesses focused on expanding through technology— whether owners are developing technology-based services or are researching a new, innovative product—SBDC’s Technology, Research, Education, and Development program provides access to federal grants and contracts, in addition to coaching an d capacity building.

SBDC can also look into creative ways to expand a business, especially when it comes to problem-

“Different lenders have different criteria, different focuses… One may not be doing restaurants anymore, or one might say, ‘No loans over $500,000.’ So we can really help [borrowers] save time. Our expertise is as a translator between businesses and financial opportunities.”

J on Bittner Stat e Director Alaska Small Business Developm ent Center

solving for rural communities. Ruth Wolfe, SBDC’s Rural Center director, has guided rural business owners interested in expanding—but not in sinking a lot of money into new construction—in the direction of prefab cabins that can be shipped to Alaska and easily constructed, then used as storefront or office space.

O’Connor adds, “One of the biggest things I have to convince my business owners of is, they can’t do everything [themselves].” She helps owners run the numbers to determine whether hiring a subcontractor would save money in the long run. Since virtual assistants and virtual bookkeepers have become more popular, she says, it’s easier—especially for rural businesses—to hire someone to take care of administrative duties.

SBDC isn’t alone supporting small businesses while they’re exploring options for expansion; many lenders offer non-financial fringe benefits as well. For instance, Nuvision is planning the 2026 launch of Zelle for small businesses, a web-based account payment tool. The credit union is exploring supplementary self-service tools that allow more flexibility for small business owners.

Tongass FCU also runs The Commons, Ketchikan’s first coworking space, where entrepreneurs can access free WiFi, hold meetings, or rent office space, and sponsors “Business Power Hours” workshops on topics of interest to small businesses.

Getting Ready to Grow

Getting approved for a loan and going ahead with expansion isn’t the end of the process, O’Connor

adds. She advises her clients to pay down their lines of credit as quickly as possible. Borrowed money is a liability, not an asset, after all. “It’s a new expense that needs to be added to your monthly expenses. If you don’t budget for it, that’s where some businesses run into issues. They’ve spent the loan on that piece of equipment, but they’re not making money fast enough to pay it back,” O’Connor explains.

Above all, it’s important for business owners to go with a trusted lender, says Bittner. While online platforms make finding loans easier, many have extremely high interest rates. “They seem a little predatory,” he says. “You can get locked into a pretty nasty deal easily, so we try to educate people on the pros and cons of platforms like that.”

But web-based assistance can also be a starting point: SBDC is rolling out an AI-based advising service that allows business owners to share the same information they would share with a personal advisor, then receive loan recommendations. From there, owners can transition to connecting with a live person.

Accessing assistance this way, Bittner says, allows businesses to seek support for expanding, which is especially helpful for rural business owners.

“At some point, the owner will be given a link to the SBDC, and then an advisor can take them over the finish line,” he explains. “This allows owners to increase their efficiency. Because the early stages of trying to figure out where a person should focus their efforts— that takes time.”

Exhibit ‘A’ Trade show trends for engaging designs and face-to-face connections

By Tracy Barbour

Tr ade shows provide companies with opportunities to connect with customers and industry partners, showcase their products and services, monitor market trends, and keep an eye on competitors. Also known as trade fairs or exhibitions, these events are evolving rapidly. The most successful participants are the ones that treat trade shows as more than just a “marketing checkthe-box,” says Spawn Ideas CEO Karen King. They’re the ones building

experiences that are immersive, intentional, and aligned with their brand story.

“Whether it’s through smart and sustainable booth design, meaningful giveaways, or tech-driven engagement, the goal is the same: create real connections that last beyond the show floor,” King says.

Nationally, some of the biggest shifts at trade shows include immersive and interactive experiences, King says. Exhibitors are moving beyond static booths.

From augmented reality/virtual reality (AR/VR) demos to live product customization and gamified experiences, brands are creating memorable, hands-on moments that deepen engagement.

Key Trends

In Alaska, the trends are a bit more grounded in regional strengths and community, King says. For example, industry-specific innovation is prominent. Shows like the Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference and

Viks_jin |

In addition, sustainability has become the standard. Ecoconscious booth designs, digital handouts, and carbon offset programs are no longer fringe; they’re expected. “Exhibitors are being held accountable for their environmental impact, and many are proudly showcasing their green iatives,” King says.

Micro events within mega shows are increasingly popular. These niche gatherings within larger expos— like VIP lounges, fireside chats, or industry-specific networking pods—offer more meaningful, targeted interactions.

Generative AI and data-driven personalization is also an increasing trend. “From pre-show targeting to

ComFish Alaska are highlighting local innovation in energy, fisheries, and resource development.

A sense of community and collaboration is also more pervasive in Alaska’s exhibition events.

“Trade shows in the state feel more personal,” King explains. “There’s a real emphasis on relationshipbuilding, especially among small businesses, tribal organizations, and local suppliers. It’s less about flash and more about forging long-term connections.”

PLANNING at its finest

“Trade shows in the state feel more personal… There’s a real emphasis on relationshipbuilding, especially among small businesses, tribal organizations, and local suppliers. It’s less about flash and more about forging long-term connections.”

Karen King CEO S pawn Ideas

real-time lead scoring, AI is helping brands tailor their messaging and follow-up strategies,” King says. “It’s making trade shows smarter and more ROI[return on investment]-focused.”

Overall, the common thread is intentionality. “People are showing up with purpose, looking for authentic connections, and expecting more meaningful, tech-savvy, and sustainable experiences,” she says.

Likewise, Jessica Pace, public relations and strategy director at Brilliant Media Strategies, is seeing a shift toward more experiencedriven activations. Interactive demos, storytelling zones, and hospitality-style spaces are replacing static displays.

touchscreen engagement stations, and livestreamed booth events to reach audiences who may never walk the floor. These tools aren’t replacing trade shows; they’re enhancing them. Pace says, “Done right, they allow companies to build buzz before the event, engage more meaningfully during, and stay connected afterward.”

Essentially, emerging technologies have reshaped how companies approach trade shows, King says. AR and VR have added a new layer of immersion. “At national shows, we've seen companies use them to create interactive product demos or simulate real-world environments, which makes the experience far more memorable,” she says.

“Nationally, more companies are adopting a hybrid approach, combining physical booths with digital touchpoints to expand reach and accessibility,” Pace says. “In Alaska, there is a renewed emphasis on local authenticity, with companies highlighting their community roots and sustainability practices.”

Leveraging Emerging Tech

The use of emerging technologies like virtual events, AR/VR, and digital media has changed the way companies approach trade show participation. Technology has made it easier to extend the impact of trade shows beyond the event itself.

For instance, Brilliant helps clients incorporate AR product demos,

Digital media makes engagement more strategic, offering opportunities to connect. “With real-time analytics and personalized content, we’re designing not just for visual impact but for performance,” King says. “As someone in creative services, it’s exciting to see how these tools help us connect more meaningfully and measure success more precisely. Overall, it’s made trade show participation more dynamic, inclusive, and results driven.”

New technology can introduce delegates to places or products in innovative ways, according to Tia Froehle, director of tourism sales at Visit Anchorage. Virtual events have allowed the nonprofit tourism marketing bureau’s members to connect more globally than before, especially those with limited budgets or time to travel.

But technology hasn’t completely taken over trade shows, Froehle says.

Jessica Pace Brilliant Media Strategies

“Having attentive, well-trained, and engaged staff in your booth is still the best way to get the most from a trade show,” she explains.

Fostering an Immersive Experience

To stand out in a crowded exhibition hall, booth design strategies create immersive experiences. They incorporate innovative furnishings, greenery, and natural materials to build more inviting spaces; offer interactive or hands-on demonstrations; and include more connectionbased areas for small-group and one-on-one meetings.

Visit Anchorage uses these strategies, often guided by an annual theme. Examples include themes that incorporate an immersive aurora experience, Alaska Native culture, or dog mushing. “We have used a video wall at a few of our larger trade shows to really capture their attention with videos showcasing Anchorage in the summer and the winter, promoting us as a year-round destination,” Froehle says.

Companies are also focusing on “inhabitable branding” instead of a traditional booth, according to Pace. Those designs feature natural textures, modular lounge setups, soft lighting, and areas designed for one-on-one connections. “The trend reflects a deeper understanding that trade shows are about people—not just products,” she says. “At Brilliant, we work with clients to choreograph the booth journey so that each element reinforces their brand story.”

Booth design is a major differentiator—especially in crowded

“Having attentive, well-trained, and engaged staff in your booth is still the best way to get the most from a trade show.”

T ia Froehle Director of Tou rism Sales Visit Anchorage

“Nationally, more companies are adopting a hybrid approach, combining physical booths with digital touchpoints to expand reach and accessibility… In Alaska, there is a renewed emphasis on local authenticity, with companies highlighting their community roots and sustainability practices.”

Je ssica Pace Public Relations and Strateg y Director Brilliant Media Strategies

exhibition halls, King says. Therefore, companies should have an inviting layout to draw in attendees. They could use a light-up kiosk that attracts attention and ensure their booth has an uncluttered traffic flow.

Clever, strategic design is a priority, King emphasizes. “We continue to see companies move away from traditional layouts and lean into more immersive, hospitality-inspired spaces,” she explains. “Think lounge-style seating, natural materials, and greenery that make the booth feel more like a destination than a display.”

Interactive elements are also key. Hands-on demos, touchscreen experiences, and even sensory elements such as sound or scent help draw people in and keep them engaged. And more brands are carving out space for connection, like small-group areas or one-on-one meeting zones that encourage deeper conversations. “From a creative standpoint, it’s all about designing with intention and balancing visual impact with comfort, functionality, and storytelling to create an experience that feels both memorable and meaningful,” King says.

She adds, “And one size/booth doesn’t always fit all; a company’s booth should be specific to the industry they are exhibiting at.”

Making It Memorable

Creating engaging and memorable booth experiences comes down to intentional design and authentic interaction, King says. What has worked well is blending bold visuals with interactive elements, whether that’s touchscreens, live demos,

or immersive environments that invite people to explore.

Storytelling is key. “We try to build a narrative into the booth experience,” King explains, “so attendees don’t just see a product, they understand its impact. And small details matter: thoughtful giveaways, personalized content, and staff who are genuinely excited to connect can make a huge difference.”

The most effective strategy is designing with attendees in mind. This means thinking about what will surprise them, engage them, and leave them talking about the company’s brand long after the show ends. Popular and timetested forms of engagement include games, trivia, food and drink, and on-site experiences such as letting the attendee decorate or assemble their own gift. “Appeal to the senses of smell (a small air freshener for the office), taste (food), and sound (a Bluetooth speaker) with the items you give,” King suggests.

For Pace, creating a memorable exhibit is about thoughtful storytelling and sensory engagement. She, like King, suggests anchoring the booth with a signature experience— something tactile, visual, or even taste-based—that ties directly to the brand message. “We also coach our clients on active engagement tactics: personalized demos, social media contests, and data capture tools that offer value in exchange for interaction,” she says. “The most memorable booths are the ones that feel less like a pitch and more like a conversation.”

Tailoring booth design to attendees’ specific needs is key, Froehle says.

This strategy is particularly relevant to Visit Anchorage. “Because we educate travelers and travel-trade about Anchorage and Alaska, having a counter-height table with a map of Alaska and FAQs on hand immediately meets the needs of the trade show delegate,” she explains. “Dynamic images of our destination, supporting materials, and, when possible, curated video of Anchorage experiences add a great deal.”

Broader Integration

As another trend, companies are also integrating trade show strategies with broader marketing efforts. Smart companies treat trade shows as launchpads, not a silo, Pace says. That’s why her agency helps clients develop unified messaging across web, social, print, and booth design, so the trade show becomes a continuation of the brand’s larger story. This might mean updating the website landing page to reflect booth themes, coordinating email campaigns before and after the event, and aligning other materials such as business cards, flyers, or swag with the visuals and language used on the show floor. “When all the touchpoints work together, you build momentum that extends far beyond the event,” she says.

Advertising agency MSI Communications helps clients reach beyond trade conferences with geo-fenced ads. For example, in Anchorage, the agency can serve a mobile ad targeting smartphones within a one-mile circle of the Dena’ina Civic and Convention Center to reach attendees at the venue as well as nearby restaurants,

“The most memorable booths are the ones that feel less like a pitch and more like a conversation.”

Je ssica Pace

Strateg

Director

“We try to build a narrative into the booth experience, so attendees don’t just see a product, they understand its impact. And small details matter: thoughtful giveaways, personalized content, and staff who are genuinely excited to connect can make a huge difference.”

Karen King CEO S pawn Ideas

breweries, hotels, and other stores in the immediate downtown area, according to Director of Advertising Vanessa Layman. This reach extends beyond the walls of the center, so it is not an exact science.

“Afterward, we can then retarget people who clicked on a convention ad for days/weeks following the trade show to increase awareness and encourage more engagement,” Layman says. “In the Lower 48, the audience could potentially be much larger than Anchorage and allow a company to really stand out in a crowded trade show.”

If exhibitors want to maximize convention exposure, MSI recommends proximity-targeted ads. When clicked, the ads direct people to a dynamic landing page with special “call to action” buttons: get a quote, call for an appointment, or visit the booth. MSI can also incorporate information such as distance to the booth based on the real-time location of the mobile phone.

“The call to action might be brand awareness, visit our website, or come see us at booth XYZ,” Layman says. “With analytics, MSI can track how many convention participants see the ad and how many click on the ad. It is a good tactic for building awareness at a conference and generating interest beyond the booth.”

Exhibition Advice

For businesses looking to refresh their trade show presence, King’s biggest piece of advice is to start with the attendee experience. Think about how a booth can invite curiosity,

spark conversation, and leave a lasting impression. “That might mean rethinking your layout to include more open, welcoming spaces or adding interactive elements like demos, touchscreens, or even just a great coffee bar,” she says.

As for promotional items, focus on quality over quantity. Choose items that are useful, sustainable, or techforward. Choose items with high perceived value— things people will actually keep and use. And make sure everything, from the booth design to the giveaways, ties back to the brand story. King emphasizes, “Cohesion and intentionality go a long way in standing out.”

Pace recommends companies audit their current setup through the lens of their audience. They should consider whether their message is instantly clear, if their booth invites exploration, and whether their giveaway aligns with their brand values. “We often tell clients: ‘Don’t chase trends, chase resonance.’ Refreshing your presence doesn’t always mean starting over,” she says. “Sometimes it’s about tightening the message, elevating your visuals, and investing in materials that support meaningful interaction.”

Froehle advises companies to evolve over time as trends change and analyze how the changes affect engagement. She says, “Quality is usually better than quantity, and make it as local as you can.”

Vanessa Layman MSI Communications

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Hackers of the Valley

H5 Construction makes its own work to build up its community

By Rindi White

Te n short years ago, H5 Construction performed routine property maintenance with one employee. Now the company is looking at about $75 million in work—a list that includes the Home2 Suites by Hilton in Wasilla, more than one affordable housing development project, a new custom-designed veterinary urgent care facility, and a major renovation to the Alaska Addiction Rehabilitation Services alcohol treatment facility at Nugen’s Ranch that will double its client capacity from twenty-six beds to fifty-two—and that’s just the projects happening in the MatanuskaSusitna Borough.

Cameron Johnson and Daniel and Jerad Hacker, the brothers who run H5, are three of the five Hackers for whom H5 is named; their parents, Jim and Lisa Hacker, are the other two. While it’s fair to say the company has come a long way in one decade, the brothers will attest that each step has been on the greater path of building a company they see as their dad’s legacy.

Pooling Strengths

“My dad was able to go from a guy who didn’t graduate high school to being a very successful business owner and contractor in the state,” Cameron says.

When the family started H5 Construction and began doing construction work—small office renovations and the like—they learned that each brought different skills to the table. Cameron is a skilled property developer, while Daniel and Jerad bring strong management and construction expertise. Their dad added a vast

The Hacker family moved to Alaska in 1983, looking for a fresh start. Jim and Lisa’s three sons grew up in the Mat-Su, learning lessons about fixing things, promoting a business, and living with integrity. Jim was a journeyman plumber, a licensed electrician, and a jack of all trades.

WHERE HEAVY LIFTING MEETS HEAVY DUTY.

depth of knowledge—ranging from estimating and supervision to project management.

“As a journeyman plumber with hands-on experience across multiple trades, he had just about every skill you could think of, and together the family has always leaned on one another’s strengths,” Daniel says.

“That’s really what’s helped us, as a company. We’re family owned and ran, and we just work well off each other,” Cameron notes.

Jerad adds, “There’s just no egos involved; nobody’s really looking for the credit. Everybody is trying to hit a certain goal and whatever it takes to get there, it doesn’t matter who’s

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WASILLA

responsible for it at the end of the day. We know where we want to get to and we all just put our heads down and go to work.”

Breaking into Bigger Projects

The company worked on smaller jobs for a couple years, and the big break arrived in 2017 when local affordable housing nonprofit Valley Residential Services (VRS) needed a contractor to take over a senior housing project in Wasilla that was already underway. H5 finished building the seventy-eight-unit Vista Rose Senior Apartment complex.

“That kind of just kick-started us, as a company,” Cameron says.

Since then, H5 and VRS have been a team. Cameron is affiliated with The Pacific Companies, an affordable housing development firm that builds throughout the western United States. H5 builds the developments, with partner financing through Alaska Housing Finance Corporation, and VRS is the property manager.

“They’re my partner in 75 percent of the affordable housing projects we’ve done up here,” Cameron says. “We have a really good working relationship with VRS. We’re working together to help solve the affordable housing crisis that’s happening here in the Valley and in the state as a whole.”

Jerad estimates that H5 has built about 700 affordable housing units in Southcentral—about 100 of those in Anchorage, he notes. In town, H5 is working with Cook Inlet Housing Authority on numerous projects. Currently under construction is phase 1 of the twenty-four-unit Baxter Family Housing project, which

H5 Construction built Scorpion Grass Cannabis Company, a business Lisa Hacker runs.

Shaylee Boyles | Elite Photo Alaska

H5 built a new, updated building for Knik Tire & Auto.

Shaylee Boyles | Elite Photo Alaska

Vista Rose senior apartments in Wasilla include seventy-eight units and common areas for residents to gather. The project helped H5 shift from small renovations to working as a large contractor.

Shaylee Boyles | Elite Photo Alaska

consists of two nine-plex buildings and a six-plex. Initially scheduled for construction next year, a decision by the Anchorage Assembly to lift certain design rules for multi-family housing projects allowed work to begin earlier than expected.

Affordable housing isn’t the only kind of housing H5 knows how to build, however. The company also recently completed construction of Bella Terra Luxury Apartments, a thirty-two-unit gated complex on east Fourth Avenue in the Muldoon neighborhood.

With Cameron working on finance and his brothers handling construction, residential projects are a big part of H5’s future— some are even planned at H5’s showpiece project, The Shoppes at Sun Mountain.

Building a Flagship

“We’re not just a general contractor; we’re a development company. So, through that development, we create opportunities for the contracting arm as well,” Cameron says, noting that about 70 percent of the projects H5 has been involved in have started as development projects H5 created.

One project that has exemplified H5’s growth has been The Shoppes at Sun Mountain, a 32-acre shopping center overlooking Cottonwood Creek in Wasilla. Since it opened in 2019, the power center has become home to Alaska’s first Sonic Drive-

In, as well as a Fred Meyer gas station, Planet Fitness, Tacos Cancun Mexican Grill, Krispy Kreme, MTA and, most recently, House of Fire Pizza. Development is only getting started, however; H5 crews are working to

“We’re not just a general contractor; we’re a development company. So, through that development, we create opportunities for the contracting arm as well.”

Camer on Johnson H5 Co nstruction

build a 107-room Home2 Suites by Hilton, which should be open by fall 2026. Also in store for the property is a 31-unit senior apartment project, Cameron says.

He envisions the kind of shopping complex one might find Outside, with various national chains anchoring the site. When he started working on the project in 2019, “we had all these big plans.” He had a five-year goal to develop the property. Several national retailers were ready to jump on board. But then COVID-19 happened, and many national retailers paused expansion plans until the future was clearer.

“We’re now into year six, and we’re not even halfway done,” Cameron says.

He gave credit to his brothers, who sourced other development and construction opportunities to help the

company through. Now development is going strong again, with a new retail building that opened this summer—House of Fire Pizza is an anchor tenant—and ground broken on the hotel in July.

“The Sun Mountain project is a staple in the community. As far as total scope, it’s one of the biggest projects to hit Wasilla in a few decades,” Jerad notes.

Revitalizing Wasilla

Lest one think H5 is just about developing new projects, renovations on the shore of Lake Lucille show how that's not the case. In 2023, H5 renovated the Mat-Su’s only existing national hotel chain, the Best Western Lake Lucille Inn, and gave it a new restaurant, Chop House at Lake Lucille. Cameron says it’s one

of his favorite of all H5’s projects because it had been a treasured dining spot before it closed in the late 2000s.

“It’s such an incredible space that was being underutilized,” he says. “What we were able to do there was pretty special.”

Cameron is also an owner of Settler’s Bay Lodge in Knik, and H5 is now working to transform another iconic Wasilla spot: the former Wasilla Bar, which closed in 2004 and transitioned to a Salvation Army thrift store but recently shut down. Daniel says that’s one of his favorite projects; the bar and its saloon-style exterior was classic Wasilla. Having the opportunity to revamp the building and bring it up to date is meaningful. “It’s one of the first things you see as

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Workers guide the flow

Shaylee Boyles | Elite Photo Alaska you drive into town, so to have an opportunity to be a part of that was pretty big,” he says.

Jerad notes that the former bar will be split into two units. One side

A concrete boom pump pours at the Home2 Suites by Hilton site at The Shoppes at Sun Mountain.

Shaylee Boyles | Elite Photo Alaska

will house a Great Harvest Bread Company franchise, known for whole grain breads made from Montana wheat. That store is expected to open in November, he says.

Jerad says he’s excited about moving more into medical construction. H5 recently completed the Susitna Animal Urgent Care clinic off Trunk Road and is now working on a dentist’s

of concrete at the Home2 Suites by Hilton site at The Shoppes at Sun Mountain.

office, with another health clinic project on deck.

Development and construction means having a hand in shaping the community, he says. “A lot of our drive is just providing jobs and bringing new services to the Valley— and housing,” Jerad says. “We can see the differences it makes out in the community. We’ve seen that from the beginning with the lives it’s changed.”

Giving Back

H5 has been working to make a difference in a different way as well.

Jim retired a few years ago from the company he started, but a year into his retirement he was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), more commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s

disease. It’s a progressive nervous system disease that causes muscle weakness, loss of movement, and eventually death. For people whose homes are not wheelchair accessible, living with the diagnosis can be distressing and even dangerous.

Jim died of ALS in 2023. “It was one of my dad’s dying wishes to help those that were less fortunate and couldn’t find those [support] services,” Cameron says.

“In his honor, we created a nonprofit, Jimbo’s Wish, that does home modifications to make the quality of life better for those diagnosed with ALS here in Alaska,” Daniel adds. “There’s a lot of homes here that are just worst-case scenario: tri-levels or split levels that, you know, you

reach a point that you just can’t get up the stairs. There needs to be chair lifts or elevators or tho se types of things.”

For the past two years, the family has held a golf scramble on their dad’s birthday weekend to raise money for Jimbo’s Wish. The event helps provide materials for needed renovations, and H5 volunteers their time to complete the work.

Building Partnerships

H5 has had a steady growth trajectory over the past ten years, the Hackers say. Revenue has grown—often even doubling—in many of those years, Jerad says. The employee count has gone from one to forty-three. Part of the team’s passion is not just to grow the company but to make

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more opportunities for the people within it, Daniel says.

“If you only have three projects, you only have three superintendents. There’s people who are trying to get to the next level. If you don't open up opportunities and take on more projects and allow people to step into those roles, they're going to go somewhere else,” he explains. “So what we want to do is to create opportunities and create benefits.”

He notes that H5 was able to offer its employees a 75 percent employer-paid healthcare plan this year, in addition to a retirement plan and other benefits.

Just as important, the number of people involved in H5 contracts has gone up significantly as well. Jerad notes that H5’s growth plateaued at one point because it

Onsite

The five members of the Hacker family who make up H5 Construction. In front is Jim Hacker, then Lisa Hacker, Cameron Johnson, Daniel Hacker, and Jerad Hacker. H5 Construction

was difficult to find enough people to get the work done.

“For the first seven or eight years, we framed everything… and we couldn’t find any subcontractors to take that portion of work on. It kind of held up our growth a little bit,” Jerad says. “When you're growing as fast as we are, if you only have one electrician, you’re not going to get very far.”

But the company has worked hard to expand its subcontractor base and has turned those into good relationships. “And, quite honestly, a lot of these subs are growing with us,” Jerad notes. “They went from, you know, little mom and pop shops to now they have fifteen or twenty e mployees.”

There’s also the reputation the company has worked hard to build. Cameron notes that their father was emphatic that working with integrity, being dependable and reliable, and turning out quality work was the way to succeed in business—and in life. H5 has followed that standard, Cameron says, and it’s paying off.

“We’re not chasing work; people are calling us because they know what they’re going to get: they’re going to get an honest experience with a reliable and trustworthy contractor. That’s really what we’ve built our brand on,” Cameron says. “We’re not trying to get rich off one project. It’s developing relationships, working with integrity and, through that, we’ve created, I think, a very positive identity here in the Valley as people you can trust.”

H5 kept the tall ceilings inside Best Western at Lake Lucille Inn but completely renovated the bar and restaurant area.

Shaylee Boyles | Elite Photo Alaska

With comfy lounge chairs and tabletop fires, the newly renovated deck at the Chop House at Lake Lucille is inviting.

Shaylee Boyles | Elite Photo Alaska

The Chop House at Lake Lucille offers diners a commanding view of the lake.

Shaylee Boyles | Elite Photo Alaska

A Garage Away from Home

The sudden sprouting of garage condos

By Scott Rhode

Wh at’s an Alaskan gearhead to do?

“Alaskans tend to have a lot of toys, maybe more than any other state,” says Yvan Corbin, owner and CEO of Top Shelf Realty. All those RVs, ATVs, motorcycles, snowmachines, jet skis, boats, and trailers take up space. If home isn’t big enough, off-site storage can help, but monthly fees can drain a budget.

Corbin’s company and other developers have an alternative: an extra garage.

One of those other developers, GarageTown Anchorage, asks on its website, “What’ll be in YOUR garage?” Emphasis on the possessive highlights the key feature: these properties are bought and owned. The complexes are managed like condominiums with a homeowners association (HOA) and access controlled through locked gates.

GarageTown’s site on 79th Avenue in South Anchorage is locked out, though, with all units currently sold. Ditto its forerunner site about a half mile away near the East Dimond Boulevard curve. Demand has been outpacing supply, says Andre Spinelli, whose family developed the GarageTown properties in Anchorage.

“A lot of people wanted them but couldn’t get them, so a few other small projects popped up,” he says.

Other Projects

Garage condos moved off the back streets and into higher visibility when the go-kart raceway near Seward Highway and Dimond Boulevard was bulldozed to make way for some. Ryan Cropper, who formerly owned Able Body Shop, built thirty-

two units at Able Garage Condos, which opened a year ago.

Corbin says he noticed the development along the freeway before the owner contacted him to sell some units. “I’ve gone to that go-kart track many times and taken my kids there, so yeah, it’s weird,” he says.

Top Shelf Realty developed its own garage condos in the Oceanview neighborhood along Old Seward Highway. “They’re garage condos with offices up top, with a mezzanine that can be used as an office,” Corbin explains. “They’re zoned commercial [I-1], so someone could actually use it as a storefront, put a sign up over the garage door.” As with Able Garage Condos, some are for sale while others are reserved for the developer to lease.

In Midtown, the vacant lot that was, long ago, the site of the highrise Northern Lights Hotel is marked for revival as garage condos. Guy Burk, whose dental clinic and other ancillary businesses are adjacent to the property, is leading that project.

And earlier this summer, Spinelli finished a complex on Lake Otis Parkway near Dowling Road. “We started closing units and moving people in around the first of June,” he says. The family-owned general contractor, Spinell Homes, of which Spinelli is president, built the complex, while a separate partnership, AK Garages, handles the sales component.

Able, Top Shelf, and AK Garages all at once, with Midtown waiting in the wings: Garage condos are having a moment. Spinelli says, “That’s just kind of random, that the

timing of their project and my project hit at the same time.”

The Ownership Feeling

New projects are raising the profile of this type of property, but the concept is not new. “There were garage warehouses in town before, and some were condominiumized, but they weren’t marketed in the same way,” Spinelli says.

He recounts that an acquaintance of his father got involved with the GarageTown franchise in Idaho and suggested bringing the format to Alaska. “You gotta have a clubhouse and a few other things to meet the GarageTown standard,” Spinelli explains.

That’s how it used to be. “It was just us doing it. We were building to whatever we thought the

demand was,” Spinelli says. And then others started dipping their toes into garage condos.

These properties fill a need that rented self-storage can’t. Corbin says, “They’re typically bigger spaces. They’re very tall; a lot of storage units aren’t big enough for boats, trailers, or whatever.”

Furthermore, depending on zoning and HOA rules, businesses can operate in them, either as workshops or storefronts.

“For $500,000, give or take, you have a storefront, and you own it. That’s not a bad deal. If you look at most of the places for sale in Anchorage where you can run a business, for 500 grand you don’t get much,” Corbin says.

Gated access at most of the complexes limits customer traffic,

Since it opened to occupants this summer, The Garage at Lake Otis has gained a perimeter fence allowing access only to authorized visitors.

Saggio

but owners can come and go at any hour. “You get the ownership feeling,” Corbin adds. With ownership comes personalization, which is how units become fully furnished lounges. Can’t do that in rented storage.

Plus, owners accrue equity. Corbin says, “I’ve sold a few older ones in the Huffman Park area. Every single one

that’s sold, they’ve all made money.”

He adds that most of the units he’s sold are owner occupied; subleasing is rare because buyers typically need a garage condo for themselves.

When they need to sell, though, “Some of these units have seen a lot of appreciation, so it turns into a real estate investment,” Spinelli says.

Of course, investment properties also include homes, and homes come with garages, but Corbin doesn’t see that as a viable alternative to a garage condo. “A lot of times people are like, ‘Shoot, I could just buy a house and have a garage with it.’ True, but if you look at the average single-family home price in Anchorage [$520,000], it’s expensive,” he says. Furthermore, “With that, you’ll get the traditional two-car garage, anywhere from 400 to 440

square feet—that doesn’t go very far. It gets filled up pretty quick.”

Target Market

“They’re not cheap,” Corbin says of the garage condos. The typical buyer has a higher income and enough large possessions to warrant the extra storage space.

“They’re not for everyone; they’re very expensive,” Corbin says.

One of the Top Shelf units on Old Seward Highway is listed for $549,800. The Garage at Lake Otis has more affordable options, from $255,200 to $522,000. “The biggest one is a 30-by-60-foot unit with garage doors on both ends that you could drive through. It’s mindboggling to me how expensive these things are these days,” Spinelli says. Plus, HOA dues for that deluxe model

run $250 per month. Yet Spinelli is amazed that Alaska has enough buyers willing to pay the premium.

Corbin notes that he doesn’t have a sales pitch; buyers seek him out. “A lot of car owners or RV owners would rather keep their stuff in heated storage than outside or unheated spaces,” he says.

Options for Use

Beyond storage, Spinelli adds, “People are using them for everything under the sun: guys are running glass shops out of them, guys are running auto detail shops out of them, excavators use them to store equipment. Fast food chains use them to store whatever extra supplies they have.”

Snowbirds who motorhome around Alaska in summer might own a

Reach for the Stars

garage condo for storage in winter.

Also, as the population ages, Corbin has seen garage condos as a solution for those who are downsizing into smaller homes. “They had a big garage and they’re moving to a condo or whatnot; they just don’t have a lot of space anymore. They don’t want to get rid of all their stuff; they want their nice summer car or RV or boat,” he says.

Garage condos are also ideal workshops for both hobbyists and professionals. “There’s guys putting CNC machines in these things. People expanding into the world of 3D printing and micromanufacturing have used these things. I’ve seen everything,” Spinelli says. “Handymen and small contractors are buying them to have an office and shop and bathroom—a home base.”

Oh yes: a toilet and sink come standard. “A couple of people have upgraded to add showers,” Spinelli says.

“If you have a bathroom in yours, wow! It makes it easy to spend a few hours there or create a little gentleman’s club,” Corbin adds. “Some people have put pool tables up there, golf simulators. Because of the bathroom and having access to a shower, it really gives you a lot of different options as to what you can use it for.”

No Fonzies, Please

If the garage is so nice, why not live there?

“Someone could always try; I don’t know how hard everything is being policed,” says Corbin. A car parked outside for months might prompt a

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“Some people have put pool tables up there, golf simulators. Because of the bathroom and having access to a shower, it really gives you a lot of different options as to what you can use it for.”

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neighbor to report a violation of HOA documents or city code enforcement.

Spinelli says, “Getting these things approved, the municipality was like, ‘What’s to stop somebody from living in there?’ Well, guess what, we’re not the police. We’re just a builder. The city ended up making it so you’re not allowed to live there, in the HOA documents.”

He adds that other local regulations disqualify garage condos as housing.

“The Lake Otis property is built on B3-zoned land. B3 does allow for multifamily, but it’s the city building codes,” he says. “The main reason the HOA rules don’t allow it is because the building is not built that way.”

While Anchorage is desperate for more housing, Corbin doesn’t see garage condos as conflicting with that need, at least not in all cases.

“The land where they’re doing it is not residential, so I don’t think it’s affecting that anyway,” he says.

Spinell Homes has experimented with mixed-use development. “I did a project on Spenard and 31st a couple years ago where we put one-bedroom apartments above these garages, and the one-bedroom apartment drove the price up so much that they were difficult to sell,” Spinelli says. “There’s more people that want a garage; they don’t want an extra $200,000 to put a one-bedroom apartment on top. Putting that housing on top is pretty expensive.”

As one of the premier homebuilders in Anchorage, Spinelli is very aware of market conditions. “At the end of the day, we’re a general contractor that needs to turn a profit and keep our guys busy, keep our subs running,” he says.

“I really do feel that the market is somewhat saturated. I have guys that are pitching me on new locations, and I’m telling them, ‘I’m not quite ready to go there yet.’”

Andre Spinelli, President, Spi nell Homes

To Spinelli, the garage condo at Lake Otis was a $16 million commercial project that kept Spinell Homes employees and subcontractors cashing paychecks. The only difference, if they had been building a house instead, he says: “The construction type is a bit simpler than housing. It’s a little less intricate.”

Saturation Point

Less intricate doesn’t mean inexpensive. “Construction costs have gone through the roof, not just materials but labor. They’re really expensive to build. I know it looks simple, but they’re a lot more expensive than they look,” says Corbin. “People are like, ‘It’s so cheap! You’re just building a box.’ Not really.”

He doesn’t expect many more garage condos to be built until land prices go down and skilled labor is

more available. “All the moving parts that go into building are insanely expensive,” Corbin says.

He doesn’t expect a boom of garage condos in the MatanuskaSusitna Borough, either. Although the area is seeing far more residential construction than Anchorage lately, “A lot of the people have bigger lots, so they’re building detached garages and whatnot, keeping everything there,” Corbin says.

There is one development, Mat Valley Man Caves, east of Wasilla. “This development was constructed by a team of established contractors in the area that wanted to have safe, secure, and high-quality storage options for personal and business use,” says Emma Shibe, an associate broker with RE/MAX. In one building, businesses own two of the units, individuals own two, and one is for sale. A second building has seven units. “That building was purchased in its entirety by an investor, who now leases the units for personal and business use,” Shibe says, and she is not aware of other Mat-Su projects.

The sudden surge of very visible garage condos is likely near an end. Spinelli says, “I really do feel that the market is somewhat saturated. I have guys that are pitching me on new locations, and I’m telling them, ‘I’m not quite ready to go there yet.’”

The garage condos that have been built will remain useful for the long term, as Corbin sees it. “I think they’re good investments. I don’t think they’re going to go down in value; I think they’re going up,” he says. “We might have reached the saturation point. If no more get built, then these will stay popular.”

As recently as fifty years ago, milkmen still delivered door to door, and many people expected to return their used containers. All that changed with the rise of refrigeration, selfserve supermarkets, and lightweight plastic packaging. By 1975, just one in fifteen US consumers still put bottles on the stoop for the milkman to replace. That fraction has dwindled to nearly nothing these days, but a growing awareness of plastic’s downsides has helped create some fresh fans of reusable packaging and zero-waste retail.

Refill ‘Er Up Businesses that specialize in reusable packaging

By Christi Foist

When Delta Junction dairy owner Scott Plagerman first decided to use glass bottles, he hoped the decision would reduce his longterm shipping costs and the need to regularly restock product packaging from Lower 48 suppliers.

As with many aspects of business models that seek to reduce single-use packaging, the reality proved complex.

Alaska has several retail stores with zero-waste grocery options, meaning they sell products in

bulk. While most grocery stores sell produce in bulk, these stores go beyond that, selling dry goods like oats, tea, spices, and lentils from bulk bins or canisters and, in some cases, liquids like oil and honey too. Some stores also sell body products like lotion, soap, and shampoo in bulk.

Some producers, such as Plagerman’s Alaska Range Dairy, also include reusable packaging options in their business models. Since the modern growler’s invention in 1989, draft beer drinkers also have gotten

Christi Foist

used to toting a gallon jug back to the microbrewery. While doing so often involves a bit of extra effort for both business and customer, that effort can be worth the inconvenience and consistent with their values.

Dispensing Differently

Some of Alaska’s zero-waste retailers use a self-serve model by which customers weigh, fill, and label the container of their choice. Stores that take this approach acknowledge that educating customers about this process takes more time.

“Not everyone is familiar with how to shop bulk,” says Michelle Young, co-founder of Raw Market in Girdwood. “The refill shopping experience can be overwhelming, and many people miss or misinterpret the instructions.”

Those instructions include signs reminding customers to wash and dry their hands at sinks that Raw Market provides in the shop. Some shops get around that issue by having employees handle all weighing, filling, and labeling.

At Sunshine Health Foods in Fairbanks, manager Katie Johnson says the company buys more than 350 bulk herbs to package in-house, where they’re sold in one-ounce or one-pound quantities. “We choose to bag the herbs ourselves,” she says, enabling the shop to “process the herbs or bulk grocery items that need to be broken down with minimal waste, loss, or cross-contamination.”

Summit Spice and Tea Company in Anchorage handles packaging with two employee-staffed counters, says owner DeeAnn Apgar. Customers can get as much or little as they

Minimizing package waste is a priority for Blue Market AK, a small grocery in Anchorage's Spenard neighborhood. The top banner on the store's website reads, "Refill. Not Landfill."

Christi Foist

want—and in their own containers, as long as they’re clean.

Sticky and Tricky

Dry goods are so easy to sell in bulk, compared to the added step of prepackaging, that they were practically made for refilleries. “These items have long shelf lives, are easy to portion, and are stored well in reusable containers,” says Young. Raw Market must take more care, however, with moisture-sensitive items, such as dried fruits or oily nuts.

Brown sugar proved so tricky for Blue Market AK that the Anchorage shop had to stop selling it in bulk.

Founder and co-owner Jen Gordon says the store sells thousands of items, but the blend of white sugar and molasses tends to dry out quickly. So far, it’s one of very few cases where Blue Market AK has not figured out a good way to mitigate issues for bulk dispensing.

With liquid items, refilleries have more varied experiences. At Sunshine Health Foods, Johnson says liquids are the only bulk items that they let customers self-dispense. At the soap station, customers can refill several cleaning liquids into their own containers. “This has proven to be successful with little to no mess— an easy refill process and happy customers who not only save money but also reduce packaging,” she says.

Others find liquids more challenging. “There’s a lot more cleanup and maintenance involved,” says David Ottoson, general manager of Rainbow Foods in Juneau. That store used to have a peanut butter machine, but “it was a pain to clean, so we haven’t offered that for a long time.”

When it opened in 2024, Raw Market brought a grocery alternative to Girdwood and a distinct format of bulk shopping for ingredients.

Christi Foist

Blue Market AK has also had “issues with breaking or leakage” of the equipment used to dispense liquids, Gordon says. Molasses created particular challenges, as it gets thick and sticky. Like brown sugar, Blue Market AK had to stop selling molasses in bulk for now.

Cleaning also creates issues on the container side of things. Plagerman says his dairy can’t easily reuse milk jars that don’t come back sufficiently clean. Most customers do very well at rinsing out residue, he says, but some return the bottles “gross, dirty.” Sometimes he’s seen the odd jar from an out-of-state dairy like Straus Family Creamery in California. And if there’s old milk in the jar, Plagerman says, “We basically have to throw ‘em away.”

Jared Solberg, general manager of Natural Pantry in Anchorage, says stinky milk jars can become an issue for retailers too. Because of the deposit process, the store must ask people to bring the jars back clean. But even jars with a slight residue can start to stink. Depending on how long until the next milk delivery, he says the store’s kitchen sometimes washes milk jars before returning them to the dairy. Solberg understands; he admits that he also sometimes forgets milk jars in the garage before cleaning.

Milk sold in glass tastes better, in Plagerman’s opinion, but he says the dairy had to completely stop selling chocolate milk that way because the sugar content kept the jars from getting clean enough. “We’re very strictly monitored on these glass bottles by DEC,” he says, referring to the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation.

“Not everyone is familiar with how to shop bulk… The refill shopping experience can be overwhelming, and many people miss or misinterpret the instructions.”

Michelle Young, Co-founder, Raw Market

Reusing Containers

In theory, bulk bins reduce the need for packaging, but many customers forget to bring reusable bags for a shopping trip, never mind jars—and clean ones at that. Stores take several different approaches to this challenge.

Some stores accept jar and bottle donations, which customers can use for free. Depending on the store, they may also supplement this with new jars for purchase. Ottoson says Rainbow Foods doesn’t sell jars, but

the store puts out clean jars that would’ve otherwise been recycled after the first use. Summit Spice and Tea sells many prepackaged teas and cocoas in tins with removable labels so customers can easily reuse the container for future purchases.

Upstream from retailers, relatively few suppliers have a setup like Plagerman’s, where the dairy encourages customers to return and reuse packaging. Of those that do, some charge a deposit while others maintain a more informal system.

With the dairy, individual retailers collect the deposit as part of the bottle sale, refunding it when customers return jars to the store. Alaska Range Dairy, in turn, charges retailers a deposit for every jar sold. Plagerman says the dairy credits retailers each delivery, calculating the deposit based on the number of jars returned.

Raw Market sells cold-pressed juices in reusable bottles, with a deposit charged upon purchase. Customers receive a $2 credit toward future juice purchases for each jar returned. Young estimates that about 30 percent of Raw Market’s jars get returned.

Alaska doesn’t have a statewide container deposit system, of course, so businesses manage their own. “I like it,” Plagerman says of using jars in the dairy. “I wish it worked a little better.” However, he adds that most large retailers don’t want to hassle with the bottle collection, despite the rarity of old-fashioned “cream-top milk” like his.

Stronger than burlap, buckets cycle back and forth between the Uncle Leroy's Coffee roastery and its wholesale customers.

Christi Foist

Staff scoop the quantity a customer desires at Summit Spice and Tea Company.

Christi Foist

Alpenglow Skin Care founder and owner Susan Houlihan says a lack of containers has not been a problem. “I’m kind of like the bucket source for my friends,” she says. Houlihan gets many supplies for her manufacturing—like glycerin or rose hip oil—in five-gallon buckets. Between wholesale customers like Blue Market AK and direct sales within her home base of Homer, she’s able to reuse many containers.

Despite its Anchorage location, Blue Market AK staff usually pick up new Alpenglow Skin Care orders in person during other trips in the Homer area, Houlihan says. They’ve worked out a system to return empty containers at the same time. Other customers might return several containers at a time. Some Lower 48 customers even mail them back in a batch.

Cream and Coffee

Each time Houlihan prepares a new batch of, say, face cream—she usually makes 25 to 50 gallons at a time— she contacts retailers first. When they tell her how much more they want, she packages the new product in reusable buckets.

Some customers —like Blue Market AK—return the buckets already clean. But Houlihan cleans them again, just to be safe. “I’m very particular with cleaning things. I’m the manufacturer,” she says. Once dry, she sterilizes the buckets and stacks them in a storage area. Before filling the buckets, she sterilizes them a second time.

Gordon says Alpenglow Skin Care is one of multiple producers Blue Market AK works with that reuse or reduce containers in the

distribution process. Another, Uncle Leroy’s Coffee of Anchorage, has a bucket exchange program. Co-owner Austin Schwartz says three other wholesale customers participate in the coffee bucket exchange in addition to Blue Market AK.

Like Houlihan’s system at Alpenglow Skin Care, participating customers let Uncle Leroy’s know how much coffee they want. Staff then fill the buckets, which hold up to 12 pounds, accordingly. Each time

“This has proven to be successful with little to no mess— an easy refill process and happy customers who not only save money but also reduce packaging.”

Kat ie Johnson Manager Sunshine He alth Foods

they make a delivery, they collect the empty buckets for cleaning and reuse.

Schwartz says the roaster has had the exchange program since Uncle Leroy’s started wholesaling coffee several years ago. When it was selling coffee in a retail space, customers could take the empty burlap bags that unroasted coffee (called “green beans”) had come in. They now donate them to the Muldoon Chanshtnu Food Forest for use in the community gardens.

Because its bulkiest raw material comes in bags, Uncle Leroy’s had to buy buckets to use in the roastery, Schwartz says, but they can reuse those for a long time. “In the long run, in theory it would be cost effective because you’re [otherwise] purchasing those fivepound bags” to package coffee for wholesale clients, he says.

At Sustainable Wares in Homer, owner Karen West saves as much as she can from incoming packages and uses it for all her mail-order customers. West says she never runs out of shipping supplies, but storing the empty boxes does take considerably more space. “I have piles of boxes and packing material.”

Yes, she could flatten the boxes, but West says that would take too much time. Thus, whenever she gets overrun with cardboard, West unloads the surplus through various Facebook groups.

Many of her incoming packages use greener materials like paper. When packages arrive with bubble wrap or air-filled plastic pouches, she saves those for certain customers. When people order items already involving some plastic, West says she feels comfortable reusing plastic in those orders. However, if customers buy only plastic-free items, she sticks with the most sustainable packaging she has on hand, reusing paper or peanuts made from cornstarch for those orders. Sustainable Wares sells many plastic-free items, including beeswax food wraps, Alpenglow’s peony soap, and wallets made from repurposed tires. Whatever the packaging, every outgoing shipment includes a sticker saying

“everything is reused and usually able to be recycled.”

How Reusables Do or Don’t Pay Off

For Sustainable Wares, reusing packaging has almost surely saved money on shipping supplies. West figures, “I don’t really purchase packing material.” Other businesses find more mixed results.

Plagerman says milk bottled in glass accounted for 13 percent of gallons sold in June 2025. (The dairy uses halfgallon jars instead of gallon plastic containers, but it measures total sales volume in gallons.) Cleaning and shipping glass jars is more expensive, he adds, and fewer bottles fit on a pallet, despite the smaller volume.

Natural Pantry once offered one of the largest bulk sections in Anchorage but no longer sells even coffee in bulk. Solberg says the store hopes to bring bulk bins back within the year, depending on the outcome of conversations with the Anchorage Health Department. The COVID-19

pandemic imposed changes to Natural Pantry’s bulk sales. “The bulk bins went away and they really haven’t come back yet,” Solberg says.

Once Natural Pantry stopped letting people self-fill from its bulk bins, management calculated the most common quantities of each bulk item sold and started prepackaging items accordingly. The store briefly experimented with selling spices prepackaged in small amounts, but it has mostly offered one-pound bags and more traditionally sized jars.

The adjustment has been difficult for some shoppers. “We’ve had customers tell us, ‘You don’t do bulk anymore, we’re never gonna shop here again,’” Solberg says. However, he says the store is actually selling more pounds of product now that it’s all prepackaged.

Bulk bins were also a source of inventory shrinkage. Solberg observes that sales of items like regular bulk almonds regularly exceeded what was stocked on the sales floor. He figures some customers bagged organic almonds and then wrote

down the price look-up code for cheaper regular almonds.

Summit Spice and Tea avoids shrinkage problems by not allowing self-serve bulk purchases. At each of two counters (one for teas, one for spices), an employee handles all weighing, filling, and labeling.

Selling in bulk allows for better pricing, Apgar adds, while letting customers buy just what they need. “It just seems like it makes a lot of sense,” she says. Depending on the purpose or item, people don’t always need a lot of certain spices, especially more costly ones. And bulk sales mean people can try a new tea without making a big commitment.

Houlihan cites a similar benefit with her skincare products. “I always encourage people, ‘Try the product in small sizes’” to see if they like it, she says. After all, bulk sales don’t just have the potential to reduce packaging waste; they can also reduce waste of food and other products. In the long run, some customers may find the greatest savings there.

A sink on the sales floor at Raw Market is there for customers to wash up before handling bulk goods.

Christi Foist

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Shops Within Shops

Mat-Su merchants make room for makers

By Rindi White

For crafters or makers, summer is the obvious time to sell a year’s worth of wares, whether at farmer’s markets, summer fairs, or other opportunities where vendors can set up a table. Fall festivals, winter carnivals, and holiday bazaars offer another bite of the sales apple in the darker months.

For makers who don’t want to spend weekends at summer markets or who are looking for a consistent stream of income, there are other options. A growing number of stores in the Wasilla and Palmer area are mini marketplaces, offering space where vendors can operate as a tiny, year-round storefront.

On the fringes of marketplace store arrangements, a few stores offer a consignment model, selling new, handmade, or used items in return

for a percentage of the sales. Still others operate on a more traditional consignment model, reselling second-hand clothing or goods and giving a portion of the sales back to consignors. Whether people are hoping to clean out a closet and make a few dollars or are looking for a way to turn their love of antiquing, crafting, or other artistry into a side gig, options abound.

Changing Lanes

Poppy Lane Mercantile in Palmer was an early adopter of the minimarketplace model. The store opened on the Palmer-Wasilla Highway in 2017. Krystal Erickson was a vendor at the original store, sharing space with Angie Hendrickson, when the store went up for sale. She and Hendrickson bought it, moving it to a former

motorcycle shop on South Valley Way in 2019. The business moved to its current South Colony Way location, in downtown Palmer, in January.

Throughout its time, Poppy Lane has operated as a shop-of-shops, with vendors renting space within the store. Vendors arrange their space how they like it, restock items or refresh the displays, and keep their square footage up to date. Poppy Lane has about thirty-five vendors, Erickson says.

When people come in asking whether the store would like to sell their items, Erickson says she offers to reach out to a current vendor who might be interested in partnering or consigning with that maker.

“One of our vendors carries items from different Alaska artists. One has Alaska foods,” she explains. So

Andrea Beatty

| Poppy Lane

if someone is interested in selling local jam, Erickson says she might connect them with the food vendor.

“We don’t do any consignment,” she says, but she knows of one vendor in Poppy Lane who does use her space to offer consigned items.

In the former location, “shops” were set up more like booths, each with its own distinct vibe. At the new location, however, the space is more open.

“We really wanted to make it all flow together, but they do still have their own space,” Erickson says.

The new store was formerly Carquest Auto Parts. After a two-year renovation, the store is open and airy, with a second-floor mezzanine that is home to Alauda Coffeehouse, along with tables and chairs near windows that show a bird’s eye view of Palmer’s southern downtown area.

The additional space allowed Erickson and Hendrickson to rent more vendor space. The expansion has meant continued growth for Poppy Lane— growth Erickson says she hopes will translate to more activity in Downtown Palmer, where two prominent stores along its “main street” strip have closed in the past year.

“The more [stores] you have, the more of a destination it creates,” Erickson says.

Homespun Fun

Four blocks away on the south end of Palmer, Homespun Alley also offers rented vendor space. A mix of vintage glassware greets customers—items for sale by Sachie’s Closet, which is a shop within the shop run by Sachie Homareda-Kil. She also owns Homespun Alley overall.

Homareda-Kil says the store

“As a consigner, as long as I made my rent and the commissions, I was happy—and I had some change left at the end. I was excited to be part of a consignment store… Did I make a lot of money? No, but that wasn’t necessarily my goal—it was fun.”

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Sachie Homareda-Kil, Owner, Home spun Alley

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opened in 2019, but she took it over in June 2023. Nine vendors, including herself, have store space. There are homemade soaps and balms, crocheted animals, and a wall of crocheted lilies, roses, sunflowers, and other plants. One corner is filled with paintings and one-of-a-kind cards, handmade jewelry, printed water bottles, and a lot more.

For all that variety, though, Homespun Alley adheres to standards. “They have to fit what we have, as a vibe,” Homareda-Kil says. “We try to go with more handmade or local because people like that.”

Although the store doesn’t have the foot traffic of Downtown Palmer, Homareda-Kil says the busy Colony Plaza shopping center—which also houses a UPS store, barber, thrift shop, accountant, and a laundromat— does lure in customers who might be there on errands.

“The laundromat brings in a lot of out-of-town people, so while they’re waiting, they might stop by,” Homareda-Kil says.

It’s not uncommon for customers to ask how they could be a vendor. Homareda-Kil says the word “rent” sometimes stops them in their tracks.

Paying rent to sell your goods?

“When you calculate it per day, it’s like a dollar—three dollars a day, max,” she says, noting that the amount depends on space. Then the store takes a percentage of commission on top of that. For makers who aren’t familiar with the process, it can seem like a lot. But it pays for the space, the lights, staff to ring up the items, cute bags for customers to take them home in—all of that, Homareda-Kil says.

Andrea Beatty

“When you do events, you’re lugging all your stuff in and out, and you might pay $300 a weekend for an event,” she says. That’s just for the table or booth space, never mind the gas, meals, and other assorted costs.

When she started out as a vendor, Homareda-Kil says she too had sticker shock. Her first vendor space in a store cost $100 a month.

“I thought it was a lot of money. It was scary,” she says. But then she calculated what she was already paying out, and the rental made sense.

“As a consigner, as long as I made my rent and the commissions, I was happy—and I had some change left at the end. I was excited to be part of a consignment store,” she says. “Did I make a lot of money? No, but that wasn’t necessarily my goal—it was fun.”

Jumping on the (Band)Wagon

Wagon Wheel Marketplace isn’t a shop-of-shops that rents small vendor spaces, but it is a place where people sell things they’ve made or bought for resale. Celebrating fifteen years this year, owner Jeanette Tingstrom’s shop has been around longer than the minimarketplace shops. And in that time, she’s developed a good eye for what fits in the store and what doesn’t.

About eighty Alaska consigners’ wares are on display at Wagon Wheel at the moment, she says, mostly focusing on home décor. The store anchors the Land Company building near the Carrs/Safeway in Wasilla. It’s a collection of stores with an Old-West-themed design of false fronts and a wooden porch on two sides of the building.

Some consigners offer just a few items, Tingstrom says, while others,

such as Alaska Sausage and Seafood, have a variety of products for sale.

“We have a combination of things. We have Alaskan crafters—not all of that is consignment; some of them we buy directly from. Some people bring us antiques, and we buy those. We also order things that are handmade in America, and we have things that are from wholesale catalogs, made in

other countries,” she says. “We try to focus on things made in Alaska first, including antiques and furniture. Some of that is on consignment; part of that is it’s just how we started.”

Wagon Wheel Marketplace began because Tingstrom worked at a furniture store and saw a need for more home décor options, both for people who wanted to try out a

CROWLEY FUELS ALASKA

With terminals and delivery services spanning the state, and a full range of quality fuels, Crowley is the trusted fuel partner to carry Alaska’s resource development industry forward.

“Growing up, my parents had a similar shop here in Wasilla… giving me the idea to have a store that is a unique blend of décor, furnishings, and giftables both old, new, handmade and commercially made as well. One of my visions is to keep making my corner of the world a better place in all ways.”

Jeanette Tingstrom Owner Wagon Wheel M arketplace

new style but whose older items still had value, and for people looking to decorate their home. When she started, Tingstrom says she browsed Craigslist and would approach people who had handmade items she liked for sale, to see if they would be interested in selling through Wagon Wheel.

“Now people approach me,” she says, adding that she still goes to shows and markets to see what’s popular. She says she’ll frequently give makers a test run, allowing them to bring items and see if they sell. If something doesn’t sell in four to six months, maybe there’s a better home for it. While Tingstrom doesn’t rent designated spaces—she likes to have the freedom to design the store her way—the store collects a percentage from items sold on consignment.

Tingstrom notes that consignment isn’t the right fit for every maker, and her store isn’t the right fit for everyone who approaches her about consigning. But she tries to offer suggestions for a spot that might be a better fit. She has a heart for the people who make Wagon Wheel what it is.

“Growing up, my parents had a similar shop here in Wasilla, and those memories have always tugged at me, giving me the idea to have a store that is a unique blend of décor, furnishings, and giftables both old, new, handmade and commercially made as well. One of my visions is to keep making my corner of the world a better place in all ways,” Tingstrom says on the Wagon Wheel Marketplace website.

without The Mouse House, perhaps the oldest in the city.

Located in Wasilla Business Park, a long, brown concrete strip mall across the street from Nunley Park, Mouse House has been reselling women’s and children’s clothing and accessories since 1981.

“It’s generational now. People are coming in, saying they used to come in with their mom,” owner Faye Hulke says.

For the past twenty-four years, Hulke has been at the cash register. Hulke says her store has a pretty straightforward operation: people bring items to her, she sorts through and decides what to keep, makes out a hand-written ticket, and hangs the items for sale. If an item sells, she keeps track of it so the consigner can use the amount for store credit or get cashed out. And it operates on cash or check only—no credit cards.

“If it isn’t broken, I don’t think I should fix it,” Hulke says. “I do things the old-fashioned way.”

But don’t confuse old-fashioned with out of touch. Hulke does a fairly brisk business turning over gently used clothing for growing families. As a mom of seven, she is more than aware that, just when parents think they have all the clothing a growing family needs, someone grows an inch overnight and is in need of a new wardrobe.

Perhaps as important as providing clothing for a modest price, Hulke says the store is a gathering spot for parents.

Sourdough Mouse

The tale of consignment stores in Wasilla would not be complete

“It’s a pretty social place. Some people just come in to talk,” she says. “It’s just a little spot here in the middle of town, minding its own business.”

Lynden

Logistics solutions for Alaska’s most challenging environments

Drawing on decades of experience, Lynden offers an integrated network of air, ocean, and ground transportation to give customers comprehensive shipping solutions throughout Western and Arctic Alaska. Whether the job requires quick delivery of a single, small package or the complex coordination of oversized, heavy-lift cargo, Lynden’s expertise ensures critical shipments reach their destination safely and efficiently.

Providing transportation and logistics services in Western and Arctic Alaska presents unique challenges, such as remote geography, unpredictable weather, and limited infrastructure. Lynden overcomes these obstacles with a flexible, adaptive approach. “We leverage our integrated network, allowing the customer to select the mode or combination of modes based on location, conditions, delivery requirements, and cargo,” says Vice President of Operations Jason Jansen.

Lynden’s equipment is specifically designed for Alaska’s demanding environment. From specialized vessels and containers to trucks, trailers, and aircraft, every piece is chosen and maintained for optimal performance. “We really think through what we need; what vessels can access certain areas

and what types of containers will maximize payload to ensure we do the work in the most efficient manner as possible,” Jansen says. “Having the right equipment in place is key to our success.”

PROVIDING VITAL SUPPORT

Lynden’s services are essential to various business sectors in Western and Arctic Alaska, including oil and gas, mining, construction, and the military. The company is also a lifeline for local villages and communities, delivering crucial supplies and personal items, including cars, snow machines, boats, and machinery. “Anything that's going out there, most likely we cover it,” Jansen says.

As a recent example of its capabilities, Lynden successfully delivered modular food processing units from Finland to St. Lawrence Island for the

village of Savoonga—covering 3 ,722 miles. The project included transporting eight large modules, each weighing more than 16,000 pounds and with an average height of 11 feet and length of 44 feet. The complex operation required international coordination, expertise in specialized handling, and flawless execution to address the logistical challenges posed by distance, environment, and time constraints.

COMMITMENT TO INNOVATION AND COMMUNITY

Lynden leverages innovative technology to improve shipment tracking, predictive delivery, and reliability for its customers. It also employs technology to monitor weather and water conditions, ensuring safe navigation for both vessels and crew.

However, Lynden is built on

by Amber Johnson Photography

the strength of its highly skilled and dedicated employees and service partners. “They are what truly drive our business and success,” Jansen says. “When we make a commitment, we see it through. This is possible due to our excellent employees and service partners.”

Lynden is deeply committed to the markets and communities it serves. As it continues to innovate in transportation and logistics, Lynden’s focus remains clear: enhancing efficiency, investing in people and technology, and fulfilling its promises to Alaska’s communities and industries. As Jansen explains: “We feel an obligation to the communities and industries where we have built relationships—to maintain an efficient and reliable transportation system now and well into the future.”

Photos

Welcome to the 2025 Top 49ers!

As Alaska Business has done for the last forty years, we are celebrating the largest Alaska companies as ranked by gross revenue. Top 49ers are companies that were founded in Alaska, maintain their headquarters here, and have not been acquired by an outside organization. Other than those criteria, the Top 49ers have little in common. Some of the Top 49ers have 100 percent Alaska workforces and operate primarily in the state, while others have national and international operations with subsidiaries and employees worldwide. As a group, they offer services in every major Alaska industry to communities across the state.

This year’s theme for the Top 49ers is “Mapping the Future” and was inspired by our 40th anniversary celebrations. Anniversaries often motivate celebrants to look back at their history, but the true value of studying the past is to improve the future. This special section contains both recent noteworthy events and a little insight from some of the Top 49ers about what the future may hold.

Make sure to unfold the map directly to the left to see our fanciful vision for the future.

At NANA, we are proudly guided by our Iñupiat Iḷitqusiat. We manage our lands to protect subsistence activities that are fundamental to the lives of our people.

The Kuskokwim Corporation’s Harvest to Home Project is laying the foundation for sustainability and stewardship in the Middle Kuskokwim. Each step forward builds resilience rooted in culture, land, and future generations.

Kuskokwim Corporation

No. 1

Arctic Slope Regional Corporation

2024 Rank: 1 | 5% Change in Revenue

2024 Revenue: $5,747,713,000

2023 Revenue: $5,498,216,000

2022 Revenue: $4,752,955,000

2021 Revenue: $3,876,830,000

2020 Revenue: $3,420,602,000

Services/Products: ASRC’s diverse operations in government contracts, industrial services, petroleum refining and marketing, energy support services, and construction give the capabilities to serve a wide range of federal, commercial, industrial, and energy customers.

Employees: 16,656 Worldwide | 3,841 Statewide

Year Founded in Alaska: 1972

Rex A. Rock Sr., Pres./CEO | Utqiaġvik | 907-852-8633 | asrc.com

No. 2

Bristol Bay Native Corporation

2024 Rank: 2 | 1% Change in Revenue

2024 Revenue: $3,211,912,000

2023 Revenue: $3,172,056,000

2022 Revenue: $2,725,190,000

2021 Revenue: $2,162,939,000

2020 Revenue: $1,690,619,000

Services/Products: Industrial services, construction, government services, seafood, and tourism.

Employees: 5,601 Worldwide | 1,163 Statewide

Year Founded in Alaska: 1972

Jason Metrokin, Pres./CEO | Anchorage | 907-278-3602 | bbnc.net

No. 3

NANA Regional Corporation

2024 Rank: 3 15% Change in Revenue

2024 Revenue: $2,847,287,147

2023 Revenue: $2,466,731,743

2022 Revenue: $2,445,916,656

2021 Revenue: $1,769,700,000

2020 Revenue: $1,536,513,873

Services/Products: Resource development; land management; federal contracting; engineering and design; surveying and mapping; food and facilities management; camp svs; security; industrial and commercial fabrication and installation; transportation and logistics svs.

Employees: 19,345 Worldwide | 5,258 Statewide Year Founded in Alaska: 1972

John Aġnaaqłuk Lincoln, Pres./CEO | Kotzebue |

No. 4

Chenega Corporation

2024 Rank: 4 | 4% Change in Revenue

2024 Revenue: $1,460,000,000

2023 Revenue: $1,400,000,000

2022 Revenue: $1,280,000,000

2021 Revenue: $1,100,000,000

2020 Revenue: $949,000,000

Services/Products: Chenega provides expertise and support to defense, intelligence, and federal civilian customers. Through our portfolio of companies, Chenega competes in 8(a), small business, and full and open markets.

Employees: 9,000 Worldwide | 190 Statewide Year Founded in Alaska: 1974 Charles W. Totemoff, Pres./CEO | Anchorage | 907-277-5706 | chenega.com

Through the success of our operating companies, ASRC continues to support cultural activities that are foundational to the Iñupiaq way of life. We remain rooted in Iñupiaq values, which are central to ASRC’s 2025 & Beyond Strategic Plan to build a path of continued growth for future generations of Iñupiaq shareholders.

No. 5

Lynden

2024 Rank: 5 | 1%

Change in Revenue

2024 Revenue: $1,360,000,000

2023 Revenue: $1,350,000,000

2022 Revenue: $1,300,000,000

2021 Revenue: $1,080,000,000

2020 Revenue: $960,000,000

Services/Products: The Lynden family of companies provides transportation and logistics solutions. They serve the entire state of Alaska and offer a full range of transportation options across all modes air, land, and sea so customers can optimize time and money when shipping to, from, or within Alaska.

Employees: 2,684 Worldwide | 1,127 Statewide

No. 6

Calista Corporation

2024 Rank: 6 | 12% Change in Revenue

2024 Revenue: $1,089,783,000

2023 Revenue: $968,700,000

2022 Revenue: $788,526,000

2021 Revenue: $722,630,000

2020 Revenue: $732,937,000

Services/Products: Calista Corporation is the parent company of 40+ subsidiaries in the industries of defense contracting, construction, real estate, environmental services, natural resource development, marine transportation, oilfield services, and heavy equipment.

Employees: 4,250 Worldwide | 1,020 Statewide Year Founded in Alaska: 1972

Andrew Guy, Pres./CEO | Anchorage | 907-275-2800 | calistacorp.com 1 | Arctic Slope Regional Corporation

Year Founded in Alaska: 1954

Jim Jansen, Chairman | Anchorage | 907-245-1544 | lynden.com

Bristol Bay has been a part of us for millennia, connecting us through our region, cultures, and a shared commitment to protect our home and Native way of life.

Time marches on, but we remain One Bristol Bay.

Alaska Corporation

Chugach Alaska Corporation, Chenega Corporation, and The Tatitlek Corporation celebrated the grand opening of Chugach Naswik Suites in downtown Valdez. Designed to ease Valdez’s housing shortage, it offers short-term rentals, workforce housing for rotational workers, communal spaces, and signals continued economic commitment to the region.

Chugach Alaska Corporation

No. 7 Koniag

2024 Rank: 7 | 2% Change in Revenue

2024 Revenue: $958,655,000

2023 Revenue: $936,052,000

2022 Revenue: $699,322,000

2021 Revenue: $464,068,000

2020 Revenue: $410,730,000

Services/Products: Koniag makes a meaningful difference in the lives of its Shareholders and Descendants through investments in government contracting, commercial tech, energy and water, real estate, and businesses generated by its lands in the Kodiak Archipelago.

Employees: 3,715 Worldwide | 167 Statewide

Year Founded in Alaska: 1972

Ron Unger, Chairman/CEO | Kodiak | 907-486-2530 | koniag.com

No. 8

Bering Straits Native Corporation

2024 Rank: 9 | 16% Change in Revenue

2024 Revenue: $925,000,000

2023 Revenue: $799,000,000

2022 Revenue: $543,100,000

2021 Revenue: $468,215,000

2020 Revenue: $456,170,000

Services/Products: We provide services to government agencies and other customers in the areas of construction and civil works, environmental remediation and consulting, facilities operations and maintenance, technology, telecommunications, logistics, security, training and admin services, and transportation.

Employees: 2,699 Worldwide | 645 Statewide Year Founded in Alaska: 1972

Cindy Massie, Pres. | Anchorage | 907-563-3788 | beringstraits.com

Grounded in Culture Excelling in Business

46 | Great Northwest, Inc.

The paving crew pulls in the project manager and superintendent to dust off their paving skills for some echelon paving on the Richardson Highway.

John Dean

No. 9

Ukpeaġvik Iñupiat

Corporation

2024 Rank: 8 | 13% Change in Revenue

2024 Revenue: $920,531,521

2023 Revenue: $813,530,107

2022 Revenue: $693,397,740

2021 Revenue: $582,554,430

2020 Revenue: $531,383,460

Services/Products: Diversified commercial/ government services, technical/professional services, logistics/support services, heavy civil/vertical construction, oilfield support, architectural/engineering, marine transportation, municipal services, and real estate management.

Employees: 3,493 Worldwide | 543 Statewide Year Founded in Alaska: 1973

Dr. Pearl K. Brower, Pres./CEO | Utqiaġvik | 907-852-4460 | uicalaska.com

No. 10

Chugach Alaska Corporation

2024 Rank: 10 | 5% Change in Revenue

2024 Revenue: $813,500,000

2023 Revenue: $775,000,000

2022 Revenue: $745,000,000

2021 Revenue: $783,000,000

2020 Revenue: $919,000,000

Services/Products: Chugach has a portfolio of complementary businesses across a range of industries including government, energy, and facilities services. Chugach also manages an investment portfolio and land and natural resource development projects in the region.

Employees: 4,300 Worldwide | 550 Statewide Year Founded in Alaska: 1972

Sheri Buretta, Chairman | Anchorage | 907-563-8866 | chugach.com

BSNC’s success is driven by our employees’ hard work, dedication, and passion. Their commitment has made great achievements possible and fuels our continued growth. We are deeply grateful for all they do.

OUR MISSION

is to improve the quality of life of Our People through economic development while protecting our land and preserving our culture and heritage.

BBNC shareholder

Amber Christensen-Fox in Port Heiden.

Nick Hall

No. 11

Global Credit Union

2024 Rank: 12 | 9% Change in Revenue

2024 Revenue: $662,153,643

2023 Revenue: $609,795,376

2022 Revenue: $544,119,473

2021 Revenue: $486,106,000

2020 Revenue: -

Services/Products: Financial services for consumers and businesses, including: deposits (such as savings, checking, money market, certificates, HSA, etc.); loans; investments; mortgage and real estate; and personal insurance.

Employees: 2,094 Worldwide | 1,004 Statewide

Year Founded in Alaska: 1948

Geofferey Lundfelt, Pres./CEO | Anchorage | 907-563-4567 | globalcu.org

No. 12

Cook Inlet Region, Inc.

2024 Rank: 13 | 10% Change in Revenue

2024 Revenue: $616,000,000

2023 Revenue: $560,015,000

2022 Revenue: $539,777,000

2021 Revenue: $611,749,000

2020 Revenue: $477,990,000

Services/Products: CIRI manages a diverse portfolio for the long-term benefit of CIRI shareholders, including cyber security, renewable energy, infrastructure, real estate, investment securities, land and natural resources, private equity, and venture funds and government services.

Employees: 2,400 Worldwide | 85 Statewide

Year Founded in Alaska: 1972

Swami Iyer, CEO | Anchorage | 907-274-8638 | ciri.com

Photo by: Amaguq Media

11 | Global Credit Union

Employees gathered at Anchorage-based headquarters to celebrate another year of serving Alaskans.

Alaska Business

14 | Goldbelt Incorporated

Goldbelt Aaní Cruise Port is an immersive Tlingit-themed and inspired modern cruise destination.

Goldbelt Aaní Cruise Port

15 | Three Bears Alaska

In 2024, Three Bears Alaska expanded in the Interior with new convenience stores in Fairbanks and Delta Junction.

Three Bears Alaska

No. 13

Afognak Native Corporation

2024 Rank: 11 | -8% Change in Revenue

2024 Revenue: $572,583,000

2023 Revenue: $624,744,000

2022 Revenue: $650,800,000

2021 Revenue: $657,600,000

2020 Revenue: $658,753,000

Services/Products: Afognak Native Corporation, Alutiiq, LLC, Afognak Commercial Group, LLC and their subsidiaries and joint ventures offer exceptional service in federal and commercial sectors including leasing, timber, engineering, security, logistics, facility maintenance, retail liquor, and oilfield support.

Employees: 2,779 Worldwide | 357 Statewide

Year Founded in Alaska: 1977

Dan Corbett, CEO | Kodiak | 907-486-6014 | afognak.com

No. 14

Goldbelt Incorporated

2024 Rank: 15 | 19% Change in Revenue

2024 Revenue: $481,000,000

2023 Revenue: $404,211,538

2022 Revenue: $404,023,096

2021 Revenue: $497,000,000

2020 Revenue: $272,866,942

Services/Products: Tourism, government contracting, cybersecurity, facility management, IT consulting, transportation, security services, logistics, engineering, and construction.

Employees: 2,280 Worldwide | 320 Statewide

Year Founded in Alaska: 1974

McHugh Pierre, Pres./CEO | Juneau | 907-790-4990 | goldbelt.com

Three Bears Alaska

2024 Rank: 23 | 51% Change in Revenue

2024 Revenue: $448,746,192

2023 Revenue: $297,715,012

2022 Revenue: $386,814,000

2021 Revenue: $323,438,062

2020 Revenue: $278,712,835

Services/Products: Retail grocery; beer, wine, and spirits; general merchandise; sporting goods; pharmacy; Ace Hardware; and fuel.

Employees: 1,189 Worldwide | 1,125 Statewide Year Founded in Alaska: 1980

David A. Weisz, CEO | Wasilla | 907-357-4311 | threebearsalaska.com

WHO WE ARE

Owned by the Native Village of Eyak, we are a dynamic portfolio of industry-leading operating companies and proud participants of the Small Business Administration's (SBA) 8(a) Business Development Program. We deliver solutions and services to our clients including Cyber Security Solutions, IT Business Professional Services, Construction Services, Marine Manufacturing, and more.

MISSION

To diversify the Native Village of Eyak’s ability to facilitate economic advancement.

Native Corporation

A BSNC descendant enjoys more berries than her little bucket gets on the tundra alongside her parents. The land continues to provide for us, generation after generation. Devan Otton

No. 16 Copper River Management Company

2024 Rank: 22 | 26% Change in Revenue

2024 Revenue: $401,010,600

2023 Revenue: $318,000,000

2022 Revenue: -

2021 Revenue: -

2020 Revenue: -

Services/Products: Information technology, cybersecurity, construction and infrastructure services, maritime manufacturing, business transformation, healthcare support services, human capital management, professional services, IT infrastructure management, next generation technology solutions, consultative services.

Employees: 705 Worldwide | 4 Statewide

Year Founded in Alaska: 2006

Kevin McLaughlin, CEO | Anchorage | 703-234-9000 | copperrivermc.com

No. 17

The Aleut Corporation

2024 Rank: 16 | 4% Change in Revenue

2024 Revenue: $394,826,796

2023 Revenue: $380,000,000

2022 Revenue: $275,000,000

2021 Revenue: $231,893,388

2020 Revenue: $277,043,248

Services/Products: Government contracting; IT; operations & maintenance; training svcs.; logistics; environmental remediation; engineering, prototyping, & manufacturing; land & resource mgmt.; commercial real estate, brokerage svcs., property mgmt.; fuel & port svcs.; tourism & hospitality; retail; renewable energy.

Employees: 1,301 Worldwide | 229 Statewide

Year Founded in Alaska: 1972

Skoey Vergen, Pres./CEO | Anchorage | 907-561-4300 | aleutcorp.com

WE WORK IN ALASKA’S BEST INTEREST

At Northrim, we are committed to the needs of Alaskans. We focus on serving the businesses that provide responsible resource development within our state. And that brings positive energy to all our communities.

23 | First National Bank

Alaska

Employees are First National Proud that Alaska Business readers voted First National Bank

Alaska “Best of Alaska Business” in the Best Place to Work category for the 10th year.

First National Bank Alaska

48 | Cornerstone General Contractors

Cornerstone General Contractors partner with the Anchorage School District and Nvision Architecture to deliver a futureready learning environment for generations of students.

Cornerstone General Contractors

No. 18

Olgoonik Corporation

2024 Rank: 21 | 15% Change in Revenue

2024 Revenue: $375,000,000

2023 Revenue: $325,400,000

2022 Revenue: $262,500,000

2021 Revenue: $259,700,000

2020 Revenue: $241,700,000

Services/Products: Specializing in construction, logistics and operations, professional and technical services, environmental and engineering, well site plugging and remediation, and commercial electrical projects.

Employees: 1,300 Worldwide | 110 Statewide

Year Founded in Alaska: 1973

Hugh Patkotak, Sr., Pres./CEO | Anchorage | 907-562-8728 | olgoonik.com

No. 19 Ahtna, Inc.

2024 Rank: 18 | 3% Change in Revenue

2024 Revenue: $369,429,741

2023 Revenue: $357,395,348

2022 Revenue: $324,900,009

2021 Revenue: $324,071,788

2020 Revenue: $336,752,052

Services/Products: Administrative and management, base and facilities operations, construction, environmental services, government contracting, logistics and procurement, resource development, environmental housekeeping, and security and investigative services.

Employees: 941 Worldwide | 348 Statewide

Year Founded in Alaska: 1972

Michelle Anderson, Pres. | Glennallen | 907-822-3476 | ahtna.com

2024 Rank: 17 | -1% Change in Revenue

2024 Revenue: $358,400,000

2023 Revenue: $362,700,000

2022 Revenue: $354,400,000

2021 Revenue: $354,500,000

2020 Revenue: $237,429,000

Services/Products: Through superior service, we safely provide reliable and competitively priced energy.

Employees: 450 Worldwide | 450 Statewide

Year Founded in Alaska: 1948

Arthur Miller, CEO | Anchorage | 907-762-4489 | chugachelectric.com

40 | Craig Taylor Equipment

Expanded our service department capacity and invested in additional parts inventory in 2025.

Craig Taylor Equipment

26 | Natives of Kodiak

Natives of Kodiak, Inc. shareholders, family members, and employees gather in celebration in beautiful Kodiak. Natives of Kodiak

18 | Olgoonik Corporation

Team Olgoonik has extensive field experience with well plugging and abandonment projects in Alaska and the Lower 48.

Judy Patrick 40

No. 21

Tyonek Native Corporation

2024 Rank: 20 | 3% Change in Revenue

2024 Revenue: $341,146,301

2023 Revenue: $330,300,000

2022 Revenue: $308,787,701

2021 Revenue: $289,709,829

2020 Revenue: $254,200,000

Services/Products: TNC specializes in aerospace and defense manufacturing; aircraft maintenance, modification and overhaul; cyber security training; land management of more than 190,000 acres in the Cook Inlet region; construction services; and oil and gas services support.

Employees: 1,523 Worldwide | 15 Statewide

Year Founded in Alaska: 1973

Stephen Peskosky, CEO | Anchorage | 907-272-0707 | tyonek.com

No. 22

Choggiung Ltd.

2024 Rank: 25 | 25% Change in Revenue

2024 Revenue: $286,714,618

2023 Revenue: $229,313,841

2022 Revenue: $191,855,472

2021 Revenue: $182,286,396

2020 Revenue: $183,200,000

Services/Products: Construction, federal contracting services, IT/cyber security, fire suppression/life safety, hospitality (hotel and diner), residential and commercial real estate.

Employees: 515 Worldwide | 108 Statewide

Year Founded in Alaska: 1972

Cameron Poindexter, Pres./CEO | Dillingham | 907-842-5218 | choggiung.com

First National Bank Alaska

2024 Rank: 24 | 13% Change in Revenue

2024 Revenue: $272,533,000

2023 Revenue: $240,244,000

2022 Revenue: $184,630,000

2021 Revenue: $171,091,000

2020 Revenue: $174,672,000

Services/Products: Friendly, knowledgeable Alaskans offer convenience, service, and value with a full range of deposit, lending, and wealth management services, and online and mobile banking. With 28 locations in 19 communities and assets of $5 billion, we’re helping Alaskans shape a brighter tomorrow.

Employees: 619 Worldwide | 619 Statewide Year Founded in Alaska: 1922

Betsy Lawer, Board Chair/CEO/Pres. | Anchorage | 907-777-4362 | fnbalaska.com

42 | Credit Union 1

We're proud to expand into Wasilla, Skagway, and Kotzebue—where the team posed for the grand opening.

Tatum Buss | Strategies 360

37 | Udelhoven Oilfield System Services

Udelhoven has been proud to be a part of building Alaska’s foundation for more than fifty-five years.

Udelhoven Oilfield System Services

49 | Alaska Village Electric Cooperative Power Plant

Operator Abner Hawley retires a CAT 3412 in Kivalina to make room for a CAT 3456 genset.

Don deLima 42

No. 24 Davis Constructors & Engineers | Mass Excavation

2024 Rank: 26 | 14% Change in Revenue

2024 Revenue: $236,296,491

2023 Revenue: $207,928,281

2022 Revenue: $188,943,940

2021 Revenue: $133,579,001

2020 Revenue: $94,270,117

Services/Products: Davis Constructors & Engineers offers complete project management services to assist with design and construction of all types of building projects. We have completed more than $2.8 billion in Alaska projects.

Employees: 258 Worldwide | 258 Statewide Year Founded in Alaska: 1976

Luke Blomfield, Pres. | Anchorage | 907-562-2336 | davisconstructors.com

No. 25 Colville

2024 Rank: 33 | 60% Change in Revenue

2024 Revenue: $206,717,858

2023 Revenue: $129,531,087

2022 Revenue: $122,812,809

2021 Revenue: $79,442,093

2020 Revenue: $96,944,395

Services/Products: Colville provides a diverse range of oil field support services and supplies across the North Slope, including fuel delivery, solid waste disposal and recycling, aviation support services, camp operations, retail hardware goods, logistics, and heavy wrecker services across the state.

Employees: 244 Worldwide | 157 Statewide Year Founded in Alaska: 1981

Jason Reeves, CEO | Prudhoe Bay | 907-659-3198 | colvilleinc.com

2024 Rank: - | - Change in Revenue

2024 Revenue: $204,621,857

2023 Revenue: -

2022 Revenue: -

2021 Revenue: -

2020 Revenue: -

Services/Products: NOK has diversified holdings in commercial, government contracting, timber, land, and resource management. NOK’s portfolio includes diverse business operations for various state and federal agencies and commercial clients across the nation in the environmental, construction, and service sector.

Employees: 403 Worldwide | 11 Statewide Year Founded in Alaska: 1973 Monica James, Pres./CEO | Kodiak | 907-486-3606 | -

16 | Copper River Management Company

Copper River CEO Kevin McLaughlin, Operating Group

President Bill Halladay, and Sales Executive Eric Jacobs visiting the Copper River teams at the US Navy Joint Expeditionary Base Little CreekFort Story. This base is crucial for housing and training the nation’s Expeditionary Forces and is a key operating base for the Amphibious Forces in the US Navy's Atlantic Fleet.

Copper River Photography

No. 27

Northrim Bank

2024 Rank: 31 | 24% Change in Revenue

2024 Revenue: $195,960,000

2023 Revenue: $158,326,000

2022 Revenue: $134,405,000

2021 Revenue: $136,869,000

2020 Revenue: -

Services/Products: Banking services such as deposits and loans available through our network of twenty statewide branches, plus robust online and mobile banking platforms. New treasury management products include a top-tier Commercial Purchase Card program and merchant services through our partner Worldpay.

Employees: 524 Worldwide | 399 Statewide

Year Founded in Alaska: 1990

Mike Huston, Pres./CEO | Anchorage | 907-562-0062 | northrim.com

No. 28

Cruz Construction

2024 Rank: 27 | 17% Change in Revenue

2024 Revenue: $194,000,000

2023 Revenue: $166,494,857

2022 Revenue: $123,488,417

2021 Revenue: $89,558,663

2020 Revenue: $98,823,282

Services/Products: Oil and gas operations, ice roads, snow trails, tundra transport, heavy haul, heavy-civil, equipment, marine transportation, camps, logistics, oilfield exploration, engineering, and consulting.

Employees: 500 Worldwide | 480 Statewide Year Founded in Alaska: 1981

Jeff Miller, Pres. | Palmer | 907-746-3144 | cruzconstruct.com

Construction

Cruz Construction employees perform emergency work to repair a washout that had severed the Dalton Highway at milepost 315 in June of 2025.

Cruz Construction

No. 29

Matanuska Electric

Association

2024 Rank: 29 | 8% Change in Revenue

2024 Revenue: $176,718,443

2023 Revenue: $164,041,846

2022 Revenue: $160,964,943

2021 Revenue: $157,629,815

2020 Revenue: $155,401,551

Services/Products: Alaska’s oldest and second largest electric cooperative, MEA powers more than 57,000 co-op members and 72,000 meters in communities across the entire Mat-Su Borough, Eagle River, and Chugiak. Our mission is to provide safe, affordable, and reliable power with exceptional member service.

Employees: 240 Worldwide | 240 Statewide Year Founded in Alaska: 1941

Tony Izzo, CEO | Palmer | 907-761-9300 | mea.coop

No. 30 Construction

Machinery Industrial

2024 Rank: 30 | 9% Change in Revenue

2024 Revenue: $172,800,000

2023 Revenue: $159,000,000

2022 Revenue: $108,000,000

2021 Revenue: $115,000,000

2020 Revenue: $117,000,000

Services/Products: Distributor of construction, mining, and logging equipment in Alaska.

Representative for Volvo, Hitachi, Atlas Copco, Doosan, Metso, Link-Belt, and many other manufacturers.

Employees: 112 Worldwide | 112 Statewide Year Founded in Alaska: 1985

Ken Gerondale, Pres./CEO | Anchorage | 907-563-3822 | cmiak.com

27 | Northrim Bank

The Northrim Bank Executive team stand in front of a custom-built and vinyl-wrapped vessel during a tour of Bay Weld’s facility.

Northrim Bank

9 | Ukpeaġvik Iñupiat Corporation

We remain committed to serving our shareholders, growing responsibly across industries.

Lisa Barksdale Photography

22 | Choggiung Ltd.

Like the salmon returns to Bristol Bay, Choggiung had another strong year.

Choggiung Ltd.

No. 31

Cape Fox Corporation

2024 Rank: 28 | -1% Change in Revenue

2024 Revenue: $163,607,080

2023 Revenue: $165,440,225

2022 Revenue: $166,479,451

2021 Revenue: $147,183,908

2020 Revenue: $123,724,000

Services/Products: Cape Fox Corporation has two lines of business: tourism in Alaska with restaurants, a lodge, and retail; and government contracting with multiple subsidiaries that offer capabilities in IT, healthcare, professional, and facilities services.

Employees: 1,061 Worldwide | 271 Statewide

Year Founded in Alaska: 1973

Chris Luchtefeld, CEO | Ketchikan | 907-225-5163 | capefoxcorp.com

No. 32 Sitnasuak Native Corporation

2024 Rank: 32 | 7% Change in Revenue

2024 Revenue: $158,979,487

2023 Revenue: $148,248,000

2022 Revenue: $144,008,083

2021 Revenue: $145,579,765

2020 Revenue: $185,519,277

Services/Products: Fuel storage and sales; residential and commercial real estate; financial and title services; retail; textile manufacturing.

Employees: 1,241 Worldwide | 97 Statewide Year Founded in Alaska: 1973

Charles Fagerstrom, CEO | Nome | 907-227-5639 | snc.org

Gana-A’ Yoo, Limited

2024 Rank: 37 | 13% Change in Revenue

2024 Revenue: $127,120,150

2023 Revenue: $112,068,877

2022 Revenue: $72,056,260

2021 Revenue: $74,041,908

2020 Revenue: $81,976,088

Services/Products: The Gana-A’Yoo Family of Companies provides services in the areas of construction (secure, historical, and modernization), demolition, operations and maintenance, complex civil, munitions crating manufacturing, IT services, logistics, food services, and waste management.

Employees: 372 Worldwide | 113 Statewide Year Founded in Alaska: 1978

Dena Sommer-Pedebone, CEO | Anchorage | 907-569-9599 | ganaayoo.com

Providence Imaging Center

Our new Mobile Mammography coach has arrived.

At Providence Imaging Center every month is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and we’re excited to announce the arrival of our new Mobile Mammography coach, providing screening mammography services in Southcentral Alaska and stops along the Alaska Marine Highway.

Screening mammograms at your location save time and productivity, in addition to showing your community you value their health. There is no cost to bring mobile mammography to your location. Schedule today at your place of business and encourage annual screenings.

To schedule Mobile Mammography at your location scan here or call 907-212-4982.

 No doctor referral is needed to schedule a screening mammogram.

 Use your benefits. Most insurance covers screening mammograms.

 Same equipment and high-quality scan our patients get at Providence Imaging Center in the convenience of your location.

 Yearly mammograms save lives by detecting cancer earlier when it’s easier to treat.

 Financial assistance is available for mammograms.

45 | Black Gold Express

Black Gold Express moves a Cat dozer out of Valdez.

Brett Ward

13 | Afognak Native Corporation

Afognak Native Corporation’s Alutiiq Center in Anchorage features petroglyphs on the building’s face and a museum that celebrates Afognak Alutiiq culture.

Afognak Native Corporation

31 | Cape Fox Corporation

The new tram is officially open for the Ketchikan community.

Jacob Mosholder | Cape Fox Corporation

45

No. 34

Kikiktagruk Inupiat Corp.

2024 Rank: 35 | 6% Change in Revenue

2024 Revenue: $123,920,500

2023 Revenue: $117,407,463

2022 Revenue: $84,173,000

2021 Revenue: $79,307,587

2020 Revenue: $82,858,722

Services/Products: Scientific/security/ IT support services contracts. Commercial and residential rental properties, retail sales portfolio. Government BOS/JOC/SABER/IDIQ contracts, design-build, heavy civil, and development construction contracts.

Employees: 274 Worldwide | 29 Statewide Year Founded in Alaska: 1973

Thomas Kennedy, Pres./CEO | Kotzebue | 907-277-7884 | kikiktagruk.com

No. 35

The Kuskokwim Corporation

2024 Rank: 38 | 14% Change in Revenue

2024 Revenue: $122,813,801

2023 Revenue: $107,640,674

2022 Revenue: $132,542,074

2021 Revenue: $122,795,621

2020 Revenue: $73,160,209

Services/Products: Construction, government services, environmental services, lighting, aerospace, aircraft maintenance and repair, real estate, and rural retail.

Employees: 338 Worldwide | 38 Statewide Year Founded in Alaska: 1977

Andrea Gusty, Pres./CEO | Anchorage | 907-243-2944 | kuskokwim.com

44 | Roger Hickel Contracting

A newly completed project is Chugachmiut Regional Health Center in Seward.

Kevin G. Smith Photography

25 | Colville

Built for the Arctic. Fueled by purpose. One of Colville’s fuel haulers ready to serve the North Slope — safely, efficiently, and with pride.

Seed Media

33 | Gana-A' Yoo, Limited

The Gana-A'Yoo Family of Companies delivers valueengineered solutions.

Gana-A' Yoo, Limited

44

No. 36 MTA

2024 Rank: 36 | 0% Change in Revenue

2024 Revenue: $115,379,000

2023 Revenue: $115,870,000

2022 Revenue: $108,893,000

2021 Revenue: $138,000,000

2020 Revenue: $97,200,000

Services/Products: MTA provides residential and business technology solutions, such as internet and cybersecurity products. MTA provides Alaska with limitless bandwidth capacity through its AlCan ONE fiber line and partners with enterprise, government, and wholesale partners on scalable networking solutions.

Employees: 309 Worldwide | 303 Statewide

Year Founded in Alaska: 1953

Michael Burke, CEO | Palmer | 907-745-3211 | mtasolutions.com

No. 37

Udelhoven Oilfield System Services

2024 Rank: 43 | 24% Change in Revenue

2024 Revenue: $114,000,000

2023 Revenue: $92,000,000

2022 Revenue: $82,917,932

2021 Revenue: $52,581,004

2020 Revenue: $56,994,250

Services/Products: Mechanical and electrical inspection, functional check-out, quality assurance/quality control, plumbing, welding, modular fabrication, industrial and commercial construction.

Employees: 300 Worldwide | 250 Statewide

Year Founded in Alaska: 1970

Scott Selzer, Pres. | Anchorage | 907-344-1577 | udelhoven.com

2024 Rank: 40 | 20% Change in Revenue

2024 Revenue: $112,817,682

2023

2022

2021

2020

4 | Chenega Corporation

Community members gather to mark the opening of the new 6 Plex, built by Chenega Corporation to house essential workers.

Chenega Corporation

7 | Koniag Koniag’s Board of Directors and leadership joined Alutiiq Museum officials inside the museum’s construction zone in 2024.

Koniag

12 | Cook Inlet Region, Inc.

CIRI Descendants on Next Gen Day after demonstrating the company’s global interactive map tool.

Cook Inlet Region, Inc. 4

No. 39 Watterson Construction Co.

2024 Rank: 47 | 30% Change in Revenue

2024 Revenue: $108,300,000

2023 Revenue: $83,300,000

2022 Revenue: $81,400,000

2021 Revenue: $51,000,000

2020 Revenue: $84,600,000

Services/Products: As a full-service general contractor, Watterson specializes in helping clients navigate the design and construction processes to assure that projects maximize program goals within budget and are aesthetically pleasing.

Employees: 105 Worldwide | 105 Statewide Year Founded in Alaska: 1981

Jim Watterson, Pres. | Anchorage | 907-563-7441 | -

No. 40

Craig Taylor Equipment

2024 Rank: 46 | 20% Change in Revenue

2024 Revenue: $104,370,000

2023 Revenue: $86,788,000

2022 Revenue: $68,146,916

2021 Revenue: $56,109,877

2020 Revenue: -

Services/Products: Craig Taylor Equipment is a full-service dealership for John Deere, Peterbilt, Bobcat, Doosan, Dynapac, and many other manufacturers. Providing equipment sales, parts, service, and rental for the industries that are building Alaska’s future.

Employees: 130 Worldwide | 130 Statewide Year Founded in Alaska: 1954

Chris Devine, Pres./CEO | Anchorage | 907-276-5050 | craigtaylorequipment.com

Usibelli Coal Mine

2024 Rank: 39 | 4% Change in Revenue

2024 Revenue: $101,000,000

2023 Revenue: $97,300,000

2022 Revenue: $99,357,000

2021 Revenue: $94,300,000

2020 Revenue: $94,000,000

Services/Products: Usibelli Coal Mine has supplied Alaskans with affordable, reliable energy since 1943. As the state’s only active coal mine, we provide fuel for power and heat generation across the Interior, support local jobs, and invest in long-term environmental stewardship.

Employees: 190 Worldwide | 151 Statewide Year Founded in Alaska: 1943

Joseph E. Usibelli Jr., Pres./CEO | Fairbanks | 907-452-2625 | usibelli.com

36 | MTA Apprenticeship program students ready for action, helping to ensure reliable services in the community.

Chelsa Jay

21 | Tyonek Native Corporation

This culvert on Lower Tyonek Creek replaces an undersized 6' culvert.

Tyonek Tribal Conservation District

20 | Chugach Electric Association

In 2024, a Battery Energy Storage System was commissioned. Chugach Electric Association

19 | Ahtna, Inc. Ahtna Interns during visit to Anchorage. Ahtna, Inc.

No. 42

Credit Union 1

2024 Rank: 42 | 9% Change in Revenue

2024 Revenue: $100,698,593

2023 Revenue: $92,423,998

2022 Revenue: $77,760,445

2021 Revenue: $70,736,844

2020 Revenue: $65,289,354

Services/Products: Credit Union 1 is a full-service financial institution known for its affordable, personalized loans, community outreach, and cutting-edge money management tools. We value accessible, “people first” lending as one of our most vital community services.

Employees: 381 Worldwide | 360 Statewide Year Founded in Alaska: 1952

Mark Burgess, Pres./CEO | Anchorage | 907-339-9485 | cu1.org

No. 43

Grant Aviation

2024 Rank: 41 | 2% Change in Revenue

2024 Revenue: $95,000,000

2023 Revenue: $92,900,000

2022 Revenue: -

2021 Revenue: -

2020 Revenue: -

Services/Products: Scheduled and charter passenger and cargo air transportation.

Employees: 400 Worldwide | 400 Statewide Year Founded in Alaska: 1971

Gabriel Kompkoff, Pres./CEO | Anchorage | 888-Fly-Grant | flygrant.com

No. 44

Roger Hickel Contracting

2024 Rank: 48 | 11% Change in Revenue

2024 Revenue: $89,913,137

2023 Revenue: $81,334,658

2022 Revenue: $98,490,509

2021 Revenue: $69,204,276

2020 Revenue: $55,312,489

Services/Products: General contractor of civil, industrial, and commercial projects throughout Alaska.

Employees: 80 Worldwide | 80 Statewide

Year Founded in Alaska: 1995

Sean Hickel, Pres. | Anchorage | 907-279-1400 | rogerhickelcontracting.com

No. 45

Black Gold Express

2024 Rank: - | - Change in Revenue

2024 Revenue: $88,901,000

2023 Revenue: -

2022 Revenue: -

2021 Revenue: -

2020 Revenue: -

Services/Products: Black Gold Express provides trucking and logistics support for the oil and gas, construction, and mining industries in Alaska.

Employees: 313 Worldwide | 305 Statewide Year Founded in Alaska: 1987

Jim Huffman, Pres. | North Pole | 907-490-3222 | blackgoldalaska.com

Calista Corporation interns volunteer at the Calista Education and Culture golf tournament.

Russ Slaten | Calista Corporation

29 | Matanuska Electric Association

MEA’s Board and Railbelt partners celebrate the new Battery Energy Storage System site.

Matanuska Electric Association

32 | Sitnasuak Native Corporation

Safety Sound, 15 miles east of Nome.

Cassondra Odden

5 | Lynden

Alaska Marine Lines barge approaching Ketchikan.

Lynden

No. 46

Great Northwest, Inc.

2024 Rank: 45 | -9% Change in Revenue

2024 Revenue: $80,925,000

2023 Revenue: $88,700,000

2022 Revenue: $62,275,000

2021 Revenue: $41,500,000

2020 Revenue: $61,400,000

Services/Products: Heavy highway civil construction.

Employees: 200 Worldwide | 200 Statewide

Year Founded in Alaska: 1976

A. John Minder, Pres./CEO | Fairbanks | 907-452-5617 | grtnw.com

Corey Meyers, Pres. | Anchorage | 907-276-1331 |6 | Calista Corporation

No. 47

Anchorage Chrysler Dodge Center

2024 Rank: 44 | -11% Change in Revenue

2024 Revenue: $80,184,716

2023 Revenue: $89,927,039

2022 Revenue: $82,460,000

2021 Revenue: $90,038,000

2020 Revenue: $84,416,000

Services/Products: Chrysler, Jeep, and Dodge Ram new and used vehicle sales and service. Your hometown dealer for sixty-two years.

Employees: 105 Worldwide | 105 Statewide Year Founded in Alaska: 1963

No. 48

Cornerstone General Contractors

2024 Rank: - | 55% Change in Revenue

2024 Revenue: $79,125,974

2023 Revenue: $51,118,880

2022 Revenue: $60,859,615

2021 Revenue: $52,000,000

2020 Revenue: $38,735,241

Services/Products: Cornerstone offers a comprehensive range of commercial general contracting & construction management services, including pre-development, preconstruction, construction, and continuation. We emphasize transparent client service, innovation, risk management, safety, and community impact.

Employees: 79 Worldwide | 79 Statewide Year Founded in Alaska: 1993

Joe Jolley, Pres. | Anchorage | 907-561-1993 | cornerstoneak.com

No. 49

Alaska Village Electric Cooperative

2024 Rank: - | 5% Change in Revenue

2024 Revenue: $77,931,939

2023 Revenue: $73,981,089

2022 Revenue: $60,772,521

2021 Revenue: $51,871,938

2020 Revenue: -

Services/Products: Member-owned electric cooperative serving fifty-eight rural Alaska communities.

Employees: 138 Worldwide | 138 Statewide Year Founded in Alaska: 1967

Bill Stamm, Pres./CEO | Anchorage | 907-561-1818 | avec.org

Investing in Alaska, Investing in You

Alaska Permanent Capital Management: The Firm Alaskans Trust

For more than three decades, Alaska Permanent Capital Management (APCM) has been at the heart of Alaska’s financial community. Founded in 1992 by Dave Rose, a civic leader who also served as the first Executive Director of the Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation, APCM was born out of a simple vision: to provide exemplary investment expertise right here in Alaska, for Alaska.

Today, APCM is the largest and most established investment advisory firm in the state, managing and advising on approximately $5 billion in assets, as of August 2025. From our headquarters in Anchorage, we serve Alaska’s communities, corporations, and nonprofits—helping them navigate markets with confidence while keeping decision-making close to home.

A FIDUCIARY FIRST, ALWAYS

At APCM, we are fiduciaries. That means we are legally and ethically bound to put our clients’ interests first—a responsibility we take seriously. Because we remain fully independent, we don’t sell proprietary products or earn commissions. Instead, we manage customized separate accounts designed specifically to fit each client’s goals, risk tolerance, and circumstances.

GLOBAL DIVERSIFICATION WITH LOCAL FOCUS

Financial markets may be global, but investment advice is most valuable when it’s local. From the beginning, APCM has built its practice around Alaska’s unique needs and culture. Our portfolio managers don’t just manage investments from behind a desk—they travel by plane, ferry, and highway to meet clients where they live and work. Whether it’s a borough assembly meeting in Southeast or a nonprofit board retreat in the Interior, APCM shows up.

Living and working in Alaska ourselves, we share the same time

zone, the same outdoor pursuits, and the same deep connection to the Last Frontier. That level of regional insight and accessibility is unmatched by firms based beyond our borders.

SERVING INSTITUTIONS AND ALASKA NATIVE ENTITIES

Over time, APCM’s services have expanded alongside Alaska’s needs.

• Institutional Clients: We manage assets for municipalities, Alaska Native corporations, nonprofits, foundations, and retirement plans. Our approach balances growth with risk management, always guided by a long-term perspective.

• Alaska Native Organizations: We work closely with Alaska Native entities to help maximize the value of financial reserves—whether that means generating income for shareholder dividends, supporting scholarship programs, or managing Settlement Trusts.

APCM offers both a comprehensive multi-asset program and a robust

fixed income practice. Our multi-asset strategies integrate equities, bonds, and alternatives in dynamic portfolios designed to capture opportunity while managing risk across market cycles. At the same time, our fixed income experience—a foundation of our firm since its inception — enables us to construct tailored bond portfolios with the goal to provide reliable income, preserve capital, and meet liquidity needs. Together, these capabilities allow us to deliver customized solutions that align with the specific goals of Alaska’s institutions.

A TEAM YOU CAN TRUST

APCM is led by seasoned professionals with decades of experience in investment management.

• Bill Lierman, CFA, Chief Executive Officer, guides the firm with a steady hand and a focus on client trust.

• Brandy Niclai, CFA, CFA, Chief Investment Officer of Multi-Asset Strategies, leads the firm’s investment philosophy, ensuring portfolios remain

Photo Credit: Chris Arend

APCM TEAM

dynamic and resilient.

What unites our team is not just technical expertise but commitment to Alaska. Our staff are active community members, serving on nonprofit boards, volunteering for local causes, and giving back in ways that strengthen the state we all call home.

EXPERTISE WITH DIRECT ACCESS

In investment management, true value comes from the depth of experience guiding decisions and the access clients have to those making them.

At APCM, our investment professionals bring extensive experience, including team members who hold the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation— one of the highest standards in the industry. This highly credentialed team designs and manages strategies across asset classes, drawing on the same global research and analytical tools used by the largest firms.

The difference is in the delivery. Our clients work directly with senior portfolio managers and decisionmakers who understand their objectives and stay closely involved with their portfolios. This combination of global insight and local accessibility means APCM clients receive not just sophisticated strategies, but also the responsiveness and personal attention that ensure those strategies are aligned with their unique needs.

A LEGACY OF SERVICE

From the very beginning, APCM has been about more than just managing money. Dave Rose built the firm on community service, and that legacy continues today.

We have donated pro bono advisory services valued at more than $1 million to Alaska nonprofits. We support charitable giving statewide, invest time in civic leadership, and encourage every member of our team to give back. Our mission is simple: to help Alaskans thrive, both financially and as a community.

LOOKING AHEAD

In 2024, APCM completed a thoughtful succession process, bringing on Alaskabased Blue Umbrella as majority owner while keeping leadership firmly in the hands of long-time employees. This transition strengthened our foundation and ensured that APCM will continue to serve Alaskans for generations to come—rooted in Alaska, guided by fiduciary principles, and focused on delivering results.

YOUR PARTNER IN ALASKA’S FUTURE

For more than 30 years, APCM has proven that Alaskans don’t need to look Outside for investment expertise. We are here, we are accessible, and we

are committed to serving the unique needs of our state.

Whether you are a city government, a nonprofit, an Alaska Native corporation, or a community institution—APCM is your partner in building lasting prosperity in the Last Frontier.

Disclosure: Alaska Permanent Capital Management (APCM) is an investment adviser registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Registration does not imply a certain level of skill or training. More information about APCM’s investment advisory services can be found in its Form ADV Part 2 and/or Form CRS, which is available upon request.

Photo Credit:

Chris

Arend

APCM CLIENT SERVICE TEAM

CMilestones, Awards, and Projects Recent noteworthy events for the Top 49ers

o mpanies needed to generate nearly $80 million in 2024 gross revenue to be listed in the Top 49ers ranks this year. The projects, activities, and programs that earned revenue for the Top 49ers are too numerous to publish, but here are the highlights they've shared.

Watterson Construction Co.

Watterson is honored to have been named the Denali level Best General Contractor in Alaska Business’ last four Best of Alaska Business surveys and the Foraker level Best Place to Work 1-250 Employees category for the first time this year.

Usibelli Coal Mine

We have invested approximately $3 million to complete a 9-mile powerline to extend electricity to our Jumbo Dome mining area. Our Two Bull Ridge Mine is nearing completion, with final reclamation scheduled to begin in 2025.

Ukpeaġvik Iñupiat Corporation

In 2024, UIC’s revenue grew by 13.5 percent, a $109.4 million increase over 2023. We also completed UIC’s largest acquisition to date: a majority interest in Delta Solutions & Strategies. In addition, UIC welcomed more than 1,000 new Class B shareholders.

Tyonek Native Corporation

By way of collaboration with federal, state, and community partners, the Lower Tyonek Creek culvert replacement project was completed. The $4.4 million project establishes the largest fish passage culvert completed in Alaska, greatly improving salmon habitat on the west side of the Cook Inlet.

Three Bears Alaska

We now operate thirty-six stores in Alaska, from Tok and Fairbanks to Ketchikan and Dutch Harbor, featuring groceries; beer, wine, and spirits; general merchandise; sporting goods; pharmacy items; Ace Hardware; fuel; and wholesale meat, seafood, and cheese.

The Aleut Corporation

This year, Aleut launched Aleut Energy to expand retail and renewable energy services in Alaska; established Tayal Brokerage; issued the first shareholder distribution through the Aleut Settlement Trust;

partnered on The Wildbirch Hotel to grow hospitality; and moved HQ to the Denali Towers.

Sitnasuak Native Corporation

Subsidiary SNC Tallimat, part of our holding company SNC Global Solutions, secured a multimilliondollar project in Nevada. We are proud to share that we also received a multimillion-dollar US Economic Development Administration grant to support the energy infrastructure of existing fuel tank operations.

Northrim Bank

In 2024, Northrim Bank completed the acquisition of Sallyport Commercial Finance to complement products currently offered and to diversify the bank’s portfolio. Northrim will celebrate its 35th anniversary at the end of 2025 and remains committed to serving the needs of Alaskans.

NANA Regional Corporation

NANA is proud to highlight one of our newest subsidiaries, Qavvik Air. Since July 2024, Qavvik Air has provided lifesaving medevac services to the NANA region. This dedicated program enhances emergency

response and ensures timely medical care for remote, underserved communities across rural Alaska.

Lynden

Lynden was voted the Best Cargo/ Logistics provider in the 2025 Best of Alaska Business awards and was named a 2025 Green Supply Chain Partner by Inbound Logistics. In late 2024, Lynden was chosen to deliver the US Capitol Christmas Tree from Alaska’s Tongass National Forest to Washington, DC.

Koniag

Koniag continued to advance its strategic vision with major developments last year. The corporation issued record shareholder distributions; appointed the first CEO of its Koniag Capital sector; and welcomed new leadership at Vervint, its commercial tech subsidiary.

Great Northwest, Inc.

Great Northwest, celebrating fifty years of building and serving our Alaska community, continues to maintain safe and efficient operations while successfully navigating the varying economic climates.

Goldbelt Incorporated

Goldbelt is building momentum from its 50th year with Goldbelt Aaní—a cultural tourism site and deep-water port on 251 acres of lush rainforest in West Douglas— marking Juneau’s first Indigenous cruise destination and a new chapter in long-term growth for shareholders and community.

Gana-A' Yoo, Limited

Gana-A'Yoo continues to experience year-over-year record growth; 2024 was again a record year for revenue and net profits. We paid our highest shareholder distribution to date; added in-house counsel; expanded our investment portfolio; and created an endowment at our Gana-A'Yoo Foundation.

First National Bank Alaska

Alaska Business readers voted First National the Best Place to Work for the tenth year in a row and Best Bank/Credit Union for the fifth time consecutive time. The bank received an “Outstanding” Community Reinvestment Act rating from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency for an eighth three-year

reporting period in a row, spanning twenty-four years.

Cruz Construction

Cruz expanded its marine department and oil and gas support services in 2024. We continued to mine and place gravel year round and had one of our busiest ice road seasons. We won three prestigious awards: Alaska Oil and Gas Association’s Contractor of the Year for Safety and two Associated General Contractors of Alaska Excellence in Construction Awards.

Credit Union 1

Credit Union 1 recently expanded with new branches in Kotzebue, Wasilla, and Skagway to now serve Alaskans through fifteen branches in ten communities, plus convenient digital services.

Craig Taylor Equipment

Significant reinvestment in our service departments and parts inventory levels at all five branches have enabled us to provide the highest level of support to our customers across the entire state.

Cornerstone General Contractors

We have a new Southeast Alaska regional office in Juneau and received the inaugural CHASE (Construction Health & Safety Excellence) Flag designation granted by Alaska Occupational Safety & Health.

Copper River Management Company

Our recent awards are USA Today Top Workplace 2025; The Washington

Post

Top Workplace 2023–25; Military Friendly Employer 2024; and Inc. 5000 2025 for Copper River Cyber Solutions, Copper River Technologies, and Reconcraft.

Colville

Colville has commenced operations at our new Diesel Exhaust Fluid plant in Deadhorse and recently opened the first retail store located inside security in the Deadhorse airport. Colville has been awarded the Valdez loop haul contract, which positions us to better serve the fuel market.

Chugach Electric Association

In 2025, Chugach Electric launched the first community solar project in Alaska, allowing members to add solar power to their home or business.

Chugach Alaska Corporation

Chugach appointed President Katherine Carlton and Government Division President Laine Klein; acquired AK Integrated Services and HVAC; opened Chugach Naswik multi-use facility in Valdez and Cyber Express in Anchorage; advanced Chugach land exchange legislation; and established two nonprofits.

Choggiung Ltd.

2024 was another year of strong growth at Choggiung, Limited. Our construction and IT/cybersecurity businesses had strong performance; our high-speed affordable broadband infrastructure construction project is nearly complete; and we have continued issuing shares to qualified descendant shareholders.

Cape Fox Corporation

Cape Fox Tours earned an Adventure Green Alaska certification for demonstrating compliance with its sustainable tourism practices. Cape Fox Tours has put thought into implementing the values for sustainability into its business model and remains committed to efforts to further sustainability.

Calista Corporation

Calista’s revenue exceeded $1 billion for the first time last year. Our business growth is enabling us to increase shareholder benefits. Total shareholder distributions exceeded $17 million last year. We also debuted a new scholarship program focused on trade programs.

Bristol Bay Native Corporation

In December 2024, BBNC acquired majority interest in Alaska Growth Capital, a Native Community Development Financial Institution and US Small Business Administration lender. The move expands BBNC’s financial services and deepens its commitment to small business growth, empowering rural and Alaska Native entrepreneurs with flexible, community-focused lending.

Black Gold Express

In addition to its North Pole and Fairbanks locations, Black Gold Express has recently expanded, opening an Anchorage terminal to better serve its customers.

Bering Straits Native Corporation

In response to strong shareholder support, the BSNC board of directors

unanimously approved placing the Open Enrollment Resolution on the 2025 shareholder proxy, letting shareholders vote whether to open enrollment to BSNC lineal descendants and missed enrollees.

Arctic Slope Regional Corporation

ASRC launched our 2025 & Beyond Strategic Plan, a roadmap designed to drive sustainable growth and enhance shareholder value. The plan is another example of ASRC’s long-term vision to grow the corporation with our shareholder base and deliver meaningful, sustainable dividends for future ge nerations.

Ahtna, Inc.

In 2024, Ahtna delivered more than $22 million in benefits to more than 2,300 shareholders, highlighting our ongoing investment in the well-being of our people.

Afognak Native Corporation

We made a significant investment in Alaska Precast Solutions Inc., a leader in bringing innovative hollowcore precast concrete manufacturing to Alaska for construction purposes, allowing for faster project timelines, strong profitability, and durability in our unique environments.

Alutiiq Logistics & Maintenance Services secured a contract to support Marine Helicopter Squadron One (HMX-1), the elite unit responsible for transporting the President and Vice President of the United States, a proud continuation of our legacy of service to the nation.

By Amy Newman

Monica Sterchi-Lowman

Exclusive as the Top 49ers are, more exclusive still is the class entering the list for the first time. Four companies appear in the 2025 ranking that were not listed in 2024, but a couple of those are encores. Alaska Village Electric Cooperative makes the cut at #49, returning for a fifth time, and the first time since 2020. Cornerstone General Contractors has been a Top 49er seven times before, and after a hiatus since 2022, the firm is back at #48.

Like the ebb and flow of the tide, some years a company’s fortunes rise just high enough to pierce the revenue floor, allowing them to make their debut as a Top 49er. Others might’ve qualified in years past but hadn’t shared their revenue figures.

This year, Black Gold Express (BGE) and Natives of Kodiak (NOK) are the newcomers. Not only does 2025 mark the first time either company is ranked as a Top 49er, but they did it with their first submission of revenue s for consideration.

Although they are new to the Top 49ers, BGE and NOK are hardly new to Alaska business, with a combined ninety years in operation.

Long, Strange Trip

Making it onto the Top 49ers list was never one of BGE’s driving goals.

“We’re a family owned and operated business,” says General Manager Chris Huffman, who operates BGE alongside his brother, Vice President Jeremy Huffman, and their dad, President and Founder Jim Huffman. “We care a lot about

what we’re doing, our team, and our customers. Dedication to safety and good customer service are the primary things that we’re striving for.”

But recognition for robust revenue was never not a goal, either.

“I wouldn’t say that’s our primary focus, waking up in the morning and trying to push revenue up,” Jeremy says. “But we wanted to get on that list.”

As the company expanded, the Huffmans compared BGE’s annual revenues to those of the companies named to the list each year. They decided 2025 was their year.

“We saw the revenues last year and we were like, ‘We should probably submit it,’” Chris says.

That strategy and careful analysis proved to be spot on; the company’s $88,901,000 in 2024 revenue landed it at #45.

“Personally, I think that what propelled us over the last five-ish years is just having good customer service,” Jeremy says. “We’ve focused

more on safety and hiring a good team that’s helped propel us and get new, larger contracts.”

BGE began in Fairbanks in 1987 with another brother duo at the helm, Jim and his brother John. The company provided heavy-haul transportation i n and around Alaska.

“They had two trucks and rented a shop,” Chris says. “It’s just grown over the years.”

Today, BGE has yards in Fairbanks, Deadhorse, and Anchorage and employs 313 workers. The company provides trucking, transport, and logistics services for oil field, construction, and other industries throughout Alaska, Canada, and the Lower 48. That includes heavyhaul, hot shot, general freight, bulk transfer, and transport services.

“We transport full truckload freight to and from and within the state of Alaska,” Jeremy says. “We mostly specialize in contract work, surveying the oil field, the mining industry, and construction, predominantly.”

Jeremy and Chris believe that the 2013 opening of the company’s Deadhorse yard, combined with a focus on customer service and safety, contributed to the company’s growth.

A Little More Trustworthy

“Over the past five years, we’ve built a really good team of people who work for us that helped propel us to the next level in getting some larger contracts,” Chris says. “I think that was really what it was. It’s almost like you have to get to a certain size so that some of these bigger companies want to trust you with their contracts and their work.”

In addition to large contracts with ConocoPhillips, BGE functions as the rolling pipeline between the Manh Choh gold mine and the ore processing mill at the Fort Knox mine north of Fairbanks. Since mining began near Tok in August 2023, BGE has averaged sixty loads per day, around the clock, sending a truck every twenty minutes on

Jim Huffman is the president of an intergenerational company, operated by his sons and the whole extended family.

Black Gold Express

the four-hour haul. The continuous loop is a major escalation for the company’s operations.

“We were mostly doing civil contracts, like hauling dirt and asphalt and things like that for building roads and that sort of thing,” Jeremy says. “And then we kind of shifted our business model into more freight and heavy haul. We were operating just in Alaska, and we kind of changed our model a little bit to be a whole-service freight provider. So we’re actually covering the Lower 48 portions and over-the-water portions of the transport, which has expanded our business.”

Part of that expansion includes opening the Anchorage yard in 2024; that addition is part of BGE’s commitment to customer service.

“We’ve got a bunch of customers in Anchorage, so it just helps increase the efficiency,” Chris says. “And we had the opportunity to pick up a few really good employees, so we decided it was a good time to make the move.”

For now, Chris says BGE’s focus remains on “trying to do a really good job of what we do.”

“We want to grow our Anchorage terminal and our Anchorage customer base. That’s a focus for us this year,” he says. “I don’t think we have any plans for more locations, but we’re definitely open to growing.”

Both Huffman brothers believe that finally landing a long-coveted spot on the Top 49ers list will bring even more business opportunities.

“Getting on the list just gets you in front of more large companies, so they can kind of see that you’re a little more trustworthy than a

“The company chose to focus on strengthening its core business functions and building a sustainable foundation before seeking recognition… Now we are proud to showcase the accomplishments to our shareholders and the broader Alaska community.”

Monica James, President and CEO, Natives of Kodiak

guy that’s running around with five trucks,” Chris says.

NOK of the Rock

Like BGE, NOK didn’t prioritize Top 49er status, even though President and CEO Monica James believes it’s likely the organization has been eligible for several years.

“The company chose to focus on strengthening its core business functions and building a sustainable foundation before seeking recognition,” she says. “Now we are proud to showcase the accomplishments to our shareholders and the broader Alaska community.”

NOK was incorporated in 1973 under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act as a for-profit urban corporation, like Juneau’s Goldbelt, Sitka’s Shee Atiká, and Kenai Natives Association Inc. It received 23,040 acres of surface estate and $250,000 in cash and served 542 original shareholders. Over the past fifty-two years, NOK has grown to serve 995 shareholders spread across the United States and employs approximately 400 people nationwide—11 in Alaska—with offices in nineteen states. Its 2024 annual revenue was $204,621,857,

enough for it to break through to #26 on the Top 49ers list.

NOK’s nine-member board of directors and its five-member management team work to responsibly grow the organization to support sustainable shareholder benefits and opportunities. It accomplishes this economic growth through a mix of asset diversification, strategic investments, and progressive land management.

NOK’s diverse portfolio spans commercial enterprises, government contracting, timber, land, and resource management. Its holding company, KOMAN Holdings, has a dozen subsidiaries that deliver environmental, construction, and administrative services for government and commercial clients nationwide.

“NOK is a dedicated service provider,” James says. “Our operations team actively seeks new clientele across our diverse service and construction offerings while continuing to pursue growth opportunities within all our business lines.”

Meaningful Synergies

In addition to its commercial endeavors, NOK has two trusts—

the Shareholder Permanent Fund Trust, created in 2002, and the Benefits Trust, created in 2018— that invest in a mix of marketable securities and real estate. The trusts support charitable and not-for-profit organizations that benefit the greater Kodiak community and NOK shareholders and descendants, including the Alutiiq Museum, distribution of quarterly Elder dividends, and the NOK Scholarship Fund, which supports youth, training, and higher education scholarships.

“NOK continues to pursue strategic opportunities, whether through diversification or bolt-on acquisitions, that create meaningful synergies and strengthen our portfolio,” James says.

She says being included in the Top 49ers list is an honor, one that will help NOK to continue growing and achieve its overall mission to support its shareholders and the wider community.

“We are honored to be recognized among the Top 49 companies in the state, a distinction that brings honor and pride to our shareholders,” she says. “This achievement reflects the strength and success of our operations while enhancing our corporate profile.”

Growth Focus

Strategy

and human connection accelerate the fastest growing 49ers

By Christi Foist

Revenue, in absolute terms, is the prime consideration for ranking the Top 49ers. As a snapshot of annual performance, it’s a reasonable measure of relative success. However, the first-order derivative of revenue growth is a meaningful metric at a wider range of scales. While earning more dollars, year over year, than half of the other companies on the list is impressive, the enormous head start for the mightiest of the mighty is an important consideration.

In percentage terms, then, double-digit growth is a signal of a blazing star on the rise. On this year’s list, eight companies posted revenue at least 20 percent higher than the year before. Northrim Bank’s 24 percent growth reflects its backing of Alaskans and their businesses, while oil and gas activity benefited Alaskanowned industry support firms, boosting Udelhoeven Oilfield System Services by 24 percent and Colville by a chart-topping 60 percent. Basking in the glow, the construction sector did well in 2024, with Cornerstone General Contractors up by 55 percent and Watterson Construction up by 30 percent. Federal infrastructure funding helped pump that activity, and government contracting lifted the revenues of Native corporations, along with savvy strategic maneuvers. Village corporations Huna Totem and Choggiung, Ltd. saw growth of 20 percent and 25 percent, respectively, and Copper River Management Company (CRMC), the

“We quit thinking project to project and started thinking bigger, on an enterprise level.”

Joe Jolley, President, Cornerstone General Contractors

ALASKAN COMMUNITIES ALASKAN BUILDERS

“The growth gives us an opportunity to bid on more complex and larger projects. We’ve increased our profile, especially with our federal customers across the country.”

Cameron Poindexter Preside nt and CEO Chogg iung, Ltd.

for-profit arm of the Native Village of Eyak (NVE), grew by 26 percent.

How’d they do it?

“It’s 100 percent culture” says CRMC CEO Kevin McLaughlin. “When you focus on culture and people, performance follows.”

Choggiung President and CEO Cameron Poindexter agrees. “This growth doesn’t come without an enormous amount of talented people,” he says.

Priorities in Focus

Both CEOs say strategy also informed their growth. At CRMC, McLaughlin moved into the CEO role five years ago, just months into the COVID-19 pandemic. Even though many companies transitioned to remote work at the time, McLaughlin saw an immediate need to strengthen interorganizational communication and break down silos. “If nothing else, it was phone calls… nonstop making sure you were always touching somebody… [and] keeping those communication channels open,” he says. “To survive through a global pandemic, let alone thrive… we had to stay c onnected.”

As restrictions on in-person meetings eased, McLaughlin worked to ensure staff across CRMC’s multiple holdings met regularly. “It took coming together and literally bringing people to Chantilly [Virginia, site of the CRMC office where McLaughlin is based] to understand our ‘why.’” The answer is simple: the company works for the benefit of the tribe tha t owns it.

CRMC performs construction projects all over the United States, many for the US Department of Defense, as well maritime and IT work. This farflung staff means it’s not always possible to have team meetings in Cordova or at its Anchorage headquarters, but McLaughlin says the company works hard to bring the culture of Eyak to its employees. This ranges from featuring NVE artists in corporate offices to sharing the Eyak Echo , the tribe’s newspaper, with employees in regul ar emails.

“Everybody is tied to the bottom line… knowing that we ultimately want to maximize profit for the tribe,” he says.

Sticking to a Plan

For Dillingham-based Choggiung, Poindexter says revenue growth builds on a five-year strategic plan the board developed two years ago, which sought to double the company’s size. “Growth for us means that we’re able to share more with more people,” he says. As the largest village corporation in the Bristol Bay region, he says, Choggiung has also seen significant growth in shareholders since Poindexter took the helm in 2017. From roughly 2,000 shareholders, the rolls have grown to more than 2,800.

“Our family has grown,” Poindexter says, which “requires us to be a larger business to be able to pay ever-increasing benefits to our shareholders and honor the purpose of Alaska Native corporations to promote the

economic, cultural, and social advancement of our people.”

For 2024, Poindexter says most of the revenue growth came from Wood River Federal, which grew by $8.2 million (a 35 percent increase) and Bristol Industries, which grew by $32 million, a 17 percent increase. Most of Choggiung’s other companies had flat performance. The company’s 2024 revenue growth

offices in the capital city to facilitate projects in Southeast.

Like CRMC, investments in company culture also played a key role in Cornerstone’s growth,

encompasses employees, designers, subcontractors, and customers.

“We spend a lot of time and energy thinking about how what we do affects those four different types of

“Everybody is tied to the bottom line… knowing that we ultimately want to maximize profit for the tribe.”

Kevin McLaughlin CEO Copper River Manageme nt Company

culture to focus on the employee experience, ensure “top of market” compensation, and organize regular staff gatherings. “Folks really like working here, and that’s probably the single best thing that we could have done as a company to provide subcontractors, designers, and clients with their best experience,” Jolley says.

By investing in employees’ wellbeing, Jolley says Cornerstone can provide its other project partners and clients “with staff on their projects that love what they do and are well taken care of and have plenty of time and energy to worry about the projects and not worry about all the other things.”

Sowing Seeds for Tomorrow

All three CEOs speak most passionately about how their companies are sowing back into the communities they’re part of—whether returning value directly to shareholders or, in Cornerstone’s case, to the industry itself .

For CRMC, one such opportunity presented itself when the Cordova School District faced a significant financial shortfall as it planned for the 2024–2025 school year. Faced with a $1.5 million deficit for fiscal year 2025, the school district planned to cut its afterschool lunch program and after-school sports. When its leaders asked if NVE could help, the tribe agreed to cover the meals and extracurriculars through a $700,000 gift.

“It was extremely well received by our community, by village of

Eyak and non-tribal members,” says Diane Ujioka, a lifelong NVE member who chairs the board of Alaska Native General Services, CRMC’s operating company. “It was a big boost to the community.”

Without the gift, children all over Cordova would have gone without the breakfasts and lunches the school district provides five days a week. “The number-one thing for learning is not being hungry or being distracted,” says McLaughlin. “It was pretty scary” when the school district feared they might have to cut such a service, he adds. “It affected the whole community of Cordova, not just the village of Eyak.”

Poindexter says Choggiung’s growth has also funded concrete benefits for people’s day-to-day life. “We’ve been able to make some really cool decisions based on our business performance for our shareholders,” he says. Over the last eight years, it has increased the shareholder dividend by 175 percent. It also issued a new class of shares to include descendants of the original shareholders. This added 400 new people to the rolls.

Choggiung’s revenue growth and profitability also funded a mix of new and expanded benefits for those shareholders. The corporation increased scholarships for “any form of higher education,” whether trade school, a certificate, or a degree program, Poindexter says.

Choggiung also added a bereavement benefit to cover up to $1,000 of funeral costs for shareholders or their spouses. And a new probate benefit,

created in association with Bristol Bay Native Association, saves people costly travel to obtain documents needed for the inheritance of a deceased s hareholder’s estate.

“You usually have to fly into Anchorage from rural Alaska to verify your identity in person” to get the necessary documents from the state, Poindexter says. But because Bristol Bay Native Association has a governmentto-government relationship with the State of Alaska, it can order death certificates directly. The new probate benefit pays up to $1,000 for certificates for the whole family, he says, saving them time and money.

Jolley positions Cornerstone’s community contribution as developing a different way of doing construction. “I’ve been building buildings a long time and I could probably just keep doing that,” he says, “but we’re really looking to do something here that’s a bit more special than that… We want to build amazing projects with other people that enjoy building amazing projects and kind of flip the narrative on the construction industry, that it’s normally very adversarial, contentious, and stressful.”

As long as double-digit revenue growth continues, Jolley hopes to build “an enterprise of people that… love their jobs and love the people that they do their jobs with… and feel fulfilled and have a purpose,” he says. “We’re in the coolest industry in the state as far as I’m concerned: the building of Alaska.”

SUSTAINABILITY STEPPING STONES

The Kuskokwim Corporation (TKC) is building a future of sustainability, one stepping stone at a time. From housing and renewable energy to broadband and workforce development, TKC works to lower the cost of living, create opportunity, and steward the land for generations. We advance shareholder prosperity while honoring the values and strength of our homeland. TKC is proud to be recognized among Alaska’s Top 49 businesses.

Automated Laundry Systems & Supply Your complete laundry room solutions

Founded in 1980, Automated Laundry Systems & Supply (ALS&S) is proud to celebrate 45 years of serving Alaska. But the anniversary is not just a celebration of its longevity, it’s a testament to the Alaskanowned company’s ability to innovate, adapt, and excel in a competitive market.

General Manager Tami Hill attributes the company’s success to two primary practices: putting customers first and taking care of its seventeen employees—who have a combined 178 years of industry experience. “Our customers keep us going, but at the end of the day, we value our employees,” she says. “We have our employees’ back because they do a great job taking care of our customers.”

The company’s community focus and career-based environment is driven by its owners. “We are truly blessed to have

employees—even when it cost them money,” Hill says.

ALS&S has come a long way since its inception in the garage of its original founder, Dick Wells. Now Alaska’s premier source for commercial and industrial laundry equipment, ALS&S supplies coin-operated systems, dry cleaning equipment, and energy-saving technology statewide. It also provides sales and service on leading brands and stocks a large inventory of parts and supplies.

“Carrying on the legacy that ALS&S has and caring for both our customers and employees are at the root of everything we do,” says President Kyle Mirka. “We’re proud of what was built before us, and what we’ve continued to build since 2016 when we acquired the business.”.

its core values and mission. Essentially, it went back to the basics after pondering key questions like “What is our core focus?” and “What do we provide the community and state?”

This introspective approach allowed ALS&S to streamline its operations, enhancing its ability to serve customers more effectively. Ultimately, this enabled the company to remain true to its original principles while adapting to the evolving market landscape.

Ten years ago, ALS&S created a separate division—Automated Chemical & Equipment Solutions (ACE)—to strategically diversify its operation. ACE is a dishwasher leasing, sales, and service company for top Energy Star-certified products. It also offers chemicals for janitorial, laundry, and kitchens, giving customers a convenient, single source for their commercial

by

Photo

Raina Wessen Photography

scrubbing robots to help customers conserve manpower. Soon, ACE will begin mixing its own chemicals, which should help the company reduce supply chain problems and its carbon footprint. “We will be the only chemical company to blend their own chemicals here in Alaska,” Bookman says.

ACE focuses on providing stellar service and a positive experience for customers, including convenient, onestop shopping. Division Manager Alex Bookman emphasizes: “Our number one priority is servicing the customer and making sure things are operating; we’re not just trying to sell them something… We are a service company that provides chemicals versus a chemical company that tries to provide service.”

COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGES

Having local ownership, factorytrained technicians, and a deep understanding of Alaska’s unique environment gives ALS&S a significant competitive edge. The company is not just selling equipment, it’s delivering solutions that are built to last in some of the harshest conditions in the country, according to Service, Industrial Sales, and Special Projects Manager Justin Wells. “Our team’s dedication to handson support, tailored consultation, and long-term relationships sets us apart,” he says. “We’re problem solvers, not just suppliers. We provide ‘complete laundry room solutions.’”

Operating in Alaska requires a special kind of resilience, and this is reflected in ALS&S’ business processes. When making equipment recommendations, ALS&S considers factors like extreme weather, limited access to parts, and high energy costs. And it tailors preventative maintenance plans to reduce downtime, which is critical in remote or highdemand facilities. “Our technicians are well versed in Arctic travel and are prepared to deal with the curveballs that can arise here,” Wells says. “Basically, we design systems and programs to thrive where others might fail.”

Logistics is always a challenge in Alaska, with freight schedules, unpredictable weather, and limited local infrastructure being crucial

factors. “But we’ve become experts in planning ahead,” Wells emphasizes. “We coordinate closely with local partners, pre-stage equipment when necessary, and always make sure our technicians are prepared for on-site problem-solving. Flexibility and experience are key.”

ALS&S also offers ozone and water reclamation systems, which are game-changers—especially in Alaska where utility costs can be high. Ozone technology reduces the need for hot water and harsh chemicals, while improving disinfection and textile service life when properly utilized—critical for healthcare, hospitality, and correctional facilities. And water reclamation systems help conserve resources by recycling rinse water, significantly reducing overall water and energy usage. “These systems offer cost savings and align with our commitment to sustainability,” Wells says.

PROUD OF ITS IMPACT

Recently, ALS&S completed several large-scale laundry system installations in healthcare, government, and hospitality facilities. These projects required creative logistics, coordination with multiple agencies, and rugged, reliable equipment designed for efficiency and durability. Wells notes, “We’re especially proud of the positive impact these systems have on communities that rely heavily on dependable infrastructure.”

As another source of pride, ALS&S has received various recognition for its business practices, including awards

from Green Star, the Alaska Hotel Lodging and Association, and United Way. “These honors reflect the trust and loyalty we’ve built with our partners and customers,” Wells says.

Despite this recognition, many Alaskans do not know that ALS&S is the state’s only full-line laundry equipment distributor. ALS&S is uniquely qualified to provide commercial and industrial laundry machines and high-quality chemical solutions. Hill says, “Nobody offers what we offer as far as the fullpackage deal; we have a little bit of everything.”

Photo by Raina Wessen Photography

Mapping the Future

Top 49ers look forward

Ra nking by the previous year’s revenue is necessarily retrospective, yet the Top 49ers didn’t land on the list by looking backward. In addition to revenue figures, we asked companies to share an upcoming project, initiative, or policy that sets up the organization for long-term success. Here are their answers.

Cape Fox Corporation

Cape Fox Lodge officially opened a new tram for Cape Fox Lodge guests, visitors to Ketchikan, and the Ketchikan community. Cape Fox Lodge replaced the tram cab and mechanical equipment and renovated the tram landings, including adding a new tram stop at Eagle’s Nest restaurant. The new, modernized tram is a pivotal attraction for tourists; the tram is a much-used mode of transportation for guests and visitors of the Lodge to access the many other shops and sights in Ketchikan. It sits between historic Creek Street and Cape Fox Lodge.

Arctic Slope Regional Corporation

Building on the 1989 vote by our original shareholders that authorized the creation of descendant stock classes, ASRC shareholders earlier this year voted overwhelmingly in favor of issuing additional shares to replenish those descendant stock classes. Through this monumental vote, ASRC can continue to create opportunities, strengthen unity among our people, and secure the legacy of our original shareholders for generations to come.

Bristol Bay Native Corporation

BBNC’s board has approved a plan for shareholders to vote on expanding enrollment to lineal descendants of original BBNC shareholders. If approved by shareholders, this initiative will support the long-term growth and success of BBNC. Having a robust community of shareholders engaging with our corporation in meaningful ways is critical to our culture and shared future. Through building and supporting these connections, we can ensure that the next generation of shareholders carries our stories and stewardship forward well into the future.

Chugach Alaska Corporation

Our progress toward a land exchange (known in the US Congress as S.2016 and H.R. 3903, the Chugach Alaska Land Exchange and Oil Spill Recovery Act) will open new avenues for growth and development in the future.

Open enrollment, if passed (up for shareholder vote at the October annual meeting), has the potential to bring us closer to a more inclusive and engaged community.

Chugach’s Village in the City initiative—our vision for an Alaska Native campus—is taking shape as a symbol of renewal and belonging, bringing to life our enduring values of connection, heritage, and care for one another. This will be a transformational project that supports housing stability, job training, and cultural connection for Alaska Native residents in urban areas.

All of our progress toward these long-term endeavors represents a strong foundation upon which we will build our future, ensuring that Chugach remains a beacon of strength and resilience for generations to come.

Looking ahead, we’re embarking on a growth-driven five-year plan in 2025 that will guide our path forward. This plan is focused on the growth and expansion of our business portfolio while also strengthening our community, investing in our people, and ensuring that Chugach remains a leader in every industry we operate in.

NANA Regional Corporation

NANA’s broadband project, now in the FAST-41 program, is bringing high-speed internet to Northwest Alaska. With $65 million in federal funding and deep community collaboration, it marks a generational step forward in regional connectivity and economic sustainability.

Gana-A' Yoo, Limited

Implementing a new UKG Pro human resources system to help our employees have a single point of contract for all of their employment needs, be it their timesheet, payroll, benefits, reviews, or trainings.

First National Bank Alaska

We’re excited to announce a digital banking upgrade, driven by customer and employee feedback calling for a more robust mobile and online platform. Set to launch in 2026, this project will enhance our customers’ digital experience in several ways. A single app and online portal will be unified and seamless for both business and personal banking customers. The new platform streamlines account management with improved navigation and features, and enhances security and reliability with best-in-class technology. This initiative reflects our long-term vision, meets evolving customer needs, and will further distinguish First National from its competitors.

Usibelli Coal Mine

We continue to invest in innovative technologies that boost efficiency and environmental performance. Engineering plans are underway to relocate our 2,100-ton dragline, the Ace-in-the-Hole, to our Jumbo Dome Mine, our primary coal mining area for the foreseeable future.

The Kuskokwim Corporation

One of the most exciting initiatives at The Kuskokwim Corporation (TKC) is the Harvest to Home project, a locally driven solution to the Kuskokwim region’s long-standing housing crisis. Through TKC Fish Wheel, we’re gearing up to build energy-efficient homes using sustainable timber harvest methods and construction designed specifically for the climate and transportation realities of rural Alaska. We're training and hiring local residents to build and install these homes, keeping the economic benefits in the community and ensuring cultural relevance in design and materials. With Harvest to Home, TKC is proving that longterm regional challenges can be solved by Indigenous-led innovation and investment in our people.

Corporation

UIC launched the Charles Etok Edwardsen, Jr. Mitigation Bank, a major milestone for sustainable development on the North Slope. This project will support responsible resource development, with proceeds reinvested into local priorities like shareholder housing in Utqiaġvik.

UIC also signed a tri-lateral agreement with the City of Utqiaġvik and the Native Village of Barrow, strengthening collaboration, communication, and shared benefits as we plan for the future together.

Alaska Village Electric Cooperative

Working with our communities to invest in infrastructure and human capacity to provide safe, reliable, sustainable electricity.

Chugach Electric Association

Chugach continues to work toward its decarbonization goal of reducing its carbon intensity by at least 35 percent by 2030 and by at least 50 percent by 2040 without a material negative impact on rates or reliability.

The Aleut Corporation

We’re excited to launch new infrastructure projects in Adak, expand renewable energy and hospitality services statewide, and begin development on a hangar in Alabama through our AREStrata-G partnership, supporting long-term growth for our shareholders and communities.

Three Bears Alaska

We opened a new store in North Pole in May 2025 and are opening a ground-up super convenience store and RV/camping park in September 2025.

Goldbelt Incorporated

Goldbelt is intentional about long-term planning and growth that delivers value across generations. Its forward-looking strategy is anchored in cultural stewardship, land development, and enterprise diversification. From reinvesting in Alaska-based infrastructure to expanding federal contracting services and building cultural tourism capacity, Goldbelt is not reacting to short-term opportunity—it’s building a resilient, multi-generational corporation. With strategic investments like Goldbelt Aaní and a deep commitment to shareholders, Goldbelt is positioned to thrive far beyond its first fifty years.

Koniag

One of the most exciting developments shaping Koniag’s future is the growth of Koniag Capital. Launched in 2022, this sector is focused on driving investment in professional, consulting, and technology services companies that engage the private sector. Allen Debes, a dynamic leader with decades of experience in consulting and technology services, was appointed as Koniag Capital’s first CEO in early 2025 after an extensive national search. This growth marks a milestone in Koniag’s strategy to diversify and ensure sustainable, long-term growth for shareholder benefits.

Choggiung Ltd.

Choggiung is excited to continue to grow and expand our shareholder opportunity and benefits programs, continuing to add new descendant shareholders, expanding our scholarship and education programs in partnership with the Bristol Bay Foundation, and to offer an elder benefit program in the future.

Calista Corporation

Calista Corporation’s board of directors recently adopted Calista’s strategic goals for 2025 to 2029. Our primary goal is to increase Calista shareholder benefits, employment, education and development opportunities. Our remaining goals are to sustainably develop and protect Calista’s natural resources, promote in-region economic development and partnerships, and maximize and grow profits through diverse, resilient business lines.

You bring out the best in us.

Providence Alaska Medical Center (PAMC) is honored to be the only hospital in Alaska recognized as Best Regional Hospital in U.S. News & World Report’s 2025-2026 Best Hospitals Rankings. PAMC was also recognized as high performing in the treatment of two adult specialties and 10 procedures and conditions, more than any other treatment center in the state.

Our award-winning care reflects the exceptional work of our caregivers, providers and community partners, who share our commitment to ensuring Alaskans get the best care possible close to home.

Learn more at Providence.org/PAMCawards.

Ahtna Diversified Holdings, LLC

Safely delivering results on time and with integrity

Ahtna Diversified Holdings, LLC

(ADH) plays a key role within Ahtna, Inc. As the Alaska Native Regional Corporation (ANC), for the Ahtna region, Ahtna represents more than 2,300 shareholders and owns more than 1.5 million acres in the region. ADH is the largest holding company within Ahtna’s corporate family, which encompasses nine distinct subsidiaries.

But ADH is more than a collection of enterprises; it’s an economic force that accounts for more than half of Ahtna’s revenue. The company specializes in three core areas: construction (vertical and civil), environmental (investigation and remediation), and services (janitorial, O&M, and records management). Approximately 95 percent of ADH’s projects involve federal contracts with the Department of Defense (DOD) and other agencies.

These business lines are vital to the well-being of ADH’s stakeholders.

“The money we make goes directly to providing opportunities for our shareholders and communities, whether that’s through jobs, programs, or direct support,” says Kevin Bergt, who was recently appointed president of ADH.

“I’m very proud of the portfolio that we currently have and continue to build.”

Bergt is enthusiastic about his new role at ADH. His path to the presidency includes serving as director of operations, corporate counsel for Ahtna, and a prosecutor for the Anchorage District Attorney’s office.

“I wanted the challenge of taking an already successful organization to the next level and creating a global business, achieving scaled growth across multiple business lines,” he says.

Although ADH has embraced new leadership, it remains steadfast in its original mission: delivering excellence to clients, empowering tribal shareholders, and serving Alaska communities.

THE AHTNA ADVANTAGE

Through sustained growth, ADH has expanded to operate elevin offices in Alaska, Alabama, Hawaii, California, Colorado, Maryland, Washington, and, in 2025, Guam to better serve its growing Pacific Island workload. And with its expertise, resources, and capacity, ADH can effectively serve clients worldwide. The company has successfully delivered thousands of projects globally from Alaska’s Aleutian Islands to Africa and throughout the Pacific RIM.

ADH offers significant advantages to clients, ensuring continuity and efficiency in every project. It employs

a common management and shared service model—covering accounting, business development, contracting, marketing, and procurement—to support its subsidiaries. This approach streamlines overhead spending and guarantees consistent branding, marketing, and operational practices throughout the organization.

To best meet project requirements, ADH selects the most suitable subsidiary based on client needs and NAICS classifications. ADH’s ANC 8(a) companies are eligible for direct awards at higher values—up to $100 million—without the formal justification approval process required for non-tribal contractors. “Government clients get the infrastructure they need delivered faster, and they generally get it at a better price point,” Bergt says. “And for us, there’s the certainty of an award. But it’s not a windfall; there’s full transparency in costs and margins are negotiated openly with the client.”

ADH is well-equipped to manage complex logistics, deploying staff to remote and challenging project sites—

Photo Credit: Amber Johnson Photography

Photo Credit: Amber Johnson Photography

whether in the Aleutian Islands, Wake Island in the Pacific, or White Sands, New Mexico. “Ahtna has built a model of deploying site personnel in places that are not necessarily close to home,” Bergt says. “We will go wherever the opportunity arises; we're flexible.”

PARTNERSHIPS AND PERFORMANCE

ADH forms partnerships with industry leaders like Arcadis, Geosyntec, HPM Contracting, and Mortenson Construction, allowing it to participate confidently in large, complex, and highsecurity projects that require expertise and adaptability. Partnering with HPM, for example, enables ADH to participate in $100-million-plus projects that it might not pursue alone.

These collaborations not only add value for clients but also foster ADH’s growth and capabilities. “We're able to learn from those partnerships because these are companies that have been in business for 100 years and can do very complex projects,” Bergt explains. “As we work with them and they provide training, they provide us with the experience of doing the projects side by side.”

ADH’s portfolio spans a range of successful construction and environmental projects. ADH companies bring the ability to perform construction in secured, sensitive facilities and locations. They possess staff with facility clearances and have experience with Sensitive Compartmented Information Facilities as well as Special Access Program Facilities. At Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Ahtna is performing a highly complex Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study at the former DRMO site which involves many classes of contaminants, a groundwater plume that extends offsite, and commingling contaminants plumes. Ahtna is performing a Human Health and Ecological Risk Assessment as part of the RI to evaluate impacts to receptors. Additionally, ADH delivers major service contracts in records management, janitorial, and O&M work for federal clients, such as maintaining over a million square feet at NOAA’s Western Regional Center in Seattle. At Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska, the company is

designing and constructing infrastructure for a colloidal activated carbon injection system to contain the on-site per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances contamination in groundwater.

But none of this would be possible without the dedication and assiduous efforts of ADH’s 400-plus “wonderful” employees, according to Bergt. He emphasizes: “You’re only as good as your people. We owe a lot to the hard work of our employees and talented individuals that make up our company.”

Their hard work has been recognized through eleven local, regional, and national awards in the past five years. ADH honors include NAWIC and SAME Seattle Post Project Excellence awards for the EPA Laboratory Modernization Project (Corvallis, Oregon), Commander Excellence Award for work at Fort Belvoir (Virginia), SAME Small Business of the Year award, and multiple Associated General Contractors of Alaska Project

Excellence and Safety awards.

A FUTURE OF CONTINUED GROWTH

Going forward, ADH will continue to promote sustainable growth while preserving its unique culture and high standards. The company will further refine its operating models, processes and systems to ensure its differentiator remains excellent client service and satisfaction.

ADH is known as a company of integrity, for quality client experiences, and for its stewardship of profits that support shareholder programs, jobs, and village quality of life. “We are a complex, sophisticated organization that delivers quality performance safely and on par with any other company,” Bergt emphasizes. “We are known not just for our contributions to our shareholders but also as a solid and ethical company.”

Photo Credit: Amber Johnson Photography

Cool Chemistry

Introducing the first petrochemical facility in the US Arctic

By Terri Marshall

Exciting things are happening on Alaska’s North Slope, spearheaded by a new player on the oil and gas scene, Alyeschem. The company is currently developing a distributed chemical manufacturing facility to provide essential chemicals, starting with methanol, ultra-low sulfur diesel, nitrogen, and chemical blending services.

This will be the first petrochemical facility in the US Arctic. The North Slope’s enormous resources, paired with the extreme logistics chains required to keep everything operational, created the opportunity for this advantageous project. The facility will help monetize stranded North Slope natural gas and reduce fuel imports up the Dalton Highway.

Alyeschem develops chemical manufacturing solutions to meet the unique needs of the Arctic. Founded by Alaskans, Alyeschem is committed

to sustainable development and long-term partnership with Alaskabased investors, local communities, government entities, and industry partners.

Demonstrated Need

The principal demand for chemicals is driven by oil and gas production activities on the North Slope, which is home to six of the largest US oil fields. Methanol and ultra-low sulfur diesel are essential in the operations of all these fields, as well as for Alyeska Pipeline Service Company, the operator of the Trans Alaska Pipeline System. Methanol has been used consistently in Alaska oil fields for more than four decades.

“Methanol is one of the most commonly used commodity chemicals in the world. On the North Slope in particular, it is used for freeze protection applications along

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Envanto

with numerous other industries,” says Alyeschem CEO JR Wilcox. “Methanol is increasingly considered as a potential replacement for hydrocarbons in marine shipping. Additionally, it is found in products such as paint and building materials. Historically, methanol was used as racing fuel, and there are records of its use in ancient Egyptian embalming practices.”

Also known as wood alcohol, its toxicity compared to other fuels and chemicals, such as gasoline, is lower. “Over a century ago, processes were developed to produce methanol from natural gas by converting it into synthesis gas. That became the foundation of the modern petrochemical industry,” explains Wilcox. “This conversion involves steam methane reformers, a technology still widely used today. The process consists of turning natural gas into synthesis gas, followed by passing the synthesis gas through reactors to produce methanol and water. Afterward, the chemical facility separates methanol from water; methanol is sold, and the water is reintroduced into the system since both are used as ingredients, alongside natural gas and the contained CO2.”

In a story of one process leading to another beneficial project, methanol production yields a surplus of hydrogen, which can then be purified and utilized. On the North Slope, this hydrogen can be used to improve diesel fuel quality. Historically, heating fuel produced on the North Slope was used as diesel until 2011, when US Environmental Protection Agency regulations changed,

Over 50 years of experience in industrial, commercial and technical services

Built on Safety & Customer Satisfaction

ALASKA’S NORTH SLOPE

With a eet of 40 tractor and tanker trucks, we haul half a million gallons of fuel every week to our tank farm in Deadhorse.

When you need a reliable fuel source on the North Slope, call Colville.

requiring diesel to be ultra-low sulfur. At that point, the sulfur content in heating fuel exceeded allowable levels for engine use, though it remained suitable for heating or noncombustion purposes.

Thus, “Another section of the chemical manufacturing facility will focus on hydrodesulfurization utilizing excess purified hydrogen to convert Arctic heating fuel into ultralow sulfur diesel,” explains Wilcox. “This enables local production of engine-grade fuel at facilities like Kuparuk and Prudhoe Bay, where topping units will be able to provide this cleaned diesel fuel as a service.”

Expected Benefits

The Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority (AIDEA) announced a strategic investment in

July to provide project loan financing up to $70 million in support of the $140 million development. Alyeschem’s project is anticipated to generate more than $5 million annually in tax and royalty revenue for the state of Alaska and the North Slope Borough. Through its financing agreement with Alyeschem, AIDEA expects to receive a minimum of $2.39 million annually from loan repayment and royalties.

In addition to the financial benefits of the project, the facility’s local production of methanol and diesel is expected to reduce reliance on imported fuels, cut transportation costs, and enhance the resilience of the Trans Alaska Pipeline System.

“The primary advantage is that we can redirect lower-value bulk commodity transport away from

our main haul roads and trucking resources. This approach allows us to reserve those limited assets—such as drivers and road capacity—for transporting materials that contribute directly to project development, construction, and ongoing operations,” says Wilcox. “It is likely more efficient for the state if bulk liquid transport is managed by local traffic wherever possible.”

The project offers significant advantages in terms of employment opportunities for Alaskans. During the construction phase, about eighty jobs are expected to be generated. When the facility begins operations, fifteen permanent operational jobs are projected, and Alyeschem pledges to recruit Alaskan residents and promote sustained workforce development in the Arctic region.

Alyeschem also predicts environmental benefits from its petrochemical plant. The facility is expected to eliminate an estimated 4,000 truck trips annually, reducing road wear and emissions across the region. Projections indicate CO2 emissions will be reduced by 93 percent—approximately 45,000 tons per year—compared to current supply methods.

Building a Chemical Plant

Before any of those gains can be realized, Alyeschem must build a methanol and ultra-low sulfur diesel plant, along with associated infrastructure, including a pipeline connection to the Prudhoe Bay Unit field fuel gas system.

A previously abandoned project to truck liquefied natural gas to

“We can redirect lower-value bulk commodity transport away from our main haul roads and trucking resources. This approach allows us to reserve those limited assets— such as drivers and road capacity— for transporting materials that contribute directly to project development, construction, and ongoing operations.”

JR Wilcox, CEO, Alyeschem

“We can continue to evaluate the hub of innovation we have up there and use it as a sort of footprint that can be expanded and tweaked to make other products as we see energy transition over the 21st century… It will be beneficial to have a chemical plant in place that can do those sorts of things.”

JR Wilcox, CEO, Alyeschem

Fairbanks left a vacant 14-acre pad and a permitted pipeline right-ofway to intertie with the Prudhoe Bay Unit’s field fuel gas system. This provided an unexpected opportunity for Alyeschem to save years of permitting and development work.

Alyeschem purchased the pad and subsequently transferred ownership of about 10 acres to Hilcorp subsidiary Harvest Alaska. The parties have also agreed to allow construction of a common gas-supply pipeline and other measures to develop the site cooperatively.

Sharing the space doesn’t just save Alyeschem time in the permitting and development phase of the project; it also supports Harvest Alaska’s plan for bringing North Slope gas to Fairbanks. “We are very happy to be in a position to help support the plan to bring North Slope gas to heat Fairbanks homes,” says Wilcox, who was born in Fairbanks. “The synergies of our operations made sense, and thanks to the governor’s emphasis on attracting investment and our energy security, we see great opportunities ahead, adding value to Alaska’s natural resources for in-state use.”

The existing gravel pad requires further site work, including driving pile and building a tank farm. A fabrication plant in Texas is currently building truckable modules that will be assembled on the North Slope as the structure of the chemical manufacturing facility.

This modular facility can output thousands of gallons per day of methanol, and cutting out the cost of transporting the chemical to the North Slope makes the Alyeschem facility more economically viable.

Maximizing and Monetizing

“There are a considerable number of benefits to this project when we think about the future of the North Slope, which has a significant impact on the overall economic health of the state,” says Wilcox. “We have a world-class energy resource up there, and I think that’s going to be there for a long time in the future. So it comes down to a few basic questions: how do we bring down operating costs, how do we maximize the resource potential, and how do we monetize that resource potential?”

It turns out chemistry is a fundamental key tool in addressing all of those questions. The highly anticipated project spearheaded by Alyeschem is expected to help make the North Slope more independent. “In the future, we can continue to evaluate the hub of innovation we have up there and use it as a sort of footprint that can be expanded and tweaked to make other products as we see energy transition over the 21st century,” explains Wilcox. “It will be beneficial to have a chemical plant in place that can do those sorts of things.”

Alyeschem is still in active negotiations with customers and suppliers to determine exactly how everything will be coordinated over the next couple of years. But the excitement is palpable.

Wilcox says, “It is exciting to see North Slope natural gas being utilized to produce goods that are essential for the region. This represents a significant advancement towards economic self-sufficiency, delivering benefits to all Alaskans.”

Committed to Alaska for more than 50 years.

ConocoPhillips Alaska and the successes of its heritage companies date back to the greatest oil discoveries in Alaska history. Today we continue our tradition of developing, innovating and delivering value for Alaskans.

Richfield Oil Co. drills the first well in the Swanson River field and strikes oil. 1957 Alaska becomes the 49th state.

2024 Learn more

1959

ARCO discovers oil in the Prudhoe Bay field.

Sinclair Oil Co. discovers the Kuparuk River field.

1968

1969

ConocoPhillips Alaska Inc. begins developing the Alpine field using horizontal well technology. 2000

Final Investment Decision is made to develop the Willow project.

2023 Nuna project produces first oil.

Boss, Meet Bot

AI’s impact on business leadership

By Tracy Barbour

Or ganizations must confront the implications of generative AI in their workflow, whether they like it or not. Generally, that’s where the debate begins: do business leaders like the technology or not?

More specific questions follow. How do AI-driven insights influence decision making? How can business owners and executives integrate AI tools into strategic planning and forecasting? What is the evolving role of leadership in an

AI-driven organization? And how should leaders navigate the ethical considerations and risks associated with AI implementation?

Across industries, Alaskans are formulating guidelines for safe and effective integration of generative AI.

Drilling into Data

Today’s executives are often overwhelmed with data, making clear answers difficult to uncover. Carlos Machuca, director of the AI Resource Program at the Alaska

Small Business Development Center (SBDC), believes generative AI offers solutions by analyzing vast amounts of information to spot trends, predict outcomes, and provide clear, actionable recommendations. Leaders can be confident that decisions are based on algorithmically analyzed evidence, not just human intuition.

More importantly, AI can align an entire executive team, from finance and marketing to sales. “By delivering customized insights

Yulia

| Adobe Stock

to each leader, it breaks down departmental silos and ensures that collaborative decisions are made from a shared understanding of the facts,” Machuca says.

AI also can enhance teamwork by combining its analytical power with human creativity and judgment. This combination improves team dynamics significantly. Machuca explains, “Data can highlight ideas from quieter team members, bring diverse perspectives to the surface, and challenge personal biases with objective facts. This transforms leadership meetings from passive presentations into interactive, inclusive workshops guided by real-time data.”

us as leaders to interpret and act on them,” Goldie says. “We use that data as a guide, but personal engagement and experience are still an essential part of the decision-making process.”

AI tools also make a difference at Thompson & Co. Public Relations (T&C). While the technology has not altered how T&C makes decisions, AI has changed how quickly the agency can “get to the good stuff,” according to President and COO Heather Handyside. “We use AI to handle routine tasks like organizing research or generating early drafts of background materials,” she explains. “It frees up our team to spend more time thinking strategically and being creative. That gives our clients a better value for their investment.”

Shifting Role of Leadership

At GCI, integrating AI tools into decision making has made a meaningful difference, according to Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer Troy Goldie. For example, AI helps GCI process and analyze large, distributed datasets more quickly and can help answer its questions in real time. “This allows us to be significantly more agile in our response to challenges and opportunities, addressing them as they arise instead of after the fact,” Goldie says. “Additionally, the automation of certain systems, tasks, and processes frees our teams to focus on high-value work that drives innovation and growth.”

Goldie believes GCI is intentional about balancing human intuition and experience with AI insights. “AI provides us with data-driven recommendations, but it’s still up to

According to Machuca, business leaders in AI-assisted organizations play a role that is evolving quickly— shifting from decision-makers to orchestrators of human–AI collaboration, ethical guardians, and continuous learning champions. Today’s leaders are embracing more agile, decentralized, and collaborative approaches, and machine intelligence is part of the picture. “Traditional top-down leadership gives way to systems where both human teams and AI agents co-create value,” he says. “AI handles routine data analysis and forecasting, enabling leaders to focus on strategy, ethics, creativity, and relationship-building—balancing hard insights with soft skills like empathy and judgment.”

Effective leaders, Machuca says, now recognize the complementary

“AI provides us with data-driven recommendations, but it’s still up to us as leaders to interpret and act on them… We use that data as a guide, but personal engagement and experience are still an essential part of the decisionmaking process.”

Troy Goldie Senior Vice President and Chief Technolo gy Officer GCI

strengths of humans and machines, leading with a mindset that values scalable AI tools and uniquely human qualities like critical thinking, emotional intelligence, and adaptability. Consequently, leadership roles are being redefined and restructured. The emergence of chief AI officers and AI transformation leaders reflects the need for strategic orchestration of AI, aligning organizational vision, governance, and measurable return on investment with the latest software available.

“At its core, this evolution isn’t just technological—it’s ethical and cultural,” Machuca says.

Troy Goldie GCI

“We use AI to handle routine tasks like organizing research or generating early drafts of background materials… It frees up our team to spend more time thinking strategically and being creative. That gives our clients a better value for their investment.”

Heather Handyside Preside nt and COO Thompson & Co. Public Relations

“Leaders take on responsibility for AI governance, fairness, explainability, and human oversight. They must also adopt a mindset of continuous reinvention.”

GCI is reshaping its leadership methods in the face of AI. “A big challenge for leaders in the telecom industry is finding ways to efficiently measure potential impacts of proposed projects without investing a significant amount of resources,”

Goldie explains. “Through the use of AI, we’re now able to demonstrate in real-time what we can accomplish without the heavy lift of traditional IT development cycles. We can start with the base structure of a plan, which I can then hone to the exact message and intended objective.”

Integrated AI tools are also changing how GCI captures and shares insights from meetings and throughout the planning process. “Automated notetakers and meeting assistants can show how our team members are contributing to the dialogue and help summarize discussions clearly, making collaboration more efficient,” Goldie says.

are incredibly impactful. Tools like Plaud Note and its wearable version, NotePin, handle all the documentation, allowing teams to focus on discussion. They record and transcribe conversations, then automatically generate summaries, mind maps, and action items. “This enhances creative problem-solving and supports faster, data-informed decisions,” Machuca explains. “For forecasting, the AI goes a step further by analyzing the dialogue to surface key insights and even provide forecasted scenarios and fresh ideas, making it a powerful partner in the strategic process.”

For Handyside, a GCI executive herself until she joined T&C last year, AI serves as a useful brainstorming partner. When working through a complicated business decision, she sometimes employs AI to pressure-test her ideas. “It’s like having a wise business colleague who’s always available for a second opinion,” she says. “So while it sometimes helps inform the decisions I make as a leader, it hasn’t changed my style or the way I lead.”

Implementing AIPowered Tools

Business leaders can capitalize on various AI-powered tools to enhance their strategic planning and forecasting efforts. For strategic planning, meeting assistants

Virtual collaboration tools like MeetGeek and Google Meet’s Take Notes with Gemini integrate these features directly into online meetings. On the data analysis front, ChatGPT’s Data Analyst offers an affordable and powerful solution for executives. Machuca explains, “With a simple dataset upload, leaders can ask questions, run forecasts, visualize trends, and simulate scenarios—all without any coding or statistical expertise. It serves as an effective bridge between raw data and actionable executive-level insights.”

Organizations are also developing custom AI assistants, such as generative pre-trained transformers (a type of large language model, of which ChatGPT became the superstar when version 3.5 launched in 2022) or Google Gems, tailored to specific projects or tasks. These assistants can execute strategic frameworks, generate scenario plans, draft and refine strategy documents, and even coach leadership teams

Heather Handyside Thompson & Co. Public Relations

through decision-making processes.

“By embedding organizational knowledge, datasets, and strategic priorities, they become invaluable, always-available partners in planning and forecasting—adaptable to the unique needs and culture of any leadership team,” Machuca says. “At the AI Resource Program, we guide executives in designing, building, and implementing these AI assistants effectively, ensuring they align with strategic goals and deliver measurable impact.”

T&C is in the early stages of integrating AI into its strategic

planning process but uses various tools to streamline research and support decision making. These tools monitor shifts in media coverage, evaluate and track social media conversations, and identify emerging topics that might be relevant to its clients. AI is especially useful for scanning large volumes of information and flagging patterns for humans to dig into.

The company is also beginning to use AI to analyze which tactics will deliver the most impact for messaging campaigns—what platforms are likely to reach the

right audience and where clients will get the best return for the budget. “It’s a helpful way to sharpen our media strategy and make smarter use of our clients’ dollars,” Handyside says. “That said, a lot of our work still depends on human insight—understanding context, tone, culture, and relationships. AI gives us more input, but it doesn’t replace the experience and instincts we’ve built over years of working in Alaska and beyond.”

T&C ensures that AI is being used to enhance its work, not replace what makes it valuable,

“This technology has transformed weeks of work into days, making a significant financial impact.”

Thad Phillips, Managing Partner, Integrated Projec t Services

“At its core, this evolution isn’t just technological— it’s ethical and cultural…

Leaders take on responsibility for AI governance, fairness, explainability, and human oversight. They must also adopt a mindset of continuous reinvention.”

Carl

os Machuca AI Resource Progra m Director

Alaska Small Business Developm ent Center

Handyside emphasizes. “If a tool helps us save time or work smarter, great,” she says. “But if it gets in the way of authentic storytelling or trusted relationships, it doesn’t belong in our process.”

Much of T&C’s focus is about helping clients build human relationships. “We have a talented and experienced team who know our clients, understand the audience, and can read the room,” Handyside says. “That’s not something AI can do.”

decisions and enhance efficiency. For example, when part of its telecom network isn’t operating at an optimal level, identifying and diagnosing the issue can take time. “By leveraging AI to help us troubleshoot,” Goldie says, “we’re reducing the amount of time that process takes, which reduces the time to dispatch teams and the time it takes to repair.”

AI also plays an increasingly important role in forecasting everything from network activity to personnel needs at GCI. These insights help the company stay ahead of demand, efficiently manage its resources, and ensure it delivers the best possible service to customers, according to Goldie.

The company has also used AI to analyze employee feedback. “We utilized AI to summarize main points and establish initiatives to address,” Goldie says. “This significantly accelerated our feedback on what we heard from our teams and our ability to put actionable plans into place to improve our employee experience.”

model to account for any changed variables, with results in minutes.

Phillips collaborated with the SBDC’s AI Resource Program to develop the cash flow model, which has significantly benefited IPS. “Integrating AI into our operations with Carlos and his team's training has dramatically increased our efficiency,” Phillips says. “We’ve cut document creation time by half and accelerated our Excel processes, among other improvements. This has saved us an impressive $174,570 annually per team member. With full team adoption, we anticipate savings exceeding $523,710 per year. This technology has transformed weeks of work into days, making a significant financial impact.”

Considering Ethics, Risk, and Alignment

Improvements to Efficiency

GCI uses AI and predictive analytics to improve business

Integrated Project Services, a management consulting firm in Anchorage, is using AI to improve cash flow forecasting. The company developed a tool in Microsoft Excel Visual Basic for Applications that helps monitor and forecast expenses. “The model runs the cash flow by the day, so we can get very accurate down to the week on what to expect,” explains managing partner Thad Phillips. “We use the weekly reports to look at if we will need to request a [line of credit] draw from the bank this month or if we think we will make it without the draw.” Further, the tool can re-run the

When leveraging AI, business leaders must consider ethics, risks, and other important issues involved. “CEOs must champion AI ethics,” Machuca says, “setting up dedicated oversight structures like a chief AI officer or cross-functional AI ethics committee that includes legal, IT, HR, compliance, and even front-line staff. This ensures AI projects directly align with organizational values and policies and reinforces that ethical governance is a strategic priority, not an afterthought.”

Leaders should adopt established AI risk guidelines, such as the National Institute of Standards and

Carlos Machuca Alaska SBDC

Management Framework. As well, they should systematically embed ethical checkpoints throughout planning, deployment, monitoring, and retirement of AI tools. “These guide teams to define clear principles [fairness, transparency] while operationalizing bias mitigation, explainable models, and real-time drift detection,” Machuca says.

Businesses should think beyond compliance; they should embrace corporate responsibility proactively. “Since AI and its risks evolve rapidly, leaders must commit to continuous learning and framework refinement— keeping policies up to date with emerging norms, regulations, and technologies,” Machuca says.

Ensuring that AI aligns with organizational values is also crucial.

For T&C, this means prioritizing trust, creativity, transparency, and results. “Any technology we bring in, including AI, has to support those values, not compromise them,”

Handyside explains. “That’s why we have strict internal guidelines around how and when we use AI, especially when it comes to protecting client information and fact-checking information.”

For GCI, its customer-first mindset dictates that AI should be a tool that enhances customer experience.

“It helps us solve problems more quickly, which allows our employees to focus on the bigger picture and plan for the future,” Goldie says.

He adds, “It’s an exciting time. We have the opportunity to define how AI will enhance the way we work, lead, and innovate.”

Painting with Light

Professional photographers in an era of omnipresent cameras

By Rachael Kvapil

Ev eryone has a camera in their pocket these days, yet photography remains a viable profession for full-time shutterbugs, whether they’re capturing portraits, documenting events, or shaping a company’s image. Professional photographers are masters of storytelling, and businesses benefit from their services. These experts have more than a good eye; they have training,

tools, and techniques that ensure that pictures are worth a full 1,000 words across different media platforms.

“Photography” and “taking pictures” are used interchangeably, but the terms don’t necessarily mean the same thing. The painstaking detail of composition, lighting, focal length, and color distinguish a capital “P” photographer from a hobbyist with a smartphone.

“We help curate brands and create authentic looks for our clients that are not achievable with stock photos or camera phone photos,” says Amber Johnson, owner of Amber Johnson Photography in Anchorage. “I remind potential clients that their photos are representative of their brands, and if people don’t like what they see on a website or social media, they will go somewhere else.”

Judy Patrick Photography

The Best Camera to Have

Professional photographers collaborate with clients to understand their needs and vision. During a pre-production process, the photographer and client discuss the goals of the session, the shoot location, time of day, and the products and people involved.

The setup for the session depends on the image they hope to capture. If a business wants, say, candid photos of employees and equipment in the field, photographers use different equipment and techniques than they would in a studio session, where they don’t have to worry about the weather or external distractions and can create elaborate setups. During the post-production stage, a photographer can refine images via color correction, exposure adjustments, and the removal of blemishes, distractions, and other imperfections.

Sure, most smartphones have cameras with a “pro” setting where the user can manually adjust the ISO (sensitivity), shutter speed, exposure, white balance, and more. Likewise, basic camera editing tools can erase background objects and minor imperfections. Hobbyists often don’t see the difference between a smartphone camera and a dedicated digital camera in an image, but professionals can detect the telltale differences.

Many photographers still remember the transition from film cameras to DSLR (digital single lens reflex) cameras, which use a mirror and prism system to align the viewfinder with the imaging lens. The next step in camera evolution

was mirrorless digital cameras that use electronic viewfinders or LCD screens to display the image. While film cameras have a unique aesthetic, photographers embraced digital’s higher technical capabilities and instant feedback.

Pros tend to use interchangeable lenses, not out of stodgy tradition but for the flexibility of focal lengths and perspectives. That pushes them toward dedicated digital camera bodies rather than smartphones. Being more robust and more sensitive, especially in low-light conditions, cameras produce a higher image quality than a mobile phone.

At the same time, smartphone cameras have come a long way. Lenses have improved, as have the sensors, focus, stabilization, and software. With these advancements, smartphone cameras require minimal technical knowledge to get a usable picture even in marginal lighting conditions. Built for communication, smartphone cameras connect seamlessly with internet platforms and include video capabilities that reach high frame rates and 4K resolution. And they fit in a pocket.

“There’s a saying in the industry that the best camera is the one that you have with you,” says Judy Patrick, owner of Judy Patrick Photography in Wasilla. “To me, the smartphone has replaced the point-and-shoot. Smartphone software-driven lenses can’t compete with actual lenses on dedicated cameras—everything in a smartphone camera comes from software—but it depends on what you want to use it for. If you’re

“A professional photographer has the eye and creativity to control lighting, composition, and make sure people, items, and pertinent elements are in the scene before the shoot.”

Amb er Johnson Owner

Amber Johnson Photography

looking for a quick picture for social media, it works just fine for that.”

Professional Quality

Aside from the tripods, light meters, light kits, portable reflective surfaces, and even drone aircraft, professional photographers pack

with them years of education and practice. Some pros hold advanced university degrees, having spent years studying composition theory, advanced film and digital camera techniques, field and studio setups, and darkroom and computer editing processes. Added

to a formal education, there is additional time practicing their photographic skills and interning with other photographers, building a comprehensive portfolio that helps them discover their personal aesthetics.

High-quality digital photos are about more than just megapixels, Johnson says, but she acknowledges that high-resolution images, depending on the file format, provide greater flexibility during postproduction and can be resized for multiple platforms.

In her view, quality comes from the eyeball behind the lens. “A professional photographer has the eye and creativity to control lighting, composition, and make sure people, items, and pertinent elements are in the scene before the shoot,” says Johnson.

She says that many times she has come across websites for Alaska businesses filled with stock photos taken outside the state. And while stock photos work in some circumstances, Johnson says it’s important that local businesses portray themselves as distinctly Alaskan.

Patrick adds that a photographer also ensures that model release forms are signed and filed prior to starting a session. Likewise, a photographer makes sure people are wearing appropriate clothing and gear. “More than once, I’ve seen a quick social media picture where people aren’t wearing safety gear or PPE [personal protective equipment] like they’re supposed to,” says Patrick. Specializing in industrial photography, Patrick is credentialed

Judy Patrick carries certifications to roam the North Slope and visually document industry activity there. Her portfolio also includes shots from the Marigold open pit gold mine in Nevada.

Judy Patrick Photography

North Slope.

Even a seemingly simple headshot benefits from a professional photographer’s eye. Sarah Lewis, owner of Sarah Lewis Photography in Fairbanks, says designing a good headshot session is more than backdrops and good lighting. She says many people, particularly women, are anxious or feel selfconscious about having a close-up photograph taken. The key is making the subject comfortable and able to enjoy the process.

“I have looked at so many LinkedIn profiles and thought they could better present themselves with a professional headshot,” says Lewis. “A badly lit selfie from a smartphone isn’t as professional.”

Lewis can think of other reasons to hire a professional photographer. Unless a business has dedicated archive, the risk of losing images is higher. If multiple employees are contributing photos taken from their smartphones, the originals could get lost if they aren’t all backed up to a single location. And if a phone crashes before a backup can occur, the photos are lost permanently.

Professional photographers maintain an archive of all their jobs, allowing clients to request any image years after the session. Most importantly, hiring a professional photographer allows everyone to either enjoy an event or attend to their own tasks without worrying about taking photos too.

Despite all the benefits of professional-grade cameras, Lewis says some photography professors are teaching technical classes on

achieving the best results from smartphone cameras. Although she, too, believes that smartphones have a place in a professional kit, and that the best equipment is what you have, she resists the idea that smartphones can do the heavy lifting of dedicated cameras in professional settings.

Fake Views

Another technological rival to professional photography is arriving in the form of generative AI. Extreme photo manipulation is on the radar of all photographers; however, the professionals do not hold a consensus view.

For Lewis, AI can be troublesome, especially if people are generating entire images from scratch and then passing them off as authentic pictures. She says she sees such counterfeits daily on sites like Amazon, where people use generated photos to represent their product; on restaurant websites that conjure simulations of the food they serve; and even for headshots where the subjects look unrealistically beautiful and are dressed in clothes they don’t even own. At its worst, AI is the opposite of the authenticity that professional photographers strive for.

Lewis is also leery of people who engage in what she terms “cosmetic photoshopping” on social media. Though photographers commonly use editing software for color corrections and to remove blemishes and distractions, she says there is a whole group of people who will shave pounds off their subject’s bodies or completely alter their facial appearance

“I have looked at so many LinkedIn profiles and thought they could better present themselves with a professional headshot… A badly lit selfie from a smartphone isn’t as professional.”

S arah Lewis Owner

Sarah Lewis P hotography

“We help curate brands and create authentic looks for our clients that are not achievable with stock photos or camera phone photos.”

Amber Johnson, Owner, Amber Johnson Photography

prior to publishing a picture. She says this trend really grew when Instagram allowed people to use advanced filters.

Lewis says she drew a line in the sand right away when she started a photography business. She had no issues retouching photos so her subjects look their best, as long as they remain authentic to the original. She does take issue with extreme changes, especially if a client has taken one of her photos and altered it without her permission.

“It’s a hot mess,” says Lewis. “I assume there are people who justify it as a judgment call or a financial thing. There are going to be fewer people committed to the moral aspect of generated and manipulated images.”

Patrick has mixed feelings about AI. She says she uses AI very little, usually to supplement an existing photo-editing technique, but never to generate an image.

“I would be resentful of that,” says Patrick. However, “For the most part, I don't like it when I hear people say they’re scared of the future or AI is going to take their jobs.”

That said, instead of choosing photography as a career path, Patrick encourages aspiring Ansel Adamses to consider a career in video production instead. She says there is a bigger demand for video than for still photography in Alaska. The number of professional photographers has decreased in the past decade, she points out,

but the number of assignments for photographers is still the same. She feels the bar is getting lower for professional photographers, and fewer people can recognize a wellcomposed photo.

Johnson feels photographers can benefit from AI, but problems with authorship, copyright, and origin need to be addressed. She says generative AI tools can be fantastic for editing photos of an item, such as a dress that comes in additional colors. She says AI saves her from having to photograph each differentcolored item individually.

“The best thing is to learn more about AI,” says Johnson. “If you don't constantly evolve, you get stuck in the past and can’t give your clients what they need.”

New Opportunities, Same Spawn

Fifty years of swimming upstream

By Jamey Bradbury

Rick Mystrom made a name for himself before becoming mayor of Anchorage, and before organizing bids to host the Winter Olympics, by cofounding an advertising agency in 1975. Mystrom/Beck Advertising isn’t around anymore; it became the Nerland Agency under the leadership of Rick Nerland. His name likewise preceded him: Nerland’s great-grandfather was a Chilkoot Stampeder who started a furniture store, and his grandfather was a former mayor of Fairbanks who helped frame the Alaska Constitution.

The legacy of Mystrom/Beck Advertising and the Nerland Agency continues as Spawn Ideas, and its fifty-year mission remains the same: helping clients make names for themselves.

Patricia Morales | Alaska Business

Those giant wraparound ads on People Mover buses? Yoga in the Park with The Alaska Club? The surprise of hearing a local commercial while listening to Spotify? All ideas from Spawn.

By the time Nerland left his agency in 2013, he had transitioned the company to employee ownership.

Led by CEO Karen King, the company had entered a new era, deserving of a new name.

“We wanted something that was a more shared identity, since we were agency owners, as employees,” recalls Spawn President Kaylee Devine.

“Spawn Ideas: it’s an Alaskan name, but not too on the nose. It does a good job of going to the core of what we do best, which is bring big ideas to our clients.”

Devine came on board with Spawn’s account service and spent eleven years growing with the agency and helping shape the innovative, deeply researched marketing campaigns Spawn would become known for. After a brief hiatus working as the senior director of marketing and communications at NANA North, Devine found herself drawn back to the agency this March— just in time to weather the next iteration of Spawn Ideas.

In January, the agency announced its acquisition by Strategic America, a full-service marketing agency based in West Des Moines, Iowa, and a frequent partner to Spawn. Ten years ago, King began a partnership with Strategic America; collaborating on projects allowed each agency to do what they did best while elevating the level of service each firm could bring to clients.

The acquisition is a natural outgrowth of the agencies’ strong collaboration and bank of complementary services, says Devine. “It gives us much deeper bench strength, while still retaining our Alaska roots.”

“Through all these evolutions, we haven’t lost the core of who we are,” emphasizes Kathy Norford,

Spawn’s vice president and media director. “While we keep adapting, we still stick true to who we are as an agency.”

Why Not?

Reflecting on the ways Anchorage’s media landscape has changed over the last fifty years, Norford says, “There’s been a lot of consolidation and

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increased outside influence, less local ownership. What has not changed is how we fight for our clients to stand out in this environment. Our biggest compliment is when we hear, ‘No one has ever asked us that before.’”

Spawn’s favorite question is “Why not?” Why not be the first agency to bring bus wraps to Alaska? Why not hold firm in negotiations to place local ads with streaming services? Why not launch an entirely new subsidiary when the options for promotional materials are limited and costly?

That’s how Spawn came to launch Bore Tide One Source, which offers high-quality printing and customdesigned swag options for the agency’s clients. In 2017, Spawn also created Hooligan, becoming Alaska’s first marketing firm with a dedicated account planning service. The Hooligan team focuses on conducting the primary research and strategy work upon which Spawn’s marketing campaigns are built.

The team doesn’t just ask questions and hold focus groups. “We’ve gone into people’s homes and done ethnographic research and shopalongs,” Devine describes.

Spawn Project Supervisor Chris Acher at work.

Patricia Morales | Alaska Business

Spawn leadership promotes a balance between its employees' work and professional lives, enhancing a positive and productive work environment.

Patricia Morales | Alaska Business

Spawn staff meet in their new office, including several staff working remotely.

Patricia Morales | Alaska Business

Hooligan, Norford is quick to point out, really grew out of Spawn’s desire to be a trusted partner to its clients.

“Our clients have pushed us to do what we do—being more than just their advertising arm but an extension of their teams,” she says. “When we look back at our body of work and then look at that Top 49ers list, we’re really proud of what we do to keep this work in Alaska and bring good work to those clients.”

Up for a Challenge

Getting up close and personal is how Spawn unlocks the insights that guide its most noteworthy campaigns. When United Way of Anchorage set a goal for a 90 percent on-time graduation rate for high school students by 2020, Devine, who heads the Hooligan team, recalls that inspiration came from an hourlong conversation with an Anchorage School District teacher and social worker whose focus was students at the greatest risk of not graduating.

“She told us these heart-wrenching stories about how these kids face adversities you wouldn’t ever consider, but they would still be balancing [those challenges] with just wanting to be a kid,” she recalls.

Hooligan went directly to the students to better understand the challenges that kept them from achieving graduation. The conversations led them to create an iconic campaign, “Look Beyond the Labels,” that made use of striking imagery and fonts to invite viewers to empathize with each student’s situation rather than regard them as victims. The campaign is credited

with a 22 percent increase in Anchorage’s graduation rate.

Spawn’s “scrappy” research methods have led to continued success on campaigns as varied as GCI’s launch of the iPhone 15, which emphasized the phone’s durability to appeal to Alaska’s outdoor-minded audience, and the Alaska Travel Industry Association’s recruitment campaign, an effort to draw workers into the tourism industry, post-COVID-19. For the latter campaign, Spawn faced fierce competition from other industries fighting to recruit from a small pool of people.

To hone an inspiring message, Hooligan dived deep into research, reading blogs by people who’d come to Alaska from the Lower 48 to do seasonal work. The discovery that seasonal workers valued their experience as “braggable” moments that made them more interesting as individuals led Spawn to create a successful digital and social media campaign.

“We love those types of challenges,” Devine shares. “You can’t talk about wages, you don’t have much time to put this together, and you don’t have an unlimited budget—that’s where we really shine.”

“The Spawn team has helped us test new ideas and shape campaigns that resonate with our audiences and drive results,” says Lael Oldmixon, executive director of the Education Trust of Alaska. The trust achieved a 150 percent increase in University of Alaska applicants, thanks to a Spawn direct-mail campaign that accompanied students through their high school years with interactive, relatable, and fun content that encouraged graduates to stay in Alaska.

Leading with Empathy

Devine isn’t the only employee to come back to Spawn after a brief time working elsewhere. “We have a lot of ‘boomerang’ employees because there’s a little something special about Spawn,” she says.

“It’s unusual to see in advertising, which can be a bit of a grind,” adds Norford. “To have people who leave and come back is really a testament to the culture we’ve built here.”

A big driver of that culture is Spawn’s all-female leadership team. Led by King, Spawn executives regard “work/life balance” as more than a corporate slogan. Employees are encouraged to bring their infants, up to six months or crawling age, into the office so they don’t have to choose between parenthood and work. Spawn celebrates “summer Fridays,” which encourages employees to leave work early to capitalize on Alaska’s brief window of good weather. Another policy allows staff in good standing to work remotely for a month.

“Being a female-led agency influences the work style we have and our approach to our clients,” says Devine. “How can you challenge the norm? Part of the reason our campaigns are so good is because we listen to the people we’re trying to influence. We lead with empathy. We’re not just talking to them but really meeting them where they’re at.”

The Next Fifty Years

Fifty years of bringing marketing solutions to Alaska has taught the Spawn team that the only sure thing is change. In the past, the shift from print to digital transformed how agencies thought about reaching

target audiences. The way in which people consume their media will, Devine predicts, continue to challenge Spawn’s ingenuity and ability to connect with audiences.

“Now you can create your own little bubble of personalized content,” she says. “It makes our job an ongoing challenge to make sure how we’re telling stories really connects with people the way they expect to be connected to.”

The increased use of generative AI may help better target those niche audiences. While the agency sees the evolution of technology as an opportunity and is exploring ways to use AI to assist workflow, Norford says there’s no substitute for the creativity of the people behind Spawn.

“We’re so well positioned [to capitalize on AI] because our drive for genuine human understanding complements the benefits of the advanced tech, allowing it to work harder for us,” she says.

Whatever the future brings, Devine emphasizes that it’s the clients Spawn has served for fifty years that have brought the agency to where it is today. In turn, those strong partnerships are how Spawn has stayed at the forefront of Alaska’s media landscape.

“When we look back at fifty years, we think about how much we have done to drive business and to really fuel our Alaska economy,” Norford remarks. She adds that, with the new Strategic America partnership, “There's no reason a client would need to go to an agency outside of the state. We can offer anything now that an outside agency could, and more so, because we have that Alaska know-how.”

Making Travel Happen

Tourism marketing for a bucket-list destination

By Vanessa Orr

More than 3 million visitors marked Alaska off their must-see list in 2024, outnumbering the resident population by more than four to one. No one doubts that the state is an attractive and welcoming destination for tourists. Yet the numbers reveal that only an elite sliver of potential tourists overcame Alaska’s remoteness to glimpse its majestic sights.

Take, for example, Wyoming, home of Yellowstone National Park, which drew 8.7 million visitors in 2024, making tourism the Cowboy State’s second-largest industry. Or there’s Vermont, where the state tourism department counted 15.8 million visitors in 2023, or 24 per resident. That’s a lot of leaf peepers! Much as Alaska sees itself as a tourist mecca, clearly the pilgrimage is made only by travelers who really, really want to.

In an increasingly competitive tourism market, how does Alaska’s visitor industry convince travelers to spend their disposable income to brave the distance?

“Some people are like, ‘Why do you really have to do it? Everybody wants to come to Alaska,’” observes Julie Saupe, president and CEO of Visit Anchorage. “Well, most people want to come to Alaska, that’s true; however, they need encouragement. They need information on how to do it. They need to know why they should.”

Mixed Snapshot

Alaska visitor demographics have changed since the COVID-19 pandemic, says Jillian Simpson, president and CEO of the Alaska Travel Industry Association (ATIA). About 10 percent of visitors to Alaska are from abroad; the rest are domestic travelers. International travel numbers haven’t recovered—except in the cruise industry, which has had several banner years. There was a big uptick in independent visitors, but that number declined last year, with fewer people arriving by air last summer and the previous winter.

“A lot of what’s happening is the result of economic uncertainty. Travel is what people do with disposable income, and they have a tendency to spend less when the economy is not stable,” she explains. “The current economy doesn’t affect cruises as much because cruise capacity is determined years in advance with tickets sold in advance, which makes it more resilient to economic changes.”

At the local level, Explore Fairbanks reports a mixed snapshot of visitor trends for the first half of this year. “2025 started off well, and January was a great month for overall visitation,” says Scott McCrea, president and CEO of Explore Fairbanks. “We saw declines in most numbers after that, but as we got into the summer months we saw some positive momentum.” Therefore, McCrea believes the summer season will close out stronger than anticipated.

“What’s encouraging for us in Fairbanks, and for some of our partners that operate year-round, is that those who had softer bookings for the summer are saying the upcoming aurora/winter season is looking very solid,” he adds. “That’s encouraging, especially since our winter visitors tend to stay longer and spend more than the summer visitors do.”

McCrea notes that, while it’s difficult to pinpoint a single reason for the lower spring numbers, international strife and economic uncertainty can cause downstream impacts on visitation. He adds that, surprisingly, last-minute bookings have increased—which is unusual, as Alaska and Fairbanks trips are usually planned well in advance.

Domestic Persuasion

Alaska not only competes with other states for visitors but with other countries as well. In 2025, the state allocated $2.5 million to tourism marketing, down from $5 million in 2024.

“On average, states spend $20 million on tourism initiatives,” says

Simpson. “We compete on a global stage, but it is hard to keep up.”

As the state’s industry-funded tourism marketing bureau, ATIA is spending most of its budget targeting the domestic audience, especially high-potential travelers, in multiple ways.

“We look geographically at different cities and states that are able to

produce travelers who will spend a lot of time and money in the state,” says Simpson. “Through digital marketing techniques, we also target travelers with a specific interest in certain types of travel, such as activities offered in Alaska. We overlay these two approaches.”

ATIA also follows a public relations strategy that includes working

Featuring distinctive dining experiences, a full-service espresso bar, unique shops and both men’s and women’s athletic clubs.

DOWNTOWN ANCHORAGE

with travel writers to reach a wide audience through different media outlets. ATIA’s Alaska Media Road Show, held every November, connects travel writers and tour suppliers with ATIA members to share story ideas, which Simpson says has been highly effective in generating media coverage.

ATIA also works closely with the travel trade—such as tour operators and travel agents—by attending conferences and trade shows across the country. ATIA also relies on social media to highlight what Alaska has to offer, from glaciers and Alaska Native culture to the northern lights and public lands.

“Historically, we’ve targeted our messages to people in their 50s, but lately we’ve seen our audience and visitation shifting to a younger demographic,” says Simpson. “We drive interest in younger people by using Instagram and TikTok, which is geared to them. Facebook attracts an older audience.”

According to Simpson, ATIA changes its strategy each year based on budget changes and goals. “We look for the highest and best return that will bring the most visitors to Alaska who will leave their dollars with businesses across the state,” she says. “Reaching people through advertising is critical, and it’s very important to create fresh, new content as the official voice of the destination.”

Direct messaging works hand in hand with secondhand referrals. “Public relations and reaching the travel trade are also important, but these are things that are built over the long-term,”

Simpson adds. “We continually invest in these channels to bring in visitors that we are not attracting throug h paid advertising.”

Trusted Source

Explore Fairbanks draws targets for its marketing geographically, aiming at Washington, Oregon, and California. Efforts also extend to Texas, Arizona, and Florida. These are not arbitrary.

“We try to emphasize our marketing of the summer season to places that offer direct flights to Fairbanks during the summertime,” says McCrea. “For this summer, those markets (in addition to the year-round service from Seattle with both Alaska Airlines and Delta) included Chicago, Denver, Minneapolis, Salt Lake City, and Portland [Oregon].”

Like many destination marketing organizations (DMOs), Explore Fairbanks’ primary source of funding comes through bed tax revenues.

“The City of Fairbanks and the Fairbanks North Star Borough allocate portions of their bed tax revenues to us, which altogether accounts for around 92 percent of our budget,” says McCrea. “It’s a great funding model; if you look at who pays the bed tax, it’s being paid from outside the community. By reinvesting the bed tax into marketing the destination, we bring more visitors in, which has a trickledown effect on the economy.”

Explore Fairbanks uses a variety of strategies, tactics, and media to reach potential travelers. This includes advertising campaigns geared to direct-flight markets; a combination

of traditional print advertising, social media, and advertising on streaming platforms such as Hulu; and collateral pieces including the visitors’ guide, winter guide, and website.

“We’re not just marketing to potential visitors but also to other audiences, including the travel trade and meetings and convention planners,” adds McCrea. “Our tourism department helps educate and train those in the travel trade about what Fairbanks has to offer—through business-to-business conferences, familiarization tours, online trainings, and trade shows—and our meetings and conventions sales manager attends statewide and national meetings to persuade conventions to visit.”

The DMO also works with travel media to encourage them to come to Fairbanks to see what it has to offer. “Fairbanks is a destination with countless stories, and we’ve had great success in getting high-profile pieces in high-profile publications,” says McCrea.

Winter Made Glorious Summer

A little nudge is all it takes to earn media coverage. Saupe recalls how a visit by NBC’s Today show in June began with a junket she took to Los Angeles last year. “Our very first meeting was on the NBC campus, and we talked to one of the producers of the third hour of the Today show,” she says. Thirty minutes’ worth of pitches failed to garner interest, but then Saupe noted a previous segment about winter solstice in Fairbanks and suggested a follow-up for summer solstice in Anchorage. So

it came to pass: millions of TV viewers saw activities Visit Anchorage staff suggested, much like the previous exposure of Fairbanks winter tourism.

“One of our greatest successes has been the growth we’ve seen in the winter/aurora market,” McCrea says. “We strategically marketed ourselves as a world-class aurora destination, and it has paid off. We were competing with entire countries like Iceland and Norway, and though we are obviously more limited in budget, on almost every travel publication list out there, we constantly rank high in the list of best destinations in the world to see the northern lights.”

Off-peak tourism grew so much during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to David Kasser, senior vice president of sales at Visit Anchorage,

that it surpassed the traditional season. Kasser says, “Now we have actually more visitors in the eight months starting October 1 through April coming to Anchorage—going out to see the aurora and having all those experiences—than we do in the summer. Pretty amazing, right?”

Explore Fairbanks also has a Visitor Engagement Department at the Morris Thompson Cultural and Visitors Center, which is the main visitor center for the city. “They help visitors plan their time here when they arrive as well as take phone calls and emails throughout the year,” says McCrea. “Even with the number of resources that people have available to help them plan a trip, they still view DMOs as one of the most trusted sources about a destination.”

Targeting International Travelers

While approximately 8 percent of ATIA’s budget—or $200,000—aims at international audiences, that may change as interest in travel grows.

“COVID really turned off international visitation, and it’s taking a long time to build back up,” says Simpson. “I don’t know when or if that will change, but as global travel continues to grow, we are certainly an attractive destination.”

ATIA currently targets the Germanspeaking European market because of seasonal nonstop flights from Frankfurt by Condor Airlines and Discover Airlines. “These travelers tend to come to Alaska for a long period of time and to visit many communities,” says Simpson.

Explore Fairbanks also heavily targets German-speaking Europe, which continues to be a strong market for the DMO. “We’ve had our own contractor over there for almost twenty years, which has been beneficial for helping us be successful in that market,” McCrea says. According to McCrea, prior to 2020, Explore Fairbanks’ core international markets for its winter/ aurora tourism included Japan and China, with Japan at one time offering direct charter flights to the Interior. Over the past two years, the DMO has instead focused on the India market.

ATIA is likewise looking to South Asia. Simpson says, “We’ve also spent the past few years working in the India market, which is a growing market for Alaska and for the United States in general.”

Explore Fairbanks also sees potential in the Latin America market, including Mexico, Argentina, and Brazil. “Both the China and Japan numbers haven’t come back to prepandemic levels, though in the case of Japan, we have continued to have a presence in the market through Brand USA. This has also helped us in our new endeavors in India and Latin America,” says McCrea.

To validate that Visit Anchorage is putting its marketing money in the right place, the bureau relies on continuous research. In the past year, a new approach has been a WiFi survey at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport. “If you try to log on the free WiFi at the airport, maybe you’ve been asked, ‘Do you want to take a survey?’ We weed out residents pretty quickly, so you probably haven’t seen the full survey,”

Saupe says. “We used to try to do man-on-the-street surveys, intercept studies, which is very expensive, so we’re pleased that this seems to be proving itself.” The result is a handful of “personas” representing the model audience most likely to be receptive to travel marketing.

Real Economic Impact

Absolute numbers rank Alaska at the bottom among states for visitor numbers, which is hard to comprehend given the intensity of tourism-focused business. The industry supports 48,000 jobs and carries an economic impact of $5.6 billion. Visitor dollars circulate through communities, and tax revenue supports government functions, making tourism an important economic pillar.

“Tourism is inspiring, and travel is the ultimate citizen diplomacy,” says Simpson. “Tourism is comprised of a lot of small businesses that love where they live and want to show it off to other people while making a living and providing jobs.”

ATIA’s marketing helps show off the state’s virtues. “Everybody wants an authentic experience, and Alaska is the perfect place to become immersed and to slow down,” Simpson says. “Our biggest challenge is to make sure we stay top-of-mind to potential travelers around the world, and to remain a destination they want to visit. That takes consistent tourism marketing.”

“It’s human nature to want to travel, and for people looking for wide-open spaces and opportunities to experience Mother Nature, that’s Alaska and Fairbanks,” adds McCrea. “That’s what our state is all about.”

He notes that tourism creates approximately 7,200 jobs in the Fairbanks North Star Borough, from lodging and hospitality-focused companies to dog mushers, tour guides, and more.

“Tourism not only provides an economic benefit but contributes to quality of life,” says McCrea. “There are a lot of things that Fairbanks residents enjoy—such as air service, restaurants, local attractions, and events—because we have a robust, year-round tourism industry.”

McCrea believes that Fairbanks— and Alaska—will continue to attract travelers from around the world as long as word continues to spread.

“We have such an amazing product here for people to experience; it’s a bucket-list item,” he says. “For that future to be successful, however, entities like ATIA and the state’s DMOs need to have the resources to market the state and our destinations successfully. This doesn’t just happen organically; our role is now more important than ever.”

The Golden Heart City markets its mineral heritage. Explore Fairbanks

Robert Corbisier, Meeting Champion

The Meeting: 2025 IAOHRA Annual Training Conference

October 5-9, 2025

200 Delegates

Estimated Economic Impact: $381,496

The International Association of Official Human Rights Agencies (IAOHRA) Annual Training Conference returns to Alaska this October for the first time since 1986, thanks to the efforts of Robert Corbisier, Executive Director of the Alaska State Commission for Human Rights. The event gathers human and civil rights leaders from around the country.

The Annual Training Conference aims to foster connections and encourage the exchange of ideas between far-flung colleagues. The 2025 Anchorage event will highlight the legacy of Elizabeth Peratrovich, offering a powerful context for understanding Indigenous rights and Alaska’s contribution to national civil rights efforts.

Connect for Success

How networks help small businesses

By Vanessa Orr

Starting a successful business takes a lot of knowhow, hard work, and tenacity. In many cases, it also requires making connections that can help entrepreneurs find the resources they need to grow. Numerous organizations in Alaska work to help small business owners connect with more seasoned companies and individuals to expand their professional networks.

The Anchorage Chamber of Commerce, for example, provides its members with opportunities to meet mentors, advisors, and even future customers. The largest business organization in Alaska, the chamber has served as a resource to help members gain business savvy for more than 100 years.

Brooklynn Spooner, the Anchorage Chamber’s events manager, says “Our members receive special pricing on events and sponsorships—which are free to attend, in many cases—that can easily translate to meaningful introductions and future ROI [return on investment].”

The chamber’s extremely busy events calendar includes everything from ribbon-cuttings to the citywide cleanup each May, sponsored by local partners.

“Ribbon cuttings are a time-honored tradition,” says Spooner, noting that they provide an excellent

Anchorage Chamber of Commerce

opportunity for new businesses to publicly thank and recognize partners and patrons and to show the progress achieved by working together. Further, “Our Citywide Cleanup is community- and volunteer-driven and encourages environmental awareness and the importance and economic impact of keeping our community a beautiful place to live and work.”

Chamber members can share their voices with the organization’s Advocacy Committee, Ambassador Council, Diversity Committee, and Military Committee, partnering with community groups and elected officials around the chamber's mission. The chamber’s weekly Make It Monday luncheon forums showcase industry reports, economic trends, upcoming events, and panels for political figures.

“The forum is a platform to shine a light on the expertise of our members, either as the main presenter or with a brief three-to-fiveminute introduction,” says Spooner.

The chamber’s Business After Hours events draw up to 150 professionals for networking and door prizes. The chamber facilitates events hosted by a sponsoring business or organization, which gives recognition and exposure to the host.

Sharing Similar Experiences

The Anchorage Chamber also encourages groups with similar experiences—such as young professionals, women, and military members—to network with their fellows. For example, the Young Professionals Group hosts monthly meetups, networking luncheons,

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socials, and the annual Alaska Young Professionals Summit and Young Professionals Group Picnic.

“All of these events are aimed at connecting the young professionals of our community, strengthening their ties to Anchorage, and maintaining a robust pipeline of leaders for tomorrow,” says Spooner.

A chamber program aimed at encouraging the potential of women in the business community is the Anchorage ATHENA Society, which inducts female business leaders annually through a competitive nomination process by their peers. The society also raises funds for scholarships to send female high school seniors to entrepreneurship camp.

To support the armed services, the chamber holds a Military Fundraiser Bowl-A-Thon and Military Appreciation Picnic to honor service members and their families. Chamber members sponsor the Bowl-A-Thon, and attendance is free for local servicemen and women. Proceeds of the bowling fundraiser pay for the June picnic at Joint Base ElmendorfRichardson.

“While the cost-benefit ratio for events hosted by the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce can vary

based on the event type, audience size, and the goals of participants (networking, culture-building, brand exposure, or learning), these events are great ways for members to share information, increase visibility, gain new clients, and participate in community events,” says Spooner. “People like doing business with those they know and trust.”

A Week Dedicated to Entrepreneurs

Alaska Entrepreneurship Week (AKEW) is a statewide event for Alaska business owners, entrepreneurs, investors, and students that provides the opportunity to learn, network, and collaborate.

“There is no formal organization behind it; we’re a group of volunteers who put the event together to help the community,” says Pascual ReigMunoz, owner of the AK Coffee Company. Reig-Munoz is also the founder and leader of multiple initiatives, including the Alaska Startups Group on Facebook, and he also serves as an advisor at the Alaska Small Business Development Center.

“We have a core team of between 4 to 15 people that put the event together and about 25 sponsors,” he adds. “Overall, we have more than

200 people involved in making Alaska Entrepreneurship Week happen.”

AKEW, which started as a grant program in 2013 but was rebranded entirely last year, takes place in September. This year’s event is being held September 29 to October 3.

“There is a tremendous need for a week like this,” says Reig-Munoz. “Some people say that Alaska doesn’t provide the kind of support that new businesses need, but it does, and entrepreneurs need to know what resources are available.”

AKEW is designed as a showcase for all the state’s entrepreneurial resources, especially organizations that might not have enough outreach on their own. The event is also designed to help those with a business idea determine if the idea is viable or if it needs to be changed or reevaluated to warrant spending the time and effort on further development.

“While some participants may be encouraged by this week to make a business happen, we also see people who attend the workshops and do the exercises and realize that it is not a good idea to start the business they had in mind,” he says. “It’s definitely better to find that out now than when you’re $50,000 in the hole.”

The Anchorage Chamber of Commerce hosts a variety of events, giving entrepreneurs and startup owners the ability to thoughtfully engage in networking opportunities that will help them grow.

Flavin Photography Anchorage Chamber of Commerce

Anchorage Chamber of Commerce

Or success can strike immediately. Reig-Munoz recalls an attendee who went to an AI workshop and learned enough to finish a project and deploy it for her business. “We all measure success in a different manner,” says Reig-Munoz. “Sometimes that’s opening a business, closing a business, or moving it to the next stage.”

Fifty Events in Five Days

AKEW kicks off with events in Fairbanks, the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Anchorage, and Juneau; a statewide webinar ensures that rural entrepreneurs can plug in too. The week is designed to allow participants to attend a events in person, virtually, or in a hybrid format. AKEW posts all events on its website, akew.org, as well as on social media.

“Each day has a different theme that follows the five stages of a business,” says Reig-Munoz. “For example, Monday hosts ‘idea-related’ events that are designed to help people who may have an idea but do not yet have a formal business entity formed. Events include a judged idea competition, workshops, and more.”

Tuesday’s events are geared toward entrepreneurs with a legally formed entity, but whose business is still

“Some people say that Alaska doesn’t provide the kind of support that new businesses need, but it does, and entrepreneurs need to know what resources are available.”

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Pascual Reig-Munoz, Owner, AK Coff ee Company

Anchorage Chamber of Commerce

operating in the red. Wednesday’s events are for business owners who have stable, profit-making businesses, and Thursday’s events are geared toward business growth and planning the next move. Friday’s events are focused on the significant decrease in the original founder ownership, such as when a person sells, closes their company, or the ownership percentage becomes less than 5 percent.

Most of the events are free to attend, though some may require a nominal fee.

“We try really hard to make all of the events free so that they are accessible to everybody,” says ReigMunoz. “Last year, approximately 90 percent were free, while some cost $15 or $20.”

Last year’s AKEW had upwards of fifty events happening during five days, with an average of twenty to thirty participants attending each one.

Collaboration Is Key

When the City of Valdez held its first Small Business Conference

this past May, city leaders trusted that at least some members of the business community would attend. “I was hoping for at least ten people, and fifty people attended!” recalls Martha Barberio with a laugh. “I was so excited!”

The city’s economic development director says finding the right time to hold the event was difficult because many Valdez businesses close until summer. “We’d been trying to do this for a couple of years, but it hadn’t worked out,” says Barberio. “But we bit the bullet and did it, pulling it together in six weeks.”

The two-day conference at Prince William Sound College featured hands-on workshops, free coaching sessions, and networking opportunities tailored to the needs of local small business owners. There was also a roundtable where successful business owners in Valdez shared their know-how.

“We wanted to give entrepreneurs a chance to network with companies that had been in business for five or fifty years and encourage those currently in business to mentor

those people just starting out,” says Barberio, adding that organizers also held a whiteboard session to ask people for suggestions on how the city could help businesses succeed.

“We believe that it’s superimportant for municipalities to collaborate with small businesses in general, as it helps the community and helps everyone grow,” she says. “It’s good for all involved.”

As a result of the conference, the Valdez Economic Development Department decided to hold a threehour class this fall/winter, focusing on the conference’s most discussed topics. The department also plans to host a second small business conference in May 2026.

“We got a lot of positive feedback and also sent a follow-up survey to everyone who attended, to find out what they’d like to see in the future,” says Barberio. “Even though the surveys were anonymous, we didn’t receive a single negative response.”

Antisocial Socializing

In addition to the Small Business

The architecture firm Bettisworth North and the Anchorage Chamber Young Professionals Group hosted a Business After Hours event to bring nonprofit community builders into contact with each other. Anchorage Chamber o f Commerce

Conference, the city has since contracted with Carrie Jean Shephard, a business coach and trainer for the Alaska Women’s Business Center at Business Impact NW, to provide business coaching, classes, and training in Valdez. The organization also provides startup lending and technical assistance as a Certified Development Financial Institution. So far in 2025, it has helped Valdez entrepreneurs access more than $150,000 in startup capital through business lending.

“With everybody, it’s about money—how do you get through your first year? Your second year? We’re trying to hone in on the tools people need to succeed,” says Barberio.

This focus on nurturing small businesses in Valdez has been so

successful that the Association of Women’s Business Centers recently selected Valdez as a featured community for its national Media Spotlight Tour, highlighting the outstanding work, innovation, and community impact of the Alaska Women’s Business Center in partnership with the City of Valdez.

Celeste Addison, owner of The Gift Shop in Valdez, attended the Small Business Conference with the goal of making her life easier as a business owner. “I’m always looking to better my practice, and I also hoped to connect with other businesses who might provide coaching or share information that I didn’t know,” she says.

Addison attended workshops on marketing, financial planning, exit strategies, and more. She also

attended a panel of business owners discussing their experiences.

“I learned a lot about the importance of an exit strategy. Though I had one when I started my business—because I know that I don’t want to do this forever—I didn’t realize how much I was missing from that strategy,” she explains. “Now when I do things, I think, ‘Will this make future Celeste happy when she sells the business?’ I think a lot more about that than I did before.”

Addison also appreciated the chance to connect with other business owners. “Most small business people are pretty antisocial because they are such workaholics,” she says with a laugh. “It was really nice to connect with other like-minded people and to understand that they were going through the same types of things.”

Internship Track

Opportunities for up-and-comers, talent for employers

By Tracy Barbour

Interns can go far. For example, Calista Corporation used to have an intern by the name of Andrew Guy. Now he’s the president and CEO of the Alaska Native corporation for the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta region.

Calista’s summer intern program is one of its most successful initiatives for guiding shareholders and descendants toward long-term, rewarding careers, according to Izayah Narull’aq Liu, a Workforce and Shareholder Development (WFSD) Specialist who coordinates Calista’s internship program. “Through this program, we aim to provide meaningful professional experience, expand access to career pathways, and cultivate the next generation of leaders across our region and industries,” he says.

Liu notes that five interns transitioned to full-time positions last year within Calista’s family of companies—a record amount for the program—working in construction, information technology,

administration, and finance. And one intern began a registered mechanic apprenticeship program to continue their professional development. Currently, two members of Calista’s WFSD team are previous interns who now help coordinate the very program they once participated in—improving it from the inside out and mentoring incoming interns. Who knows; one of them might become CEO someday.

Who’s Hiring

Engineering firm DOWL is proud of its summer internship program. It aims to inspire students to become leaders in civil engineering through face-to-face learning, disciplined problem solving, and transformative hands-on experiences, says transportation engineer Irene Malto, who manages its summer internship program. “We are driven by the goal of producing outstanding problem solvers, capable of creating innovative solutions for the most

complex problems our clients ask us to solve,” Malto says.

With offices in Alaska and the western United States, DOWL seeks to attract and mentor talent from some of the country’s top universities for long-term employment opportunities. It hires about thirty interns nationwide, including up to six in its Anchorage office.

Currently, 60 percent of DOWL’s fifteen Anchorage transportation engineering staff members started as interns and now hold full-time positions at various levels, from recent graduates all the way up to a senior project manager.

Malto is one of them. Joining the company in 2006, she began working full time as a DOWL intern the summer before her senior year at UAA. “My schedule during the last year of school allowed me to continue the

Irene Malto DOWL

internship on a part-time basis and, before graduation, I was offered a fulltime position,” says Malto, who has since earned master’s degrees in civil engineering and project management.

SGV International, which provides telecommunications engineering, strives to expose summer interns to the full range of services it offers. Based in Houston, Texas, and with an office in Anchorage, it creates an immersive experience. SGV’s interns get to see firsthand what a typical day looks like for its engineers and field technicians, providing them with professional role models, according to Chief Investment Officer Rob Sauermann.

“We really encourage our interns to work cross-functionally at different locations; we think it broadens their experience,” Sauermann says.

“We want them to feel valued and like they are contributing to a discreet project for the summer. We expect a lot of our interns, but we also give them the opportunity to shine—and not just have a check-the-box experience.”

First Alaskans Institute (FAI) operates a distinct summer internship program. It places Alaska Native, American Indian, Indigenous, and rural community members and students with different organizations across Alaska to provide leadership growth and employment experience and exploration. A nonprofit foundation, FAI advances a broader mission with its internship program: to develop the capacity of Alaska Native peoples and communities

and its vision of advancing and protecting Alaska Native people for the next 10,000 years.

“The program is designed to provide Indigenous youth and young professionals with opportunities to strengthen their cultural identity, grow their leadership skills, all while gaining meaningful work experience,” says Indigenous Leadership Continuum Director Jitshla Tobitha Woods. “We aim to support interns in developing a deeper understanding of how they can serve their communities, elevate Indigenous ways of knowing, and lead in all areas of life, personally and professionally.”

Since its launch in 2004, FAI’s summer internship program has placed 381 interns with more than 110 partner organizations across 26 communities statewide, Woods says.

Recruitment and Selection Process

The recruitment process for summer interns varies among organizations. For instance, FAI begins recruiting in the winter, conducting statewide outreach to high schools, colleges, tribal organizations, and past participants. Applicants must submit a comprehensive application including personal statements, résumés, and references.

“Our team reviews applications with the whole person in mind, considering leadership potential, community involvement, and relation to the program’s mission,” Woods says. “Once selected, interns participate in a detailed onboarding process that includes orientation, program agreements, placement matching, and preparation for success both

within the workplace and in our collective learning space.”

Calista’s recruitment runs from December to March. Applicants must be shareholders or descendants, at least 18 years of age by program start, and either enrolled full-time in college or vocational training or a high school senior with proof of future enrollment. Selected interns must pass background and drug checks.

Initial interviews help Calista’s WFSD team assess candidates’ interests, backgrounds, and career goals. Interns then rank their preferred internship choices. “We host ‘meet and greets’ between candidates and hiring managers, who are given résumés and prep questions in advance,” Liu says. “Hiring managers then select a candidate, determine their wage based on HR-provided pay scales, and initiate the onboarding process.”

Cadence Aiyanguq Crow learned about Calista’s internship program through her mother, who follows the corporation’s Facebook page. When applications opened, Crow applied immediately and landed a position for this summer. “My main motivation to apply for Calista’s internship was to renew my connection to the people of the Calista region,” Crow says. “I understood that I don’t have experience living in the region myself, and my mom encouraged me to be a sponge and learn everything about my regional corporation.”

At SGV, there’s no formal, oncampus recruitment program for interns. Instead, the company relies on college referrals and current interns to find future candidates within and outside Alaska. “We’re looking for interns who show intellectual curiosity,

Rob Sauermann SGV International

initiative, and a willingness to tackle new challenges,” Sauermann says.

Sauermann encourages aspiring candidates to be proactive when pursuing an internship. That’s exactly what Kyle Patterson did. Patterson, 21 years old and a rising junior studying electrical engineering at the University of Utah, began networking last fall to secure a summer internship with SGV. He was intrigued by the company’s focus on telecommunications in Alaska. “The telecom industry is relevant to the field I wanted to explore,” he says.

For DOWL, which recruits students both in state and Outside, selecting interns is somewhat of an art, Malto says. Some students have no prior internship experience while others have one or two years of experience. Rather than focusing solely on experience, the selection process evaluates potential and interest in the relevant type of engineering.

“Luckily, we have engineering fields within our Anchorage office and, as the summer intern hiring manager, I work with the leads in those various groups to identify potential intern candidates for their groups,” Malto explains. “Once the intern starts, onboarding is a combination of the typical HR new employee processes and having the assigned mentor help familiarize the intern with our system and getting them started on their first assignments.”

Meaningful Experiences and Unique Opportunities

Ideally, summer internships provide meaningful experiences and unique opportunities for participants. At Calista, the company hosts weekly

programming that educates interns about its corporate mission, the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, federal Indian law, shareholder rights and responsibilities, and Yup’ik storytelling. In addition, interns receive weekly newsletters with tips, development resources, and volunteer opportunities. Calista also covers major costs like housing and transportation, Liu says.

do, such as estimating, signing and striping design, technical reports, conceptual layouts, and field inspections. “It’s amazing to see how developed their problem-solving skills are and their willingness to dive in and take on new tasks and assignments,” Malto notes.

To foster meaningful, hands-on experiences, the hiring manager tailors each internship to reflect real, mission-driven work. Calista only offers internship placements where there’s clear value and opportunity for hands-on and interactive learning. Interns’ responsibilities vary by role, but they typically support ongoing projects, data analysis, research, communications, and process improvement tasks. “Interns are treated as part of the team— they attend meetings, contribute deliverables, and often help solve real challenges the company is facing,” Liu says.

DOWL’s Anchorage office has the advantage of having various experiences available. So even if interns are hired into a specific department, they can work in transportation, civil site design, geotech, environmental, and other areas. “Being able to offer that variety of work during the summer really rounds out their overall experience,” Malto says.

Interns at DOWL receive assignments like entry-level engineers

At SGV, interns primarily work in an office setting, which allows them to collaborate with other interns and participate in monthly town halls. They can gain leadership exposure by being paired with a mid-level or senior leader and sometimes get to interact with clients. “I think our clients appreciate the interns. Everyone remembers being that age and trying to figure things out,” Sauermann says. Summer internships at FAI span ten weeks, beginning with orientation and leadership development focused on Alaska Native values. Then interns spend eight weeks in roles at partner organizations, where they take on real-world responsibilities based on their interests and career goals. “These roles range from policy research, community outreach, and project coordination to healthcare and communications,” Woods says. “Every other Friday, interns reconvene for Leadership Fridays to reflect, build skills, and connect with elders, community leaders, and one another.”

FAI also assigns each intern an Indigenous mentor to help guide their journey throughout the summer, connecting professional development with indigenous identity.

Jitshla Tobitha Woods

First Alaskans Institute

Izayah Narull’aq Liu Calista Corporation

Competitive Pay, Hands-On Training

Summer internships typically allow participants to earn while they learn, offering competitive pay and benefits. FAI’s interns, for example, earned $25 per hour this year. They had the opportunity to work forty hours each week over eight weeks, with additional paid time for orientation week, leadership development sessions with FAI, and closing week. “This compensation is part of our commitment to valuing the time, labor, and brilliance of our interns,” Woods says.

DOWL pays interns hourly rates between $22 and $30, depending on location and experience. They also offer benefits such as holiday pay and 401(k) options. “Our rates are reviewed annually based on the market and other factors,” Malto says.

Likewise, Calista bases compensation for its interns on industry standards, job scope, the location of the internship, and the intern’s experience. “We determine our pay based on current market trends to ensure our compensation remains competitive,” Liu says. “Additionally, we provide stipends distributed in three installments throughout the internship to help offset general living expenses, such as housing and transportation.”

Beyond financial compensation, summer interns reap real-world experience that can enhance their education, expertise, and career opportunities. Crow, for example, worked as a communications intern at Calista. She created social media and web content and traveled to Donlin Gold’s camp and the village of Marshall to help interview shareholders. Her

In everything we do—from oil field services, to land management, we strive to nurture our Native way of life. Learn more at www.doyon.com

proudest achievements were the Storyknife articles that she wrote for Calista’s newsletter. “Making these connections with people from my region are the moments I cherish most during my internship,” she says.

curb ramps along Anchorage’s Dimond Boulevard. “Learning to balance tasks and communicate with the team is important,” she says.

Troxell, who wrapped up her internship on August 22, describes DOWL as a “great place” to work.

Crow says she was well-supported during her internship, working independently with creative freedom and receiving guidance from her department, fellow interns, and company leadership. The experience solidified her interest in communications and introduced her to the world of Alaska Native corporations.

“I’m extremely grateful to have a Native corporation that prioritizes workforce development for shareholders and descendants of the region,” Crow says. “I am proud to have been a part of Calista Corporation, if only for the summer. I’m looking forward to entering the workforce because this internship has prepared me for the future.”

“This internship has provided me with the necessary skills and experience to feel confident jumping into the hiring process post-grad,” she says. “My co-workers are great examples of different career paths that you could take in this industry and are always willing to advise me.”

SGV’s internship gave Patterson an opportunity to expand his technical expertise—and return to Anchorage this summer. He worked on a range of projects: the onboarding process, field operations preparations, and site surveys for telephone poles.

its ability to retain interns and offer them full-time positions. And the impact of the company’s internship program can be clearly seen during the end-of-summer presentations. “Each intern gives a five- to ten-minute presentation of what they learned or experienced during their time at DOWL, and these presentations get better and better each year,” she says. “It’s amazing to see how much an intern can learn and contribute over a three-month period.”

Calista evaluates the achievements of its internship program in several ways, including mid-term and final performance evaluations, anonymous intern feedback surveys, post-internship outcomes, and engagement with continuing development opportunities.

Madeline Troxell, 23, spent this summer primarily working with surface water at DOWL. Last summer, she interned with the company’s transportation group. Troxell, from Anchorage, is in her fifth and final year at Brigham Young University. During her recent internship, she was tasked with designing a bike lane for the city of Homer, designing 3D elements in AutoCAD for fish passages and habitats in rural Alaska, and assessing

Interning at SGV was a “great experience,” and the leadership focused on prioritizing people’s needs, Patterson says. “They’ve done a good job of supporting me, making sure I’m getting out of it what I want, and making sure that what I’m doing is having an actual impact,” he says.

Measuring Success

While internships are beneficial, quantifying their success can be difficult, Sauermann says. “If we feel like our interns leave with a better understanding of what it means to be in the workforce and do all the little things that you don’t learn in school, I think that’s a success,” Sauermann says. “And if they want to work for us full time, it’s a clear indicator of success on both sides.”

Malto says the efficacy of DOWL’s internship program directly relates to

But the strongest indicator is seeing interns grow into longterm contributors—both within Calista and in their broader career journeys. Internship programs are more than a summer job; they’re an investment in people. “At Calista, we treat this seriously,” Liu says. “Our approach is rooted in supporting our shareholders and descendants with tools, experience, and guidance that create lasting opportunities. When our interns succeed, so does our region.”

Similarly, Woods believes internship programs like FAI’s are transformative, fostering Indigenous brilliance, serving communities, revitalizing cultural values, and increasing Indigenous representation. “We hope our model inspires other programs to center culture, mentorship, and community in developing future leaders,” she says.

Madeline Troxell DOWL

Cadence Aiyanguq Crow Calista Corporation

FRACTIONAL HR CAN MAKE A WHOLE LOT OF SENSE HR MATTERS

Written by Thomas Showalter, Senior Consultant PeopleAK

173.3

hours x month.

Multiplied by the hourly wage, that’s the number organizations use to budget a full-time employee. But in today’s dynamic business environment, is full-time HR staff always the most efficient and costeffective solution? Does the work require 173.3 hours? Will the employee have the expertise to excel?

Leading HR requires a strategic vision, effective planning, seamless execution, collaboration, and a deep understanding of the various facets of HR. Those facets include the salesmanship of recruiting; the technical expertise and market savvy required for compensation; the knowledge of employment law and organizational operations necessary for developing and applying employment policies; and the specialized skills demanded by benefits, employee relations, labor relations, and HR systems. For most organizations, it’s not necessary or feasible to hire specialized staff for each role.

Forward-thinking CEOs are increasingly turning to fractional HR solutions for greater flexibility, specialized expertise, and a better return on investment.

Factor 1: Fit & Efficiency

Organizations that use fractional HR services avoid overpaying for skills that aren’t fully utilized or burdening employees with tasks outside their core competencies. Further, studies by Microsoft (2023) and Standord (2014) found that only 40 percent to

58 percent of a full-time employee’s 173.3 hours are spent in productive work, with the rest consumed by distractions, social interactions, and administrative tasks. Fractional team members operate within a billable model, where clients pay for productive work with fewer distractions, while the provider bears most of the administrative costs.

Factor 2: Loaded Labor

Benefits, taxes, and overhead significantly inflate labor expenses above the face value of wages for in-house employees. In a fractional HR solution, the provider bears those expenses. For example, the actual cost of a $100,000 employee can be $140,000 or more when factoring in employer and mandated benefits, employment insurance, and taxes. That number grows when considering office space, equipment, supplies, IT and HR support, and other employment-driven costs.

Factor 3: Risk Management

Hiring the right talent and navigating the complexities of employment law pose significant risks for employers. Even the best recruiters, hiring managers, and selection processes won’t bat 1.000, and the tightest compliance culture won’t eliminate risk. Fractional HR staff mitigate risk because they are not employees, are managed flexibly through a vendor relationship, and they apply employment compliance expertise.

Factor 4: Ease & Flexibility

Continuous adaptation is required for organizations to thrive and survive.

Fractional HR offers the flexibility to scale HR resources as needs evolve, avoiding the financial and operational strain and disruption associated with staffing that is too large or too small, reactionary hiring, and workforce reductions.

Factor 5: Specialized Expertise, Tools & Resources

Fractional HR professionals bring an array of specialized expertise, tools, and resources, including access to industry best practices, cuttingedge HR technology, and extensive professional networks. Clients realize the benefits of a proven HR leader, seasoned compensation expert, or professional investigator without the overhead of full-time employees. Organizations embracing fractional HR can right-size their HR function, enhance the quality of HR leadership and expertise, access a broader array of tools and resources, adapt more quickly, and avoid the costs and risks associated with hiring full-time staff.

Take the Next Step

Ready to explore the benefits of fractional HR for your organization? Contact a reputable fractional HR provider today to discuss your specific needs and discover how this innovative solution can help you achieve your business goals.

Thomas Showalter, Senior Consultant

For more information call (907) 276-5707 or visit our website at PeopleAK.com

HR Matters is sponsored content:

THE SAFETY CORNER

Rigging 101

Lift, move, and tie down safely

By Sean DeWalt

One of the most hazardous activities carried out in general industry, construction, and maritime work is rigging. Rigging is the equipment or use of equipment used to support, lift, suspend, tow, or secure a load. These tasks involve wire ropes, strapping, chains, or slings to move and tie down materials or other objects, or using powered industrial trucks, cranes, or hoists. It often involves suspended loads, which is anything that is lifted above ground.

Suspended loads present a significant risk of objects falling or striking people or property, or of crushing injuries that could result in serious injury or death. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics

reports an average of forty-two fatalities per year from 2013 to 2017 just involving cranes.

Rigging-related injuries are prevalent in maritime, oil and gas, and construction industries. The root causes of these incidents and accidents are lack of training, human error, and equipment failures. Understanding the exposures of rigging and applying appropriate workplace controls are key to performing this work in a safe manner.

Finding a Qualified Rigger

The US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has multiple Code of Federal Regulations-related rules for rigging. The most important is the

Qualified Rigger requirement. OSHA states, “All loads shall be rigged by a qualified rigger.”

A qualified rigger is a person who possesses a recognized degree, certificate, or professional standing; has extensive knowledge, training, and experience; and can successfully demonstrate the ability to solve problems related to rigging loads. Each qualified rigger may have different credentials or experience. Employers must determine whether a person is qualified to perform specific rigging tasks.

An employer must ensure that the individual can perform the rigging work required for the specific types of loads and lifts for a certain assignment. Qualified rigger

Sean Dewalt | Alaska Risk Management

training prepares workers to safely handle and manage loads during lifting operations, understanding, and applying compliance with OSHA regulations and industry standards and best practices. Training for riggers must occur before any work begins.

Training for Safety

The formal training for riggers should include proper selection, inspection, and use of rigging gear; proper signal practices; and load stabilization. It should also include sections on hazard identification and correction, situational awareness for suspended loads, and an understanding of knots, hitches, and slings.

The training focuses on hazard identification and correction,

proper equipment selection and use, rigging techniques, and load stability. However, this training does not qualify the rigger to rig unstable, unusually heavy, or eccentric loads that may require a tandem lift, multiple lifts, or the use of custom rigging equipment.

A certified rigger is a professional who has completed a formal training program and passed exams demonstrating their knowledge and skills in rigging practices, load handling, and safety procedures. Certification is typically provided by accredited organizations such as the National Commission for the Certification of Crane Operators. Riggers do not have to be certified by an accredited organization, but they may choose to be to ensure competency and have

documentation of standardized training. One important thing to remember is that evaluating whether an employee qualifies for a particular rigging job is always the responsibility of the employer.

OSHA also requires crane operators to have a similar program of training and competency assessments as riggers. The employer “must ensure that each operator is trained, certified/ licensed, and evaluated in accordance with this section before operating any equipment.” In addition, where licensing is required by local jurisdictions, crane operators testing must be “accredited by a nationally recognized accrediting agency based on that agency’s determination that industry-recognized criteria

SOUTHCENTRAL ALASKA’S INDUSTRIAL PORT

for written testing materials, practical examinations, test administration, grading, facilities/ equipment, and personnel have been met.” Operators should also have a good understanding of what riggers do and should be able to communicate clearly with the worker to ensure that both employees are always working as a team.

Start with a Plan

At the job site, it is critical that the operations begin with a lift plan, job hazard analysis, or job task analysis. This team-driven exercise will help everyone understand what crane and rigging exposures exist at the work location, and doing so creates proper, adequate controls that will reduce risk by ensuring that each load is picked, delivered, and received without creating any incidents or accidents.

Safe work practices should be employed and always enforced during these inherently dangerous tasks. For example, employees in the work zone must avoid the swing radius of the crane and avoid being directly under a suspended load at any time. Avoiding “line of fire” exposures is paramount, and watching out for the entire jobsite is a team effort. The use of taglines is an important tool in the rigging and crane safety toolbox. A tagline is a fiber rope attached to a lifted load for purposes of controlling load spinning and direction during material handling operations. This line will help distance the riggers from the load, help assure stabilization of the lift, and reduce pinch points.

Insuring Against Loss

Riggers liability insurance covers a contractor’s liability arising from moving property and equipment that belongs to others, such as lifting a mechanical unit to the top of a commercial building. The standard commercial general liability policy does not cover this risk due to the exclusion for “personal property of others in your care, custody, or control.” This coverage protects against potential liabilities and financial losses associated with damaging property. Companies purchase a riggers liability insurance policy to cover that action. Policies are generally included in an inland marine policy or added as an endorsement to general liability policies. Insurance companies will normally have questionnaires for the riggers liability policy about whether crane operators or riggers are qualified or certified and about the amount, type, and values of third-party objects being moved. Underwriters who are assessing the risk on behalf of the insurance company will rate the premiums based on those answers.

Companies with qualified riggers and operators tend to receive more favorable rates and lower premiums, whereas businesses without that level of training and experience will pay more—if they can get insurance for that activity at all. Some insurance policies have clauses that require individuals operating specialized equipment or performing specific tasks to be properly qualified or certified. Lastly, an insurance company might deny a claim if a business or individual knowingly uses an unqualified rigger

and if that lack of qualification directly contributes to an accident due to negligence. Failure to comply with OSHA regulations could also be a basis for an insurer to deny a claim. It is best to work closely with a commercial insurance agent to completely understand what the insurance policies do and do not cover.

According to Konecranes Training Institute, a 2011 review of 249 overhead crane incidents over a ten-year period revealed 838 OSHA violations, which resulted in 133 injuries and 133 fatalities. Key highlights include 34 percent of worker fatalities and 37 percent of worker injuries came from being crushed by loads. Furthermore, 27 percent of the crane incidents were due to dropped loads caused by rigging failure, 12 percent of the incidents were from falls from height (including from cranes), and 11 percent of the injuries were due to workers being struck or run over by cranes (of which, 93 percent of those injuries were ultimately fatal).

Formal training, adequate supervision, and adequate workplace safety protocols can help reduce these numbers and keep our state and the economy growing. But most importantly it will protect the workers, who will always be Alaska’s best resource and most cherished part of every community.

Sean Dewalt is the owner of Alaska Risk Management. He has been working in safety and risk management in Alaska for twentyfive years.

INSIDE ALASKA BUSINESS

HEX/Furie

Just when it’s shining bright with new natural gas, the Julius R. Platform in Cook Inlet is no more. That’s because, at the culmination of a successful drilling campaign, it was renamed Allegra Leigh in honor of the first granddaughter born this year to John Hendrix, president and CEO of HEX Cook Inlet. Its subsidiary, Furie Operating Alaska, successfully brought online two new gas wells producing more than 3 million cubic feet per day, and a third well in the Kitchen Lights Unit was reworked and returned to production. Due to the success of the 2025 drilling program, Furie accelerated budgeting for up to four grassroots wells in 2026 and more in 2027.

Ravn Alaska

After bouncing back from bankruptcy in 2020, Ravn Alaska announced on August 14 that it would fly no more. Although abrupt, the cancellation was not entirely surprising, after advance warning that service would stop this fall to the Pribilof Island village of St. Paul. Last year, the company laid off 130 employees, and the former CEO who acquired the carrier at a bankruptcy auction, Rob McKinney, left the company. Ravn was the 2014 rebranding of Era Aviation, which traced its history to the first commercial helicopter operator in Alaska in 1948. ravnalaska.com

Regal Cinemas

The first multiplex movie theater in Anchorage has closed its curtain. The eight-screen Regal Totem projected its last show in mid-August, as parent company Cineworld restructures after a 2022 bankruptcy. Totem was the first theater in town with more than two screens when it opened in 1976. It was relegated to secondrun bargain showings after Regal Cinemas opened a sixteen-screen theater at Tikahtnu Commons in 2010, but first-run movies returned in recent years. Regal also owns the nine-screen theater at the Dimond Center mall. regmovies.com

Panther Minerals

A uranium mine on the Seward Peninsula is too hot for Panther Minerals to handle. The small Canadian company announced in July it would withdraw from the Boulder Creek project, citing seasonal, logistical, and capital considerations. Dave HedderlySmith, who owns the claims to Alaska’s largest known uranium prospect, says Panther’s exit is an opportunity to bring in a bigger, better partner. The mine would be located near the Tubutulik River, about 30 miles upstream from Elim. pantherminerals.ca/boulder-creek

Premera Blue Cross

The largest health insurance provider in the Pacific Northwest

announced improvements to prior authorizations, even as legislation updating state standards was waiting on Governor Mike Dunleavy’s desk. Premera Blue Cross said it would commit to providing near real-time responses for at least 80 percent of electronic prior authorization requests by 2027. Premera, which serves about 163,000 members in Alaska, stated, “These changes are part of a broader, voluntary commitment by [Blue Cross Blue Shield] companies to improve the healthcare experience for everyone.”

A few weeks later, Senate Bill 133 became law without the governor’s signature, setting time frames for approvals and directions in case of an adverse determination. premera.com

Alaska Sausage & Seafood Martin Eckmann, son of Alaska Sausage & Seafood founder Herb Eckmann, observed the company’s 50th anniversary this summer by saying, “It’s more than just a storefront; it’s a piece of Anchorage history.” And history was made when, for the first time in its operation, the shop had to stop accepting fish. Record-setting hauls from the Kenai forced an early closure, for lack of anywhere to store the fish. By the next morning, there were already lines at the door. The company posted on Facebook that crews worked several days from 2 a.m. until 11 p.m. to cut,

smoke, and package the salmon. alaskasausage.com

AOGA

ConocoPhillips Alaska swept two of the annual honors given by the Alaska Oil and Gas Association. At the trade group’s conference in August, the company was awarded Project of the Year for Environmental Stewardship and Innovation for horizontal directional drilling under the Colville River to install dual pipelines. The Rising Star Award went to Sydney Long, a senior analytics engineer with ConocoPhillips Alaska. The Contractor of the Year Award for Safety Performance goes to Denali Universal Services, and the Marilyn

Crockett Lifetime Achievement Award goes to Mark Ireland, retiring in November as senior vice president of subsurface and exploration at Santos in Anchorage.

aoga.org

ASRC Industrial

A subsidiary of ASRC Industrial with experience in nuclear energy support in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, extended services to New Mexico by acquiring a counterpart in Albuquerque. RSI EnTech, known until 2018 as Restoration Services, is part of the California-based engineering and professional services group owned by Arctic Slope Regional Corporation. And, as of July, so is Sigma Science, a small contractor with the US

Department of Energy nuclear complex at Kirtland Air Force Base. asrcindustrial.com

Bell’s Nursery

Local growers of vine-ripened tomatoes and cucumbers are Alaska’s Farm Family of the Year for 2025. Mike Mosesian and his family own and operate Mosesian Farms of Alaska, better known as Bell’s Nursery and Gifts. Raised on a California vineyard, Mosesian moved to Alaska in 1972 and founded Bell’s Nursery four years later. From three locations in South Anchorage, Bell’s supplies Alaska Grown tomatoes and English cucumbers to major retailers. bellsnurseryalaska.com

THIS ALASKA BUSINESS

Throw a party, charge admission, and create an experience worth the price. A masquerade ball inspired by the fantasy literature of Sarah J. Maas takes months to prepare, so Alaska Enchanted Events has staged only two so far. Fans of “Starfall” in October 2024 voted the company a Best of Alaska Business startup for the year. In May 2025, “Calan Mai” expanded to two nights with a daytime craft market. The Hilton Anchorage catered the gala, and Tatyanah Shassetz of Leilani Love Creative in Sterling designed decorations.

Next up is the Wings & War Ball, January 2–3, 2026. Inspired by Rebecca Yarros’ Empyrean series, the enchanted event will entertain 300 costumed guests each night.

RIGHT MOVES

Alaska Communications

· Alaska Communications added Yasir Alvi to its executive team as CFO. Alvi previously led finance and operations teams at Guardian Security Systems through a period of transformative growth. Alvi graduated with honors from Princeton University with a bachelor’s degree in computer science, and he earned an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania with honors, concentrating in finance. He started his career in software engineering at Microsoft. He also gained experience in investment banking and mergers and acquisitions at Morgan Stanley and financial planning analysis at Alaska Airlines.

Republic Services

· Republic Services of Alaska has a new General Manager. Matt Melton oversees Republic Services’ Environmental Solutions business in the state, which includes emergency response, service centers, and hazardous waste facilities. Melton has more than two decades of leadership experience in the marine transportation and oil and gas industries. Melton holds a bachelor’s degree in environmental studies and a master’s degree in operational management, both from New England College in New Hampshire. He has held leadership positions on the Prince William Sound Regional Citizens’ Advisory Council, the Association of Petroleum Industry Cooperative Managers, and the Alaska Support Industry Alliance.

Renewable Energy Alaska Project

· More than twenty years after he founded the Renewable Energy Alaska Project (REAP) as a statewide nonprofit association, Chris Rose retired this summer. To succeed him as Executive Director, REAP chose Cady Lister, most recently the Senior Energy Advisor for the Southeast Conference’s regional energy programs. Lister holds a bachelor’s degree in economics and an MBA, both from UAF. She previously worked as the Deputy Director and Chief Economist for the Alaska Energy Authority and as the Deputy Program Manager for the Portland Clean Energy Fund.

AKPIRG

· The board of the Alaska Public Interest Research Group (AKPIRG) selected Julia Hnilicka as the next Executive Director of the consumer protection nonprofit. Raised in Nenana as the daughter of a tugboat captain and an educator, Hnilicka most recently worked for the Biden administration as the Alaska State Director for the US Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development office.

ANSEP

· The Alaska Native Science & Engineering Program (ANSEP) appointed Dr. Michele Yatchmeneff as COO. Yatchmeneff was previously ANSEP’s assistant director before becoming UAA’s executive director of Alaska Native Education and Outreach in 2021. Yatchmeneff continues

RIGHT MOVES IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY NORTHERN AIR CARGO

Alvi

Lister

Melton

Hnilicka

Yatchmeneff

her work as a professor at UAA. An Unangax̂ from King Cove and False Pass, Yatchmeneff earned her bachelor’s degree in civil engineering and master’s degree in engineering management from UAA. After becoming the first Alaska Native woman to teach in UAA’s College of Engineering, she earned her doctorate in engineering education from Purdue University.

UIC Construction

· UIC Construction, a division of UIC Commercial Services, named Bryan Hise as its new Operations Manager, overseeing staff and project delivery for the company’s remote construction portfolio. Hise brings more than a decade of experience in construction management. During his more than two years with UIC Construction, Hise managed diverse projects in locations such as Anaktuvuk Pass, Kaktovik, Takotna, and the parent company’s hometown of Utqiaġvik. Hise holds a bachelor’s degree in construction management from Washington State University.

R&M Consultants

Civil engineering, surveying, and environmental firm R&M Consultants added three new staff to its offices in Anchorage and Fairbanks.

· Nick Parker joined R&M’s Land Surveying Group as a Staff Surveyor. He has spent the last four summers as a geomatics intern with the firm, returning full-time after earning a bachelor’s degree in Geomatics from UAA. Parker has provided field surveying for airport, highway, trail and subdivision projects across the state. He is a land surveyorin-training and an FAA Part 107 certified remote pilot.

· Lindsey Sutherland joined the Fairbanks office as an Environmental Specialist in the Environmental Services Group. She brings three years of experience in National Environmental Policy Act compliance and documentation, having supported those processes for federal agencies. Sutherland holds a bachelor’s degree in geology from Clemson University and earned a master’s degree in geology from Idaho State University. She is pursuing a graduate certificate in the National Environmental Policy Act from Utah State University.

· Adam Dalton joined R&M as a Staff Engineer in the firm’s Water Resources Group. He has five years of experience in water resources and civil infrastructure projects, including aquatic organism passage design, site drainage, grading, road and bridge projects, and wetland mitigation. Dalton’s background includes hydrologic and hydraulic analysis, stormwater management, dam safety, and drainage studies. Dalton holds a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Utah.

Tayal Brokerage

· The brokerage formed last fall under Aleut Real Estate, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Alaska Native regional corporation Aleut, added Natalie Travers-Smyre to its team. Since earning her real estate license in 1988, Travers-Smyre has worked in brokerage management, homeowner association oversight, residential land development, new construction sales, and dispute resolution. Most recently with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Alaska Realty, she spent more than a decade in brokerage leadership roles. Travers-Smyre also enjoys mushing her team of Siberian huskies.

Sutherland

Parker

Dalton

Travers-Smyre

Hise

ALASKA TRENDS

Alaska Business Publishing Co. is celebrating our 40th year of publishing, as we sold our first issue in January 1985. Instead of highlighting any particular industry trend in this month’s Alaska Trends, we’re taking a closer look at the number forty. For example, did you know forty is the only number whose letters appear in alphabetical order when spelled in English? Now you do! After reading this edition of Alaska Trends, you’ll be well-armed with even more “forty” facts, enough to conquer any trivia game that lives where Alaska and the number forty intersect.

40th Anniversary

The traditional gift for 40th anniversaries is ruby. The Ruby mining district in the western Interior is where Barry Clay found a 294-oz. gold nugget, Alaska's largest, in 1998.1

40 Percent

Anchorage is home to approximately 40% of Alaskans.5

P-40

The Alaska Aviation Museum is trying to restore a P-40, a single-engine, single-seat, allmetal fighterbomber that first flew in 1938.2

40 Million

HEX/Furie’s drilling program in Cook Inlet for 2025 cost $40 million.4

40 Percent

Alaska is home to 229 federally recognized tribes, 40% of the US tribal population. 6

-40°F

Visitors in Skagway can enjoy the “40 Below Experience,” which gives them a glimpse into the freezing temperatures of a Klondike winter.3

$40 per Night

It costs $40 per night to camp while attending the annual Glacier View Car Launch in Sutton.7

40

Mile River

Fortymile River in the eastern Interior is a major tributary of the Yukon River.8

40 Miles West

Kuparuk River Unit is 40 miles west of Prudhoe Bay.11

40 Miles South

The Hotel Alyeska is 40 miles south of Anchorage in Girdwood.13

40 Years

The federal government transferred ownership of the Alaska Railroad to the state in 1985.16

40 Mile Air

40-Mile Air was established in Alaska in 1959.9

40 Communities

In 2022, Typhoon Merbok affected forty Alaska Native communities.12

40 Acre Campus

A 40-acre former dairy farm in Palmer is home to the National Outdoor Leadership School.15

40 Reps

The Alaska House of Representatives has 40 members who serve 2-year terms.14

Top 40

The first Alaskan in the Billboard Top 40 was Vixen singer Janet Gardner.10

1940

Construction began on Elmendorf Air Force Base (now Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson).17

What book is currently on your nightstand?

The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris and The Best Strangers in the World by Ari Shapiro.

What charity or cause are you passionate about?

Food Bank of Alaska and the Anchorage Museum.

What’s the first thing you do when you get home after a long day at work?

I greet my dog. I have a husky mix from Bethel named Henry.

What vacation spot is on your bucket list?

Africa and Japan.

If you could domesticate a wild animal, what animal would it be? Brown bears. They look a lot cuddlier than they are.

Photos by Misty Kincaid

OFF THE CUFF

Laile Fairbairn

Diners might never know that the greeter at Snow City Café, Spenard Roadhouse, South Restaurant + Coffeehouse, or Crush Bistro is the part-owner. Laile Fairbairn grabs front-desk duty when she can, just to interact with guests. She admits to micromanaging; her other job is macromanaging as president of Locally Grown Restaurants, an umbrella company that handles her successful eateries’ back-end business.

Fairbairn studied journalism at the University of Oregon, dreaming of globetrotting to cover the Olympic games. She went into advertising instead and eventually returned home to Anchorage and pivoted to food service, starting with Snow City. “I thought that Anchorage needed a cool breakfast place,” she says.

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

Laile Fairbairn: I have a big family, so I have a lot of family dinners. I tag along with my husband when he plays ultimate frisbee at Kincaid Park, and I play pickleball.

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

Fairbairn: Well, pickleball. Because I’m not very good at it, not very consistent. And I’m supposed to be learning to play golf (but the weather isn’t cooperating).

AB: What’s the most daring thing you’ve ever done?

Fairbairn: Oy vey! Starting a restaurant is a crazy thing to do.

AB: What are you superstitious about?

Fairbairn: I throw salt over my shoulder when there’s spilled salt.

AB: What’s your favorite local restaurant?

Fairbairn: Oh gosh. I have to say Snow City Café, but… I really love Middle Way Café and [The] Rustic Goat.

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

Fairbairn: Prince. I would also love to see Lenny Kravitz.

AB: What’s your greatest extravagance?

Fairbairn: Travel, travel, travel. Just got back from Croatia. Went on a seven-day cruise through the islands.

AB: What’s your best attribute and worst attribute?

Fairbairn: My worst is that I’m a micromanager, and my best attribute is that I like to learn new things.

ADVERTISERS INDEX

3-Tier Alaska ..................................4 9

3tieralaska.com

Ahtna Diversified Holdings, LLC 13 0 aeiak.com

AIDEA 18 8 aidea.org

Airport Equipment Rentals 18 9 airportequipmentrentals.com

Alaska Air Cargo - Alaska Airlines 17 alaskacargo.com

Alaska International Business Center 21 akibc.org

Alaska Mergers & Acquisitions, LLC.... 25

Alaska Miners Association 19 alaskaminers.org

Alaska Native Chamber 16 7 alaskanativechamber.com

Alaska Pacific University 171 alaskapacific.edu

Alaska Permanent Capital Management 10 4 apcm.net

Alaska School Activities Association 61 asaa.org

Alaska Travel Industry Association 159 alaskatia.org

American Heart Association 13 heart.org

Anchorage Chrysler Dodge 13 4 accak.com

Anchorage Convention Centers .........3 3 anchorageconventioncenters.com

Arctic Slope Regional Corporation 6 9 asrc.com

ASTAC - Arctic Slope Telephone Association 113 astac.net

Automated Laundry Systems & Supply ......................... 12 2 autolaundrysystems.com

Avis Rent-A-Car .............................. 15 avisalaska.com

Bering Straits Native Corp ................7 5 beringstraits.com

Bristol Bay Native Corporation ..........71 bbnc.net

Calista Corporation ....................... 10 7 calistacorp.com

Chugach Alaska Corporation ...........4 0 chugach.com

CIRI 10 9 ciri.com

Colville, Inc 13 3 colvilleinc.com

ConocoPhillips Alaska 13 7 alaska.conocophillips.com

Conrad-Houston Insurance Agency 2 5 chialaska.com

Construction Machinery Industrial 2 cmiak.com

Cook Inlet Tug & Barge Inc 111 cookinlettug.com

Copper River Management Company 7 9 copperriverss.com

Cornerstone General Contractors 117 cornerstoneak.com

Craig Taylor Equipment 119 craigtaylorequipment.com

Credit Union 1 ................................8 9 www.cu1.org

Crowley Fuels.................................6 3 crowley.com

Cruz Companies .............................8 3 cruzconstruct.com

Davis Constructors & Engineers Inc 121 davisconstructors.com

Denali Commercial 51 denalicommercial.com

DesertAir Alaska.............................3 9 desertairalaska.com

Design Alaska 117 designalaska.com

Dorsey & Whitney LLP.....................48 dorsey.comlocations/anchorage

Doyon, Limited 171 doyon.com

First National Bank Alaska 5 fnbalaska.com

Fountainhead Development ........... 151 fountainheadhotels.com

Gana-A' Yoo Ltd ............................10 9 ganaayoo.com

GCI................................................. 9 gci.com

Global Credit Union.......................16 5 globalcu.org

Great Northwest Inc........................95 grtnw.com

Great Originals Inc..........................5 5 greatoriginals.com

Greer Tank 113 greertank.com

Hotel Captain Cook 157 captaincook.com

Huna Totem Corporation .................8 5 hunatotem.com

IMA Financial Group 15 5 imacorp.com

Junior Achievement 11 ja-alaska.org

Landye Bennett Blumstein LLP..........47 lbblawyers.com

Lynden 65, 190 lynden.com

Material Flow & Conveyor Systems, Inc................................... 41 materialflow.com

Matson Inc. ................................. 115 matson.com

MTA - Matanuska Telecom Association 7 mtasolutions.com

NANA North 2 5 nana.com

NANA Regional Corp .......................7 3 nana.com

NCB 143 ncb.coop

Nenana Heating Services, Inc 111 nenanaheatingservicesinc.com

Northern Air Cargo ...............180, 181 nac.aero

Northrim Bank ...............................81 northrim.com

Oil Search (Alaska) LLC.......................3 santos.com

Oxford Assaying & Refining Inc ....... 14 9 oxfordmetals.com

PeopleAK ....................................17 3 peopleak.com

PIP Marketing Signs Print.................9 9 pipalaska.com

Port Mackenzie ............................ 17 5 portmackenzie.matsugov.us

Providence Alaska......................... 129 providence.org

Providence Imaging Center ..............9 3 providence.org

Resource Development Council .........31 akrdc.org

Roger Hickel Contracting Inc 92 rogerhickelcontracting.com

Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt, P.C. 16 3 schwabe.com

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