Niitarkat Newsletter

Niitarkat Winter / Spring 2017

Feature Story

Ciuneq, A pathway forward Youth to work! JUST FIX CDQ and more

youth to work

village

voices

The fruits of our earnings

The first group of Ciuneq participants with CVRF and Take Wing staff

Ciuneq, A Pathway to the Future In 2016, we partnered with the Alaska Humanities Forum to develop a new program called Ciuneq.

It is designed to support a holistic pathway to higher education and careers, building on our existing youth development programs, including Youth to Work, internships, and scholarships.

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At Coastal Villages, we are excited to invest in these YOUTH and help them find a successful path to opportunities in the future.�

There are two major goals: (1) help our youth understand the ways they can use education to contribute to their community, and (2) connect them with mentors who can inspire them, and help them find their way.

Ciuneq is available to all 9th grade students in CVRF communities. Selection is based on a formal application process and the youth’s academic performance during their 8th grade school year. In 2016, 39 students from all but one of our 20 communities came to Anchorage to participate.

The first days of the program were dedicated to helping students get to know each other through ice breakers and other fun games.

Afterwards, participants visited college campuses in Anchorage. They saw some of the highlights of what they could expect as college students, and observed several interesting areas of study. At Alaska Pacific University (APU), they met with admissions representatives, toured the campus, and visited the marine-biology lab. Macy Rivers from Scammon Bay said “APU was my favorite activity and it seems like it would be a good school to attend.”

Activities were also planned with elder John Pingayak, who earned his teaching degree from the University of Alaska Fairbanks, and spent his career as an educator at the school in Chevak. John talked to students about moving forward, but not forgetting the past and the culture that they come from—and for many students, his advice made a big impact.

Matthew Stone from Hooper Bay said one thing that he would remember from Ciuneq was talking with John about the past. Megan Paul said, “John told us to respect our elders and ourselves.” The youth also met with peermentors who are current recipients of CVRF’s Louis Bunyan Memorial Scholarship, and pursuing higher education at the University of Alaska, in Fairbanks and Anchorage. They offered advice about how to prepare for college, and talked about why education is important to them.

Ciuneq participants in the AVTEC simulator

Along with the Anchorage activities, a trip to Seward to visit AVTEC was a highlight for many students. At AVTEC Ciuneq participants had the opportunity to see the vocational programs offered in culinary arts, refrigeration, welding, construction, and plumbing and heating. However, the biggest focus of the trip to Seward was spending time with AVTEC’s maritime department.

At the maritime campus, participants met Captain Kari Anderson, who gave a short lecture about what it means to work in the maritime field in Alaska, and drew connections to Coastal Villages, highlighting the jobs available in our Bering Sea fleet.

After the presentation, Captain Kari shared exciting news that the next activity would be sailing a virtual-fishing trawler just like the Coastal Villages’ vessel, Northern Hawk! Working with an AVTEC instructor, participants took turns performing different roles on the bridge of a life-size ship simulator. They learned how to navigate and steer the ship as well as communicate with other crew members and vessels in the area. It was so realistic that some of the participants began to feel sea sick!

bounce at the Get Air trampoline park and seeing a movie at a theatre, giving the participants time to relax and get to know each other. Youth enjoyed their time participating in Ciuneq and learned a lot about what it takes to go to college and the opportunities available to them. Alexie Evan, who skipped 8th grade this year, and is a freshman at the Rocky Mountain School in Goodnews Bay says, “Ciuneq teaches you that you have to work for your education.”

Sierra Fox from Kipnuk said she never realized how important her GPA was, and Wilson Agimuk said, “When I get ready to venture out to college, I won’t forget what I learned at Ciuneq, because I think what I learned will help me succeed.”

At Coastal Villages, we are excited to invest in these youth and help them find a successful path to opportunities in the future. We hope they remember this wisdom from John Pingayak when things get hard, “Always remind yourself: I can succeed, and I can do it.”

The next round of the Ciuneq program will take place in Fall 2017, and high-achieving students from the region will be asked to submit applications beginning in August.

It wasn’t all work for the Ciuneq participants.

Fun evening activities included going to w in te r / s prin g 2 017

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Youth To Work

Our Youth, our future Every summer hundreds of youth in our communities take part in one of our most rewarding programs, Youth to Work! This program gives youth (ages 14-19) the opportunity to earn pay, and gain work experience. Throughout the summer they learn important cultural skills from local experts, perform job shadows and implement community service projects. Youth to Work builds a foundation that we encourage our youth to build upon through our other youth development programs.

Meet Our Featured Youth

Youth to Work employees with Senator Murkowski

The fruits of our earnings

kenyon paul

katherine carter

Kipnuk

Eek

Kenyon Paul, from Kipnuk, recently finished his junior year of high school.

Katherine Carter is from Eek and recently finished her senior year of high school.

2016 was Kenyon’s third year in the YTW program. He says that all youth in the region should take advantage of the program because it provides kids with work experience while learning about Yup’ik culture. During the program, Kenyon and other participants spent time learning how to make items such as sleds, icepicks, and nets.

He also spent time doing community service, by helping elders around town.

2016 was her third year participating in the YTW program, and she says it is useful to her and other youth because it offers a chance to work with professionals and experience their jobs firsthand. Along with the job experience that she gained this past summer, Katherine also worked on her sewing skills, and completed a qaspeq. As an experienced Youth to Work employee, she was a role model to other youth and assisted them with their work.

Kenyon has big plans after he graduates from high school. He would like to attend Job Corps in Palmer, where he wants to study electrical wiring, carpentry, or aviation. In his spare time, Kenyon enjoys playing basketball or video games.

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Katherine says she encourages other youth to not slack off when it comes to school or work, as it will be bad later on and what you do when you are young is important to being successful in your education and your job. After graduation in the spring, she hopes to attend the University of Alaska Anchorage and is considering Biology and dental hygiene.

peter romer Kipnuk

Peter Romer, another of our Youth to Work employees from Kipnuk, recently graduated from high school at Mt. Edgecumbe in Sitka.

Peter has been a longtime participant in the Youth to Work program, and this past summer he was hired in our new position, Team Lead. Peter was excited to have added responsibilities and provide mentorship to younger and less experienced participants.

In his new role, Peter helped the Community Service Representatives, the summer intern, and session leaders, by taking attendance and working with other youth throughout the day. After graduating from high school, Peter plans to attend AVTEC and is interested in studying construction technology, plumbing, or electrical wiring. He also wants to get a commercial driver’s license during his time at AVTEC. Peter says he recommends the YTW program because it’s a great way to gain work experience during the summer.

s o c i a l m e d i a u p d at e s

Social Media Highlights Featured stories include a look at Tuntutuliak Youth to Work employees and their finished products, a featured scholarship recipient, the first ever Ciuneq program participants, and much more.

Social Media Follow us on our Facebook account to see highlights from around our region and our company. Every week you can expect to see highlights which may include community-based or Anchorage employees, scholarship recipients, interns and Youth to Work participants, photos from other programs, and news from our region. Our YouTube account highlights videos about our company and our programs.

@CoastalVillagesRegionFund

youtube.com/user/coastalvillages1

stay connected facebook/coastalvillages

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J UST F IX C D Q

The CVRF board visiting the Capitol

The fruits of our earnings

CVRF Board of Directors Travels to D.C.

In April 2016, the Board of Directors traveled to Washington, D.C. to meet with the Alaska Delegation and discuss the

What is CDQ? The Community Development Quota Program is an Alaska specific initiative, established in federal law by the Magnuson-Stevens Act, with two basic principles:

1.

Create Alaskan ownership in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Island (BSAI) fisheries, and

2.

Achieve sustainable and diversified local economies in western Alaska.

JUST FIX initiative, as well as other issues that are important to Coastal Villages residents. During the trip, the board met with Senator Murkowski, Senator Sullivan, and federal staff involved with the CDQ program.

WHAT IS JUST FIX CDQ? CVRF’s programs would not be possible without the continued earnings in the Bering Sea, in particular the earnings in the Bering Sea pollock fishery. Coastal has been able to generate profit, and provide opportunities like Youth to Work, Ciuneq, and internships—in spite of receiving smaller allocations of Bering Sea fish per resident than the majority of other CDQ groups. We believe that every one of our residents should be treated equitably, and we are committed to getting allocations fixed.

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created in 1992 The CDQ Program was officially created in 1992 with the introduction of a 7.5% allocation of BSAI pollock.

This was eventually raised to 10%, and quota for other species was added as well.

Serving 26,000+ There are 65 communities and 26,000+ residents in the CDQ regions.

$30,000 Lost daily CVRF and NSEDC (collectively home to more than 2/3 of the CDQ population) are each losing about $30,000 a day due to the inequities in the CDQ allocations.

NEWS a n d UPDATES

CVRF in the news A BRIEF LOOK at CVRF stories that have made the news.

Hundreds of Western Alaska Youth employed through Coastal Villages’ Youth to Work Program ...During June and July, 698 young Alaskans from the CVRF region were hired through the YTW program, which has played a vital role in providing opportunities to an area of the state where unemployment runs high and job opportunities are limited. This represents a 23 percent increase in over last year’s YTW program, which employed 569 youth from the region. The program ended in early August, with over $516,000 in wages paid to the 698 individuals who participated... continue reading at: www.deltadiscovery.com/

continue reading at: www.thedutchharborfisherman.com

Coastal Villages Region Fund distributes Elder benefits ...Elders in much of western Alaska are set to receive benefits from the Coastal Villages Region Fund.

Coastal Villages Launches Summer Youth Internship Program

The nonprofit fishing entity, which was created to benefit 20 communities along the Bering Sea coast from Scammon Bay to Platinum, announced Dec. 23 that it would distribute a variety of items to area. Elders age 65 and older...

...This week, Coastal Villages Region Fund (CVRF) is welcoming six new youth interns to its Anchorage headquarters and fourteen interns to CVRF Community Service Centers across Western Alaska.

continue reading at: www.thearcticsounder.com

Since its inception, CVRF’s internship program has offered Western Alaska youth the opportunity to gain work experience and prepare for management careers. Last summer alone, CVRF paid $143,452 to 25 interns in Anchorage and across Western Alaska..... continue reading at: www.akbizmag.com/

Coastal Villages Launches New Education Pathways Program ...Coastal Villages Region Fund has launched a new program designed to give high achieving students in Western Alaska an opportunity to explore educational pathways and careers that will be available to them if they continue to work hard in high school... continue reading at: www.youralaskalink.com w in te r / s prin g 2 017

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i n d u s t ry u p d at e s

CVRF Holds Commemorative Event On September 21, 2016 CVRF hosted a gathering at our Seattle base of operations to commemorate five years of successful Bering Sea fishing. People from all over the CVRF region were invited to attend, as well as representatives from other Y-K Delta entities. The day’s events included a celebration of the unity and collective action that is leading our region toward economic independence, tours of our pollock factory-trawler the Northern Hawk, and the induction of eight people into the CVRF Hall of Fame.

Many remarkable people have worked for CVRF throughout our 18-year history: people whose honesty and hard work have added to the fiber of our organization and whose selfless contributions have uplifted people all across our region. Coastal Villages honored eight of these leaders by inducting them into the CVRF Hall of Fame: Edgar Hoelscher, George Smith, Oscar Evon, Paul Tulik, Mike Coleman, Harald Longvanes, Richard Jung, and Stephen Maxie, Jr. Congratulations to all our 2016 Hall of Fame inductees.

northern Hawk facts Built in Rhode Island in 1981 to work as an oilfield supply vessel, christened the State Trust Converted to a factory-trawler in 1990 in Norway and renamed the F/T Northern Hawk

CVRF 2016 Hall of Fame Inductees Acquired by CVRF in May 2010 341-foot overall length

Mike Coleman

Oscar Evon

Edgar Hoelscher

Record catch: 634 metric tons (1.4 million pounds) on August 23, 2015 Record production: 192 metric tons (423,000 pounds) of frozen product on June 29, 2015

Richard Jung

Harold Longvanes

Stephen Maxie, Jr.

Eight basic types of product are made on board the Northern Hawk: deepskin fillets, pin-bone-out fillets, roe, mince, stomachs, surimi, fishmeal, and fishoil Refrigerated cargo hold capacity is 1,500 metric tons (3.3 million pounds) of packaged and palleted product

George Smith

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Paul Tulik

Max crew complement is 131 persons with six decks housing the pilothouse, crew quarters, trawl deck, factory, cargo holds, and various workrooms

c a p s u p d at e s

CVRF FLEET UPDATES POLLOCK With over five full years of successful operations under Coastal Villages’ control, the 341 foot Northern Hawk, our wholly-owned pollock catcher/processor, completed crew up in January and fished A season until March. The Northern Hawk will head back to the Bering Sea in early June to fish B season.

The products made by the Northern Hawk, including roe, surimi, frozen block products, fish oil, and fish meal, are sold all over the world. The money earned selling these products is used for economic development in CVRF’s 20 member communities.

Several CVRF region residents worked on board the Northern Hawk during 2016— congratulations to all of our Northern Hawk crew for helping to make 2016 another successful year.

Nelson Anaver

Meet Our Featured CVRF Crew Member We would like you to meet Nelson Anaver from Kipnuk, AK, one of our 20 Coastal Villages communities. He started his first processing contract with the Northern Hawk in January of 2016 and has continued to work on the Northern Hawk in subsequent seasons. As a processor, Nelson works in the factory of the Northern Hawk, where he helps process pollock into frozen fillets, surimi, and other products sold by Coastal Alaska Premier Seafoods. Nelson’s hard work and the hard work of all of our Bering Sea crew, allows us to make money that we use to fund programs like People Propel, the Heating Oil Program, and our Community Service Centers.

Thank you Nelson and all of the crew on the Northern Hawk and our other vessels!

PACIFIC COD Coastal Villages’ cod freezer-longliners are working their way through A season, and will be finishing up in May. They will begin their B season in July/August and fish through December. We also have exciting news to report! CVRF recently purchased a trawler that we are converting to a longliner. This new vessel is named the Flicka, and will soon replace the Deep Pacific adding a more efficient boat to our cod fleet.

Our cod boats are an important part of the operations that help fund the many crucial projects, programs, and economic development activities that Coastal Villages performs in its 20 member communities in Western Alaska. Quyana to our longliner crew!

CRAB The Arctic Sea and North Sea had a busy season this past fall/winter fishing king crab and opilio crab. Thank you to all of our hard working crab crew, including three CVRF region residents. We look forward to another successful season.

CVRF Region Residents on Fishing Vessels (2016) Northern Hawk

crab Vessels

Nelson Anaver, Kipnuk Knute Smart, Hooper Bay Jester Bell, Hooper Bay

George John, Toksook Bay Aaron Oscar, Mekoryuk Alden Boyscout, Chevak

Want to work for CVRF? Crabbing

FISHING

Both of CVRF’s crab vessels have up to nine crew members. Before you consider applying for crabbing, we encourage you to talk with other CVRF residents who have been crabbing before. If you are interested in working on a crab boat, contact your local CSR or the CVRF Human Resources office in Anchorage.

If you are a region resident with a strong work ethic, and interested in working aboard the Northern Hawk, or one of our longliners please contact your local CSR or the CVRF Human Resources office in Anchorage.

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OUR COMMUNITIES Coastal Villages’ newsletter, Niitarkat, refers to the sharing of information, and highlights stories about our benefit programs and company operations.

This issue focuses on the youth programs we offer throughout the year.

In this spread, we want to share photos from around our region, illustrating the beauty of our communities, and featuring some of our programs.

The fruits of our earnings

in Newtok k employees Youth to Wor s pleted drum off their com

show

Kipnuk, AK

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Nightmute, AK

Chevak Youth to Work employees with John Pingayak show off their completed net

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program spotlight

internship program Every year Coastal Villages hires interns who work in our communities as well as in the Anchorage office. Last summer we diversified the program by offering a new position, giving experienced interns a chance to expand their role and gather more advanced work skills. In addition, we collaborated with an Anchorage-based partner to offer internships in shop-services. Interns collectively earned more than $100,000 over the summer.

2016 Anchorage Interns

Meet Our Featured Interns

JOrdan kashatok

Allen abraham

Newtok

Chefornak

Jordan Kashatok, from Newtok, was one of our interns working in CVRF’s Anchorage office. She began her freshman year at the University of Alaska Fairbanks in the fall semester of 2016. Jordan is going into general studies during her first year, to decide what she wants to pursue later on. As part of her internship Jordan worked with the accounting department. Some of her daily tasks included: supporting a major process-improvement initiative, reviewing sales and cash batches, scanning and filing documents, and various tasks her supervisors needed help with. Jordan recommends participating in the internship program because interns learn a lot in the field they work in, along with getting general work experience.

Coastal Villages thanks Jordan, and wishes her luck in her future endeavors!

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Allen Abraham was one of our interns in Chefornak. 2016 was his first summer working with CVRF. Allen says it is a great opportunity for recent high school graduates and college students to see what the company does, while being able to gain experience and help their community.

As a community intern, his main tasks included working in the Community Service Center and helping the CSRs. He also supported the YTW kids during their program. He says the internship is enjoyable, and working with the youth is beneficial as he has fun learning alongside them. He is currently taking online courses at the University of Alaska Anchorage and plans to earn a bachelor’s degree in elementary education. He wants to teach in the Lower Kuskokwim School District – a goal that came from his father, who was also a certified teacher. He wants to remind readers and students alike that nothing is impossible. If one puts their mind to it, Allen says, they are able to achieve any goal despite going through tough times. Coastal Villages thanks Allen for his hard work and his dedication to serving youth in his community!

P r o g r a m u p d at e s

People Propel® The People Propel® Program, first launched in 2013, offers residents a substantial percent matching contribution towards the purchase of products such as safety gear, ATVs, snowmachines, boats, outboards, and nets. In many cases, it also leverages CVRF’s institutional buying power to achieve an even greater value. New for the second round of the 2016 program were high quality energy efficient appliances including freezers and refrigerators, composting toilets, and renewable energy products including wind turbines! Since 2013, People Propel has helped 1,297 residents purchase over $13 million worth of equipment.

People Propel ® helps lower the cost of equipment critical to village life, in our 20 communities

Pollock Provides® Elder Program As described by Community Service Manager Deloras Lozano, our Elder Program “provides benefits to our local elders and recognizes that their voices and needs are important.” The program is available to CVRF residents 65 years and older, and is designed to help them address the high cost of living in our communities. The 2016 program gave elders a choice between a custom-designed meat package from Costco, two 30-gallon drums of heating oil, or a high quality winter parka. Using our relationships with our vendors to purchase items in bulk, CVRF can purchase many products at wholesale prices. This allowed us to substantially increase the value of the 2016 Elder Program’s $325,000 budget.

Mechanic/Welders delivering meat packages

Pollock Provides® Heating Oil Every winter the temperatures drop across our region, and our residents must heat their homes. To help meet the high energy costs, Coastal Villages offers heating assistance to heads of household in our region. The 2017 Heating Oil Program allocated a $400,000 budget equally amongst heads of household throughout our communities, who each received 26 gallons of heating oil and a 30 gallon drum.

Anchorage Staff with custom heating oil barrels.

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TALENT l e t t e r

Gwendolyn Andrew Program Coordinator

Being able to go to college debt free has been a huge blessing.

Without the assistance I got from scholarships and mutual support from my family, I too, may have dropped out.”

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Gwendolyn Andrew is from the CVRF member village of Quinhagak. Gwen is 29 years old.

She graduated with the class of 2005 from Kuinerrarmiut Elitnaurviat in Quinhagak. She received her Associate of Arts degree in General Studies in December 2013 from University of Alaska Fairbanks. In May, she graduated from the University of Alaska Anchorage with her Bachelor’s in Business Administration, and a major in Accounting.

“Growing up I always knew I wanted to help the people of the YK Delta, but I wasn’t always sure how my path would take me there. I knew I wanted to go to college and it would be a major step towards achieving my goals, so I attended UAF. I’ve seen many of my peers begin college and drop out because either life happened or most often, classes were too expensive. Fortunately, I had heard about the Louis Bunyan Memorial Scholarship from my older sister and many high school teachers. Being able to go to college debt free has been a huge blessing. Without the assistance I got from scholarships and mutual support from my family, I too, may have dropped out.

The fruits of our earnings

In 2015, I continued pursuing my goal of serving the people living in the Coastal Villages region by accepting an internship position in the human resources department at CVRF’s Anchorage office. After the program ended, I was hired as a part-time HR Assistant, while still attending college at the same time. Coastal Villages has given me the opportunity to work in different areas of the company. I have worked extensively with the Youth to Work program, as well as the Designated Fund, and many of the other programs that help our residents.

I believe the work I do makes a difference.

I have benefited from the internship program and the scholarship program, and through my work have seen the positive impacts that our education programs are making.

There are so many needs in the villages that need to be met, but too often, they aren’t.

I believe that our programs are creating inspiration for youth to become effective leaders in their communities and continue to work for the betterment of the region.

Remember to dream big! The challenges we face along the way only make us stronger.

It doesn’t matter where we come from, or where we go to school, but rather where we want to be and what we strive to achieve.”

We are proud to have Gwen working for us, her success as a scholarship recipient and an intern has given her a valuable set of skills that she uses to serve our residents.This summer Gwen took a position working as a program coordinator focusing on youth programs.

C VR F B o a r d R e p o r t

CVRF Board Report In 2016 the CVRF Board of Directors held its annual, year-end meeting from December 6-7 in Anchorage. On the first day of proceedings, the Community Service Representative team and Anchorage-based staff joined the board for reports on the major 2016 programs and initiatives, including Youth to Work, People PropelŽ, the Heating Oil Program, and the new Ciuneq program. Following that, the board discussed the company’s 2016 financial progress, and operations in the Bering Sea. With 2016 achievements in mind, the meeting culminated with discussion of long-term goals for continued profitability in the Bering Sea, to support new and continued investments in economic opportunity throughout our region.

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PRESORTED STANDARD U.S. POSTAGE

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ANCHORAGE, AK PERMIT NO. XX

711 H St. #200 Anchorage, AK 99501

mail area

The fruits of our earnings

join our team We are always looking for motivated individuals to join our team at Coastal Villages!

We’re Hiring If you want to find a great career that provides for you and your family and gives you the opportunity to serve the residents in our region we encourage you to visit our job site.

Job opportunities with Coastal Villages include working in our region as a Community Service Representative, career development with our Youth to Work and intern programs, and working with Coastal Alaska Premier Seafoods on our Bering Sea fleet.

CVRF Residency Verification There are over 9,200 people who reside in CVRF’s 20 villages and who therefore are eligible to participate in CVRF’s programs. Since 2013, we have used a uniform standard for CVRF verification of residency that is based on the Alaska PFD standard.

Residency verification is now a necessary component of the application process for participation in CVRF programs like scholarships, internships, People Propel®, the Elder and Heating Oil programs, and other CVRF activities.

Please visit our job site at: www.coastalvillages.org/careers/job-listings Or visit our Facebook recruiting page at: www.facebook.com/CoastalVillagesRegionFund

For more information visit: workfishhope.coastalvillages.org