Cooper Landing Gem- June 2022

Monthly Newsletter

June 2022

Cooper Landing Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Center

Dear Members, Happy Summer everyone. Thanks to all who participated in the Regatta. Mother Nature blessed us with a beautiful day to be on the river. A big thank you to Eagle Landing for the delicious barbecue and donation of their facility for the function. Thank you to all the Chamber members who helped with yummy sides, Lisa Sweeney for the gunshot start, Brad and Ann Hansen for timing the race, Alaska Sport Fishing Association for door prize donations, and Sunrise for the announcement party. A great way to start the summer.

The Chamber will not meet until September but we will be working to start on the 2023 Upper Kenai River Guide so start to plan any changes to your current advertisements, we will be sending out membership renewals at that time.

Please consider joining the Chamber Board as we would love to have you join with us to promote Cooper Landing and your business.

Thank you for your membership and support. Have a great summer!

Thank you, Cheryle James & Your Chamber Board

Board Of Directors President Cheryle James Wildman’s 907-290-1213 Vice-President Kindra Leaders Grizzly Ridge 907-202-6377 Treasurer Shirley Wilmoth The Hutch B&B 907-595-1270 Secretary Rose Hetrick Inn at Tern Lake 907-288-3667 Director Shaun Sehl Prospector John’s 907-250-7775

Looking for places in Alaska to explore this summer? Visit the Upper Kenai! Find lodging, places to eat, and things to do in our Upper Kenai Visitors Guide.

View the Guide

Cooper Landing Chamber of Commerce PO Box 809 Cooper Landing, Alaska 99572 info@cooperlandingchamber.com Newsletter Layout & Design by Best Route Productions

Photos Write-up Best Route Productions Photo and by: Best Route by: Productions

T

he 15th Annual Cooper Landing Drift Boat Regatta was a sight to see! There were ten Drift Boat competitors and three Raft River Clean-Up participants.

The weather was beautiful! Spectators, volunteers, and participants all enjoyed a wonderful barbecue lunch at Eagle Landing Resort. Dakota Reeves was busy on the grill making hamburgers and hotdogs for all attendees. Side dishes provided by the Chamber included potato salad, baked beans, chips, and soda. The sun was shining, and people were able to eat while enjoying the festivities in the sun!

As the start time approached, the Drift Boat Competitors hopped into their boats and began to line up across the river in front of Eagle Landing. Promptly at 1:00 pm, volunteer, Lisa Dickinson, initiated the race with the shot gun start.

Competitors pulled up their anchors and took to the oars. They were off!

Right from the get-go, friendly rivalry was in the air as the 2018 champion, Dave Maternowksi and his new racing partner Evan Wilson from Alaska Wildland Adventures (AWA), raced the 2019 defending champions, Tommy Balk and Sean Coe from Drifters. All while the former third placed winners, Russ Farrington and Mike Adams, were hot on their heels. For the first portion of the race these three boats were neck and neck. As competitors raced along, the first team to hit Princess Rapids did so in 11 minutes and 53 seconds!

Behind them in a red drift boat was Scott Lynn and David Bose from Gwin’s Lodge, David Story and Patrick from AWA, and racing for Wildman’s, Will Meni and Kristen Peters with their friend, Mary Kate. Followed by the Sullivan family racing for The Hutch B&B, AWA’s Dillon and Walker, Travis Gravel and Michael Deegan, from Two Brothers, and Shannon Martin with her dad, John Smart.

As teams started passing river mile 83, by Alaska Rivers Company, the heat was on. Drifter’s, Balk and Coe’s boat had taken the lead, but not by much. AWA’s Maternowski and Wilson...

Alaska Wildland Adventures- Dave Maternowski and Evan Wilson push to get ahead of Drifters- Sean Coe and Tommy Balk.

The Sullivan Family pulls ahead of Kristen Peters and Will Meni’s boat near the race start.

June 2022 — 3

were roughly 50 feet behind, with Farrington and Adams edging steadily closer. At this location Gwin’s Lynn and Bose pulled ahead of AWA’s Story and Patrick. Followed

by The Hutch B&B Sullivans, AWA’s Dillion and Walker, Wildman’s Meni and Peters, Two Brother’s Gravel and Deegan, and Martin and Smart.

Following this point, the race placements began to turn. Drifter’s Balk/Coe took a significant lead and arrived at the West bridge into Cooper Landing in 47 minutes and 37 seconds. Followed by AWA’s Maternowski/Wilson, Farrington/Adams, Gwin’s Lynn/Bose, and AWA’s Story/Patrick.

Wildman’s Meni/Peters put in some gusto and passed the Sullivans and AWA’s Dillion/ Walker to gain sixth place. However, Dillion/ Walker were rowing hard to regain the position and passed the Sullivan’s in the process.

Photo by: Best Route Productions

June 5

Nearing the end of the race, Drifter’s Balk/Coe remained in the lead and passed the finish line with a time of one hour and six seconds. Nail biting excitement ensued when AWA’s Maternowski/Wilson and Farrington/ Adams rounded the corner. The two teams were neck and neck and giving it their all to claim second place.

Maternowski/Wilson put in the muscle and passed the finished line a mere hair before Farrington/Adams.

AWA’s Maternowski/Wilson pulls ahead of Farrington/Adams at the last minute.

Gwin’s Lynn/Bose came in fourth, followed by AWA’s Story/Patrick, Wildman’s Meni/Peters, and AWA’s Dillion/Walker. In eighth place, the Sullivan family took a moment to give a rowing lesson to their oldest. Battling for the highly regarded Red Lantern Award was Two Brother’s Gravel/ Deegan, and Martin/Smart. In the end, the award went to Martin/Smart with a time of one hour, thirty-five minutes, and four seconds. Times for all teams can be found in the chart on the following page.

Sullivan family making time to train the next generation of Regatta racers.

Martin/Smart team drifting in to claim the Red Lantern Award.

Photo by: Best Route Productions

Click here to view the Best Route Productions 2022 Regatta Photo Album

June 7

At the end of the day everyone gathered at Sunrise Inn for the award ceremony and prize giveaways. The award for the best costumes went to Wildman’s Meni and Peters. A total of $2,470 was raised for the Kenai River Sportfishing Association. Thank you to all participants, sponsors, and volunteers who contributed to make this a fun-filled and successful event!

1st Tommy Balk and Sean Coe from Drifters win first place in 15th Annual Regatta.

2nd

Dave Maternowski and Evan Wilson

Red Lantern

John Smart and Shannon Martin

3rd

Russ Farrington and Mike Adams

Best Costume

Will Meni

2022 Regatta Champions

1

Photo by: Best Route Productions

st

Tommy Balk & Sean Coe

15th Annual Regatta Race Completion Times Place

Time

Team

1st

1:00.06

Drifters- Tommy Balk and Sean Coe

2nd

1:00.54

Alaska Wildland Adventures- Evan Wilson and Dave Maternowski

3rd

1:01.04

Russ Farrington and Mike Adams

4th

1:09.03

Gwin’s Lodge- Scott Lynn and David Bose

5th

1:09.50

Alaska Wildland Adventures- David Story and Patrick

6th

1:10.26

Wildman’s- Will Meni & Kristen Peters

7th

1:10.47

Alaska Wildland Adventures- Dillion and Walker

8th

1:12.54

The Hutch B&B- The Sullivan Family

9th

1:25.20

Two Brothers Roadhouse- Travis Gravel and Michael Deegan

10th

1:35.04

Shannon Martin and John Smart

June 9

2nd

3rd

th

4

5th

6th

7th

8th

9th

Click here to view the Best Route Productions 2022 Regatta Photo Album

10th

2022 Cooper Landing Regatta

Photo by: Best Route Productions

Thank You to Our Sponsors!

Thank You to Our Volunteers We’d like to extend a big thank you to the volunteers that helped during the Regatta!

A big thank you to Lisa Dickinson for starting the race off with the shotgun start and to Ann and Brad Hanson for keeping the offical time for the racers. Thank you to Eagle Landing Resort for hosting the pre-race Barbecue and to those who donated additonal food dishes. Thank you to Sunrise Inn for hosting the Awards Ceremony and providing snacks for gathering. Also, thank you to the companies who donated prizes for the Raft River Cleanup Participants.

Lastly, thank you the Kenai River Sportfishing Association for your time spent working with the Chamber Board on planning the event, finding door prizes, and for hosting a booth during the pre-race barbecue telling folks about your organization.

Thank you for supporting the Kenai River Sportfishing Association

The Kenai River Sportfishing Association (KRSA) is a professional 501(c)3 charitable nonprofit organization headquartered in Soldotna, AK. KRSA’s original focus was on the Kenai River. We have recently begun expanding our efforts to protect fish and fishing throughout the state.

Text from the KRSA Website

We fund or create programs to protect and/or rehabilitate fish habitat; we fund research on the health of Alaska rivers and other fresh waters and fish populations; we fund or staff programs to educate children, the general public and our government/business leaders on fish and water conservation; and we advocate at the government level for sustainable and equitable fisheries management.

Since 1984, KRSA has been a leading advocate for fisheries conservation in Alaska, working diligently to ensure Alaskans’ recreational fishing rights are protected and the fisheries are healthy for generations to come.

Click Here to Learn More

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26th Annual Champions - Mountain Maddness

Photos and Write-up by: Best Route Productions

Cooper Landing Softball Tournament T

he 26th Annual Cooper Landing Softball Tournament was a fun-filled and exciting event!

It was wonderful to have the community back together again after a two-year break due to covid. The weather was gorgeous and remained sunny for the entire tournament. Eight teams competed for the title of Champion and to house the highly coveted trophy for a year. Each team adds a little something to the trophy when they win and we should all hope that it is something small because that trophy is getting pretty heavy! The tournament saw two new teams—Two Brothers from Two Brothers Roadhouse and Section Eight a team composed of a variety of players from previous teams that decided not to compete this year, Alaska Rivers Company, Grizzly Ridge, and the Over the Hill Gang.

The smallest Swain stands next to the Softball Tournament Trophy. Per tradition, each winning teams adds something to the trophy to symbolize the win each year.

On Thursday, Alaska Wildland Adventures (AWA) versus Alaska River Adventures kickstarted the tournament with a well-played game. AWA’s fan base was on point with signs and AWA gear. The second game was played between the defending champions, MooseAlanche, and Princess.

Friday night saw Bean Creakers against Mountain Maddness and Two Brothers versus Section 8. If there was a prize for best dressed team, it would go to Section 8 for their Hawaiian themed uniforms. There were several well played games throughout the week. However, the first game played between MooseAlanche and Mountain Maddness was the most intense. It took the

record for most home-runs ever placed during one game in tournament history!

Mountain Maddness won the game and went onto the Championship Game from the Winner’s Bracket. MooseAlanche too made it to the Championship Game, only they once again had to play their way through the Loser’s Bracket. They were hoping to defend the Champion Title for the fourth time and it was looking like it could happen when the beat Mountain Maddness in the first game played during the Championship. However, Mountain Maddness had a comeback during the second game and won with a score of three to zero! They wanted that win.

Above: AWA gets the first home run of the season and fans show their support.

• Above: District 8 in Hawaiian Uniforms.

• Top Middle: Bean Creakers in the Dug Out • Lower Middle: Theresa and Glen after keeping score for the Championship game.

The concessions were well attended and were again run by various Cooper Landing non-profit groups.

Several businesses donated delicious specials for the concessions including Gwin’s Clam Chowder, Two Brother’s Pulled Pork, Princess’ Ribs, and The Cookie Lady’s beautiful Softball Cookies. Several businesses and local donated a variety of wonderful items for the silent auction. A big thank you to all of those who donated and all of the volunteers who come together to make the Softball Tournament a success! From the planning, set up, concession, score keeping, umpires, and clean-up it truly takes the entire community to bring this event together—we couldn’t do it without you! Your hard work and dedication is greatly appreciated. Thank you also to all of the teams that participated and a big congratulations to Mountain Maddness for winning the 26th Annual Championship Title!!!

• Above: The current CLCC president passing the trophy to the former CLCC president.

• Below: Deanna and Cody holding up the trophy.

June 2022 — 13

In Loving Memory of Iver Ohnemus Celebrating the Life of Iver Ohnemus (June 24, 1972 - October 20, 2021) Saturday, June 25th at the Cooper Landing Community Hall • 1pm: Memorial Service • 2pm - 8pm-ish: Barbecue Party and Softball Games in Iver’s honor What to Bring: Memories of Iver, your softball glove and a desert to share.

Photo by: Best Route Productions

Bike Cooper Landing Bike Cooper Landing is sending bikes out as the trails dry up and the warm days invite riders to explore the backcountry! We have a “herd” of almost 35 bikes ranging from hardtail, full suspension, to fat tire and eBikes! Our bikes are in top shape and we have even hired a bike expert from Moab to help out! Several locals have inquired about trying out some of our bikes and we would be honored to accommodate you, just give us a call at (907)231-6793 and Mike will set you up for an hour of riding as our guest! We are also offering 5 tours this year in addition to the rentals and bike repairs; Trail of Blue Ice in Portage, Snug Harbor Road to Cooper Lake, the Old Sterling Highway from Tern Lake to Sunrise, Hope Junction to Johnson Pass and the full Johnson Pass Trail. We have all the permits and guides that know the trails and have safety (and fun) as a priority. We now offer online bookings so if you have friends or family looking for something fun and different to do here, check out: www.bikecooperlandingak.com!

Looking forward to a fantastic summer in the Landing!

Mike Amos & Crew

www.bikecooperlandingak.com

Fishing Opens June 11th Get your Fishing License

Contact Us: 907-231-6793 bikecooperlanding@gmail.com www.bikecooperlandingak.com Bike Cooper Landing

Photo by: Best Route Productions

May 2022 — 15

Cooper Landing Gem News Do you have business or organization updates you would like to share with the community?

All Chamber Members are invited to submit updates and information to the monthly newsletter. Contact us for more information.

Contact Us

Happy Birthday 6/3 6/6 6/7 6/9 6/10 6/10 6/11 6/12 6/15 6/18 6/22 6/22 6/24 6/26 6/27

Yvette Galbraith Riley Hemingway Jim Carlson Mona Painter Barb DeMattia Melissa Shirley Karl Romig John Corbey Corey Robinson Geneese Peterson Connie Bensler Brandon Harrison Brad LaRock Lisa Dickinson Ann Hanson

Happy Anniversary 6/10 Richard and Mary Dreifuerst 6/23 Kathy Recken and Nick Vanderhoff

Photo by: Best Route Productions

May 2022 — 16

2022 Cooper Landing Chamber of Commerce & CVB Please support our local businesses!

5 Dogs Fishing

(907) 598-3525

Grizzly Ridge

(907) 595-1260

Alaskan Angling Adventures LLC

(907) 595-3336

Gwin’s Lodge

(907) 595-1266

Alaska Heavenly Lodge

(907) 599-0022

Inn at Tern Lake (Moose Pass)

(907) 288-3667

Alaska Horsemen Lodge

(907) 595-1806

Jason’s Guide Service

(907) 351-3036

Alaska Outdoor Woodstoves

(907) 598-1633

Kahtnu Spirit Lodging

(907) 299-2855

Alaska River Adventures

(907) 595-2000

Kenai Cache Outfitters

(907) 595-1401

Alaska Rivers Company

(907) 595-1226

Kenai Kayak Company

(907) 441-6753

Alaska Troutfitters

(907) 595-1212

Kenai Mountains-Turnagain Arm National Heritage Area

(206) 920-9051

Alaska Waste

(907) 312-6267

KPB Mayor –Charlie Pierce (Soldotna)

(800) 478-4441

Alaska Wildland Adventures

(800) 334-8730

KPBSD Superintendent

(907) 714-8836

Andy’s Artwork

(907) 802-1274

Kenai Peninsula Econ. Dev. Dist.

(907) 283-3335

Angle 45 Adventures (Hope)

(907) 782-3175

Kenai Princess Wilderness Lodge

(907) 595-1425

Bean Creek Gallery

(907) 595-3488

Kenai River Drifters Lodge

(907) 595-5555

Bearfoot Publications

(907)320-1145

Kenai River Float-n-Fish

(907) 519-0048

Best Route Productions

(303) 570-2081

Kenai River Sportfishing Association

(907)262-8588

Bike Cooper Landing, LLC

(907) 231-6793

Kenai River Trout Anglers

(907) 599-0085

Blue Yeti Food Truck

(907) 231-6089

Kenai Watershed Forum

(907) 265-5412

Boatman’s

(907) 202-1004

Mystic Waters Fly Fishing

(509) 715-9697

Camp K on Kenai Lake

(907) 279-3551

Peninsula Axe Throwing

(716) 222-0556

Cooper Landing Brewery

(907) 276-5044

Professional Testing

(907)598-1633

Cooper Landing Community Club

(907) 595-2169

Prospector John’s Pan for Gold

(907) 598-1808

Cooper Landing Community Library

(907) 595-1241

Round Mountain Retreat

(907) 598-1333

Cooper Landing Community School

(907) 595-1244

Salmon Run Lodge

(907) 595-2197

Cooper Landing Emergency Services

(907) 595-1800

Seramur Home Services

(907) 599-0019

Cooper Landing Fish Camp

(907) 595-3474

Sharon Saunders, GRI, Realtor

(928) 706-8901

Cooper Landing Fishing Guide

(907) 599-0126

Sunrise Inn & Café

(907) 595-1222

Cooper Landing Rifle & Sportsman’s Club

(907) 599-0004

Talon Air Service, Inc. (Soldotna)

(907) 262-8899

Cooper Landing Historical Society

(907) 598-1042

The Hutch Bed & Breakfast

(907) 595-1270

Cooper Landing Senior Citizens Corp.

(907) 595-3000

Upper Kenai Cabins

(907) 595-3055

Eagle Landing Resort

(907) 595-1213

Wildman TR Inc.

(907) 595-1456

First National Bank Alaska (Soldotna)

(907) 260-6000

Fish & Sons Kenai Charters

(907) 598-1065

May 2022 — 17

June 2022 Sunday

5

Monday

6

Tuesday

7 CLSCCI Board Mtg. 11:30 am Helen Gwin Commons

12

13

14

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

1

2

3

4

8

9

10

11

15

16

17

Summer Reading Program Cooper Landing Library 12 pm 18

22

23

24

25

CL Advisory Planning Commission Mtg. 6 pm

Flag Day 19

20

21

Iver Ohnemus Celebration of Life 1 pm Community Club

Summer Solstice 26

27

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FISHING OPENS JUNE 11th Find a Guide in our Upper Kenai Visitors Guide

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30 Cooper Landing Library Hours •Tuesday: 1 - 3 pm •Wednesday: 1 - 3 pm •Thursday: 1 - 3 pm 5 - 7pm •Friday: 1 - 3 pm •Saturday: 11am - 2pm Summer Reading Program Saturday’s starting June 11th: 12 - 1pm

Cooper Landing Chamber of Commerce Newsletter Graphics & Design by Best Route Productions