Issuu

LEGAL ELITE | SMALL BUSINESS | COOPER L ANDING BYPASS SEPTEMBER 2026

WHITTIER A Critical Gateway for Alaska Industries

1 | September 2026

Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com

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CONTENTS SEPTEMBER 2026 | VOLUME 42 | NUMBER 9 | AKBIZMAG.COM

16 TRANSPORTATION

Mapping Whittier's Future

Waterfront and road improvements for tourists and locals

Cit y of Whit tier

Valerie Jaimes

Christi Foist

By Vanessa Orr

10 ENVIRONMENTAL Hazardous Materials Response and Planning

Readiness begins before an incident

22 INFRASTRUCTURE

54 TELECOM & TECH

86 LEADERSHIP

A bridge, a bypass, and a new chapter for Cooper Landing

AI tools for customer service

By Lincoln Garrick

Shaping History By Rindi White

By Tracy Barbour

A Front Desk That Never Sleeps By Tracy Barbour

Doing Good by Being Good: Corruption

HIGHLIGHTS 8 FROM THE EDITOR 90 THE FOCUSED MANAGER 4 | September 2026

94 INSIDE ALASKA BUSINESS 96 RIGHT MOVES

98 ALASKA TRENDS 100 OFF THE CUFF

Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com

BUILDING ALASKA TOGETHER First National understands the unique challenges of doing business in Alaska. Facing tight deadlines and remote locations, you need a bank that moves as quickly as you do — one that is responsive, reliable, and able to make decisions locally. Let’s work together to build Alaska’s future, one project at a time.

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CONTENTS SEPTEMBER 2026 | VOLUME 42 | NUMBER 9 | AKBIZMAG.COM

S P EC I A L S EC T I O N : L EG A L 28 LEGAL ELITE

Peer-nominated attorneys celebrated for their skill and impact within Alaska’s legal community

40 PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT

44 AIR AND SEA SPECIALTY

50 GO NORTH, YOUNG LAWYER

By Christi Foist

By Terri Marshall

By Rachael Kvapil

How top-ranked law firms achieve excellence

Aviation, maritime, and transportation law in Alaska

Recruiting the next generation of Alaska attorneys

S P EC I A L S EC T I O N : S M A L L B U S I N E S S 78 COTTAGE CHEERS

70 PRIVILEGES OF MEMBERSHIP

Homemade food sellers welcome relaxed regulations

Businesses sustained by subscriptions

By Amy Newman

By Scott Rhode

82 THRIVING ON DECAY

Fungus farmers test different ways to grow

Alopex | Arc tic Fair ways

By Jamey Bradbury

Brandy Nelson

62 IN THE VALLEY OF LUXURY Mat-Su growth draws higher-end recreation options By Rindi White

ABOUT THE COVER Whittier is “The Gateway to Prince William Sound” in more than one way. As City Manager Jackie C. Wilde puts it, within a roughly two-mile stretch the city has cruise ships, ferries, boats, airplanes, helicopters, trains, and freight. This summer Whittier’s population of less than 300 is expected to host approximately 700,000 visitors. Not to worry: Whittier has extensive plans to improve transportation and ensure the safety of residents and visitors alike. Read all about it in “Mapping Whittier’s Future.” Photography by Kerr y Tasker

6 | September 2026

Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com

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Alaska Business

September 2026 | 7

FROM THE EDITOR VOLUME 42, #9

September is only a shoulder season for tourism; for business conventions and conferences, late August (featuring the Alaska Oil & Gas Association’s

EDITORIAL Tasha Anderson, Managing Editor

annual convention) ushers in a plethora of B2B gatherings, a corporate-minded

Scott Rhode, Senior Editor

season of networking, keynote speakers, and decent-to-really-good lunches

Rindi White, Associate Editor

(our own Top 49ers Luncheon, taking place October 1, is of course fantastic).

Emily Olsen, Editorial Assistant

Late this month Anchorage is hosting (at least) two AI conventions: the AI in Alaska Leadership Summit and the UA Statewide AI Symposium.

PRODUCTION Monica Sterchi-Lowman, Art Director Fulvia Caldei Lowe, Production Manager Patricia Morales, Visual Content Designer

The AI in Alaska Leadership Summit wants to prep attendees with concrete information. As the organizers put it, “Rather than focusing on theory, AI in Alaska is built around real-world application. Sessions will cover responsible governance and ethics, organizational readiness, and practical AI use.”

BUSINESS

The three-day UA Statewide AI Symposium has three areas of focus: all of

Billie Martin, President Jason Martin, VP & General Manager James Barnhill, Accounting Manager

day one is statewide programming on “what artificial intelligence means for Alaska”; day two is geared toward what AI means for the University of Alaska system; and day three comprises a strategy session for the statewide AI advisory council.

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

Weston Giliam, Account Manager 907-257-2911 | weston@akbizmag.com

There could be another twenty AI conferences this year and there would still be topics to cover and specific audiences to engage with. AI will have the same effect on business operations as the internet did. Does everyone have

Joshua Wilks, Account Manager

to engage? No. But for that matter, there are still small businesses around the

907-257-2917 | jwilks@akbizmag.com

state that don’t have, want, or need a website or social media or—for a hardy

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

handful—even an email address. But the many ways that AI tools can be applied to ease corporate pain

CONTACT

points, and at a rational price point, is unprecedented. Not all jobs, not all

akbizmag.com | 907-276-4373

tasks, and not all processes are suited for AI—but many are. In this issue

Press releases: press@akbizmag.com Billing: accounts@akbizmag.com Subscriptions: circulation@akbizmag.com

we feature an article on AI in customer service that clearly emphasizes that replacing people with AI in customer service is a recipe for disaster; using AI to streamline customer service activities is a game changer.

alaska-business-monthly

Good luck, everyone, as we all try to walk the line.

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Alaska Business (ISSN 8756-4092) is published monthly by Alaska Business Publishing Co., Inc. 501 W. Northern Lights Boulevard, Suite 100, Anchorage, Alaska

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Telephone:

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Tasha Anderson Managing Editor, Alaska Business

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E N V I R O N M E N TA L Judy Patrick | Republic Ser vices

Hazardous Materials Response and Planning Readiness begins before an incident By Tracy Barbour

include

authorities and co-managing the

transport, or use hazardous

flammable products, such as gasoline

statewide response infrastructure

materials—commonly known

and propane; corrosives, such as

through specialized local and regional

as hazmat—the most important

strong acids; toxic substances like

partnerships.

response

pesticides and industrial chemicals;

Preparedness and Response Program

made long before a spill, leak,

reactive

is strategically structured across four

or accident happens.

and

ra d i o a c t i v e

used

companies

decisions

that

are

store,

often

“Mobilizing response resources in

Hazardous

materials

explosive

medical

materials;

substances or

industrial

DEC’s

Prevention

geographic

regions.

our

geographically—across

work

“Organizing

Alaska presents unique challenges due

settings. In business operations,

Southeast, Central, Northern, and

to limited road access, reliance on air

these

Western

and marine transport, extreme weather

bulk tanks, drums, laboratories,

specialize in the specific needs of each

conditions, and the need to transport

maintenance shops, construction

region, such as staff with experience in

and stage specialized equipment in

sites, transportation fleets, or legacy

vessel operations for Western Alaska

remote areas,” says Matt Melton,

properties being redeveloped.

and oil exploration and production

Alaska general manager at Republic

The

materials

Alaska

may

appear

Alaska—allows

staff

in Northern Alaska,” says DEC Acting

Conservation

Director of Spill Prevention and

Department

Services. “These factors can impact

Environmental

timing, safety, and overall logistics,

(DEC) organizes spill prevention,

particularly when disposal capacity for

preparedness, and response oversight,

According to Melton, Alaska’s most

certain waste streams is limited.”

working in tandem with federal

common and significant hazmat

10 | September 2026

Response Graham Wood.

Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com

incidents include fuel and petroleum

spills are generally managed through

making,

and

ultimately

reduces

spills from transportation

Unified Command. According

downtime, liability, and environmental

impact for our customers.” he notes.

bulk

storage

facility

DEC,

that

command

often

incidents; weather-related

structure

includes

In case of an incident, the first step

impacts

the responsible party; DEC;

is immediate notification of local

areas;

the US Coast Guard or US

emergency management services,

industrial chemical releases;

Environmental Protection

police, fire, medical teams, and the

remote-site events involving

Agency, depending on the

response contractor, so they are aware

location; and a local or

of the situation. The next steps are

tribal representative from

scene control, protecting responders

uncovered

impacted or potentially impacted

and the public, conducting a rapid

construction,

communities. Wood notes, “This

hazard assessment, containing the

or development. “These incidents

structure is designed to ensure “that

release to prevent migration through

are

the appropriate partners are engaged

air, soil, or water, coordinating with

during emergency response.”

local authorities, and deploying trained

and

residential

commercial

established

facilities

construction activity; and legacy

contamination

during

excavation,

often

made

Graham Wood

Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation

difficult

by limited transportation access and the fact that they frequently

Pre-incident planning plays a critical

response teams with specialized

occur in remote, environmentally

role in improving response outcomes

equipment. “The first few hours are

sensitive areas,” he says.

by identifying potential risks in

critical and should focus on safety,

advance, establishing communication

stabilization,

Response Mobilization Planning

and coordination protocols, and pre-

protection,” Melton notes.

selecting response, transportation,

Iain Miller, emergency services

Alaska’s oil and hazmat response

and disposal options, Melton says.

manager for the Fairbanks North

Incident

“This preparation enables faster

Star Borough (FNSB), says life safety

Command System, and significant

mobilization, more informed decision-

comes first. People must be moved

community

uses

the

and

environmental

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Alaska Business

September 2026 | 11

away from the hazard and protected before responders turn their attention to the material itself. Whenever

Practical

experience

matters

together ahead of time, maintaining

because Alaska responders must often

relationships,

decide quickly whether a situation

unexpected events before they occur.

and

planning

for

possible, responders prefer

can be handled locally or

a defensive strategy: isolate

requires regional, state,

the release, keep it from

federal, military, or private-

spreading, and allow the

sector support. The final

A good hazmat plan involves

responsible

party

and

decision depends on the

knowing what’s on site, where it’s

specialists

manage

size and nature of the

stored, who has authority to act,

cleanup. Some incidents,

incident. Miller explains, “A

which responders and regulators must

h ow ev e r,

major pipeline issue would

be contacted, and how a company

likely require larger regional

will keep people, property, and the

which trained responders enter the

or state support, while something

environment safe during the first

hazard area to stop or contain a leak.

like a rolled-over highway cargo tank

critical hours of an incident.

“There are lots of different tactics, lots

may be manageable locally with

of different tasks we can do to make it

fire departments, the hazmat team,

developers,

safer,” Miller says.

emergency management, and DEC.”

also means understanding what

re q u i re

aggressive intervention, in

Iain Miller

Fairbank s Nor th Star Borough

Responders

Local Expertise, Statewide Reach

must

Defining Contamination to Reduce Risk

For

owners,

operators,

hazmat

and

planning

recognize

contamination may already exist. Early

early when they need more help

contaminant investigation helps avoid

to resolve an incident. In most

surprise costs, reduce uncertainty,

Hazardous

of the state, help from

and prevent exposure risks,

Materials Response Team after railcar

Anchorage, Southcentral,

says Chris Darrah, who

incidents in the ‘80s, and it later

or military resources can

has worked primarily in

became part of Alaska’s statewide

be hours away. In many

the field of contaminated

Level A hazmat response capability

cases, responders cannot

site

after the state recognized a gap

simply wait for additional

remediation since 1992.

in advanced response resources,

resources because delays

“Delineating the nature

according to Tyler Bones, chief of the

can allow a release to

and extent of contamination

FNSB Hazardous Materials Response

spread.

Team. Today, the team commonly

have to figure out a way to make it

and timely response,” says Darrah, vice

responds to propane, diesel, gasoline,

happen because the longer we wait

president, Alaska Region manager,

suspicious

on a release, the worse it’s going

and Fairbanks office manager at

to get,” Miller says.

Shannon & Wilson, an engineering

FNSB

formed

its

packages,

powders,

drug labs, transportation spills, rail

“Sometimes

Chris Darrah

Shannon & Wilson

assessment

and

early is critical to an effective

Fortunately, the Fairbanks hazmat

and environmental consulting firm.

A key advantage of the borough’s

team rarely faces large-scale, high-risk

“Knowing what type of contamination is

hazmat team model is that it is

releases. But it stands ready. Alaska’s

present, what media are impacted, and

volunteer-based

and

emergency-response community is

how far the contamination has spread

members

varied

relatively close-knit, which

are all essential to understanding

backgrounds and expertise,

enhances

who is at risk of exposure to that

including practical industrial

hazmat

contamination. It is this exposure

and equipment experience.

response system, Bones

risk—defined using a process called

“We have heavy equipment

says. This helps DEC, local

a Conceptual Site Model—that is the

operators that can jump in

responders, and industry

main driver of remediation decisions.”

an excavator and do a job

partners

incidents, and unusual hazards.

with

draws

or jump in a dump truck,”

Tyler Bones

Fairbank s Nor th Star Borough

the

coordination

state’s

work

together

Failing to define contamination

smoothly

during

can create new problems, Darrah

hazmat response incidents.

says. For instance, if contaminated

one of the strengths we get by having

Ultimately, effective local coordination

soil is excavated and reused as fill

a volunteer system.”

comes from bringing the right people

somewhere else, a company may

Bones says. “I think that’s

12 | September 2026

Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com

unintentionally

create

second

contaminated site. If a leaking tank remains in service or a floor drain continues to send oily water into soil

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DEC encourages businesses that handle oil and hazardous substances to post a spill-reporting placard in a visible location and to use secondary containment for tanks, drums, and other containers. The agency also stresses

everyday

housekeeping.

“Keeping your business clean and tidy with good operational practices saves

money

and

can

prevent

small spills from becoming a big issue,” Wood explains.

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September 2026 | 13

From DC to DEC Alaska started 2026 unable to administer its own hazardous waste program, but that changed in late July. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) granted Alaska final authorization to administer the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Subtitle C hazardous waste management program. Alaska became the first state in more than twenty-five years to receive such approval. The only state left without its own authorized hazardous waste management program is Iowa, which has chosen to defer to the EPA. The program establishes requirements governing the generation, transportation, treatment, storage, and disposal of hazardous waste. The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) assumes responsibility for many day-to-day program functions, including permitting, inspections, compliance assistance, and enforcement. EPA continues federal oversight and retains authority under federal law. Alaska lacked its own regulatory framework until this year, when DEC finally applied to EPA to take over the regulatory reins. Final approval gives DEC direct authority to permit and oversee treatment, storage, and disposal facilities within state borders.

Lower 48. This makes early hazmat

protecting

people,

characterization and documentation

and

environment

essential—especially when a response

compliant management.”

through

site is remote or weather challenged. To help navigate these issues,

Testing Readiness

Republic Services deploys an integrated

Ideally, business leaders should

approach to hazmat response. The

treat hazmat readiness as a strategic

process includes emergency response,

function.

containment, waste characterization,

response plans need to be tested.

profiling, transportation logistics,

Alaska’s response community, for

treatment, recycling or disposal at

example, routinely uses spill response

permitted facilities, and regulatory

exercises to practice tactics, test

documentation.

approach

equipment, and demonstrate that

reduces complexity, risk, and downtime

regulated industry is prepared for

for our customers,” Melton says.

large or significant spills. DEC also

“This

When a spill or accident happens,

doing

so,

hazmat

conducts lessons-learned debriefs

the company’s trained response teams

after

use a combination of vacuum trucks,

exercises, using trends to set training

drums, and containers for liquids and

and program priorities.

significant

responses

and

solids, along with absorbents, manual

Recent improvements have included

labor, and heavy equipment like

better exercise planning, online

excavators and loaders to safely collect

scheduling, earlier notification of

contaminated materials and prevent

industry-led exercises, and more

further spread. Then they evaluate

effective

and route the collected materials to

“Using exercises to improve virtual

the appropriate treatment or disposal

participation will also improve the

path based on their composition and

early hours of a response to a real

regulatory requirements.

incident

“Whenever

possible,

waste

managed in-state: petroleum- and PFAS-impacted soils are transported

virtual

where

participation.

the

interagency

response team is likely to not yet be co-located,” Wood says. For business leaders, exercises

to the Moose Creek Facility near

can

Fairbanks for thermal treatment

compliance reviews may overlook,

(heat-based processing), while liquids

including outdated contacts, unclear

and mixed wastes are handled at the

authority,

Viking [Drive] facility in Anchorage,

untested communications, unrealistic

where they are separated, recycled,

transportation

or stabilized through processes like

uncertainty about who can authorize

solidification,” Melton says.

spending. They also help businesses

And the rest? Melton explains,

reveal

facility

treated

Alaska

missing

that

spill

routine

supplies,

assumptions,

and

personnel,

responders,

properly

regulators, contractors, and community

packaged, documented, and shipped

representatives before a crisis requires

Services

them to work together. Miller says, “The

facilities in the Lower 48, such

more communities, industries, and the

as Grand View, Idaho and Beatty,

public do up front to prevent incidents

Nevada.

and prepare for them, the better

permitted

This

are

gaps

build important relationships among

“Materials that cannot be safely

Republic

approach

ensures

spills are cleaned up efficiently while 14 | September 2026

the

communities,

everyone will be protected.”

Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com

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Alaska Business

September 2026 | 15

T R A N S P O R TAT I O N

Mapping Whittier's Future

Waterfront and road improvements for tourists and locals By Vanessa Orr

hat happens when a

Alaska Railroad Corporation (ARRC)

Creek

city with fewer than

also has its own Whittier Terminal

Chugach Glacier Gateway Terminal

300 residents becomes

Master Plan. City Manager Jackie C.

a major freight and tourism hub,

Wilde says that the city has worked

Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania

despite being accessible only by boat,

closely with ARRC and the Alaska

Cruises, and Regent Seven Seas

plane, or a one-lane highway/railroad

Department of Transportation and

Cruises. The building, which doubles

tunnel managed on a strict schedule?

Public Facilities (DOT&PF) to ensure

as an off-season community center,

If you’re in the City of Whittier,

these planning efforts complement

occupies a development zone on

one another.

the outskirts of Whittier Airport,

you get busy. The city has two

Development,

accommodate

developed

ships

from

separate transportation planning

“In a town of 273 people, we have

efforts underway, including a safety

cruise ships, ferries, boats, airplanes,

action plan under the federal Safe

helicopters,

freight

Whittier is also nearing completion

Streets and Roads for All initiative,

coming in, all in a roughly two-mile

of its Small Boat Harbor Phase III

which focuses on improving safety

stretch,” says Wilde. “The question

Replacement

for pedestrians, cyclists, motorists,

then becomes, how does a city that

by approximately $4.5 million in

and emergency responders. The

was not designed to expect 700,000

state grant funding and up to $4.5

second is Whittier Moves, the city’s

visitors a year keep all of these

million through the Alaska Municipal

transportation master plan, which

people safe?”

Bond Bank. The project includes

trains,

and

near the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel portal.

Project,

supported

new harbor floats, utility upgrades,

serves as the long-term roadmap

electrical

These plans are designed to work in

Current and Upcoming Projects

conjunction with the city’s Waterfront

Some waterfront improvements

“Like

for growth.

improvements,

and

modernized moorage facilities. many

the

c i t y ’s

and Economic Development Plan,

have

infrastructure projects, the harbor

which encompasses the area from the

2025, Huna Totem Corporation,

replacement has been completed in

dock on Passage Canal to the airport

Norwegian

phases, allowing Whittier to leverage

at the head of that waterway. The

Cruise Line Holdings and Glacier

outside funding while modernizing

16 | September 2026

already

partnership

taken with

place:

Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com

Cit y of Whit tier

essential public infrastructure and

near capacity, the city decided that

Southcentral.

minimizing the financial impact on

instead of taking on each project

project is about preserving that role

local taxpayers,” says Wilde.

piecemeal, it would look at these

by replacing aging infrastructure,

This July, the City of Whittier

issues holistically. For example, after

improving safety and reliability,

and ARRC finalized the transfer of

receiving federal funding to start

and ensuring the dock continues

approximately 100 acres of central

abatement on the infamous ghostly

and waterfront land, which was

Cold War relic—the Buckner Building

emergency response, and military

owned by the railroad. The Alaska

and the brownfields around it—the

operations for decades to come,”

Legislature allowed the city to buy the

city will use concrete rubble from the

says Wilde.

land from the state-owned railroad

demolition as fill on the DeLong Dock

Whittier is currently using a $4.1

at fair market value (estimated

replacement and the Shotgun Cove

million grant to fund the design

near $4.9 million) to gain local

Road Extension.

portion of the dock, which is being

support

“The

replacement

commercial

freight,

“By tying these projects together,

overseen by Solstice Engineering

“This first phase of the city’s land

it not only reduces the amounts of

and CRW Engineering Group, and the

purchase and transfer agreement

debris that needs to be taken out of

city is seeking construction funding.

with the railroad includes a little

Whittier but reduces disposal costs,

A study in 2018 estimated that a

more than 9 acres of waterfront

lowers future construction expenses,

replacement dock would cost about

property and approximately 38

and maximizes the value of taxpayer

$47 million.

acres in the core of Whittier,” says

investments,” says Wilde.

control over development.

The Shotgun Cove Road Extension project will enable Whittier to access

Wilde. “This acquisition creates

Critical Gateway

federal and state lands, expanding

public

The DeLong Dock is one of Alaska’s

opportunities for residential and

infrastructure, and other long-term

most important freight facilities,

commercial development on the

community needs.”

serving as a critical gateway for

400 acres the city owns adjacent to

the

new opportunities for housing, economic

Because

development,

W h i t t i e r ’s

ex i s t i n g

transportation infrastructure is at or www.akbizmag.com

movement

equipment,

and

goods,

fuel,

the road. The project creates a two‐

supplies

into

lane gravel road from the end of the

Alaska Business

September 2026 | 17

Shotgun Cove Road starts near the crumbling Buckner Building and ends 2 miles away, halfway up a spit of land east of Whittier proper. Extending the road for a third mile opens 400 acres of city land for homes and businesses.

existing road to US Forest Service

Cit y of Whit tier

Trinity Point is fully designed and

land at Trinity Point. “This year, we’re completing the next phase of Shotgun Cove Road, extending the roadway from Mile 2 to Mile 3,” says Wilde, noting that the remaining segment to permitted, positioning the city to move forward as funding becomes available. “We’ve intentionally built this project in phases so we can advance construction every time we secure additional funding,” she adds. “The vision for extending Shotgun Cove Road dates back more than forty years, while the current federally funded extension project has been in development since 2017.”

Creating a Stronger Future Whittier is famous for being a city in one building. Most of the population dwells within the fourteen-story Begich Towers, built as US Army Corps of Engineers housing in 1957. It dominates the skyline along with its vacant predecessor, the Buckner Building, left to rot since 1966. Abatement of the moldering hulk has been a long time coming. “ The

Buckner

Building

has

been one of Whittier ’s biggest challenges for decades. This project is about protecting public safety, preserving our environment, and responsibly

addressing

one

Alaska’s largest abandoned military structures,” says Wilde, adding that the building contains hazardous materials

that

require

careful

environmental remediation before demolition can occur. The city recently received an $800,000 grant for the Buckner Building 18 | September 2026

Brownfield

Assessment

Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com

every

create opportunities not only for

combined

project we pursue is ultimately

today’s residents but for future

federal grants and congressionally

about creating a stronger future

generations as well.”

directed

for the people who call Whittier

and

planned

with

demolition

million

spending

secured

will

network,

Rehabbing the Railroad Tunnel

home,” says Wilde. “By aggressively

Senator Lisa Murkowski. NORTECH

transportation

lead

the

pursuing

grants

and

outside

funding, we’re able to invest in

In April 2026, ARRC received $20.4

remediation

housing, infrastructure, public safety,

million to upgrade the Portage

planning for the project, which is

and community amenities while

Tunnel

estimated to cost approximately

minimizing the financial impact on

connecting the mainline tracks to

$48 million. Where feasible and

our local taxpayers. These projects

the toll plaza in Bear Valley, where

engineering, assessment,

environmental and

beneath

Begich

Peak,

environmentally appropriate, the city plans to repurpose salvaged concrete as aggregate for future infrastructure projects. The city has also started clearing trees for the $3.25 million Well Field

Replacement

Project

will

re p l a c e

water

infrastructure,

that

eighty-year-old improving

community water pressure and

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supply reliability. The construction includes new well pumps, piping, valves, controls, and well building to service Whittier’s residents, harbor operations, businesses, fisheries, and the hundreds of thousands of visitors who come through Whittier each year. While the Chugach Glacier Gateway Terminal is the city’s newest portal for cruise ship passengers, Whittier has an existing facility that’s due for

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an upgrade. The Whittier Cruise Ship Terminal Electrification Project is a partnership of the State of Alaska, Chugach Electric Association, and Carnival

Corporation

enable

ships to shut down their engines and hook up to the local power grid. The project will contribute to Carnival Corporation’s goal of netzero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Terminal electrification began in 2023, and it’s slated for completion next year. “While these investments certainly benefit

tourism

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road traffic converges through the

NAVAL SALUTE The multipurpose design of Chugach Glacier Gateway Terminal accommodates onshore events in Whittier after the visitor season

Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel. These funds were part of the $115.4 million in federal grants the state received through the US Department of Transportation’s Port Infrastructure Development Program. “The tunnel was built in a hurry

winds down. Plus, as a deepwater dock with a floating pier, it’s perfect

during World War II, and like

for celebrations of a more nautical nature.

anything that’s eighty years old, it

This fall, Whittier welcomes the US Navy for the commissioning

needs some rehabilitation,” says

of USS Ted Stevens, an Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer

ARRC Vice President and Chief

named for the late former US senator.

Engineer Brian Lindamood.

According to Cherie Curry, board president of the USS Ted

Rehabilitation of the mile-long

Stevens Commissioning Committee, ship commander Captain Mary

Portage Tunnel will include cleaning,

Katey Hays selected Chugach Glacier Gateway Terminal for the

work on the drainage system, and

commissioning ceremony after scouting three locations in 2024.

repair of the tunnel’s heating system

“Huna Totem’s terminal in Whittier has the capacity to host a

which keeps ice from forming during

large group of up to 4,000 persons for the commissioning,” Curry

the winter. The project will also raise

explains. “The water is deep enough at the dock so the ship will not

the height of the tunnel to standard

have to be moved daily due to tides as with some other facilities in

railroad clearances, which will enable

Southcentral Alaska.”

the railroad to use double-stack rail

The date for the ceremony was pending completion of final ship

cars, a capability the Anton Anderson

trials in July. If approved by the Secretary of the Navy, the ship may

Memorial Tunnel has had since it

make other Alaska stops before it is homeported in Norfolk, Virginia.

was upgraded to a bimodal passage

“We appreciate the support of the Department of Transportation

in 2000. The Portage Tunnel has

[and Public Facilities], the Alaska State Troopers, the Alaska National Guard, Anchorage and Whittier Police departments, and of course all

remained a bottleneck. “Because

the

tunnel

was

of our donors to make this historic week of events a success,” says

constructed quickly, it has some

Curry. “A big thank you to Huna Totem Corporation for adjusting their

issues, including the fact that the

cruise ship schedule to accommodate the USS Ted Stevens.”

ceiling is too short,” says Lindamood. “When DOT did work on the Whittier Tunnel [Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel] twenty years ago, they increased it to standard railroad clearances. But the Portage Tunnel was never touched.” In addition to the rehabilitation project, ARRC is planning to purchase thirty double-stack railcars. “Right now, containers are placed side by side, which requires a longer train car,” says Lindamood. “By moving to a double-stack configuration, we’ll reduce the length of the train car by 25 to 30 percent. This will reduce the

Sophie Pinkham| DV IDS

20 | September 2026

times we block Whittier Street and make the waterside more efficient.”

Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com

Construction

The Well Field Replacement Project will improve water pressure and reliability for residents and businesses along the Whittier waterfront.

expected

begin by the end of the year, following completion of the project’s

Cit y of Whit tier

environmental review, and will be completed by spring 2028. “Unlike construction on a highway, where you can pave a detour or send traffic down another road, we have nowhere else to put traffic,” says Lindamood. “We have a small window to take the railroad out of service and make fixes quickly. We can’t be out of service for three months, so we’re just going to run trains through the middle of it.” The complexity will be worth the wait. “This is a really good project for the Alaska Railroad, the city of Whittier, and the state,” Lindamood adds. “Anything we can do to make the process more efficient means that

savings

get

passed

down

the line.”

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INFR ASTRUCTURE

Alaska Depar tment of Transpor tation and Public Facilities

Shaping History A bridge, a bypass, and a new chapter for Cooper Landing By Rindi White

“I think it’s kind of cool that now

has a tale to tell about near-misses

the

we’re finally reconstructing a portion

or accidents, motorhomes crossing

state’s largest road projects

of the road that the public gets

center lines, impatient tailgaters, or

in history is now more visible to

to see where that money’s going,

fishermen dashing across the road.

drivers on the Sterling Highway.

and they’ll get a benefit from it

Tymick says the corridor logged 303

immediately,” says Alaska Department

vehicle crashes between the study

of Transportation and Public Facilities

period of 2000 to 2009. Thirty-six of

complete, and it may take four

(DOT&PF)

those involved collisions with moose.

more years to fully finish. Even so,

Jonathan Tymick.

fter years of work in the wilderness,

one

The 15-mile highway construction project

only

about

halfway

Construction

Manager

Slightly more crashes (153) happened in winter as opposed to summer (150).

contractor Traylor Bros. achieved

Safety Solution

Eighty-five involved minor injuries

meticulously nudging a 928-foot steel

The Sterling Highway MP 45–60

to occupants, twenty involved major

girder bridge—which will become

Project, more commonly known as the

injuries to occupants, and five were

the highest bridge in Alaska, at 285

Cooper Landing bypass, is a six-phase,

fatal crashes. Four out of the five

feet, and also the longest erected

nearly $1 billion project to improve

fatalities were head-on collisions.

and launched bridge in the state—

safety, reliability, and quality of life

The new route departs from the

into place, creating the Juneau Creek

along the corridor. The only east-west

Sterling Highway just after Mile 46,

Bridge near Cooper Landing.

route across the Kenai Peninsula

about a mile and a half before blue

“Near,” meaning about 1.6 miles

slows to the speed of a neighborhood

Kenai Lake feeds into the Kenai

due north of the Sterling Highway,

street for many of those fifteen miles

River. It veers north of the existing

or about 3 miles northwest of where

along the riverbank, which can be a

Sterling Highway, high up the Juneau

the road gracefully curves across the

major inconvenience to locals and to

Creek canyon, before angling back

vividly azure Kenai River in Cooper

motorists passing through.

down to meet up with the highway

a major milestone this year by

Landing proper. The approaches to the bridge are the next major phase. 22 | September 2026

Almost anyone who has driven

again roughly a quarter-mile past

through the area in the summer

Sportsman’s Landing and the Russian

Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com

River Ferry. The bypass will allow

Engineering Marvel

northbound tractor-trailer hauling

traffic to maintain 55 mile-per-hour

The Sterling Highway through

12,500 gallons of crude oil in two

travel speeds while adding safety

Cooper Landing crosses the Kenai

tankers was struck head-on by a Ford

features for animals: four animal

River twice and winds along the banks

F150, resulting in the tanker rolling

under-crossings and the first animal

for much of the bypassed route. The

over and spilling about 900 gallons of

overpass in the state. A new Juneau

new route will carry travelers away

crude at Mile 142 Sterling Highway,

Falls trailhead and parking lot is

from the river, which Tymick says is a

near Ninilchik. The remaining crude

part of the project, as are new trail

strong point of the design.

oil was removed from the tanker, the

connections to Resurrection Pass and

An incident almost 100 miles

spilled oil was cleaned up, and the

Bean Creek trails, and a new overlook

away illustrates why some distance

contaminated soil was excavated.

area at Juneau Creek Falls just north

would benefit the river. In 2021, a

Moving traffic away from the iconic

of the new Juneau Creek bridge. “It’s definitely one of the largest and most complex highway projects that DOT[&PF] has delivered,” Tymick says. He’s been working on the project since 2019 as design manager and stayed with it, now as construction manager. Stage 1A, where the west end of the new road connects with what will be known as the Old Sterling Highway, was completed in 2023 by Washingtonbased contractor Scarsella Bros. Stage 1B, the east end connection with the Sterling Highway, is currently under construction by a joint venture of QAP and Indiana-based Traylor Bros., Inc. The joint venture is also working on Phase 2: the design, construction, and placement of the Juneau Creek

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Venture completed Stages 3 and 4— establishing the middle section of the new route, along with staging and disposal sites, embankments, drainage, and construction of the wildlife undercrossings—in 2025. After Stage 1B and Phase 2 are complete, only Stages 5 and 6 (new diamond interchange for the west-end intersection and final paving, signage, striping, rumble strips, trailheads, and landscaping) will remain. Tymick says those two stages may end up being combined, with a goal to finish the project by 2030. www.akbizmag.com

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September 2026 | 23

barged to Seward in fifteen days, and hauled to the project site in spring 2025, where it was assembled again. A new rest area, parking lot, and trailhead near the Juneau Creek Bridge is part of the project. In addition to providing a trailhead for Resurrection Pass Trail and Bean Creek Trail, an overlook of Juneau Creek Falls will be built. Alaska Depar tment of Transpor tation and Public Facilities

Meanwhile, the bridge abutments and piers were built on either side of the canyon. In June 2026, the stage was set for the bridge to launch. Over the course of eight days, four ten-foot hydraulic rams pushed the bridge across the span, inch by inch. “It was some of the most technical engineering that I’ll ever probably get to be a part of,” Tymick says. The bridge is by no means complete; the temporary launching apparatus must be removed, abutments poured,

Over the course of eight days in June, four hydraulic rams pushed the bridge across Juneau Creek canyon. The 928-foot steel girder bridge was fabricated and assembled in Arizona, then taken apart, shipped to Alaska, and reassembled in 2025.

a concrete deck poured, and much more. It will be two years before the bridge is complete, Tymick estimates. Work elsewhere on the project continues. Much of the project is, in design terms, a mass balance project,

Alaska Depar tment of Transpor tation and Public Facilities

meaning material cut from high spots is used in low spots. However, the shallow groundwater table in the region means much of the soil is saturated and unusable as fill, so material is being trucked from other stages of the project to fill in where

Kenai River preserves and protects it

District, Tymick says, and the National

needed. In some places, the depth of

from such hazards, Tymick says.

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) review

the required fill is more than eighty

of the project stated that crews were

feet, Tymick says.

The new route opens the door to another Kenai Peninsula asset previously unseen to most: Juneau

Work is progressing, but building

prohibited from working within it. “I had hoped it meant the bridge

highway

that

meets

modern

Creek Falls. Although the falls likely

crew

anything

safety standards through the Alaska

won’t be visible from the road, a

permanent in the canyon. But the NEPA

wilderness is not a fast process. “This

trailhead and rest area will allow

document is very clear that not even

is a generational investment for the

travelers to access the scenery. The

temporary work is allowed to occur in

Kenai Peninsula,” he says.

trailhead will be located near the

the canyon,” Tymick says.

couldn’t

leave

Tymick says Traylor Bros., the joint

New Path Reveals Area History

venture partner focusing on the bridge,

An environmental review of a

Tymick says the bridge’s distinction

helped select a steel girder bridge

Cooper Landing bypass began more

is really the extraordinary engineering

design. The bridge was fabricated and

than forty years ago—one of the

required to complete what is believed

pre-assembled in Coolidge, Arizona, in

longest environmental reviews in US

to be the longest bridge launch in

2024, so everyone knew the bolt holes

history, state leaders said—and was

North America, achieved due to

would line up, reducing surprises on

finally signed by state and federal

engineering constraints. The canyon

site. The structure was taken apart,

officials in 2018. Complicating the

is part of the Sqilantnu Archaeological

trucked to Long Beach, California,

review was the project’s proximity to

Juneau Creek Bridge, which may draw its own visitors.

24 | September 2026

Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com

the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, Resurrection Pass National Recreation Trail, steep terrain, proximity to historic

and

cultural

CHALLENGES MET P R O M ISE S KE P T

resource

sites, and limited right of way, according to state documents. The project is located within the traditional lands of the Dena'ina Athabascans, the Kenaitze Indian Tribe. Archaeological sites in the region indicate that people inhabited the area from the early Holocene era 8,000

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years ago through present day. The Upper Kenai Peninsula shows signs of habitation stretching back to the prehistoric era, with house depressions made by Alaska Native groups tied to the Norton culture of Bristol Bay that can be traced to 1,750 to 1,850 years ago. Cultural resource consultants

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1850,

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permanent settlement didn’t happen until the 1870s, when American miners came seeking gold. Not much gold was found, but Joseph M. Cooper stayed long enough to establish a trading post at present-day Cooper Landing. Twenty years later, mining efforts were successful enough to establish the towns of Sunrise and Hope, along with a few other mines. The discovery of gold in the Klondike lured miners away, but some came back after finding Canada’s wilderness too heartbreaking. The first road was created between

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to a modern highway over the next

The couple says they’re confident

The higher elevation of the new

decade. With it came roadhouses, gas

the lodge, known around the world,

route is likely to be an icy mess

stations, lodges, and ferry operations.

is enough of a destination on its own

in winter, she says. But her larger

“By 1950, the Sterling Highway

to withstand the shift of traffic. Keith

concern is that the old route will

was a ‘modern highway,’ providing

adds, “It’s potentially good to get the

receive less maintenance and repair

increased access to travelers along the

trucks off the road, particularly the

funding. Her business and others will

Kenai Peninsula,” states the project’s

tandem trucks. It could hurt business,

still need deliveries throughout the

Environmental Impact Statement.

but we’re hoping for the best. The river

year, and businesses and residents will

The statement notes that research

is our main attraction.”

need fuel deliveries.

for the Cooper Landing bypass,

“The Kenai River isn’t going to go

“They want these nice new roads

which included site surveys, testing,

anywhere. No matter what direction

but without any maintenance plans,”

and excavation led to “extensive

the road goes or what they build, I

James says.

new findings, expansion of the

think the draw will be strong enough to

Jeff Hetrick—who with his wife, Rose,

Sqilantnu Archaeological District

carry them back,” says Heidi. “There’s a

operates the Inn at Tern Lake roughly a

boundaries, identification of two

McDonald’s on every corner, but there

mile from where the new road splits—

areas treated as Traditional Cultural

isn’t a Gwin’s. Our goal is to keep on

agrees. He says he can see long-term

Properties, and new information

doing what we’ve always done, to carry

benefits to the bypass, which will

about known archaeological and

on the great traditions that Helen Gwin

improve safety and ease congestion.

historic properties.”

and her husband set here seventy-four

But the condition of the existing roads

years ago.”

should be addressed.

Bypassed But Not Bygone

Cheryle James is the secretary/

“The Seward and Sterling Highways

Wildman

Inc.,

are so dilapidated. We promote

creating a safer highway for humans

the

company

behind

Wildman’s

tourism, but we don’t provide road

and wildlife, but local businesses have

convenience store in Cooper Landing.

maintenance. We’re spending a billion

concerns about being off the main

She’s also president of the Cooper

dollars on a bypass and we’re not

road. Some say the benefits will likely

Landing Chamber of Commerce.

even paving our roads. There’s a lot of

outweigh the drawbacks, but most are

She says talk of the bypass has been

damage; they’re dangerous,” he says.

concerned that maintenance funding

around since at least the ‘80s.

A bypass may satisfy road designers,

treasurer

Ty m i c k

a c k n ow l e d g e s

that

will be spent on the new route at

“I figured I might be dead and buried

maintenance funding will be less

the expense of the Sterling Highway

before it would happen,” she says

of a priority when the Old Sterling

through Cooper Landing.

with a laugh.

Highway through Cooper Landing is

Keith and Heidi Mantey own Gwin’s

James says she isn’t really in favor

no longer part of the highway corridor,

Lodge and Roadhouse, which will

of the current bypass and thinks

but DOT&PF will still be responsible

mark seventy-five years in operation

there were other routes that fit the

for maintaining it. The department

next year. Built with hand-hewn logs

community better. Now that the project

is working with the Kenai Peninsula

by Pat and Helen Gwin—who arrived

is in full swing, she says there has

Borough to identify ways that the

in the area in 1946 with a tent and

been a bright side. “It’s beneficial that

borough can take over maintenance

backpacks and eventually opened

we have all these people in town; it’s

on some local roads, allowing state

the roadhouse in 1952—the business

helping out that way,” she says.

maintenance crews to focus more resources on the highway system.

was one of few that operated year-

While she’s not particularly concerned

round in the area. Stories abound of

that the re-route will damage her

As for the condition of the Sterling

the lodge and of Helen Gwin taking

business—”I think if they want their

Highway through Cooper Landing,

in travelers in winter storms or

ice cream and a sandwich, they’ll come

Tymick notes that he will also be the

providing emergency medical care

down [into Cooper Landing],” James

construction manager for a project to

when needed. The Manteys keep

says—she has concerns about the

resurface Miles 43–56 of the existing

those stories alive, and they still

chosen route and what will be done

highway. He expects that project to

serve food based on Helen Gwin’s

about the old Sterling Highway through

advertise this fall and construction to

original recipes.

Cooper Landing.

begin in early 2027.

26 | September 2026

Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com

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L E GA L

Welcome to the fourth annual Alaska Business Legal Elite! This list features Alaska’s most talented lawyers, as nominated by their peers. We invited licensed Alaskan lawyers to nominate fellow professionals whom they think excel in providing legal services. A third-party data collection specialist verified that the nominated individuals have a current law license. The final list of Legal Elite represents notable practicing lawyers in the state, selected by those who are intimately knowledgeable about what it takes to excel in the field. Lawyers named among the Legal Elite occupy a range of roles, from working at government agencies or traditional law firms to corporate counsel or “hang a shingle” small practices. This list is not a directory of attorneys for hire; many would be happy to provide legal services to new clients, but others already have a briefcase full of other business. What this list does represent is the cream of the legal industry crop in Alaska. 28 | September 2026

Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com

ADMINISTRATIVE LAW JANA WELTZIN Anchorage

ALASKA NATIVE LAW ALEX CLEGHORN Landye Bennett Blumstein Anchorage

AMBRIEL SANDONE Bristol Bay Native Corporation Anchorage

ANNA CHAPMAN CRARY

Kawerak, Inc. Nome

MATT MEAD Landye Bennett Blumstein Anchorage

MAUDE BLAIR Alaska Native Justice Center Anchorage

MICHAEL WALLERI Jason Weiner and Associates Fairbanks

MOLLY GUNTHER Schwabe Williamson & Wyatt Anchorage

NOAH I. STAR

Landye Bennett Blumstein

Sonosky, Chambers, Sachse, Miller & Monkman

Anchorage

BONNIE J. PASKVAN

PHILIP BLUMSTEIN

Dorsey & Whitney Anchorage

CHRISTOPHER SLOTTEE Schwabe Williamson & Wyatt Anchorage

CONNOR SMITH Stoel Rives Anchorage

ELIZAVETA BARRETT RISTROPH

Landye Bennett Blumstein Anchorage

Sonosky, Chambers, Sachse, Miller & Monkman Anchorage

KEVIN M. CUDDY Stoel Rives

Peter Brautigam

(Estate Planning & Probate Law)

RICHARD D. MONKMAN

(Estate Planning & Probate Law)

Sonosky, Chambers, Sachse, Miller & Monkman Juneau

Christopher Brecht Christopher Lauer Janella Kamai (Taxation Law)

F. Steven Mahoney

Landye Bennett Blumstein

(Taxation Law)

Charles Schuetze (Taxation Law)

ROSALIND CUNEO Sonosky, Chambers, Sachse, Miller & Monkman

William Bankston (Business Law)

Anchorage

RUSSELL WINNER Winner & Associates Anchorage

SAMUEL J. FORTIER Fortier & Mikko

Anchorage

LLOYD B. MILLER

STEVEN C. WILFONG

Sonosky, Chambers, Sachse, Miller & Monkman

Anchorage

www.akbizmag.com

Cole Lindemann

Anchorage

K. AMANDA SAUNDERS

Estate & Trust Planning Real Estate Business Planning & Transactions Tax Planning Tax Exempt Entities Civil Litigation

(Estate Planning & Probate Law)

Fairbanks

Anchorage

Your Business. Your Life. Your Team.

Sonosky, Chambers, Sachse, Miller & Monkman

RIVER E.M. STERNE

Landye Bennett Blumstein

ATTORNEYS AT LAW A PROFESSIONAL CORPORATION

(Business Law)

REBECCA A. PATTERSON

Ristroph Law, Planning, and Research

JOHN M. STARKEY

L E GA L

JDW Counsel

MAGGIE MASSEY

Alaska Business

1127 W. 7TH AVE., ANCHORAGE, AK 907.334.5600

WWW.MBB.LAW

September 2026 | 29

WHITNEY A. LEONARD

SARAH SCHIRACK

Sonosky, Chambers, Sachse, Miller & Monkman

Perkins Coie

L E GA L

Anchorage

WILLIAM H. BITTNER Birch Horton Bittner & Cherot Anchorage

Anchorage

MICHELLE BOUTIN

SUSAN ORLANSKY

Anchorage

WHITNEY A. BROWN

Stoel Rives

APPELLATE LAW

Anchorage

ANDY ERICKSON Landye Bennett Blumstein Anchorage

DAVID WILKINSON State of Alaska - Department of Law Anchorage

HOLLY C. WELLS Birch Horton Bittner & Cherot Anchorage

JAHNA LINDEMUTH Cashion Gilmore & Lindemuth Anchorage

JENNIFER M. COUGHLIN Landye Bennett Blumstein

Anchorage

AVIATION, MARITIME, AND TRANSPORTATION LAW BRENT R. COLE Law Office of Brent R. Cole Anchorage

JACK POULSON Poulson Law Juneau

JOSHUA BERG Trueb Berne & Beard Anchorage

Anchorage

JAMES E. TORGERSON Stoel Rives Anchorage

JAMES SHEEHAN Faulkner Banfield

JANE SAUER Jane Sauer Law

JASON M. BRANDEIS Birch Horton Bittner & Cherot Anchorage

LANNING M. TRUEB Trueb Berne & Beard Anchorage

JEFFREY W. ROBINSON Ballard Spahr Anchorage

JESSICA ALLOWAY

Richmond & Quinn

LAURA FOX

Manley Brautigam Bankston

Anchorage

MARC G. WILHELM

Anchorage

COLE M. LINDEMANN

Juneau

Anchorage

State of Alaska - Department of Law

BUSINESS LAW ANDREA N. CANFIELD

Anchorage

Clayton & Diemer

Landye Bennett Blumstein

Reeves Amodio

Stoel Rives

ALFRED JR. CLAYTON

BANKRUPTCY LAW

Anchorage

JOHN D. KAUFFMAN Stoel Rives Anchorage

MOLLY HENRY Schwabe Williamson & Wyatt Anchorage

LESLIE R. NEED Landye Bennett Blumstein Anchorage

ROBERT L. RICHMOND

State of Alaska - Department of Law

Richmond & Quinn

Anchorage

LILY GINSBURG

WILLIAM WRIGHT

MICHAEL R. MILLS

MICHAEL PARISE Ballard Spahr

Reeves Amodio

Schwabe Williamson & Wyatt

Anchorage

MARA E. MICHALETZ

ZACH BERNE

SCOTT J. GERLACH

Birch Horton Bittner & Cherot

Trueb Berne & Beard

Jermain Dunnagan & Owens

Anchorage

MATTHEW SINGER

ZACH FORRESTER

WILLIAM M. BANKSTON

Schwabe Williamson & Wyatt

Manley Brautigam Bankston

Anchorage

30 | September 2026

Dorsey & Whitney

Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com

ZOE A. EISBERG

Congratulations to

Ballard Spahr Anchorage

CIVIL LITIGATION

Margaret is a nationally recognized leader in immigration and citizenship law. She is known for her expertise, integrity, and commitment to public service.

DAVID HICKS Clayton & Diemer

We’re proud to celebrate this well-deserved honor

Anchorage

JAMES JR. DAVIS Northern Justice Project Anchorage

MICHAELA KELLEY CANTERBURY Kelley & Canterbury Anchorage

CORPORATE COUNSEL ADAM D. HARKI Doyon, Limited Anchorage

TOP ATTORNEYS

CASCADIA CROSS-BORDER LAW IMMIGRATION • CITIZENSHIP MILITARY IMMIGRAION

907-242-5800

4300 B Street Suite 207 Anchorage, AK 99503

cascadialawalaska.com

ALEXANDER J. KUBITZ Landye Bennett Blumstein Anchorage

ALLEN TODD Doyon, Limited Fairbanks

BRITTANY GOODNIGHT Koniag Anchorage

DANIELLE RYMAN Bering Straits Native Corporation Anchorage

ETHAN SCHUTT Bristol Bay Native Corporation Anchorage

CONGRATULATES

DANIELLE RYMAN We are proud to celebrate this well-earned achievement and her continued contributions to Bering Straits Native Corporation.

JAMIE N. CONWAY Stoel Rives Anchorage

JARED GARDNER ASRC Energy Services Anchorage

JESSICA GRAHAM Global Credit Union

beringstraits.com

Anchorage www.akbizmag.com

Alaska Business

September 2026 | 31

L E GA L

Margaret Stock

L E GA L

KAYLA TANNER

PETER BOSKOFSKY

VANESSA NORMAN

Arctic Slope Regional Corporation

Koniag

Doyon Limited

Anchorage

KRISTY A. GARRETT

RENEE WARDLAW

Birch Horton Bittner & Cherot

Bristol Bay Native Corporation

Anchorage

LINDSEY HOLMES

RICHARD A. CAMILLERI

NANA Regional Corporation, Inc.

UIC Alaska

Anchorage

MARLA QUICK

RICK OWEN

NANA Regional Corporation, Inc.

UIC Alaska

Anchorage

MELANIE OSBORNE

ROBERT MISULICH

Alyeska Pipeline Service Company

The Aleut Corporation

Anchorage

NICHOLAS OSTROVSKY

SHANE KANADY

Chugach Alaska Corporation

Ahtna, Inc.

Anchorage

NOELLE KOMPKOFF

STEPHANIE AICHER

Calista Corporation

Cook Inlet Region, Inc.

Anchorage

WALTER FEATHERLY Calista Corporation Anchorage

CYBER BLOCKCHAIN AND TECHNOLOGY LAW KEVIN R. FELDIS Perkins Coie Anchorage

EMPLOYMENT LAW ALLEN CLENDANIEL Clendaniel Heyman Campion Anchorage

BILL EVANS Clendaniel Heyman Campion Anchorage

Experienced Counsel in Commercial Real Estate Across Alaska LBBLawyers.com 907-276-5152

32 | September 2026

Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com

CORY DUNN

JENNIFER C. ALEXANDER

SARA L. BLOOM

Littler Mendelson

Birch Horton Bittner & Cherot

Law Office of Sara L. Bloom

Anchorage

DEZIRAE ROBB

LEA E. FILLIPPI

Landye Bennett Blumstein

Clendaniel Heyman Campion

Anchorage

ELIZABETH P. HODES

MEGAN N. SANDONE

Davis Wright Tremaine

Jermain Dunnagan & Owens

Anchorage

GREGORY S. FISHER

MICHAEL O’BRIEN

Littler Mendelson

Davis Wright Tremaine

Anchorage

HEIDI H. BORSON

PATTI A. VECERA

ENVIRONMENTAL, NATURAL RESOURCES

Clayton & Diemer

Davis Wright Tremaine

ASHLEY C. BROWN

Anchorage

Law Offices of Guess & Rudd

HOWARD TRICKEY

RENEA I. SAADE

Schwabe Williamson & Wyatt

Arctic Tern HR Solutions

Anchorage

JACK DAY

RYAN A. STUART

Davis Wright Tremaine

Jermain Dunnagan & Owens

Anchorage

SARAH E. JOSEPHSON Anchorage

WILLIAM A. EARNHART Birch Horton Bittner & Cherot Anchorage

Anchorage

BRIAN STIBITZ Reeves Amodio Anchorage

CODY B. DOIG Stoel Rives Anchorage

AARIGAA TAVRAPIALLAK! UIC celebrates 2026 Alaska Business Legal Elite honorees Rick Owen and Richard Camilleri. This recognition showcases the leadership driving us forward as a One Billion Strong corporation.

Rick L. Owen

Richard A. Camilleri

General Counsel

CAO & Deputy General Counsel

www.akbizmag.com

Alaska Business

O N E BI L L I O N STR O N G • U I CA L A S KA .CO M

September 2026 | 33

L E GA L

Jermain Dunnagan & Owens

L E GA L

CONNIE SUE MARTIN

RAMONA L. MONROE

ALLISON STRICKLAND

Schwabe Williamson & Wyatt

Stoel Rives

Cruz Law

Anchorage

ELENA M. ROMERDAHL

SCOTT BROADWELL

AMANDA AFSHAR

Perkins Coie

Davis Wright Tremaine

Schwabe Williamson & Wyatt

Anchorage

ERIC B. FJELSTAD

SHANNON M. BLEICHER

ANN BRUNER

Perkins Coie

Stoel Rives

Birch Horton Bittner & Cherot

Anchorage

JACOB B. GERRISH

SUSAN REEVES

ASHLEY SUNDQUIST

Stoel Rives

Reeves Amodio

Sundquist Law

Anchorage

JON KATCHEN

TREVOR GRUWELL

BRIAN DURRELL

Holland & Hart Anchorage

Schwabe Williamson & Wyatt

Birch Horton Bittner & Cherot

Anchorage

CHELSEA RAY RIEKKOLA

LONI L. HINTON

ESTATE PLANNING

Foley Pearson Riekkola Iverson

Anchorage

LYNN T. MANOLOPOULOS

ABIGAIL O’CONNOR

CHRISTOPHER M. BRECHT

Davis Wright Tremaine

Peak Trust Company

Manley Brautigam Bankston

Anchorage

Dorsey & Whitney

34 | September 2026

Anchorage

Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com

FAMILY LAW

JOE TOWSLEE

Anchorage

AMANDA HARBER

Anchorage

DOUGLAS M. RYAN

Soldotna

CHRISTOPHER P. LAUER Manley Brautigam Bankston

49th State Law

JOHN SHERMAN

CAMERON COMPTON

Anchorage

Law Office of Cameron K. Compton

KARL A. KAUFMAN

Anchorage

Landye Bennett Blumstein

CHARLES J. GUNTHER

MEG ZALETEL

Chicklo Law Group Anchorage

GARY R. ESCHBACHER

Anchorage

MELANIE A. IVERSONKAUFMAN

PETER B. BRAUTIGAM Manley Brautigam Bankston Anchorage

TOM AMODIO Reeves Amodio

KARA A. NYQUIST Nyquist Law Group Anchorage

KATY SODEN Alaska Network on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Anchorage

Fairbanks

KRISTIN FARLEIGH

J. JOHN FRANICH

Jason Weiner and Associates

Franich Law Office

Fairbanks

LINDSEY N. DUPUIS

JIMMY WHITE

The Law Office of Lindsey N. Dupuis

Law Offices of Jimmy E. White

Anchorage

Franich Law Office

Anchorage

JUSTIN R. ESCHBACHER

Eschbacher & Eschbacher

HEATHER M. BROWN

Foley Pearson Riekkola Iverson

Anchorage

Eschbacher & Eschbacher

Anchorage

Fireweed Law Group

Sherman Law Office

Anchorage

Congratulations

JIMMY E. WHITE RECOGNIZED IN THE 2026 ALASKA’S LEGAL ELITE We are proud to recognize Jimmy E. White for his inclusion in the 2026 Alaska Legal Elite. This honor reflects his dedication to his clients, his peers, and the Alaska community.

Trusted Counsel. Proven Results.

SERVING ALASKA BUSINESSES

FAMILY LAW SERVICES

AND INDIVIDUALS

BUSINESS LAW & LITIGATION ESTATE PLANNING

2026

Strategic counsel and practical solutions tailored to your goals. Anchorage | Statewide

The Law Offices of Jimmy E. White JEWHITELAW.COM www.akbizmag.com

(907) 274-7522

1225 E. INT’L. AIRPORT RD., STE. 101 | ANCHORAGE, AK 99518 Alaska Business

September 2026 | 35

L E GA L

Clayton & Diemer

Birch Horton Bittner & Cherot

MARC CHICKLO

GOVERNMENT AND ADMINISTRATIVE

CASEY WILLITTS

MEGAN HISER

ADAM W. COOK

PETER M. DIEMER

Chicklo Law Group

Birch Horton Bittner & Cherot

Clayton & Diemer

Anchorage

ROBERT M. BECONOVICH

CHRISTIAN CARPENETI

WILLIAM CASON

Franich Law Office

Holland & Hart

Fairbanks

Anchorage

SETH J. DINKEL

ELISABETH H. ROSS

LARA E. NATIONS

Dinkel Law

Birch Horton Bittner & Cherot

Wasilla

Anchorage

STORMY A. MION

KIRSTEN M. KINEGAKFRIDAY

MARGARET D. STOCK

Chicklo Law Group

L E GA L

Anchorage

Chicklo Law Group Anchorage

FEDERAL CRIMINAL DEFENSE A CRISTINA WEIDNER TAFS Susitna Law Anchorage

Alaska Legal Services Corporation Anchorage

Clendaniel Heyman Campion

Nations Law Group

Cascadia Cross Border Law Group

Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium

Anchorage

Nations Law Group

MATTHEW C. WIDMER

NICOLAS A OLANO Anchorage

Birch Horton Bittner & Cherot Anchorage

MAX D. HOLMQUIST Jermain Dunnagan & Owens Anchorage

MEDIATION AND ARBITRATION MICHAEL A. GRISHAM

MICHAEL D. CAULFIELD Jermain Dunnagan & Owens

Dorsey & Whitney Anchorage

Anchorage

PAMELA WEISS Anchorage

NATURAL RESOURCES

ROBERT PALMER

COLLEEN MOORE

Law Offices of Guess & Rudd

Munson, Cacciola & Severin Anchorage

Reeves Amodio Anchorage

MARY GRAMLING

GOVERNMENT CONTRACTING CHRISTINE WILLIAMS Outlook Law Anchorage

Anchorage

ZJOK DURST State of Alaska - Department of Law Anchorage

HEALTHCARE LAW ALISSA SMITH Dorsey & Whitney

36 | September 2026

State of Alaska - Department of Law

NEW LAWYERS CHRIS B. BRUNO Jermain Dunnagan & Owens

Anchorage

CAROLYN HEYMAN

COURTNEY KUHLMAN

Clendaniel Heyman Campion

Jermain Dunnagan & Owens

Anchorage

Anchorage Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com

DANIKA WATSON Dorsey & Whitney Anchorage

HALEY WEHRHEIM Anchorage

STEPHANIE!

HANNAH BENSON

CIRI is proud to honor Chief Legal

Dorsey & Whitney

Officer Stephanie Aicher for

Anchorage

MARA SWANSON Littler Mendelson Anchorage

SAM SCHIMMEL Schwabe Williamson & Wyatt

L E GA L

Birch Horton Bittner & Cherot

Bravo,

earning a spot on the Legal Elite for the fourth year in a row. Her continued commitment and strong advocacy for CIRI Shareholders make

Anchorage

a meaningful difference

STEVE TENNISON

every day.

Davis Wright Tremaine Anchorage

WILL CROWTHER Holland & Hart Anchorage

PERSONAL INJURY AARON D. SPERBECK Birch Horton Bittner & Cherot Anchorage

COLIN STRICKLAND Farnsworth & Vance Anchorage

DANIEL LIBBEY Libbey Law Offices Anchorage

DAVID KARL GROSS Birch Horton Bittner & Cherot Anchorage

DOUGLAS G. JOHNSON Johnson Law Anchorage

JAMES NOLAN Richmond & Quinn Anchorage

LISA ROSANO Rosano Law Anchorage

MEG SIMONIAN Dillon Findley & Simonian

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Anchorage www.akbizmag.com

Alaska Business

September 2026 | 37

L E GA L

MICHAEL KRAMER

JOSHUA D. HODES

CHARLES F. SCHUETZE

Kramer and Cosgrove

Landye Bennett Blumstein

Manley Brautigam Bankston

Fairbanks

Anchorage

PETER SANDBERG

LAUREN SOMMER BOSKOFSKY

CRAIG RICHARDS

Landye Bennett Blumstein

Anchorage

Sandberg Pace & Glazier Anchorage

REBECCA LINDEMANN Richmond & Quinn Anchorage

RICHARD VOLLERTSEN Atkinson Conway & Gagnon Inc. Anchorage

TY FARNSWORTH Farnsworth & Vance Anchorage

PUBLIC CONTRACTS LAW ANNE MARIE TAVELLA Davis Wright Tremaine Anchorage

DOUG KAREN

Anchorage

F. STEVEN MAHONEY

MATTHEW COOPER

Anchorage

JANELLA COMBS KAMAI

MICHAEL GERAGHTY

Manley Brautigam Bankston

Holland & Hart

JONATHAN E. IVERSEN

MICHAEL J. SCHWARZ

Stoel Rives

Birch Horton Bittner & Cherot

MICHAEL PARTRICK

MICHAEL JUNGREIS

Landye Bennett Blumstein

Reeves Amodio

Anchorage

WORKERS’ COMPENSATION

SARAH A. BADTEN

AARON M. SANDONE

PETER SCULLY Schwabe Williamson & Wyatt

Birch Horton Bittner & Cherot

JACKSON MORAWSKI

Davis Wright Tremaine

Anchorage

TRAEGER MACHETANZ Davis Wright Tremaine Anchorage

REAL ESTATE LAW BENJAMIN W. SPIESS Landye Bennett Blumstein Anchorage

Anchorage

SARAH C. GILLSTROM

Birch Horton Bittner & Cherot

Anchorage

JON M. DEVORE

Anchorage

Manley Brautigam Bankston

Davis Wright Tremaine

Landye Bennett Blumstein

Pioneer Law

Anchorage

SUZANNE CHEROT Birch Horton Bittner & Cherot Anchorage

DAVID M. FREEMAN Holmes Weddle & Barcott Anchorage

Meshke Paddock & Budzinski Anchorage

ADAM SADOSKI Meshke Paddock & Budzinski Anchorage

MARTHA TANSIK Meshke Paddock & Budzinski Anchorage

MICHELLE MESHKE Meshke Paddock & Budzinski Anchorage

SERVICE MEMBERS, VETERANS AND MILITARY FAMILIES CLINTON CAMPION Clendaniel Heyman Campion Anchorage

J. TAYLOR ROUNDS McCollum & Rounds Anchorage

JAMES H. MCCOLLUM

TAXATION LAW ARINA FILIPPENKO

McCollum & Rounds

Birch Horton Bittner & Cherot

Anchorage

38 | September 2026

Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com

PiỊỊiataqtutin Lindsey and Marla! Named in Alaska’s Legal Elite by their peers. NANA celebrates your leadership, expertise, and dedication. Your work strengthens our corporation and reflects the values that guide us.

Lindsey Holmes Senior Vice President & Chief Legal Officer

Marla Quick Assistant General Counsel

www.akbizmag.com

Alaska Business

September 2026 | 39

f izkes| Adobe Stock

L E GA L

Practice Makes Perfect How top-ranked law firms achieve excellence By Christi Foist

assion is the path to excellence for several of this year’s Legal Elite. “We love our work, we love the substance of

what we do,” says John Kauffman, a partner with the Anchorage office of Stoel Rives LLP, which has twelve lawyers on the list of Alaska's best lawyers, as nominated by their peers. That kind of passion shapes how lawyers approach their work. “We spend a lot of time making sure that the attorneys in our office understand the context of a question that a client brings to us,” says Leslie Need, a partner at Landye Bennett Blumstein LLP, which has nineteen lawyers on the list. At Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt, the Anchorage office encourages passion for the work by giving associates “a good amount of responsibility” early in their careers, says Chris Slottee, a partner and co-leader of the firm’s Indian Country and Alaska Native corporations industry group. Schwabe, which has eleven people on the Legal Elite list, also gives its lawyers agency. “It lets you chart your own path… be master of your own destiny,” he says. “One thing Schwabe does well is empower its

40 | September 2026

Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com

lawyers… to have the practice they

others from work always show up to

want to have.”

support him. Collegiality also tends to create

encourages its lawyers to pursue

long tenure. All those interviewed

work that interests them, says one

say people at their offices tend to

of its partners, Holly Wells. “We

stick around. Multiple firms among

really encourage people to [do]

the Legal Elite have lawyers who’ve

training sessions or to expand their

either been there ten-plus years

practice, explore their passions,”

or are partners who started as

Wells says. The firm has twenty-

associates. If people leave, it might

one lawyers named to the Legal

be for a judgeship or other public

Elite for 2026.

service, as did Ashburn & Mason alumna Eva Gardner, now municipal

The Alaska Cabin Test

attorney for Anchorage.

Collegiality and a strong sense

Lawyers

who

mesh

without

of teamwork also foster excellent

aggravating each other’s cabin fever

work. Mike Schechter, a partner with

help propel each other to excellence.

Ashburn & Mason, says its hiring

“When one of us rises, we all rise. There’s a real group emphasis on turning out the very best product, finding the best solution for a client.”

process includes what might be

Guidance and Support

termed “the Alaska cabin test.” Legal

Alaska firms known for excellence

Partner

work can involve long hours and

tend to emphasize development

Ashburn & Mason

close teamwork, so the firm, with

of younger attorneys. Kauffman

seven entries in the Legal Elite, looks

says Stoel Rives’ senior lawyers

for people who will get along well

are

with the rest of the team, especially

experienced

in times of stress, as if they were

provides “opportunities to basically

snowbound in a cabin all winter.

expand a lawyer’s role as much as

dedicated

training

colleagues,

lesswhich

Other firms echo this principle.

they’re able, as soon as they’re able.”

People at Schwabe “like who they

The firm operates on the principal

work

and,

that the best way to learn is by doing,

“Excellence… for us, is trying to be an

so Kauffman says the team works

excellent place to work—to be a law

to ensure it’s “not just keeping our

firm that people enjoy,” adds Wells.

junior folks in the background while”

with,”

Slottee

says,

The resulting cohesion contributes

senior folks handle the substantive

to a “collective focus,” says Laura

work. Younger lawyers there get

Dulic Fisher, another Ashburn &

chances to join client meetings and

Mason partner. “When one of us

draft documents. The firm also gives

rises, we all rise. There’s a real group

them good oversight and guidance,

emphasis on turning out the very best

Kauffman says.

product, finding the best solution for a client,” she says.

“Once they’re here, we do our best to support ‘em,” Slottee says of

Teamwork extends beyond the

Schwabe. That includes giving people

office. “We genuinely like each other,”

good clients and interesting projects

Kauffman says. “We enjoy each

and helping them build something

other’s company and we know each

that’s actually theirs, he says, adding:

other’s families.” For example, when

“They’re not just a cog in a machine.”

a Stoel Rives partner’s band plays

Schwabe also spends a lot of

gigs around town, Kauffman says

time training its new lawyers on the

www.akbizmag.com

Laura Dulic Fisher

Alaska Business

September 2026 | 41

L E GA L

Birch Horton Bittner & Cherot

The career track for Alaska's best lawyers might leave snowshoe prints, either as a healthy respite from the weekly workload or as an enticement for Outside attorneys seeking Northern recreation.

L E GA L

Long Shadows | Adobe Stock

health, Kauffman says. “We’re not

Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA). Alaska Native law can differ significantly from tribal law in the Lower 48, Slottee says. And ANCSA rarely gets much coverage in US law schools. Professors at Lower 48 schools—“which is all of them” Slottee observes—are more likely to cover ANCSA as part of a broader course rather than devote an entire class to it. Schwabe

specifically

recruits

lawyers for the Indian Country and Alaska Native corporations industry group Slottee leads, so the firm provides significant training on ANCSA’s legal nuances. Developing employees can also include helping people avoid burnout. “The legal industry as a whole struggles with self care,” says Birch Horton Bittner & Cherot partner

“Given the

looking for balance per se,” but the

geography and

do other meaningful things with

firm also wants its employees “to our lives.” When a project ends or

the industries

lawyers have breaks in the work,

here, there are

“We really all encourage each other

some uniquely

of work.” The high school track and

to pursue other activities outside

Alaskan areas of

cross country teams that Kauffman coaches provide a good analogy: “You

legal practice…

can’t go hard seven days a week,” he

We give people

legal work.

the opportunity

helps reinforce this. When lawyers

to work on these

a three-month sabbatical. Kauffman,

says of running. The same applies to Stoel Rives’ sabbatical program have been there ten years, they get

unique Alaska

for example, took his family to Spain.

things.”

another one of two to three months

After that first sabbatical, lawyers get every five years. Taking those breaks

Jason Brandeis. To address that, he

Jason Brandeis

says managers try to keep an eye on

Partner, Birch Horton Bittner & Cherot

means “you’re ultimately a better lawyer long-term,” Kauffman says.

people’s workloads to help ensure they haven’t taken on too much.

for each other” so people don’t come

The Recruitment Challenge

During winter months, they might

back to “three times as much work

Alaska’s lack of a law school means

try to plan team activities with a view

to do because you’ve been out of the

firms must work harder at finding

to the challenges of short days and

office,” Brandeis says.

new lawyers. “That is one of the

seasonal affective disorder. And when people take time off, “we try to cover 42 | September 2026

Stoel

Rives

takes

slightly

unique challenges of recruitment in

different approach to employee

a state like Alaska,” says Dulic Fisher.

Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com

The various firms take a slightly

let participants race a small sled dog

law, and oil and gas. Alaska was

different approach to this.

team over a short distance. “They’re

also one of the first states in which

really trying to sell Alaska,” Schechter

marijuana law was pioneered, and the

says of the clerkship program.

state has unique campaign finance

“Our approach to recruitment is very similar to how new clients find

disclosure requirements. “We give

Blumstein’s reputation drives a lot

offers unique areas of practice that

people the opportunity to work on

of word-of-mouth referrals, so Need

can attract attorneys. “Given the

these unique Alaska things,” he says.

finds, “A lot of our recruitment is

geography and the industries here,

pretty organic.”

there are some uniquely Alaskan

benefits the entire profession by

Birch Horton Bittner & Cherot

areas of legal practice,” he says, citing

strengthening Alaska’s appeal to

seeks to maintain a strong presence

commercial fishing, environmental

lawyers from across the country.

Brandeis

says

the

state

Attention

excellence

thus

in the legal community, Brandeis says. This includes volunteering, involvement with Bar Association events for young lawyers, and other ways to “build those relationships outside of the traditional law school context,” he says. Multiple firms say the Alaska Court System’s robust clerkship program also plays a key role in

DWT.COM

Honored to Serve Alaska’s Business Community

recruitment. “Everybody understands this problem: people at the bench, the judges, the Bar Association,” says Schechter. “Folks who are doing good, high-level legal work in the state know this problem really well,” says Schechter. He says those involved with running the clerkship program try to “get people out and doing Alaska things.” “A lot of really talented lawyers come up here” thinking it’s for a year,

Davis Wright Tremaine congratulates our 2026 Alaska Legal Elite honorees. Thank you to our clients and communities across Alaska for your continued trust. O U R R EC O G N I Z E D AT TO R N E YS Jack Day, Employment Law Elizabeth P. Hodes, Employment Law Michael O’Brien, Employment Law Patti A. Vecera, Employment Law

says Dulic Fisher, “and then they love

Scott Broadwell, Environmental, Natural Resources

it and they stay and they realize what

Lynn T. Manolopoulos, Environmental, Natural Resources

a great place it is.” Indeed, she came

Steve Tennison, New Lawyers

to Alaska through a clerkship.

Traeger Machetanz, Public Contracts Law

Schechter’s wife did one clerkship in Alaska, worked a few years in

Anne Marie Tavella, Public Contracts Law Sarah C. Gillstrom, Real Estate Law

New York, and then did a second Alaska clerkship, after which she stayed. The year she clerked in Juneau, Schechter says all the Alaska Supreme Court clerks went to Nome after the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race to participate in the Businessman’s Race. The fundraiser, organized by the Nome Kennel Club, www.akbizmag.com

Alaska Business

September 2026 | 43

L E GA L

also

us,” says Need. Landye Bennett

L E GA L

Air and Sea Specialty Aviation, maritime, and transportation law in Alaska By Terri Marshall

laska’s

operating

environment

shapes

nearly every legal issue.

“Just the other week, I was talking

Difference in the Air

workers or third parties, damaged equipment, environmental liability, and

government

actions,”

says

Wright.

“Also,

For instance, Alaska is one of the few

the

states that has automatic fee-shifting

a voyage between two locations in

transportation industry generally

for the prevailing party in a lawsuit.

Alaska,” shares Schwabe associate

require high standards for safety

Being aware of the rules governing

William

and

civil litigation allows an Alaska

“ That

attorney

governing

Alaska has some unique rules that apply to lawsuits filed in the state.

with an out-of-state attorney about

Wright.

regulations

enforcement

environmental

precautions.

simply had no idea that the voyage

Thus, clients are able to ensure safe environmentally

attorney to better advise clients.

he was discussing was farther than

and

conscious

“Alaska’s transportation network is

the entire Eastern Seaboard, from

operations without sacrificing a

unlike any other in the United States,”

the northernmost point in Maine to

competitive advantage. I help my

says Michael Schechter, a shareholder

Key West. Once he realized the scope

clients

of the undertaking, the conversation

comply with the existing federal and

Mason. Before he joined the firm

completely shifted. Having legal

state regulations, while keeping an

in 2020, he served as an Assistant

counsel who appreciates the unique

eye on the horizon for changes that

Attorney General for the State of

practical difficulties experienced by

may affect their operations.”

Alaska, where he represented the

ensure

their

operations

Anchorage-based

Ashburn

For these reasons, Alaska-based

Ted Stevens Anchorage International

counsel is especially important:

(ANC) and Fairbanks International

Safety, environmental stewardship,

clients need advisors who understand

Airports. Schechter notes, “My work

and operational success go hand

both the legal requirements and the

representing clients like Ted Stevens

in hand in Alaska’s transportation

practical realities faced by businesses

Anchorage

sector. “The alternatives are injured

operating in these industries.

presents more opportunities than

the transportation industry in Alaska can make all the difference.”

44 | September 2026

International

Airport

Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com

CHAVAL I T L IK I TR ATCHAROEN | adobe Stock

and navigate the process because it

to the world. We often tout that we

is a highly regulated environment,”

are located within eight hours of

says Schechter. “There are different

80 to 90 percent of the developed

concerns of what they have to

world by air. We sit at a geographic

account for and translating between

crossroads that presents immense

government speak and business

opportunities for Alaska to provide

speak helps to ensure the client is

goods and services and export them

getting not only what they want

across the world.”

initially but is also off to a good

He has also navigated regulations

relationship with government folks

administered by the Committee on

they’re going to be interacting with.”

Foreign Investment in the United

“Translating between government speak and business speak helps to ensure the client is getting not only what they want initially but

States, an interagency federal panel

Tailored to Alaska Waters

chaired by the Secretary of the

Maritime

Treasury which oversees sensitive

fundamentally

real estate, critical infrastructure,

practicing maritime law elsewhere

and technology transactions. As the

in the country, according to Jack

busiest international cargo airport in

Poulson, of counsel with Mariner

the country, ANC is often scrutinized

Law PPC. “Alaska has more coastline

to ensure compliance with these

than the rest of the United States

regulations. “If someone wants to

combined. We are dependent on the

Michael Schechter

have a business at the airport, it is

maritime delivery of commercial and

Shareholder, Ashburn & Mason PC

my job to help them understand

consumer goods. Commercial fishing

www.akbizmag.com

law

Alaska

different

Alaska Business

from

is also off to a good relationship with government folks they’re going to be interacting with.”

September 2026 | 45

L E GA L

challenges because Alaska has access

L E GA L

Legal jurisdiction varies at sea. Beyond 12 miles from the coast, federal maritime law covers US ships and US persons in international waters. Within US internal waters, such as the Inside Passage of Alaska, state and municipal law prevails up to 3 miles offshore, with certain exceptions. For territorial waters between 3 and 12 miles offshore, consult an expert in admiralty law. Volodymyr Shevchuk | Adobe Stock

is vital to our economy. Shipborne

differ from the federal requirements.

tourism is a huge economic driver.

Second, given the extreme weather

Our resource extraction industries

and remote nature of Western

are dependent on marine transport.

Alaska, vessels operating in much

Military vessels patrol our waters and

of Alaska are simply unable to

perform crucial lifesaving measures.

comply with federal-level vessel

This all occurs in the most challenging

oil spill response plans that apply

conditions in the world,” explains

throughout the rest of the country,

Poulson. “The maritime law applied in

in large part because the weather

matters throughout the United States

conditions, remoteness, and extreme

is largely uniform; the difference in

distances in Alaska prevent them

maritime law practice in Alaska lies

from being able to guarantee that

in the type of facts to which the law

the significant oil spill response

is applied.”

assets within the state can be on

Another difference pertains to

site in the event of a spill within the

“Vessels

time frames required by federal law.

operating in Alaska have to comply

Those significant oil spill response

with

re g u l a t o r y

assets far exceed the national criteria

requirements for oil spill response

in most cases and are stored at

and preparedness that are different

strategically located hubs throughout

than anywhere else in the country,”

the state.”

oil

spill

preparedness.

ov e r l a p p i n g

says Wright. “First, Alaska has unique

The 2022 amendments to the

state-level requirements for oil spill

federal Oil Pollution Act of 1990

response and preparedness that

called for unique Western Alaska oil

46 | September 2026

is Proud

to Congratulate Sarah Josephson · Megan Sandone Michael Caulfield · Ryan Stuart Max Holmquist · Scott Gerlach Chris Bruno · Courtney Kuhlmann

Recognized Among Alaska’s 2026 Legal Elite JDO has been shaping the Alaskan legal landscape for over 50 years. We are honored to be an integral part of Alaska’s history and future.

111 W. 16th Ave. #203 Anchorage, AK 99501 JDOLAW.COM

Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com

Above Board

account for realities faced by Alaska’s

Poulson brings a rare combination

marine industry. To date, however,

of hands-on maritime experience and

no implementing regulations have

decades of legal expertise to one of

been adopted.

the nation’s most complex maritime

In the absence of final regulations,

environments. With more than forty

the US Coast Guard has granted

years of practice in Alaska and the

waivers to vessels operating in

Pacific Northwest, Poulson has built a

waters of Western Alaska, allowing

reputation as a trusted advocate for

them to use alternative planning

commercial fishermen, vessel crews,

criteria to satisfy their obligations

offshore workers, and maritime

under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990.

businesses navigating the specific

These alternative planning criteria

legal challenges of the North Pacific

place greater emphasis on preventive

and Alaska’s coastal waters.

measures designed to reduce the

Moreover, before entering the

likelihood of an incident before

legal profession, Poulson worked

it occurs.

aboard tugboats on the Yukon River

“These

challenges

pract i c a l

s o l u t i o ns

guidance

tailored

call and

for

system and throughout Southeast,

legal

giving him firsthand knowledge

Alaska’s

of the maritime industry he now

operating environment, rather than

serves. Poulson’s extensive maritime

assumptions drawn from other

credentials distinguish him in the

jurisdictions,” notes Wright.

legal community. He earned a

“Having legal counsel who appreciates the unique practical difficulties experienced by the transportation industry in Alaska can make all the difference.” William Wright, Associate, Schwabe

THE FULL-SERVICE

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Alaska Business

September 2026 | 47

L E GA L

spill response planning criteria that

US Coast Guard Inland Operator License for Uninspected Towing Vessels and held a US Merchant

L E GA L

Mariner’s Document, experiences that provide practical insight into vessel

aspect of my forty-year practice is the

“My cases have

personal gratification from helping people who really need help in the

taken me to

face of life-changing events.”

remote locations operations and maritime safety. He has also been designated a Proctor in Admiralty by the Maritime Law Association of the United States, a recognition among the most

collisions, man overboard situations,

cover

broad spectrum of subject matter:

From iced-up crab

environmental,

the Bering Sea to at“My cases have taken me to remote

the Bering Sea to at-sea vessel

issues

regulatory, transactional, contracts,

maritime attorneys.

iced-up crab boats rolling over in

law

throughout Alaska.

respected available to practicing boats rolling over in

locations throughout Alaska. From

Maritime

sea vessel collisions, man overboard

casualties,

fisheries, and

salvage,

more.

“The

legal landscape has become more complex. Disputes often result in litigation,” shares Poulson. “A major evolution I have experienced over my career is the increased use of alternative dispute resolution instead of or in conjunction with lawsuits

salvage operations, and winch situations, salvage

before they proceed to trial in court.

entanglements. Even a maritime

operations,

largely supplanted trials. Advances

and winch

industry and the legal practice.”

claim for a bear mauling death,” shares Poulson. Some of Robert Richmond’s clients are notable for appearing in TV

Mediation

and

arbitration

have

in technology have also impacted the Over the next decade, changing

entanglements.

environmental

regulations,

crab vessels featured on Deadliest Even a maritime

increased

shipping,

claim for a bear featured on Flying Wild Alaska.

Alaska waters will likely drive legal

Richmond, founder of the law office

businesses. “The legal changes will

shows, as Richmond has defended Catch

and

aviation

operations

of Richmond & Quinn, maintains an

mauling death.” Jack Poulson

active litigation practice and tries

Of Counsel, Mariner Law PPC

cases throughout Alaska. His work focuses primarily on the defense of admiralty, aviation, and catastrophic

Arctic

and

evolving commercial activity in trends that affect transportation follow and evolve to conform to the changing needs of the industries involved,” notes Poulson. “Surely the opening of Arctic waters will have a

With

amphibious

practice

significant impact.”

injury claims. The term “admiralty

covering water and air transport,

law ” is often synonymous with

Richmond

maritime law, but some experts treat

improvements in Alaska’s aircraft

need for legal assistance. “The

admiralty law as a subset of the field

safety over the years. He recalls,

increased investment into Alaska’s

dealing specifically with on-board

“When I first started doing this over

ports, America’s domestic maritime

matters, setting aside insurance or

thirty-five years ago, the air taxis and

industry, and development projects in

labor matters.

Part 135 carriers had nowhere near

remote parts of the state all provide

Richmond’s trial experience spans a

the training they do today. The pilots,

opportunities for businesses working

broad civil practice, with a particular

the directors of operations, even the

in this sector,” says Wright. “Attorneys

emphasis on aviation claims. He has

aircraft owners, are all really focused

play an important role by helping

tried cases in many remote Alaska

on the safety of all our passengers.”

clients anticipate regulatory changes,

has

witnessed

communities and has successfully defended

aviation

operators,

product manufacturers, and fishing vessel owners. 48 | September 2026

Every upward tick in transportation activity

navigate

corresponds

funding

greater

opportunities,

Complex Landscape

manage risk, and position their

Looking back over his career,

businesses to capitalize on emerging

Poulson notes, “The most rewarding

opportunities.”

Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com

Proud to

2026 Alaska Legal Elite

Molly Henry Aviation, Maritime and Transportation

Connie Sue Martin Environmental and Natural Resources

Experience what we know about your industry and what it’s like to be represented by Schwabe.

Sam Schimmel New Lawyers

Peter Scully Real Estate Law

Amanda Afshar Estate Planning and Probate Law

Matthew Singer Appellate Law

Zach Forrester Aviation, Maritime and Transportation

Christopher Slottee Alaska Native Law

Trevor Gruwell Environmental and Natural Resources

Howard Trickey Employment Law

Molly Gunther Alaska Native Law

Will Wright Aviation, Maritime and Transportation

Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt P.C. 420 L Street, Suite 400 Anchorage, AK 99501 (907) 339-7125

schwabe.com

Nikish H/peopleimages.com | Adobe Stock

L E GA L

Go North, Young Lawyer

Recruiting the next generation of Alaska attorneys

By Rachael Kvapil silver tsunami is sweeping

later

average

can facilitate partial remote learning,

the nation, and attorneys

professional. Of the 2,258 active

scholarships, and other opportunities.

in Alaska are part of the

attorneys in the state, 79 percent are

The ABA strategic plan addresses

tide. The profession is aging, and

under 65 years old. The two largest

three main goals: increase access

practitioners are retiring faster

active bar-age demographics are 35

to qualified attorneys, strengthen

than

are

to 44-year-olds (25 percent) and 45

member engagement, and support

ready to replace them. The median

to 54-year-olds (23 percent). However,

the mental health and wellbeing

age of attorneys is 55, meaning

the three oldest age ranges (55 to

of Alaska lawyers. The first goal

half are less than a decade away

64, 65 to 74, and 75-plus) account for

encompasses three subgoals. The

from the traditional retirement age

39 percent of the total. With many

first subgoal addresses pathways

in the United States. The Alaska

attorneys reaching retirement age,

to licensure by assessing current

Bar Association (ABA) recognizes

recruiting students into legal fields

admission licenses and associated

the need to attract more qualified

remains a consistent need in Alaska.

waiver fees and evaluating the

attorneys, so the group is already

However, the profession faces a

merits of alternative pathways. The

taking steps to ensure the state

significant challenge: Alaska is the

second subgoal focuses on pipeline

has enough attorneys to maintain a

only state without a law school.

development,

younger

counterparts

robust legal system.

life

than

overcome

ABA’s

2026–2028

the

this

challenge,

seeking

which

applicants

includes

who

reflect

plan

the population served by lawyers,

aims to increase the number of

expanding outreach and connections

for

qualified attorneys and educational

to Alaska schools and law schools,

attorneys are trending older, ABA

opportunities that allow students

and involving legal interns and law

Executive Director Danielle Bailey says

to study remotely when possible.

clerks. The final subgoal is changes

extensive education (undergraduate

Likewise, ABA continues to promote

to the bar exam. This could include

plus three years of law school) means

existing

Alaska

exploring efficiency opportunities in

lawyers typically enter the workforce

partnerships with law schools that

character and fitness assessments,

An Aging Industry While

the

demographics

50 | September 2026

strategic

University

Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com

resources that prevent burnout and

transitioning to the NextGen Unified

maintain wellness through continuing

Bar Exam, which launched in July

education and awareness; exploring

to better evaluate attorneys’ real-

the need for additional member

world skills.

benefits, such as free, confidential

strengthen

member

counseling sessions; assessing the

identifies

need for a mentorship program; and

technological and in-person activities

developing member resources for

toward that goal. Listed under this

business continuity and succession.

engagement,

ABA

goal is the expansion of member

While only one subgoal centers

section

explicitly on raising the number of

listservs, improving how consumers

lawyers in Alaska, the entire strategy

find and connect with Alaska lawyers,

supports recruitment and retention.

expanding bar activities in rural

“We have done and are continuing to

areas and among rural practitioners,

do a lot in this area to build a pipeline

creating

of attorneys,” says Bailey.

connectedness

local

through

and

affinity

bar

partnerships, exploring new section

Maintaining a consistent number

enhancing

of attorneys in Alaska is vital

the ABA website as a resource

to the legal system. Bailey says

hub, and collecting bar member

government agencies (court system,

engagement metrics.

public defenders, prosecutors) and

member

groups,

For the wellbeing of lawyers, ABA

legal aid organizations are often

focuses on ensuring attorneys have

hit the hardest when the number

www.akbizmag.com

Alaska Business

“Between remote law schools and university partnerships, there actually may have never been a better and cheaper time for Alaskans to go to law school.” Danielle Bailey Executive Director Alaska Bar Association

September 2026 | 51

L E GA L

reviewing or revising applications, or

of attorneys decreases. Because government agencies often face budgetary constraints, they already

L E GA L

face recruitment and retention challenges. Overall, fewer attorneys can worsen existing access-to-justice issues. Bailey says the ABA is aware of the access-to-justice gap and the barriers that prevent individuals from understanding or asserting their legal rights. In the past year, ABA expanded its Bar-sponsored legal clinics by 250 percent. In total,

685

through

clients

1,752

were

served

volunteer

hours

by member attorneys.

Decreasing Barriers ABA has taken several approaches

“We have done and are continuing to

under the supervision of a qualified legal services provider. Likewise, ABA created a new practice waiver for non-lawyers supervised and trained

do a lot in this area

by Alaska Legal Services Corporation,

to build a pipeline

aid to low-income Alaskans for

of attorneys.” Danielle Bailey Executive Director Alaska Bar Association

a nonprofit that provides free legal civil matters.

In-State Opportunities On the educational front, ABA launched a scholarship program that has raised more than $130,000 to support 119 law students with

Alaska’s passing threshold was

ties to Alaska. These students have

relatively high, and it still is. “Despite

committed to returning to the state

lowering our score, Alaska is still tied

after law school. The American Bar

with having the highest cut score in

Association currently lists twenty-one

the nation,” says Bailey.

remote accredited law schools that

to increasing the recruitment of

ABA also amended its admission-

prospective law students can enroll in

new attorneys, such as altering

on-motion rules to allow more people

while living in Alaska. Several Alaska

requirements for those practicing

to practice in Alaska. Admission on

universities have partnerships with

law in Alaska and for out-of-state

motion allows out-of-state attorneys

law schools that can facilitate direct

attorneys. ABA also strengthened

to be licensed in Alaska even if they

admission, reduce time to degree

its educational outreach for Alaskan

have not taken the UBE in the past

completion, and offer scholarships,

students interested in pursuing legal

five years. To qualify, attorneys must

dual degrees, or other benefits.

careers and advocated for accredited

have 750 hours of “active practice of

Likewise, some law schools also offer

remote law schools so that students

law” in three of the five years prior

in-state tuition to Alaska residents.

won’t have to relocate.

to application, in addition to three

UAA

partners

with

Mitchell

One major change was to reduce

notarized affidavits. Previously, the

Hamline School of Law in Saint

the required Uniform Bar Exam

active practice threshold was five

Paul, Minnesota, to guarantee UAA

(UBE) score from 280 to 270. Before

years of active practice out of seven

students admission to a program

attorneys can practice in Alaska, they

years prior to application.

that offers the opportunity to attend

must pass the UBE, which tests skills

Other changes include removing

law school primarily remotely from

and general national legal principles

a requirement to pass a written

Alaska. If a student meets certain

needed to practice law among the

bar exam for admission on motion,

academic thresholds and additional

forty states that have adopted the

which allows ABA to accept more

criteria, they will be guaranteed

standardized exam. The UBE is

applicants from states that are

admission to the blended learning

different from a traditional state bar

creating pathways to admission that

model at Mitchell Hamline, which

exam, which focuses on laws specific

don’t involve a bar exam. ABA also

combines distance learning and in-

to that jurisdiction, and instead

eliminated reciprocity requirements

person education. Students enrolled

offers score portability. Attorneys

that only granted admission to

in this model can attend law school

can transfer to any of the other forty

attorneys from other jurisdictions

from anywhere in Alaska, spending a

UBE jurisdictions without retaking

that also gave it to Alaska. Also, to

few weeks per year on campus.

the exam. This is not the case with

increase the services in Alaska, ABA

The UAF Pre-Law Program has

traditional bar exam scores that are

successfully changed a rule that

partnerships with eight schools, two

tied exclusively to the state in which

now allows out-of-state attorneys

of which have law school scholarship

they were tested.

to participate in pro bono practice

agreements.

52 | September 2026

The

agreements

Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com

between UAF and the eight law

UAS announced in July a new

and internships. Moreover, at the end

schools allow students to complete

partnership with Mitchell Hamline

of July, ABA hosted its 3rd Annual

a bachelor’s and juris doctor degree

School of Law that will enable its

Legal Career Fair.

in six years, saving a year of time

students and alumni to earn a law

and tuition by starting law school

degree without having to leave

c a re e r

after three undergraduate years.

Alaska. The two-pronged agreement

accredited law school in the country

The number of remote classes varies

offers a scholarship of at least 50

to give them links to our job

between the schools, as does the

percent off tuition to the school

bulletin boards and make sure they

level of financial assistance.

and the opportunity to receive

were aware of career opportunities

bachelor 's and law degrees in a

in Alaska,” says Bailey. “We also

allows

total of six years instead of seven.

mailed them postcards for them

undergraduate students and alumni

Full-time UAS students admitted

to hand out that contained QR

to gain admission to Willamette

to Mitchell Hamline in their third

codes to direct students to this

University School of Law in Salem,

undergraduate year can complete

information as well.”

Oregon, based on certain academic

their final year at UAS as first-year

credentials. When a student meets

law students.

law

offers

degree.

two The

paths school

office

ev e r y

ABA-

As long as ABA oversees which schools can seat graduates for the

“Between remote law schools and

bar exam in Alaska, then Outside

admitted to Willamette Law and

university partnerships, there actually

partnerships will remain its main

be guaranteed a direct admission

may have never been a better and

tool for in-state legal training. By

scholarship of $10,000, renewable

cheaper time for Alaskans to go to

combating the brain drain of young

each year the student is enrolled

law school,” says Bailey.

lawyers leaving the state, new

these

credentials,

they

will

at Willamette Law and remains in

The ABA website also has a new

good standing.

page that advertises legal clerkships

www.akbizmag.com

Alaska Business

professionals can step up to replenish the graying bar.

September 2026 | 53

L E GA L

UAS

“I personally wrote to every

Rod ’s Alaskan Guide Ser vice

TELECOM & TECH

A Front Desk That Never Sleeps AI tools for customer service By Tracy Barbour

esponding to customers in a

leveraging AI for customer service,

represents their brand or handles

timely manner is critical for

according to Carlos Machuca, director

edge cases. The businesses getting

a business to maintain good

of the AI Resource Program at the

real value from AI in customer service

relationships. But while customers

Alaska Small Business Development

are the ones who approached it

expect quick answers and seamless

Center,

no-cost

intentionally—who identified their

service, meeting those expectations

advising and other resources to help

specific bottleneck first and then

can be costly and time-consuming.

businesses evaluate, adopt, and use

found a tool to address it, rather

That’s why more companies are

AI tools confidently and responsibly.

than adopting a tool and hoping it solves something.”

have heard about AI and have

lend a digital hand. chatbots

offers

Machuca says many companies

turning to AI-powered applications to From

which

and

virtual

Automated Functions

likely experimented informally with

assistants to tools that help human

ChatGPT or other large

agents respond faster and more

language

But

task that companies tend

consistently, AI is changing how

they have yet to make

to automate first is the

businesses

strategic

handling of frequently asked

relationships. The question is no

decision to integrate AI

questions (FAQs). Machuca

longer whether the technology has a

into their customer-facing

explains,

place in customer service and support

operations.

the same ten questions

but which tools are worth adopting—

commonly see is what I

and, just as important, how can

call ‘accidental adoption,’”

companies use them without losing

he says. “A business owner

human touch?

installs a chatbot widget because

makes it worse; customers in rural

Many small businesses are at the

their website platform offers it for

communities or visitors from Outside

“awareness/experimenting” stage of

free, with no clear plan for how it

are inquiring at all hours.”

manage

54 | September 2026

customer

models.

deliberate,

“ What

The

we Carlos Machuca

Alaska Small Business Development Center

customer

service

“A n s w e r i n g

repeatedly drains staff time without adding real value, and

Alaska’s

geography

Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com

Scheduling is the second-most

Increasingly, the value is in the

“The businesses getting real value from AI in customer service are the ones who approached it intentionally—who identified their specific bottleneck first and then found a tool to address it.”

integration of AI—not the plug-in,

Carlos Machuca, AI Resource Program Director, Alaska Small Business Development Center

automated

function,

especially

for service-based businesses like healthcare providers, salons, and tourism operators. Beyond that, automated booking and reminders are low-risk and high-reward areas for AI-assisted customer service.

according to Jake Chambers, CEO of DenaliTEK, which has been providing IT solutions in Alaska since 2001. A chat widget that only answers FAQs is useful, but an AI connected to a calendar, customer relationship management, and phone system can actually book appointments, look up accounts, or route calls to whomever is free. “That connected setup is

Your Forward Deployed Engineer. N e i g h bo r

where it goes from ‘nice’ to genuinely useful,” he says. Companies should think of AI as a “front desk that never sleeps,” says Steve Vick, owner of Web 907, a website design team in Fairbanks. “It isn’t a replacement for your team… It’s an extension that protects your customer experience when you’re not available to talk.” For

small

and

mid-sized

organizations, the two most practical AI entry points are conversational website chatbots and AI voice agents for phones. Many people still

Alaska is unique. Your AI Software should be too.

think of AI as the frustrating, rigid “canned-response” bots of years ago, but modern AI is different. It can read directly from the business’ knowledge base and answer in a conversational tone. “For instance, in a tourism business, the chatbot doesn’t

just

list

excursions;

converses with visitors to ask about their party size, preferred tour duration, and expected level of adventure,” Vick explains. “It then recommends tours based on this www.akbizmag.com

AI Deployment Service Anchorage, Alaska | delve-group.com hello@delve-group.com Alaska Business

September 2026 | 55

interaction, qualifying a lead exactly like a front-desk person would.” Real-time chat is nice, yet AI voice agents can handle similar work over the phone. For example, Web 907

Clients are less likely to be "the one that got away" thanks to a chatbot on Rod Pangborn's website configured by Web 907. Rod ’s Alaskan Guide Ser vice

deployed one to help an emergency veterinary service manage its rotating after-hours, on-call schedule. Instead of worried pet owners searching through

social

media

posts

midnight to find the open clinic, they call one number and receive an immediate answer from a calmvoiced AI. “Under the hood, the AI is just reading a spreadsheet, but to the caller, it is the difference between panic and immediate relief,” Vick says.

Specific Expertise Required Web 907 client Rod Pangborn uses AI to support various functions for his North Pole tour business, Rod’s

outcomes they want to achieve,

building an AI chatbot or phone

Alaskan Guide Service. The company,

according to Phillip Jackson, chief

assistant for your business,” he

which offers authentic adventures just

information officer at Arctic IT.

explains. “It’ll give you a surprisingly

However,

outside Fairbanks, placed a chatbot

setting

good roadmap.”

on its website last October with

complex

phone

The “real” work with implementing

impressive results. “It’s scary-good,”

assistant requires greater technical

AI, Vick says, is training, testing, and

Pangborn says. “It answers questions

expertise. These tools must be

troubleshooting. “Out of the box,

chatbot

answer

an AI model does not know what

questions from a company’s

it’s not supposed to say,” he says. “If

same kind of repetitive

k n ow l e d g e

“ To

you don’t set clear boundaries, it will

questions

that

operationalize

chatbot

happily pull random data from the

company ’s

employees

assistant—to

open internet, write three-paragraph

used to handle. This has

give it memory, a voice,

essays nobody wants to read, or

significantly reduced the

and a ‘heart’ that reflects

confidently make up an answer.”

designed

like a human would.” The chatbot fields the the

phone

base. a

your business values—that

Phone and voice AI are slightly

typically requires a technical

more technical, and they require

staff to address other customer

partner who can build it correctly and

specific expertise. As Vick explains,

needs. “About 5 to 10 percent of our

integrate it into your environment,”

“You have to connect them to your

total volume of customers use the

Jackson says.

phone system and map out a natural

number of incoming phone calls and emails, freeing

Jake Chambers DenaliTEK

chatbot,” Pangborn says. “At the end

Today, many AI tools are no-code

vocal tone for your brand. But once

of the day, it’s increased our revenue.”

solutions, so a business owner

the lines are connected, voice AI

How much expertise do business

can stand up a basic chatbot or

needs the same disciplined training

owners need to implement AI for

scheduler in an afternoon without

and guardrails as a website chatbot.”

customer service? They can start

any programming experience. In

by experimenting with tools like

fact, Chambers recommends using

ChatGPT, Claude, or Microsoft Copilot

AI to set up AI. “Open Claude or

Training AI relies heavily on context,

to test scripts, responses, and the

Copilot and ask it to walk you through

according to Jackson. The more

56 | September 2026

Take Your Bot to School

Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com

information the tool has about a company, the better it can respond. Alaska’s complexities can be built into the system through the rules, examples, and business knowledge it receives. “For example, there isn’t a road to every town, so logistical queries may require a person to validate before AI provides an answer to a customer,” Jackson says.

“To operationalize a chatbot or phone assistant—to give it memory, a voice, and a ‘heart’ that reflects your business values—that typically requires a technical partner who can build it correctly and integrate it into your environment.” Phillip Jackson, Chief Information Officer, Arctic IT

To keep AI from filling Alaskaspecific

gaps

with

Outside

assumptions, Web 907 trains it on local realities, including written rules, pricing spreadsheets, seasonal calendars,

and

regional

FAQs.

During testing, the company asks the web chatbot or phone agent awkward, hyper-local questions until it proves it can reliably navigate the unique geography and logistics of Alaska flawlessly. “Simply put, you have to teach the AI how to use your local resources, and just as importantly, how not to use them,” Vick says. Chambers has a similar view, saying AI is only as good as what you feed it. For instance, a generic bot will not know that a “weather day” in Utqiaġvik means something very different than in Anchorage—but one trained on the company’s operations will. Therefore, it’s important to build that reality into the knowledge base. “You don’t train it on ‘Alaska,’” he says. “You train it on your Alaska— your specific company, solutions, industry, market, and client set.”

Affordability of AI For a small business, AI customer service is not an expensive option, but doing nothing is, Vick says. The cost generally breaks down to a one-time setup fee and a predictable monthly fee that scales with usage. A basic website chatbot that answers www.akbizmag.com

Alaska Business

September 2026 | 57

Rod’s Alaskan Guide Service conducting a full-day snowmachine trip north of Fairbanks in the White Mountains. Rod ’s Alaskan Guide Ser vice

FAQs and routes users to the right

price, depending on what you want

online, is taking a careful approach

contact person typically costs from

the tool to do, how many systems it

to leveraging AI. It closely evaluates

$600 to $1,000 for setup and $150

needs to connect to, and how much

which

to $300 a month for ongoing usage.

of the customer-service workflow you

automated for customers while

Setup for a more complex AI agent—

want to operationalize.”

preserving the human touch of its

support

tasks

can

whether for chat interactions or

He adds, “It’s important to note that

member experience specialists where

handling phone calls—usually starts at

businesses should always choose a

it matters most. “We’re using AI to

$1,250 to $2,000, with monthly plans

paid AI service over a free version,

respond to members’ inquiries via

starting at $300 and scaling based on

so you don’t run the risk of sensitive

chat and email fully when possible

call or chat volume.

data leaks.”

and, if not, to gather information up front before handing it off to our

“For the vast majority of local small businesses and nonprofits, a

Maintaining a Human Touch

team,” says Meg Christman, vice

basic monthly plan offers more than

AI can perform well with high-

president of member experience.

enough volume,” Vick says. “When

volume, low-stakes, and repeatable

“We’re also developing some uses that

you do the math, an AI tool that

questions where the answer

can support our specialists,

saves you hours of work each week or

is knowable: business hours

such as performing tasks

catches a late-night call covers its own

and location, appointment

for them mid-conversation,

cost incredibly fast.”

scheduling, order status,

that they currently need

to do manually. This is

Using AI for customer service and

FAQ-type

questions.

support can work for organizations

But humans should stay

intended

of all sizes. However, Jackson’s

involved for the exceptions,

them up to keep their

best advice is to start small, prove

such as upset customers.

it, and then expand. “At the low

“The goal is not to replace

focus

Phillip Jackson

help

directly

free the

conversation.”

Arc tic I T

Thanks

AI,

Wild

Alaskan

end, that may be as inexpensive

the human touch, but rather to

as a paid subscription to an LLM

let AI handle the routine tasks, so

Company has interacted with more

[large language model] for each

people can handle the exceptions,”

customers while its support team

person using it, which can run

Jackson says.

is offline. At the same time, the

about $30 a month,” he says. “Full AI

Wild Alaskan Company, which

implementations can vary widely on

sells premium wild-caught seafood

58 | September 2026

company is working to improve the

quality

its

AI-generated

Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com

responses. “We continually review

intentionally built into the data AI

trap many businesses fall into is

both the answers it provides and

draws from.

using AI to replace the human

from,

Machuca offers this simple rule

touch. But when used well, it

ensuring conversations are routed

for deciding when AI needs human

does the opposite. “It clears away

to a specialist before a customer

oversight: “If getting it wrong would

the friction, the phone trees, the

gets stuck in a loop,” Christman

cost you a customer permanently,

waiting, the repeating yourself, so

says. “In our industry, we prefer our

keep a human in that loop.”

your people are freed up for the

the

knowledge

draws

highly trained member experience

AI is not a customer-service

moments that actually build loyalty,”

he says. “The goal should not be

“c a p a c i t y ”

fewer humans but humans doing

emphasizes.

what only humans can do, with the

specialists to handle areas such

re p l a c e m e n t

s t ra t e g y ;

as cooking advice and food-safety

customer-service

guidance. And whenever someone

strategy,

wants to speak with a person, we

“The businesses winning with AI

want to make that connection; that’s

right now aren’t the ones who

what we’re here for.”

handed everything to a bot,” he

thoughtfully, and it makes your

Deploying AI without a thoughtful

says. “They’re the ones who used

service more personal. Do it carelessly

human backstop can damage trust

AI to free up their best people to

and it makes you feel like every big,

in ways that are difficult to repair,

do the work that actually requires

Lower 48 company we all dread

Machuca says. This is especially

human judgment, relationship, and

calling. That difference is entirely in

important for businesses serving

expertise.”

the setup—which is why I’d tell any

Machuca

i t ’s

busywork lifted off their plate.” Chambers

continues:

“Do

expect

Alaska [business] owner to treat AI in

rural customers, where cultural

personal, attentive service and

customer service as a way to protect

responsiveness is essential. That’s

are often wary of cold, robotic

their personal touch, not trade

why community context should be

interactions, Chambers says. The

it away.”

Alaska

Native

communities

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www.akbizmag.com

Alaska Business

September 2026 | 59

Structured Communication Systems Alaska-tailored IT solutions with national resources and a personal touch

then bring back appropriate solutions,”

to buy a router or switch,” Furr explains.

Structured Communication

Territory Director Dan Maxwell says. “They

“What they want is efficiency with their

Sys te ms

are confident that we know what we’re

workforce and security.”

ha s

helped

organizations nationwide navigate digital

doing and in our proven track record.”

transformation by “bridging people,

Senior Account Manager Leaves Garnett echoes that philosophy. She

Photo Credit:Port MacKenzie

or nearly thirty-five years,

business, and technology.” Founded in

NATIONAL-SCALE RESOURCES

emphasizes, “We’re selling a business

1992 in Clackamas, Oregon, Structured

While some competitors represent only

outcome supported by experienced

specializes in providing industry-leading

a handful of vendors, Structured works

engineers who have spent years designing

security, cloud, digital infrastructure, and

with hundreds of partners, giving its Alaska

and supporting complex environments.”

managed services.

team flexibility to recommend solutions

Longevity

and

continuity

also

In Alaska—where it opened an office

that fit clients’ budgets, performance

differentiate Structured. Many of its

in 2003 and employs fifteen people—

needs, and long-term goals. “We're large

employees have been with the company

Structured offers a distinct advantage:

enough to have around 300 partners,” says

for decades, so Alaska clients often work

a local, four-person sales team that

Senior Account Manager Janet Furr. “We

with the same people year after year. “If

understands the state’s operating

can offer several different alternatives

you’re continually available for customers,

realities and delivers customer-focused

where other companies may be married

that’s what builds relationships in the

solutions. “Team Alaska” includes long-

to one or two different partners.”

community,” Maxwell says.”

term residents and industry veterans

vendor-agnostic

reseller,

serving healthcare, the public sector,

Structured designs solutions around client

NOT THE TYPICAL IT RESELLER

critical infrastructure, and rural markets.

needs rather than a single manufacturer’s

Structured takes a unique “boutique”

The group has extensive experience

product line. “We can sell our customers

approach to service, relying on in-

supporting resource development,

anything; we can customize a solution

person meetings, local engagement,

including direct work with North Slope

for them,” says Adam Garnett, Sales

and genuine relationships that larger

production and pipeline operators.

Operations Development Representative.

national competitors may struggle to

That local expertise is crucial in Alaska,

Bridging between people, business,

match. Team Alaska will do whatever is

where geography, weather, logistics, and

and technology means translating

necessary—whether it’s getting a critical

workforce shortages can complicate

technical options into practical value.

package onto a same-day Alaska Airlines

technology decisions. “Our customers

So, conversations with customers often go

flight or hand delivering a proposal to

trust us to listen to their requirements and

beyond boxes and specs. “No one wants

Homer—to satisfy clients. “Customer

60 | September 2026

Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com

Photo Credit: Amber Johnson Photography

service is what we live and die by,”

that could save a healthcare client

Ultimately, Structured offers more

says Senior Account Manager Ryan

$200,000 by scaling the solution more

than IT solutions; it delivers service and

Bergstrom. “We can’t afford for things

appropriately. It also supported a state

confidence. As Maxwell notes, “It’s about

to go wrong.”

agency through a data center refresh

the trust customers have in us to help

while reducing costs and minimizing

them secure their network and data from

downtime.

the bad guys.”

The

company

supports

data

center modernization, cybersecurity, governance, risk, and compliance across industries ranging from healthcare to utilities and government. It helps clients assess gaps, plan managed services, and meet regulated security frameworks and other requirements. For organizations struggling to recruit and retain specialized IT talent, Structured often serves as an extension of their customer’s team. That support drives measurable results. Recently, Structured developed an

alternative

www.akbizmag.com

recommendation

Structured Communication Systems Danny Maxwell, Territory Director, PMP 2550 Denali Street, Suite 513 Anchorage, Alaska 99503 (907) 313-6521 structured.com

Alaska Business

September 2026 | 61

S M A L L BU S I N E S S

In the Valley of Luxury Mat-Su growth draws higher-end recreation options By Rindi White

ocktails crafted with locally

trend, and Anchorage has slowly but

Slope, but 67 percent of working-age

foraged plants. Premium

steadily lost population.

Mat-Su residents who commute are heading to jobs in Anchorage.

simulators.

Behind those numbers is another

Riverside glamping. Luxury gyms

reality: Anchorage is losing people

with high-end classes. A resort with a

mostly to the Mat-Su. In 2025, 69

means Mat-Su residents can tap

private lake and shareable plates.

percent of the new Mat-Su residents

into higher-wage jobs (average

These are all examples of urban

hailed from Anchorage. Fairbanks

wages for Anchorage are $74,280

amenities that celebrate what’s great

and Kenai area residents also moved

versus

about Alaska—and they’re cropping

to Southcentral’s second center, but

up in the Mat-Su, not its more densely

in much smaller numbers: 6 and 7

balk at making the trip when a

populated neighbor, Anchorage.

percent, respectively.

paycheck isn’t at stake. For social or

indoor

golf

While

working

Mat-Su’s

$58,080),

Anchorage

average

many

wage

commuters

Affordable and available housing is

entertainment engagements in the

Home for the Weekend

part of the reason. In 2025, more than

off hours, businesses in Mat-Su are

For more than two decades, the

half of the 2,100 homes built in Alaska

stepping up, providing higher-end

Matanuska-Susitna Borough has been

went up in the Mat-Su. Anchorage

recreational options.

on a steady growth track, gaining a

saw only 16 percent of statewide new

net of about 1.5 percent in population

home construction.

each year according to a May report

Proximity to Anchorage facilitates

New Life for a Local Treasure

in the Alaska Department of Labor

that growth. Long called Anchorage’s

Meier Lake Resort has deep roots

and

Development ’s

bedroom community, 39 percent of

near the entrance to Hatcher Pass.

Alaska Economic Trends. Meanwhile,

the Mat-Su workforce works outside

The 120-acre resort off Wasilla-

the population of the state has

the borough. About 15 percent of

Fishhook Road was built in the ‘70s

remained flat with a downward

those are employed on the North

as a summer camp and conference

Workforce

62 | September 2026

Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com

Donna Marie Photography | Lulu's Tents Meier Lake Resor t

community shower here; the nearby

encounter

shower

wooded

mile-long

house

has

bathrooms

Part Destination, Part Neighborhood Hot Spot

driveway. At the end of the leisurely

assigned to each cabin. The showers

Renovating the cabins and shower

drive,

were also renovated from top to

house in 2018 and 2019 elevated

reveal a lakeside lodge and several

bottom. Gone are the tiny tiles and

Meier Lake Resort into a hotel and

cabins, while a trail leads to a disc

plastic curtains. Instead, it sports

wedding venue. The timing wasn’t the

golf course.

spa-like showers, an enormous

best, opening around the same time

bridal suite, and upscale tile and

COVID-19 restrictions began, but the

wood throughout.

team persevered.

the

property

unfolds

Marissa Senna, operations manager for Meier Lake Resort, says she and

making

Senna says each year has brought

to keep the summer camp/resort feel

memories. Meier Lake has existed

change, such as opening the Alaskana

of the property intact while updating

before we were ever here and will

Social Club, a craft cocktail bar and

almost every aspect.

exist after we’re gone. We are just

restaurant, in 2025. Where summer

but

stewards, moving this property

campers once slid trays to be served

have been completely gutted and

through the next phase of its

at the camp cafeteria, a bar now

renovated, she says. They were

life. We want all of our wedding

stands, reflecting the lake, with a

given new foundations and in-

couples to come back and celebrate

glittering chandelier and array of

floor heating, and each cabin is

anniversaries,

fine liquors.

decorated in mid-century modern

and all sorts of special events. The

With a fully equipped kitchen,

style, with clean lines and natural

space itself is really for people to

Senna says the restaurant is meant

colors. In keeping with the summer

come together, have a drink, have

to be part homey neighborhood bar

camp cabin tradition, the rooms

s’mores over the campfire, and just

and part fine dining with shareable

don’t have restrooms, but there’s no

really take the time and make those

plates. That’s where the “Social Club”

schlepping along a muddy path to a

memories,” Senna says.

name comes in, she says. It even has

partner Michael Maddux have worked

The

cabins

www.akbizmag.com

are

original

“ This

place

for

family

Alaska Business

reunions,

September 2026 | 63

S M A L L BU S I N E S S

center. Through a front gate, visitors

S M A L L BU S I N E S S

Cozy club chairs line the windows in the speakeasy area of Meier Lake Resort. The space is frequently reconfigured for special events.

The custom-built 20-foot quartz bar at Arctic Fairways offers a place to gather for refreshment after playing 18 holes on the virtual version of an iconic golf course.

Meier Lake Resor t

Alopex | Arc tic Fair ways

a dress code: Clean Cut Alaskan. Don’t

and chicken and waffles evince the

might become a proper club with

worry about your XtraTufs, she says,

restaurant’s locally grown focus and

membership at some point—Senna

but no pajamas, please.

the Midwestern roots of its chef, Matt

says the team is still working out what

Stohlgren, and the Southern roots of

the neighborhood would like to see.

“We

want

this

your

neighborhood bar, as well as a special

its sous-chef, Michael Ross.

On one side of the lodge is tranquil

event space,” she says. “My favorite

Senna says the team uses Delta

Meier Lake, completely encompassed

thing that I get to see if I’m standing

Junction-grown milk and beef, and

in the resort property. On the other

behind the bar is to watch somebody

they shop for the freshest local

side, beyond the parking lot, is

finish their meal, get up, go to leave,

ingredients at farmers’ markets and

a hidden gem: a disc golf course

and then immediately stop at a

at Bushes Bunches Produce Stand

table two tables over because they

whenever possible.

disc golfer, Senna says. “It’s absolutely mesmerizing,” she

know someone there. It’s the local

For Glass Passengers and Chain Rattlers

says. People are welcome to stop by

Club’ is really to emphasize the fact that this is for our community.”

Another aspect of the “Social Club”

she says. The lodge has a small disc

community, all together. The ‘Social

and play a round for $10 per person, golf pro shop as well.

The drink menu includes hand-

atmosphere is one floor below the bar

crafted cocktails and mocktails,

and restaurant area: the speakeasy.

such as the Devil’s Club, made with

You don’t need a secret knock, but the

something that we would want and

devil’s club sustainably foraged on

velvet couches and art deco aesthetic

see what our friends and neighbors

the property each spring; the leafy

look like the space might require one.

want to enjoy, and that’s what we try

green is then infused into a cocktail

Here the Meier Lake Resort team

to provide,” she says.

reminiscent of the classic, bubbly

hosts movie nights, film festivals,

French 75 cocktail.

Sunday yoga sessions in inclement

In Full Swing Year Round

weather, and other gatherings.

For golfers who prefer chasing

The menu describes the dishes

“ We

just

wanted

create

as “made to be passed around the

“We want to have a bar where

the white ball, Arctic Fairways has

table and enjoyed together.” Locally

you can come on in and treat it like

options. Damon Hammer this spring

made potato chips, shareable plates

your living room—but you don’t

opened a virtual golf course to appeal

of Alaska oysters, macaroni and

have to clean up after yourself, and

to Alaskans who want to keep their

cheese made with Alaska scallops,

the cocktails are a lot better,” Senna

skills honed when the snow covers

cider-marinated pork-belly skewers,

says with a laugh. The speakeasy

the courses.

64 | September 2026

Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com

S M A L L BU S I N E S S

Impakt Athletics opened a luxury fitness facility in Wasilla, then Impakt Youth Athletics in a nearby building. The owners plan to open gyms across Alaska over the next decade, beginning with one in Eagle River in 2027. Impak t Athletics

Using Full Swing, the same brand of

when he’s off rotation. He’s built a

With the Full Swing golfing system

golf simulator Tiger Woods practices

couple of houses—his own and his

in place—installed and calibrated

on, Arctic Fairways has both open and

parents’—and with those skills he

by a team from Full Swing, Hammer

private bays, each with more than

decided to venture into commercial

says—other parts fell into place. The

sixteen feet of swinging room. Golfers

construction. It’s more rigorous, he

business opened in March with the

can bring their own clubs and play

says, due to additional fire safety

simulator, a slate of mocktails, and a

a round on a Professional Golfers’

requirements, but bit by bit he and his

menu of sandwiches, sliders, salads,

Association tour course or an iconic

parents put Arctic Fairways together.

and sides. After what Hammer jokes

destination such as Pebble Beach Golf

The sleek, modern interior has

was a “quick seventeen months,”

Links. Or they can rent clubs, take a

100-inch televisions hung high for

Arctic Fairways was granted a beer

lesson from a local golf pro, and grab

easy visibility, wooden slat walls that

and wine license in June, expanding

a panini and a beer at the 20-foot

Hammer says took a team of friends

the menu further. Also, the pro shop

quartz bar.

to raise, custom-built light fixtures,

stocks Travis Mathew apparel, hats,

Hammer is a Colony High School

and other features that the Hammers

and custom-embroidered accessories.

grad who played baseball throughout

hand-made and installed over a two-

Opening an indoor golf range in

his youth. After he began working,

year construction period.

spring, when outdoor golf courses

he realized he needed a sport and

“I wanted it to be a place where

were readying their greens for

started playing golf. It was addicting,

people can come for date nights or

summer, wasn’t ideal timing, but

he says, but he could only play for a

come out with the kids,” he says. “I

Hammer lucked out. A long, chilly

few months of the year.

wanted people to be blown away

spring and rainy summer has boosted

when they walked in.”

traffic. In the fall, Hammer is adding

“I never felt like I was getting better because I would play and by the end

kids

aren’t

into

golf,

the

of the season, I’m getting good. And

simulators also offer hockey, soccer,

then I’d have to [give it up for the

football, basketball, baseball, zombie

winter]. Springtime rolls around,

dodgeball, and other games. Hammer

and I’m like, ‘What is this thing in

says he was aiming for a spot with a

my hand?’ And I have to figure it out

little something for everyone, even if

again,” he says.

that’s just hanging out on the couch

Hammer works on the North Slope and says he always needs a project www.akbizmag.com

and reading a book while friends play, or just stopping in for lunch. Alaska Business

a competitive league, a recreation league, and maybe more. “We’re still in the creation phase of it,” Hammer says.

Building a Foundation of Fitness Tiffiny Wohlers embarked on her dream of offering hands-on personal September 2026 | 65

is especially proud that most of

S M A L L BU S I N E S S

Impakt’s instructors have degrees and advanced certifications in the field. The youth facility opened after the adult facility was up and running. “Ryan and I had coached a lot of youth—and by default, worked with a lot of adults—through gymnastics. We believe it’s good to be active, good to be fit,” Wohlers says. But they also felt parents should lead by example, Laura Wilson, owner of Lulu's Tents and Events, sits in front of one of nine lavishly appointed tents at her property along the Knik River. She has hosted many weddings and elopements and also serves as wedding planner and officiant through her second business, Say Yes Alaska. Rachel Struve Photography | Lulu's Tents and Events

so they wanted a place where parents could get comfortable with their own fitness strategy, learning foundational skills. “Getting there [to the gym] is the easy part. Walking through the door without a plan is incredibly intimidating. Our goal was to provide a space for adults that really only is available for youth,” Wohlers says. The gym offers workout menus on iPads for members to customize. Small group classes are available, along with team sports and one-onone training. In the center of the cardio area, local trainer McKenzie Zipperian leads a spin studio. “Spin, as a whole, can be less intimidating than a group fitness class. You’re going to sit on a bike,

training in her three-car garage,

got to design a gym from the

turn off the lights, and just spin,”

opening a gym in 2023.

ground up.

Wohlers says. “The combination of

“We were in there for a long time,

Now Wohlers and Childers run

fitness and spin doesn’t need to be in

and we had people coming from all

the Impakt Athletics 24-hour luxury

separate spaces, so we dropped his

over the state,” she says.

fitness facility and the adjacent

entire studio into the cardio area and

Impakt Youth Athletics. They plan to

decked it out with neon lights.”

Then a friend, who happens to be a real estate broker, mentioned

expand to Eagle River in 2027.

Wohlers says the Impakt team

that a building near the Lowe’s

What makes it a luxury? Locker

plans to continue to improve its

hardware store in Wasilla was

rooms with high-end finishes, very

Wasilla offerings in response to

coming up for lease. It’s just off the

large showers, a sauna, a cold

what its members want, and they

Parks Highway, but not as visible

plunge tub, a nail technician on

have a ten-year strategy to spread

as highway frontage. The structure

one side and a massage therapist

personalized fitness throughout the

was

spacious

on the other, Wohlers says. The

state. The current plan is to open

enough for fifteen planned offices.

equipment isn’t standard gym gear;

a new location every two to three

“It was just the four walls; the floor

the team invested in Rogue Fitness,

years: after Eagle River would come

hadn’t even been laid yet,” Wohlers

supplier for the CrossFit Games

Anchorage and Kenai. But the Mat-Su

recalls. She and Ryan Childers

and USA Weightlifting. Wohlers

gets the first crack.

unfinished

66 | September 2026

but

Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com

Events, open from Memorial Day to

tub, a sauna, and a camper stocked

To recharge after a busy week,

Labor Day, became the Mat-Su’s first

with snacks. The property works as a

glamping spot.

destination wedding spot, a location

what’s more decadently Alaskan than

for family reunions, or just a night

a riverside campfire and retiring to a

All Around the Campfire

soft bed near rushing water? Laura Wilson, an Alaskan transplant

Now in her fifth year, Wilson’s

away from home. The mix of campers she sees is fun

from New Hampshire, was working

amenities

vintage

and eclectic, she says. “I get people

in the events industry when the

campers, two outdoor on-demand

in their early 20s, I get couples, I get

COVID-19 pandemic shut everything

hot-water showers, outdoor portable

friend groups, I get people who live

down. With no events to coordinate,

toilets, an outdoor shared cooking

five minutes down the road who are

Wilson was out of a job.

area, an outdoor wood-fired soaking

like, ‘We don’t want to be far away

acquaintance

who

was

include

two

wedding officiant reached out, saying she planned to retire. She asked Wilson to try performing nuptial duties. Wilson says she didn’t think it would be a good fit—she’s a sure “cry” at weddings, so she was uncertain she wanted to do that daily. Then someone else reached out with the same suggestion. Wilson gave in, and after one wedding she loved the job. “Why did I wait until I was in my 50s to discover this?” she asked herself. Thus, Wilson started Say Yes Alaska, a wedding planning company. Around that time, Wilson noticed a “for sale” sign at a wooded property between Old Glenn Highway and the Knik River. It felt like home, like the place she belonged. Wilson sold her New Hampshire home and purchased the Knik River lot. Around that time, a friend sent her a link to Vermont-based Stout Tent, maker of bell-style tents, which are noted for their ability to stand up in the wind. Living in the Knik River valley, Wilson knows all about the wind whooshing down from Knik Glacier. Those elements came together as Lulu’s Tents and Events. Wilson ordered nine tents—she has a thing for odd numbers, she says—and bought comfy queen-sized beds, rugs, lamps, chairs, soft bedding, and cozy details. Lulu’s Tents and www.akbizmag.com

Alaska Business

September 2026 | 67

S M A L L BU S I N E S S

Riverside Restoration

from our kids, but we don’t want to

S M A L L BU S I N E S S

be with our kids for the night,’” she says. “Then I’ll get people in their 80s, taking the trip of a lifetime.” So far this year, she’s welcomed people from twenty-two different countries. “They’re all around the campfire, all different people from all different walks of life. Nobody knows each other, but they’re all friends,” Wilson says. Lulu’s Tents and Events is about more than luxury camping. A lover of live music, Wilson organized “Campfire Sessions” each Wednesday featuring artists traveling in Alaska. For instance, Hope Cassity and Jerry Wessling both had dates on the 2026 summer calendar. In July, Wilson hosted a four-musician “Songwriters on the River” event in which the musicians explained their songwriting Impakt Athletics owners Tiffiny Wohlers and Ryan Childers wanted to create a space where adults would feel comfortable learning foundational fitness skills or pushing themselves to achieve long-held goals. Impak t Athletics

process in addition to playing music. She also held a Wellness Weekend in late July with Active Mountain Yoga in which participants hiked, painted, took part in yoga sessions, journaled, and recharged. Running a business shaped by uncontrollable factors like wind and rain is a little tricky, Wilson says. But one constant has been the community. People enjoy her location, she says, and some return every year. Others have supplied her with wood for campfires or propane for the shared kitchen. “I always say I’m the face of it, but behind the scenes, there’s hundreds of people,” Wilson says. Whether

it ’s

year-round

professional

golf

cocktails

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yoga, small business owners in the Mat-Su are working to keep up with the bedroom community’s evolving Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com

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S M A L L BU S I N E S S

CELEBRATING ALASKA’S

Mark Turkington

S M A L L BU S I N E S S

Privileges of Membership

Businesses sustained by subscriptions By Scott Rhode

Spectrum of Involvement

newspapers

a separate per-pound charge for

and magazines have paid

the produce itself. Admission can

Whether the farm’s visitors are

an upfront fee since weekly

be purchased as a subscription for

“subscribers” or “members” is a

papers emerged in Germany in the

unlimited access.

semantic ambiguity. Hogate states,

early 1600s. When industrialization

“Subscription

ubscribers

retail”

gained

“People

who

are

part

Lady

for

popularity around 2007, when Netflix

Homesteaders or who are part of

pocket change, newsboys began

pivoted from DVD-by-mail to online

the farm membership, they are

selling to passersby. Publishers

video, and the habit broke into

people that we’re connecting with.

earned

brick-and-mortar during the 2010s.

We’re building community with these

Common Ground Alaska was part of

guys. Whereas a subscriber to a

Tandy Hogate has been selling

that economy before; it started as

magazine—we have subscribers all

subscriptions since the quarterly

community-supported agriculture,

over the world, and I don’t have any

Sustainable Alaska Magazine launched

where consumers buy a share of

idea about any of them.”

in early 2025. She also runs Alaska

the harvest and receive deliveries of

Connection is one distinction;

Homestead

video

produce boxes. After Hogate and her

another is that subscriptions are

streaming archive with monthly

husband, Gene, switched to a you-

transactional, whereas memberships

online classes that grew out of the

pick farm, they needed a few years

attach to identity. Yet another view

Lady Homesteaders club.

before the logic of subscriptions came

is that subscriptions cover the cost

around again.

of goods, but memberships provide

made

copies

a f f o rd a b l e

m o re

rev e n u e

f ro m

advertising, and they still do.

Academy,

She’s applying those models to Common Ground Alaska, her farm

From car washes to movie theaters,

access, with other fees layered on

variety

in Big Lake. The farm now charges

businesses

top. For example, Costco charges for

admission for a visitor to harvest

are embracing subscriptions as a

groceries even while members pay an

apples, melons, or berries, with

sustainable stream of income.

annual fee for the perk of bulk pricing.

70 | September 2026

Alaska

Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com

will stand behind something that they believe in. For folks who believe strongly

Tandy and Gene Hogate grow honeyberry, currants, and even cantaloupe at Common Ground Alaska farm in Big Lake, and now they charge a subscription fee to enter the you-pick orchard.

in the family farm, they’re

Alaska Business

willing to invest in it, and that’s helpful to us.” Tandy Hogate Co-owner, Common Ground Alaska

have

65 percent of cars going through

span a spectrum. The lowest level of

used “member” since the Public

the Tommy’s Express tunnel are

involvement, pure subscription, is

Broadcasting

yet

members. The remainder use a

simply an upfront payment. A hybrid

members can also subscribe. Ulman

cashier window for what Davis calls

model blends a flat rate for continued

notes that a $5 monthly donation

“unique washes,” making Tommy’s

access while also permitting one-

to Alaska Public Media buys a

Express a true hybrid. The main perk

time purchases, so hybrids might

subscription to the PBS Passport

of membership is the price advantage

use “subscriptions” or “memberships”

streaming service. So it’s a mix.

of unlimited access.

Subscriptions and memberships

Public

radio Act

and of

TV 1967,

Price is also a perk at The

that,

Tommy’s Express Car Wash can mix

members pay for exclusive access,

it up too. “The Tommy’s vernacular is

P o rc u p i n e

like at a fitness club. The highest

‘members,’” says Austin Davis, owner

movie house in Homer reopened

involvement might include voting

and CEO of Wild Pines Ventures,

rights, such as members of utility co-

which brought the franchise to

the new owners implemented a

ops or public broadcasters.

Anchorage in 2024. “To be a member,

subscription model for the building’s

“The listener and the viewer and

you have to have a subscription. So,

70th anniversary. “It’s a monthly

the readers of our daily digest, they

yes, they are used interchangeably;

subscription, so I do use that word,

don’t see themselves as ‘subscribers.’

a member is a subscriber.” Another

but I don’t call them subscribers. I

They see themselves as members

term he uses is “guests.”

call them members because they’re

i n t e rc h a n g e a b l y.

A b ov e

2025

T h e a t e r.

after

The

renovation,

only and

receiving a service and supporting

Tommy’s Express gained a second

a part of something,” says co-owner

a service,” says Ed Ulman, CEO of

Anchorage location this summer

Susannah Webster. “They are part of

Alaska Public Media. “When we survey

near the Debarr Road Costco store,

our community; when they come,

our donors, they prefer the word

in addition to its flagship on Abbott

we recognize them. They get a

‘member’ or ‘donor,’ not ‘subscriber.’”

Road. According to Davis, about

dollar off popcorn. They bring their

www.akbizmag.com

Alaska Business

September 2026 | 71

S M A L L BU S I N E S S

“People really

Alaska Business

Greatland Studios

S M A L L BU S I N E S S

Kris Merizon packs Plan and Learn boxes each month for delivery to subscribers, and she appears at local markets to demonstrate the product.

own bowls. We know how they like

the company paying theaters the full

when she realized that she’d love to

their popcorn.”

retail price of $11 to $12 per ticket for

keep the theater as an amenity for

subscribers. At the time, the average

all of Homer.

Bargain Luxury

consumer watched one movie per

Walk-in ticket buyers are welcome,

Membership as a selling point was

month or less, but MoviePass covered

but the subscription plan puts

an innovation of Harry and David

one movie every day. MoviePass

customers ahead by their third movie

Rosenberg, who launched the Fruit

holders saw more movies each month

in a month. “For people who come all

of the Month Club in 1937. They sold

than company leaders expected, and

the time, it’s an incredible bargain,”

Oregon pears by mail order, branded

the company was insolvent within a

says Webster.

as a club for a touch of luxury.

year. Customer lawsuits claimed bait-

To serve those bargain hunters,

when

and-switch tactics, and MoviePass

The Porcupine Theater added second-

Birchbox sold curated cosmetics

closed in 2019, although it relaunched

run and classic fare, expanding from

samples

What

in 2021 with a more conservative

two new releases per week to up to

followed were boxes of pet toys,

subscription model and celebrated

twenty titles per month. Webster

shaving kits, science experiments,

its first profitable year under the new

explains that first-run movie contracts

nerd loot, and meal ingredients.

venture in 2024.

were too limiting, especially for a

Fast-forward by

2010,

subscription.

The subscription bubble never

single screen. Flexible programming

video

burst, and Webster believes The

lets the theater cater to members,

streaming, so why not also sell movie

Porcupine Theater is poised to thrive.

and

tickets by subscription? MoviePass

The 150-seat auditorium was on

reliable cashflow.

launched in 2011, originally as a

sale for a dozen years, and Webster,

“It’s absolutely, 100 percent the

booking service, but by 2017 it sold

a licensed real estate professional,

reason we are successful,” says

$9.95 monthly subscriptions, despite

was curious why it hadn’t sold

Webster. “I initially dismissed it, but

Alongside those monthly surprises, consumers

subscribed

72 | September 2026

their

subscriptions

ensure

Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com

S M A L L BU S I N E S S

Homer's only movie house was renamed The Porcupine after it was renovated to include removable seats for live events. The Porcupine Theater

when I started to really look into it

becomes a bargain after the fifth

and look at other theaters that have

you-pick visit.

been doing this across the country, it started to really make sense.”

The pivot point for Alaska Dinner Factory

came

2016.

Linnea

Cummings started the assembly

Pivot Point

kitchen a decade earlier, and then

Common Ground Alaska arrived at

companies like Blue Apron and Hello

the subscriber model by necessity.

Fresh began dropping off meal kits

Hogate says operational costs were

on subscribers’ doorsteps. Although

creeping up, so the farm faced the

packaged foods like Nutrisystem had

prospect of raising the per-pound

been around for decades, mostly for

fee. She recalls, “We were like, gosh,

special diets, Alaska Dinner Factory

what are we going to charge for our

fills a different niche: fresh dishes

you-pick? Do we just increase it by 25

ordered well in advance.

percent or 40 percent or whatever, or how are we going to manage this?”

Keon Hall, general manager at Alaska Dinner Factory, says families

Subscriber access keeps prices

appreciate the savings of time and

steady. “The you-pick prices are

stress when it comes to shopping

going to be exactly the same as

and meal preparation. “Kids have

they were last year, but we’re

afterschool activities, or mom and

charging a $5 fee to come into the

dad don’t get home until 8 p.m.

farm,” Hogate explains. That’s $5

We also have new families; a lot

for a single entry; a subscription

of people get gifts when they’re

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S M A L L BU S I N E S S

having their first child,” says Hall. He also sees a lot of students or construction workers. For them, it’s worth shifting part of their grocery budget to Alaska Dinner Factory for six or twelve entrees per month. A premium tier for a twelvemonth subscription has a discounted price plus perks like two free side dishes per month.

Baked-In Business Model Delivering boxes was Kris Merizon’s plan from the start. A retired educator in Chugiak, she started Play and Learn Company, which packs boxes with themed activities to encourage hands-on exploration by 3-to 5-year-olds. “I wanted families to have a simple, convenient way to receive hands-on learning activities delivered directly to their homes each month. The idea was to create an experience that parents and caregivers could look forward to,” Merizon says. Merizon also vends merchandise at markets around the Anchorage area, which she considers to be occasions for outreach. “Markets are a wonderful opportunity to meet families face-to-face, gather feedback,

the 2010s. Davis says, “You had

“Growing the

RFID tags you put in your window that really took off, thus allowing

memberships

the membership model to expand

is important,

much greater.”

but retaining

adopted the subscription model, from

Now, lots of local car washes have stalwart Sudzy Salmon to Chugach

those members

Alaska Corporation subsidiary CYBER Express Wash.

is even more

Do they share the same risk as the

important because

unfortunate MoviePass?

it means that we

extra wash incurs a marginal cost

are consistently

vehicle is worth something to him.

Davis acknowledges that every to his business, but a doubly clean

delivering value…

“You’re probably going to be the best marketing that I could get,” he says.

Retention is

“Somebody that goes around with

probably the

advertisement for us.” He recalls one

a clean vehicle all the time is a great customer in Kansas who washed four

ultimate report

times every day, so it does happen. “We find that the average person

card because it

only has time to come through

tells us if we’re

about four to five times a month,”

delivering on the

dissuade anybody from using the

promises.”

says Davis, “but we don’t want to truly unlimited.” He confides that, at any car wash, a

Austin Davis, CEO, Wild Pines Ventures

second run through the tunnel might be necessary, so subscription pricing makes it painless. “I tell people

and let children interact with the been

whether they’re a member, whether

subscriptions remained the primary

subscriber focused since its inception.

you’re just paying at the window: you

focus from the beginning, I’ve always

“This was definitely baked into the

don’t pay for one car wash, you pay

viewed markets as a valuable way to

business model,” says Davis. “The

for a clean car. So I will keep sending

build relationships,” she says.

Essenburg family that started Tommy

you through. Whatever it takes,”

Subscriptions and direct orders are

Car Wash Systems, they had their own

says Davis.

most of Play and Learn Company’s

private brand of car washes by the

business.

boxes

name of Quality Car Wash in Holland,

Take Out Variables

personally, but she also sells at

Michigan. And long before the

Perks of membership accrue to

market tables. “The two go hand

founding of Tommy’s Express, they

businesses themselves. One benefit

had a membership model at those,

is stability. For instance, more than

which had a proven track record.”

half Alaska Public Media’s revenue

activities before purchasing. While

hand:

She

delivers

subscriptions

provide

consistency, while markets help us

Tommy ’s

Express

has

grow our community and share our

The leap from loyalty punch cards

comes from members, which kept it

mission of learning through play,”

to full-on subscription had to wait

afloat after federal funding vanished

says Merizon.

for the right technology, again circa

in 2025. Of course, the “fee” can be

74 | September 2026

Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com

deducted from taxes as a charitable

S M A L L BU S I N E S S

donation to a nonprofit. Another benefit is efficiency. Hall does the math for Alaska Dinner Factory. “The more subscribers you have, the more you take out the variables. Like, I know what I need for 250 subscribers,” he says. “So we need to look ahead and have 300 pounds of this or 500 pounds of that product.” On top of pre-ordered meals, the kitchen prepares a 10 percent surplus to stock in the storefront on Lake Otis Parkway for walk-in customers. “We take up to probably seventy-five to eighty orders per week,” says Hall. “We make it Monday through Friday; delivery

happens

Saturday.”

Deliveries happen three times per month, and because drivers aren’t racing against a “thirty-minutes-orless” guarantee, they can cover the

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Alaska Business

September 2026 | 75

us to focus on building long-term

S M A L L BU S I N E S S

relationships with the families we serve rather than relying solely on one-time purchases.” Relationships affect the operation of The Porcupine Theater, according to

Webster.

“People

and are like, ‘You should totally play this movie.’ Yeah, if they’re a member, I’m a little more inclined to take their recommendation,” she admits. A suggestion box was overwhelmed with requests at one point, which Webster calls part of the learning curve. Linnea Cummings co-founded Alaska Dinner Factory in Anchorage with her husband in 2006, and it has since become a delivery club restaurant where subscribers can customize their meal plans.

success. Webster says the theater

Alaska Dinner Fac tor y

has

Growth and Retention The curve is bending toward about

500

memberships,

representing about 1,000 patrons,

“The more subscribers you have, the

or far more than the house can

more you take out the variables. Like, I

income, knowing that it’s going

know what I need for 250 subscribers…

hold. “Having the stability of that to be consistent month to month, we’re at a good number right

So we need to look ahead and have 300

now,” she shares. “I would love to

pounds of this or 500 pounds of that

I think the model can support

have a thousand more members. more members.”

product.”

The Porcupine Theater must be Keon Hall, General Manager, Alaska Dinner Factory

careful with churn, however. Webster says, “I want to discourage people from jumping on and jumping off.

entire Anchorage area, without the

approximately how many boxes

We have winter people, they’re like,

need for branch locations.

we’ll need allows us to buy supplies

‘I want to be a member just for three

more efficiently, manage costs,

months.’ And it’s like, that’s not really

“With that purchasing power, you’re

and

This

what this is about. This is about the

able to save money. That’s how we’re

predictability helps reduce waste

theater being here still when you

able to give folks meals for $7 or less

and ensures we can maintain a

come back from Florida.”

per serving,” says Hall. He adds with

consistent quality experience for our

a chuckle, “Where can you go and get

customers,” she says.

Efficiency is part of the appeal.

streamline

assembly.

Success is measured in more than subscriber numbers for Play and

a meal with two sides, that’s going to

She also uses lead time to develop

Learn Company. “While growth is

feed three servings, for $21? You can’t

themes, design activities, source

certainly important, the metric that

even go through a drive-through for

materials,

products.

matters most is whether families

one person for less than $18.”

Merizon says, “The recurring nature

continue to find value in what we

Merizon

of subscriptions creates a steady

create and choose to stay engaged

“Knowing

rhythm for the business and allows

with us over time,” says Merizon. She

Subscriptions forecast

help

inventory.

76 | September 2026

and

test

Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com

prioritizes subscriber retention and

S M A L L BU S I N E S S

repeat purchases. Davis agrees. At Tommy’s Express, “Growing

the

memberships

important,

but

retaining

those

members is even more important because it means that we are consistently delivering value. While it’s exciting to grow members—and, yes, we are actively always trying to do that—if they aren’t staying with us, then I’ve missed the bigger picture. Retention is probably the ultimate report card because it tells us if we’re delivering on the promises,” he says. Hogate is committed to ensuring that members feel they’re getting what they pay for, but she can’t overshoot. She says, “I can’t offer someone a $25 membership to the farm, open it all up to them, but then have that cost me $50. You know what I mean?” Without

advertising,

Common

Ground Alaska signed up plenty of you-pick subscribers, Hogate reports. “People really will stand behind something that they believe in. For folks who believe strongly in the family farm, they’re willing to invest in it, and that’s helpful to us,” she says. “They could go do something else with that money, and they didn’t.” Subscription retail is an entry point for customers seeking bargains or seeking community. Webster observes, “Our membership is split. We have people who see it as a deal. They’re like, ‘I can save money. I’m gonna sign up for this because I want to go to the movies and I save money.’ And then we have people

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community resource.” www.akbizmag.com

Alaska Business

September 2026 | 77

S M A L L BU S I N E S S

hen

the

COV I D - 1 9

pandemic left Katalina Vaaia without a job, she

opened Bobas Cookies to help make ends meet. For three years, Vaaia baked and sold gourmet cookies from her Anchorage home. But state health rules for homemade food sellers led her to close the business when she became pregnant with her second child. “The hoops that I’d have had to go through in order to do third-party sales would’ve added more cost to my overhead and would’ve required time away from home and obviously my kids,” she says. Reviving her business became feasible when the Alaska Legislature passed HB 251, the Homemade Foods Rule, in 2024. The legislation eliminated

several

restrictions

on homemade food businesses, including the prohibition against third-party sales. Those revisions, combined

with

Municipality

updates of

the

A n c h o ra g e ’s

regulations that aligned them with the state’s changes, were enough to

Brandy Nelson

send Vaaia back into the kitchen.

Cottage Cheers

Homemade food sellers welcome relaxed regulations

“It was a complete gamechanger for my business,” she says. “These changes have positively impacted my business in a major way by c re a t i n g

m o re

opportunities

to reach customers.” Homemade foods are any food produced in an uninspected, privately owned or leased home kitchen, says Sarah Lewis, professor of health, home,

and

family

development

at the UAF Cooperative Extension Service. The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation exempts food prepared under the law from its inspection and food service permit requirements, but businesses

By Amy Newman 78 | September 2026

must

comply

with

other

state

Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com

made my business insolvent if

business operations.

I couldn’t earn at least as much 2012

as I spent.” Vaaia invested all her earnings

$25,000, limited the types of food

back into the business, but because

that could be sold, and only allowed

her profit margins were so small, she

direct-to-consumer

Lewis

was still doing everything by hand.

regulations

With the sales cap eliminated, she’s

eliminated the sales cap, expanded

been able to make real investments in

the list of allowable foods, and

the business.

explains.

The

sales,

new

allowed third-party sales in certain

“The elimination of the income cap

circumstances, which makes it easier

has given me much more confidence

for homemade food businesses

in growing my business,” Vaaia says.

to operate.

“It’s given me more flexibility, and

“Having that income cap off was

I’m now able to focus on increasing

a big, big, big, big deal. And third-

sales and investing in new equipment

party sales, huge deal,” says Monica

and supplies without having to worry

Janzen, owner of The Moon Muse,

about the significant changes that

an Anchorage home bakery that

would come with exceeding the

specializes in vegan and gluten-free

income cap.”

baked goods. “Those were the two most important parts of that deal.”

Ivy Veriato opened Wild About Dough in March 2025 and reinvested all her earnings into the business,

Cap’s Off

p u rc h a s i n g

Simply

B re a d

The $25,000 sales cap was the most

oven, which helped her scale up

restrictive of the original homemade

production. “Instead of doing two

food regulations.

sourdough loaves at a time, I’m doing

“That keeps it as a hobby business,”

twelve,” she says.

Janzen says of the original rationale.

Julia Dissen opened Kodiak Bear

“If you are legit and you care about

Hot Sauce around the time the new

your customers and you’re trying to

regulations went into effect. Although

keep things safe, with licensing and

hitting the $25,000 cap wasn’t an

insurance, then you’re making $2,000

immediate concern, she says its

to $3,000 in actual profit by the time

elimination makes the overall running

it’s said and done.”

of the business less stressful.

However, the sales cap made investing in a business challenging.

“Its removal provides peace of mind and makes long-term planning

“By my second year in business,

easier,” she says. “If my business

I had learned enough about how I

experiences a particularly strong

wanted to grow my business that

season, I don’t have to worry about

I was ready to invest in some

being forced to stop selling products

equipment and other supplies, like

partway through the year. That

custom printed glass bottles for the

allows me to invest in inventory,

kombucha,” says Brandy Nelson,

build relationships with retailers,

owner of Wild Currant Alaska in

and focus on serving customers

Soldotna. “Those investments put

without wondering whether I’ll have

my operating business costs above

to pull products from shelves or turn

the income cap, which would have

away sales.”

www.akbizmag.com

Monica Janzen

sales

Katalina Vaaia

annual

Monica Janzen

enacted

gross

Alaska Business

Brandy Nelson

Regulations capped

September 2026 | 79

S M A L L BU S I N E S S

and local regulations that govern

and scones to Natural Pantry each

S M A L L BU S I N E S S

week, and between 24 and 96 scones and cookies to the coffee huts. The partnerships make planning her schedule easier, meaning more time Monica Janzen

with her two young sons. “ When

got

offered

this

partnership with Natural Pantry, it was kind of a no-brainer,” Veriato says. “I wasn’t going to have to bake all weekend long or bake for sixteen hours and sell everything in four hours and not have much of a weekend.” Dissen

says

third-party

sales

have had the biggest impact on

Bobas Cookies Katalina Vaaia

her business. “Kodiak offers a lot of opportunities to sell through markets and bazaars, but because I work a full-time job, I can’t take advantage of all of them,” she says. “Being able to have agents sell my products allows me to spend more time making Iv y Veriato

hot sauce and less time staffing sales events.”

Wild Currant Alaska

Vaaia, too, says the change has

Brandy Nelson

helped her reach customers beyond her friends, family, and social media circle. Like Veriato, she’s partnered

Kodiak Bear Hot Sauce Julia Dissen

with Bullies & Brew and hopes to partner with additional coffee shops to sell her cookies. “This partnership has helped me increase visibility Julia Dissen

and made my cookies available to people who I might not have been able to come across otherwise,” she says. “The growth that my business has been through in just the past six months has been incredible to see.” Janzen is also focused on getting

Let Someone Else Sell Before

the

new

regulations,

have quickly begun supplying their

her products into coffee shops and

products to other retail spaces.

small businesses. Like Dissen, her job

homemade food businesses could

Veriato partnered with Natural

prevents her from always attending

only sell directly to consumers, which

Pantry and several Anchorage coffee

weekend and holiday markets. “The

meant sales happened from their

huts, including Brew D’Licious and

only way for me to grow is getting

home or at holiday markets, farmers’

Bullies & Brew, to sell her baked

into coffee shops and things like

markets, or pop-ups, Lewis says. With

goods. She estimates that she

that,” she says. “This is a way for me

that prohibition lifted, businesses

provides 300 bagels and 96 cookies

to build up and eventually have my

80 | September 2026

Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com

“ It

really

provides

great

before. I am now able to offer local

debt to do it.”

prepared veggies and dip, salads,

opportunity for small businesses

sandwiches, and I look forward to

to grow in a more viable way,”

coming up with even more new foods

Nelson

to add to my menu.”

may have the goal of moving into

Menu Expansion The new regulations also expanded

says.

“Some

businesses

the types of foods that can be sold

Together, the changes to the

a storefront, and some may want

from cottage kitchens. Under the old

regulations allow homemade food

to continue making food in their

rules, sales were restricted to baked

businesses to grow their business

homes, and I think that’s amazing

goods, jams and jellies, and pickles,

in a way that works for them.

the

Lewis says. These are foods that,

That, business owners say, is the

to keep those options open for

because of their high acidity or low

greatest benefit.

more businesses.”

way

this

legislation

helps

water activity levels, pose a lower risk of contamination. Sales of potentially hazardous foods, which must be kept refrigerated or hot to be considered safe, were prohibited, she says. Dairy, meat, fruits, and certain vegetables fall within that category. The restriction against selling potentially hazardous foods was eliminated, albeit with two caveats, Lewis adds. All meat must come from a US Department of Agricultureinspected source, and potentially hazardous foods cannot be sold through a third party; only direct-toconsumer sales are allowed. Businesses have taken advantage of the change by tweaking current recipes and adding new menu items.

Come Together Your space for any occasion

Sherri Borchert, owner of Arctic Thistle Bakes in Anchorage, now offers real cream cheese frosting for her cakes and cookies and added cheesecake to her menu. Veriato added cheese to two of her direct-toconsumer bread options. Nelson particularly embraced the ability to expand her menu. “There are so many more foods that I can offer, and I absolutely love that,” she

says. “For example, when local herbs and onions are in season, I like to make a lentil salad, which I couldn’t do before. I now sell an organic roasted

chicken

sandwich

with

homemade blackcurrant fig jam and cream cheese, which I couldn’t offer www.akbizmag.com

907.263.2850 Anchorageconventioncenters.com ASM Global is the world’s leading producer of entertainment experiences. It is the global leader in venue and event strategy and management – delivering locally tailored solutions and cutting-edge technologies to achieve maximum results for venue owners. The company’s elite venue network spans five continents, with a portfolio of more than 350 of the world’s most prestigious arenas, stadiums, convention, and exhibition centers, and performing arts venues.

Alaska Business

September 2026 | 81

S M A L L BU S I N E S S

own facility but not go into crazy

S M A L L BU S I N E S S

Thriving on Decay Fungus farmers test different ways to grow

Far Nor th Fungi

By Jamey Bradbury

82 | September 2026

Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com

around the state. Now, as far as he

roughly 2.3 million pounds

can tell, it’s down to just him and Far

of button mushrooms. They

North Fungi.

year,

Alaskans

actually eat about 1.6 million pounds.

“It kind of seems like it’s a

The rest goes brown, slimy, and

diminishing industry,” Meares says.

straight into the trash—casualties

Though he’s quick to add that it has

of a supply chain that makes a

plenty of potential, he admits, “People

slow journey north before it ever

don’t want to have five different

reaches a grocery store.

jobs. It could be hard for people

Alaska’s short growing season isn’t much of a barrier to shade-

to make a full living” cultivating and selling mushrooms.

“The business model is awful… You spend three months growing something, you have a week to sell

loving fungi, raising the question of

It wasn’t easy for Meares. He

why more Alaskans aren’t growing

has always been drawn to things

mushrooms themselves. A few years

that are “weirdly complicated and

ago, more people were. Mushroom

unique.” Mushroom cultivation fits

cultivators were popping up like—well,

the bill, requiring different growing

Gabe DeGange

like mushrooms after a good rain: a

methods for different varieties and

Co-founder

Juneau mushroom farmer, a grower in

necessitating the kind of scientific

Far North Fungi

Homer selling shiitakes, an operation

exploration more familiar to a lab

in South Anchorage, a Fairbanks

than a barn.

it. That’s made it ‘innovate or die.’”

members in the summer. When

cultivator. Add two farms that have

His original business plan looked

mushroom production alone isn’t

become the closest thing Alaska has

nothing like what Boreal Woods

enough to sustain the business

to mushroom institutions—Far North

became. Meares intended to mass

through a slow stretch, he falls

Fungi in Chugiak and Boreal Woods

produce shiitake mushrooms for

back on fresh pasta, a product

in Fairbanks—and the industry was

grocery stores. A conversation with

he sold at farmers markets even

trending up.

a wholesale distributor changed his

before he grew mushrooms.

Nationally,

the

mushroom’s

mind: imported shiitake blocks from

“ When

something

happens,

staying

other countries could be grown in

it knocks you down on it and it

p ow d e r s ,

the United States for less than Alaska

takes a while to recover. I wanted

tinctures, and capsules promising

producers could ever charge. “It just

something that was less complicated

everything from immune support

didn’t work out financially to compete

than mushrooms, so we started

to better focus have gone from

with essentially imported goods,” he

doing pasta again,” he says. Plus:

a fringe health foods to a daily

says. So he rerouted toward farmers

“Mushrooms and pasta go together

supplement for some consumers.

markets instead of wholesaling; he

like nothing else.”

moment p ow e r.

has

had

M u s h ro o m

Alaska’s growers have seen similar interest, yet the story, like a web of mycelium, gets more complicated.

A Change of Plan Matthew Meares has been growing

found he liked it better. “Once we caught on with the

Buttoning Up Wholesale

markets, we enjoyed it more, and

Trying to break into the wholesale

it was in the direction we wanted

market is still in Meares’s eventual

business

plan.

Christopher

Ferrieri

go—more

community-based

farming,” he says.

Meanwhile, is

betting

mushrooms in his family’s Fairbanks

Meares has watched the mushroom

everything on his ability to crack

garage, known as “the barn,” since

industry fluctuate over the six years

into Alaska’s wholesale, grocery, and

the early days of the COVID-19

he’s been farming the fifteen varieties

restaurant pipeline. The Great Alaska

pandemic, when he gutted the old

Boreal Woods offers. In addition to

Shroomery aims to bring commercial

four-bay shop his dad once used to

selling at farmers markets, he sells

button mushroom production to

fix up Volkswagen Beetles and turned

grow kits and runs a community-

Alaska, as well as cultivating morels—

it into Boreal Woods. Back then,

supported

something no one has managed at

he counted several other growers

that peaks around eighty to ninety

www.akbizmag.com

agriculture Alaska Business

program

scale outside of Asia. September 2026 | 83

S M A L L BU S I N E S S

buy

very

S M A L L BU S I N E S S

Cultivated mushrooms look this fresh for a brief season, so Far North Fungi also sells value-added tinctures and teas year round. Far Nor th Fungi

Cultivators don’t produce button m u s h ro o m s

c o m m e rc i a l l y

cultivation

has

achieved

reliably

been

sourcing raw materials is harder

China

and

than it sounds; the soy hulls most

years

mushroom farms use as growing

Japan,

gourmet

following Chinese growers online

medium

cultivation. Button mushrooms grow

before figuring out how to cultivate

quantities, so Ferrieri imports them

on pasteurized horse manure rather

morels himself. He’s now running

himself, two tons at a time, at a cost

than sterilized sawdust, and the two

a self-funded feasibility study on

that few small operations can absorb.

methods will cross-contaminate if

leased land at the historic Raymond

“Go big or go home is kind of my

housed together. Ferrieri sees that

Rebarchek Colony Farm on the Alaska

attitude,” Ferrieri says. “There’s a

incompatibility as an opportunity

State Fairgrounds, using morels

lot of cool things happening with

rather than an obstacle, pointing to

harvested under a commercial picking

mushrooms nowadays.”

what he calls “a large horse manure

permit to generate liquid cultures,

problem in Alaska” that his farm is

which he inoculates directly into the

positioned to solve.

ground rather than into grain.

with

Ferrieri

ever

Alaska, largely because the process incompatible

only

spent

aren’t

sold

small

Scaling Up Far North Fungi got its start in

He’s also using an ultraviolet

Last year’s outdoor trial fruited

Anchorage in 2014, when Gabe

flash system to convert a naturally

successfully. This year, he’s building

DeGange built a 10-by-15-foot shed

occurring

button

a controlled tent and hoping for two

to grow mushrooms in his Airport

mushrooms into vitamin D, boosting

harvests a year, once he’s perfected

Heights backyard. Inspired by a

the mushroom’s vitamin D content by

a method of simulating the freezing

talk from mycologist Paul Stamets,

roughly 600 percent, with no added

winter and warming spring necessary

DeGange and his business partner

cost to the customer. Because the

to harvest morels indoors year-round.

Allison Dunbar eventually tried and

US Food and Drug Administration

Bringing new local mushrooms

failed to scale up, retreated to the

requires disclosure, the product

to Alaska’s wholesale market isn’t

backyard, and eventually landed

would

without its cost, though. Restaurants

in Chugiak. There, they ’re now

appeal,

and grocers typically require product

finishing a new 5,000-square-foot

especially in a state where vitamin

insurance and Good Agriculture

production facility.

D deficiency is a near-universal

Practices audits, plus compliance

Along the way, DeGange has

concern, speaks for itself.

Ferrieri

compound

labeled a rg u e s

“enhanced.” the

with state health regulations, which

watched a rotating cast of hopefuls

His morel project is even more

call for a dedicated clean room

try their hand at the business. “We

experimental. Commercial morel

and commercial-grade sinks. Even

get people all the time who are like,

84 | September 2026

Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com

For

all

their

differences,

the

2017. Today, Far North Fungi relies

operation,’ and 90 percent of them

on farmers markets and direct retail,

three growers agree on one thing:

never do,” he says. “The 10 percent

with wholesale as a long-term goal.

mushroom farming in Alaska rewards

that do, most of them rapidly realize

DeGange describes the farm as still

patience over quick returns. Far North

that it’s just not an easy way to make

in “phase one,” as he continues to

Fungi persisted through COVID-19,

a go of it.”

study market demand and builds

through failed scaling, and through

Because mushrooms take three

toward a new production facility that

gradual growth. Meares learned

to four months to mature, from

can meet Good Agriculture Practices

to diversify through making pasta

spawn to harvest, growers get

certification, the standard that Fred

and through community-supported

maybe two or three shots a year

Meyer, Costco, and Walmart require

agriculture to make Boreal Woods

to refine their process. And unlike

and that currently locks the farm out

successful. And Ferrieri’s The Great

commercial fishing, which DeGange

of grocery shelves.

Alaska Shroomery is still betting on

did before turning to mushrooms

In the meantime, Far North Fungi

wholesale potential, developing new

full time, a grower must handle

has diversified into value-added

products for Alaska’s restaurant and

every link in the chain personally:

products—mushroom jerky, powders,

grocery markets.

production, processing, delivery,

and medicinal tinctures—largely to

The mushrooms, in other words,

sales. “We’re having to do all those

avoid wasting mushrooms that don’t

aren’t the hard part. Building a

jobs [ourselves],” he says. “It’s

sell fresh within their narrow shelf life.

business sturdy enough to survive

“The business model is awful,”

long enough to sell them—that’s

DeGange and Dunbar didn’t draw

DeGange admits. “You spend three

where local growers keep testing

salaries from their business until

months growing something, you

different approaches to bringing

last summer, nearly a decade after

have a week to sell it. That’s made it

mushrooms of all varieties to Alaska’s

officially incorporating in January

‘innovate or die.’”

diners and cooks.

way more complicated.”

The Value of Staying Visible

he goal of advertising is not just to be seen but to be remembered. When a customer is ready to make a decision, they are far more likely to choose to work with a company they recognize and trust. Consistent advertising ensures your business is top of mind when that moment arrives. One common mistake that businesses make is treating advertising like a light switch, turning it on and off throughout the year. When business is strong, marketing takes a back seat. When sales slow down, advertising suddenly becomes a priority again. But brand trust takes time and consistency to build. Most customers are not ready to make a purchasing

decision the first time they see an advertisement. Most decision-makers will see a company’s advertising several times before needing the product or service. And when the need does arise, the company that comes to mind first will often win the business. This is especially true in our business community, where relationships, reputation, and familiarity play a major role in business decisions. Companies that remain visible yearround demonstrate that they are established, reliable, and invested in the local industries they serve. Rather than relying on a single campaign, successful businesses build and develop messaging year after year, cultivating recognition over time. Each advertisement

–SP ON S OR E D

www.akbizmag.com

reinforces the last, keeping your name in front of customers, strengthening brand awareness, and your company leads the conversation when opportunities arise.

Weston Giliam is an Alaska-raised sales and marketing professional who understands the value of real connection in a relationship-driven business environment. He helps clients build effective campaigns across the state and holds a marketing degree with hands-on experience.

WESTON GILIAM

907-257-2911 | weston@akbizmag.com

CON T E N T –

Alaska Business

September 2026 | 85

S M A L L BU S I N E S S

‘Oh, I really want to start up my own

Adobe Firef ly

LEADERSHIP

Doing Good by Being Good: Corruption

By Lincoln Garrick a

rely on prosecuting specific, clearly

Index, falling from 16th place (among

business setting is often

identifiable acts, such as bribery,

the least corrupt countries) to a worse

just seen as bad people

embezzlement,

ranking of 29th.

orruption

within

extortion,

and

doing bad things, but the impact

nepotism, rather than the underlying

can be greater than just a few

corruption itself. Business corruption is also difficult

publicly prosecuted crimes.

Corruption in business generally shows up in four ways. There are bribery

and

kickbacks

(buying

Defining it is challenging because

to measure. US Department of Justice

influence), embezzlement (stealing

corruption is an umbrella concept,

prosecutions, and therefore criminal

from within), extortion (coercing

not a universally understood and

convictions, for white-collar crime

people for gain), and cronyism

defined crime. At its core, business

have decreased over the last ten

(playing favorites with jobs and

corruption is the abuse of entrusted

years. Other data tell a different story;

contracts).

power and position for private gain,

according to World Bank Enterprise

forms, fairness and accountability

which undermines fair competition,

Surveys in 2024, 2.9 percent of US

are bypassed.

destroys

each

these

culture,

firms say corruption is a big problem

erodes public trust, and can lead

for them and a very severe issue

A Different Kind of Flaw

to significant financial and legal

for their operations, and over the

Leaders fall into many traps—

consequences. Since legal definitions

past ten years the United States has

arrogance, poor execution, micro-

risk being struck down for vagueness,

steadily declined on Transparency

management, or bad strategic bets.

lawmakers and international bodies

International’s Corruption Perceptions

However, corruption is fundamentally

organizational

86 | September 2026

Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com

distinct from other leadership failures

go unnoticed or rewarded, they

in three key ways.

become the norm. This is the

It involves intentionality and breach

cultural creep. New employees are

of trust. Bad strategic decisions,

socialized into the wrongdoing

like launching a failed product,

culture, learning that this is just

usually come from poor judgment

how business gets done here.

or bad data; however, the leader

Sociologist Diane Vaughan labeled

is still trying to help the company.

this the normalization of deviance.

Corruption involves a deliberate

What started as a rare exception

breach of fiduciary duty; the leader

quietly turns into standard

has actively chosen their personal

operating procedure. Organizational

interests over the organization’s or

researchers Blake Ashforth and

shareholders’ interests.

Vikas Anand highlighted that, at

It is covert and deceptive by

this point, corruption becomes

nature. When a strategy fails, it’s

institutionalized, and those who

usually public and visible. Corruption,

raise concerns can often be isolated

or silenced.

contrast,

relies

secrecy,

Stage 3: Entrenchment and

survive. It creates a shadow system

Concealment. If not contained

within the company that actively

through internal or external controls,

works to undermine internal controls

misconduct can fully entrench an

and transparency.

organization. Instead of innovating,

It acts as a systemic contagion.

the company spends energy and

Unlike bad management styles,

effort covering up just to keep the

which might just lower morale,

lights on.

baseline of the entire organization. When

system becomes unsustainable.

see

leaders

uniquely dangerous compared to ordinary leadership failures like ego or hubris is its reliance deliberate breach of fiduciary duty, and its tendency to become normalized and

Stage 4: Exposure and Consequences. Eventually, the

employees

corruption

on secrecy,

misdirection, and falsification to

corruption degrades the ethical

What makes

benefiting from corrupt practices

External triggers such as a

without consequence, it creates a

whistleblower leak, a regulatory

normalization of wrongdoing, making

audit, investigative reporting, or a

it seem acceptable or even necessary

sudden financial deficit likely will

to succeed.

expose it. Next can come prosecution,

spread over time.

regulatory fines, loss of shareholder

Classic Stages

value, and—in extreme situations—

Corruption follows a predictable pathway

organization

corporate collapse.

Under Interrogation

individual: Stage 1: Slippery Slopes. Coined

When internal controls fail and

by behavioral ethics researcher

corruption reaches the point of

Francesca Gino, slippery slopes are

exposure, federal law enforcement

small, grey-area compromises. They

steps

might start as a tiny rule bent to hit

accountable. While agencies like

a quarterly target or a lavish gift

the US Secret Service, IRS, and US

from a vendor quietly rationalized as

Postal Inspection Service handle a

just business.

portion of financial crime referrals,

hold

bad

actors

Stage 2: Institutionalization and

the FBI serves as the primary

Normalization. As minor violations

investigative agency for federal white-

www.akbizmag.com

Alaska Business

September 2026 | 87

“By design, individuals

collar matters. The bureau handles

Q: When an executive, employee, or

more than one-third of these cases

board member suspects corruption

nationwide.

within their organization, the fear of

To explore what local executives

retaliation can be overwhelming. If a

need to know about financial crime,

staff member believes a financial crime

reporting, and prevention, I sat down

has already taken place inside their

financial crimes

with Supervisory Special Agent Andy

firm, what should they do?

want to remain

Smith, who’s in charge of the White

Smith: We recommend that anyone

Collar Squad at the FBI Anchorage

who believes a financial crime has

field office.

occurred pick up the phone and

committing

in the shadows

call the FBI. Reports can be made

so they can

Q: What are the early red flags or

directly by calling 1-800-CALL-FBI

subtle operational indicators that

(225-5324). You can alternatively

continue to enrich

a business, or its leadership, might

visit tips.fbi.gov to complete our

themselves… I

be sliding into corrupt practices and

electronic tip form.

potentially committing financial

The FBI recognizes that coming

crimes?

forward with information can be a

Smith: By design, individuals

difficult decision, which is why we

this enough:

committing financial crimes want to

take seriously the duty to protect

remain in the shadows so they can

the privacy of those who report

reporting is key. If

continue to enrich themselves. It is

wrongdoing.

cannot emphasize

you see something, say something.” Andy Smith Supervisory Special Agent Federal Bureau of Investigation

important to know that the FBI’s role

When submitting a report of a

is not to enforce or monitor internal

violation of federal law, individuals

corporate policy or procedures.

also have the option to either

What we do is investigate when

report anonymously or with

business actions move beyond

their name. If you do share your

that and into the space of federal

contact information, that can be

financial crimes. Our investigations

extremely helpful if we have follow-

often begin when an insider notices

up questions during any potential

something wrong, like unusual

investigation.

accounting, and reports it. We have lots of tools to investigate

Q: Things are different in Alaska. We

financial crimes. For example, the FBI

have vast natural resources, federal

has a cadre of forensic accountants

funding, remote infrastructure projects,

to help special agents investigate

and tight-knit business networks

increasingly complex financial cases.

because everyone knows everyone. How

The money doesn’t lie, and following

do these distinct market factors shape

the money leads the FBI to those

the specific types of corporate and

involved in financial wrongdoing,

financial crimes your office investigates

even in complex, document-intensive

here in the state?

white-collar crimes.

Smith: You’re right. Alaska is

White-collar crime is not a

88 | September 2026

especially interconnected, and people

victimless crime; it impacts

can feel loyalty to individuals or

employees, shareholders,

their organizations, which may lead

communities, and taxpayers. I cannot

to hesitation to report wrongdoing.

emphasize this enough: reporting

But doing so is important because

is key. If you see something, say

financial crimes harm both

something.

communities and consumers. Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com

Additionally, one of the largest

and stakeholders or systems not

Lincoln Garrick is an associate professor,

parts of the Alaska economy is from

keeping them in check. What makes

MBA director, and alumnus at Alaska Pacific

federal funds coming into the state

corruption

dangerous

University. He has decades of experience in

for various purposes, one of which

compared to ordinary leadership

business, marketing, and communications

is to build needed infrastructure.

failures like ego or hubris is its

fields,

This can present an opportunity for

reliance on secrecy, deliberate breach

strategy services for national and Alaska

wrongdoing.

of fiduciary duty, and its tendency

organizations.

That said, as part of a renewed

uniquely

to become normalized and spread

focus on combatting financial frauds

over time.

and schemes, the FBI is prioritizing

public

affairs

and

Throughout 2026, Garrick’s leadership series is exploring different ways for leaders

Join us next month as we explore

financial fraud investigations

providing

callousness.

to align their values with ethical conduct and create lasting positive impact.

to include fraud against the government, corporations, and the American people. This renewed focus extends to Alaska, even with its geographic remoteness. To accomplish this mission, the FBI not only works closely with local, state, and federal law enforcement partners across Alaska but also private sector partners to combat fraud in even the most isolated areas of the state. Relationships are incredibly important to the FBI. Q: Is there anything further you’d like to share? Smith: We cannot do our job without the community, private sector, and other law enforcement partners. If you are interested in public-private partnership, consider becoming a member of the InfraGard network, a partnership between the FBI and industry professionals. InfraGard is a program designed to enhance the nation’s collective ability to address and mitigate threats to critical infrastructure by fostering collaboration, education, and information sharing. Details can be found at www.infragard-alaska.org or www.infragard.fbi.gov.

Final Judgment Essentially,

corruption

combination of people abusing power www.akbizmag.com

Alaska Business

September 2026 | 89

Paisan Limratanamongkol | Adobe Stock

THE FOCUSED MANAGER

Don’t Promote Them. Talk to Them. How to have conversations that drive growth

laska has a workforce shortage across almost every sector. We pour energy into recruiting to our industries and to the state, which matters. But without equal effort in retention, we’ll simply churn

through employees. To reach our potential, Alaska companies must keep the people they already have so they build their career here. Most executives assume the way to do that is to pay and promote. Pay matters, but it’s the floor. If people don’t feel fairly compensated, they’ll leave.

By Bryan Walch 90 | September 2026

But once that bar is met, money stops being a lever. Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com

Advancement is similar. It matters,

when it’s clear the company wants

but it isn’t what people are really after.

you to take it, but this leads to

When employees are asked what they

employees accepting roles that don’t

retention. It gives the manager

Compass. It provides a direction to

feedback about what the employee

aim for and a way to keep moving

wants so company leaders can

toward your goals. That’s what

make adjustments and address

employees want, and it’s what will

concerns. Although valuable, it

help keep them contributing here

isn’t focused on the employee’s

in Alaska.

When want, moving up the ladder is dead fit. The employees end up doing employees are last. Instead, they want contribution, a poor job in a role they never skills, confidence, and autonomy. This really wanted. asked what Instead, what ’s needed are is true across every age group, every career conversations. level, and every industry studied. they want, So how do you uncover what actually drives someone? It starts What is a moving up the with a conversation. Career Conversation? A career conversation isn’t about ladder is dead the company’s goals, the current Current Conversations role, or the next opening. It’s about Don’t Deliver last. Instead, If I ask managers about discussions the person. The idea isn’t new. Russ Laraway, with employees, they usually they want tell me about the annual review who built career development process. Some are doing stay practices at Google and Qualtrics, contribution, interviews, and many reference structures it as understanding someone’s story, their vision, and a discussions around promotions. skills, Each of these has its place. plan to connect the two. Beverly Kaye But those discussions don’t drive and Julie Winkle Giulioni describe it as confidence, and engagement, because they aren’t understanding where someone has focused directly on the employee and been (hindsight) and where things are autonomy. This headed (foresight) to produce insight. what the employee wants. A career conversation is a The annual review is built around is true across the company’s agenda. It evaluates manager-led discussion designed past performance and sets goals to understand an employee as a every age group, for what’s next. The best annual whole person and help them find reviews are honest and two- direction. People rarely make time to every level, and directional, but such reviews are still do this for themselves, which is why anchored in the current role and the it is so valuable when a manager does every industry it for them. company’s needs. The format I use is lightweight, The stay interview is a proactive studied. discussion and can help with and the output is what I call a Career

goals and ambitions. The one that seems like it ’d be

the

best

conversation,

opportunity

How to Have a Career Conversation

p ro m o t i o n

Following patterns set by Laraway,

discussion, is the one most likely to

Kaye, and Giulioni, there are three

backfire. It’s hard to say no to more

areas to review. The questions are

money and a bigger title, especially

designed to be open-ended, and

www.akbizmag.com

the

for

Alaska Business

September 2026 | 91

A career conversation isn’t about the company’s goals, the current role, or the next opening. It’s about the person… A career conversation is a managerled discussion designed to understand an employee as a whole person and help them find direction.

it should be clear to the employee

building something from scratch with

that there isn’t an agenda. It is

a small, trusted team. I’m strongest at

turning ambiguity into a plan. Over

conversation

based

trust

and openness. Start by looking back. Where has

project from start to finish, and I’d

the employee felt most engaged?

trade some day-to-day predictability

What kind of work do they get lost

to get there.” That

in? What are they consistently good

becomes

their

Career

at? What have they done that drained

Compass. It’s short enough to read

them, even though they did it well?

regularly, and it’s easy to revisit

Go beyond a résumé review and

if things change and the overall

listen for patterns across positions,

direction needs to be adjusted.

experiences, and decisions. in the employee’s role right now,

Who to Have Conversations With

and what isn’t? What do people keep

You might think this is a tool best

coming to them for? What are they

suited for your star performers, the

avoiding? Don’t diagnose or try to

ones you can’t afford to lose. But

fix feedback that comes up. Just

you’d be wrong. This is a conversation

listen. The point is to learn about

for everyone, not just the people

what they like, don’t like, and are

you’re grooming for something more.

good at, independent of their role

Your reliable, low-maintenance,

Next, look around. What’s working

and responsibilities.

solid

performers

need

this

Now, it’s time to look ahead. This is

conversation. It can be easy to

when the employee imagines “blue

overlook them, but just because

sky” and unlimited options. If time

they are quiet doesn’t mean they are

and money weren’t a constraint, what

content. They may not be asking for

would they be doing? You want them

more, but they want it.

to get past “just add value,” or “get

Your underperformers are the

promoted,” which are conditioned

ones

responses. What direction would

skip, yet they are often the ones

they choose? Is it a bigger stage,

who need a conversation most.

deeper expertise, more impact, a

I once worked with a struggling

career designed around their life, or

project manager. Through a career

something else?

conversation, he realized he loved

managers

most

want

From this conversation, reflect

analyzing problems and figuring

back to them what you’ve heard,

out what was really going on, but he

and ask what they noticed. You want

did not enjoy or excel at developing

to summarize the conversation by

solutions or managing a team. He

articulating a few things:

moved into an analyst role, and

• What they value

what could have been a demotion

• What they’re genuinely good at

instead became a correction that

• A step they’d like their career to

made him happier and his team

take over the next year or two • What they are willing to give up to get there

92 | September 2026

the next two years I want to lead a

stronger.

underperformer ’s

aspirations may point elsewhere in

the

business,

creating

Put together, the summary might

opportunity to redeploy talent

read, “I do my best work when I’m

rather than lose it. Or, if you find

Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com

they’re entirely in the wrong place,

team, run it with yourself. Look back,

burnout by more than half. That effort

helping them see that is better for

look around, look ahead, and write

compounds in a way no recruiting

both of you.

your own Career Compass. You’ll feel

budget can match.

Of course, the most important

more confident and assured in your

Alaska doesn’t just need new

person to have the conversation with

work, and you’ll be better at guiding

workers. We need to keep the ones

is yourself.

conversations with your employees.

we have and give them a reason

Many managers didn’t choose

to build a career here rather than

the management track. They were promoted into it because they were good at their job, and they were

When

Retention is the Key to Growth

elsewhere.

have this week, beginning with

comes

workforce

That

starts

with

conversation your managers can

asked to take on more. Business

development, more effort needs to

research firm Gartner found that

be put into retention. It is the most

nearly

lack

powerful lever a business leader has

Brian Walch is an executive coach,

confidence in their ability to help their

because a kept employee is worth far

consultant, and speaker on leadership

employees develop. As the saying

more than one filled seat. Engaged

development.

goes, organizations spend years

employees recruit their friends,

experience

developing an individual contributor

build community, and become the

people and systems

and forty-five minutes promoting

people the next generation learns

to provide tools and

them to manager. Many wonder if

from. Adding a single development

services to empower

they’re cut out for it, but they never

conversation to a regular one-on-one

managers to lead

asked themselves if they wanted it.

has been shown to increase the odds

themselves,

Therefore, before you run this

of an employee being highly engaged

teams, and their organizations. Learn more

conversation exercise with your

by more than four times and cut

at shiftfocus.com.

half

managers

EST’ 1979

themselves.

uses

his

extensive

their

Kodiak Fire Station | Kodiak, Alaska

❧ ❧

www.akbizmag.com

❧

pndengineers.com 907.561.1011

Alaska Business

September 2026 | 93

INSIDE ALASKA BUSINESS Bootz & Co. Cab

expected to drive demand for skilled

Owner Mike Ward says he rebuilt

Nome Checker Cab’s six licenses

maritime labor while supporting

as quickly as possible because he

expired earlier this year, so the city

year-round employment beyond

heard a retail chain might come to

council opened up what had been a

seasonal Alaska Marine Highway

Haines. Insurance didn’t cover the

limited market. The first new entrant

System maintenance cycles.

entire rebuilding, and Ward says he

started rolling this summer: Bootz

jagmarinegroup.com

took a $2.5 million loss, but it was

& Co. Cab, a one-truck operation specializing in airport rides. The

Ketchikan Eye Care Center

worth building fresh in Haines, where most of the buildings are old and

carrier is named for co-owner Billi

Patients in need of capsulotomies,

retrofitted.

Jean Miller’s dog, who is also the

usually to correct scarring after

hainesoutfitter.com

mascot of Miller’s specialty drink and

cataract surgery, can find it at

snack shop, Tundra Delights. Miller

Ketchikan Eye Care Center. The clinic

and co-owner Ashley Earp had to wait

acquired a medical laser to begin

until summer for a barge to deliver a

offering the procedure this year,

new vehicle so they could repurpose

along with trabeculoplasties, which

a 2021 Toyota Tacoma for their

can prevent glaucoma. Optometrist

cab service. They plan to add more

Joseph Johnson, who bought the

vehicles and drivers to the fleet.

practice last year, says his goal has been to help patients avoid costly

HEX Cook Inlet natural gas producer HEX added a support vessel to its fleet, the 190-foot Atlantis, owned by HEX subsidiary Atlantis LLC. The vessel, built in 2000, is homeported

trips to Anchorage or Seattle. The laser is also quick, with procedures finished in a few minutes. ketchikaneyecare.com

Tangled Thread

in Homer and managed by Homer-

Petersburg regained a craft store

based Fortune Sea Management

after years without one. Olivia

through its newly established

Martinsen opened Tangled Thread

Maritime Division. In addition to

in May, located in Petersburg

supporting HEX’s offshore operations,

Indian Association’s Hallingstad-

Atlantis is for hire to provide

Peratrovich building. Martinsen sells

additional service capacity for other

yarn, fabric, embroidery supplies,

industries.

weaving materials, felting options, and tools. In addition to running a

JAG Marine Group A $99.6 million contract to JAG Marine Group keeps the Ketchikan Shipyard busy overhauling the NOAA Ship Henry B. Bigelow. The work involves

legal practice, Martinsen is an avid crocheter, so she says she wanted a place to buy yarn.

Quick Shop

Northrim Bank Expanding services in the Mat-Su, Northrim Bank opened its twentyfirst statewide location in Palmer. Practically in the shadow of the town’s iconic water tower, the bank at 585 S. Valley Way offers advising, consulting, and everyday financial services that were previously a dozen miles away at the nearest Northrim location in downtown Wasilla. northrim.com

Stratus Services Managed IT service provider Stratus Services expanded beyond Alaska, opening an office in Meridian, Idaho, on the outskirts of Boise. The company has served the region from Anchorage since 2022, and the new location signals a commitment to the fast-growing Treasure Valley. “Having a presence in Meridian allows us to deliver more talent, expanded services, and better hands-on support to businesses that deserve uncompromised service,” says Jason

replacing the propulsion system and

Shoppers in Haines got a new Quick

Isenhart, an Idaho local and Stratus

increasing the number of single-

Shop store, less than two years after

Services’ managing director of MSP

person staterooms while upgrading

the original convenience, liquor, and

operations.

several other systems. The contract is

sporting goods store burned down.

stratus-services.com

94 | September 2026

Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com

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Alaska Business

September 2026 | 95

RIGHT MOVES

UAF

The University of Alaska

Native corporations. He is

Board of Regents selected

known for his collaborative

Cross of Alaska brings

US Army Colonel Russell

approach and commitment

Bryce Sitter to the state

as its new Regional CEO.

“Russ” Vander Lugt as the Vander Lugt

Red Cross of Alaska

years supporting Alaska

to advancing BSNC’s mission.

Sommer

next UAF Chancellor. As of

BSNC promoted Brittany

Sit ter

The American Red

Sitter comes to the Alaska

publication, Vander Lugt commands the

Daletas to Vice President of

Region after serving as the regional

11th Airborne Division’s Arctic Aviation

Operations, responsible for

chief development officer in the Idaho,

Command at Fort Wainwright, and

operational improvement,

Montana, and East Oregon Region.

cross-functional alignment,

Sitter holds a master’s degree in

he has academic experience teaching

Daletas

history at West Point and as department

improving efficiency, and supporting

humanitarian leadership and spent a

chair at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical

strategic growth. Daletas has more than

decade in East Africa collaborating with

University in Arizona. Vander Lugt

fourteen years of experience in process

the International Committee of the Red

earned a bachelor’s degree in music

improvement.

Cross, the Kenyan Red Cross, and the

and historical theology from Wheaton College in Illinois. He holds master’s

Qayaq Construction

Tanzanian Red Cross.

The Wasilla-based

Mat-Su Health Foundation

from Embry-Riddle and in Arctic and

heavy civil contractor

Mat-Su Health Foundation (MSHF), the

Northern studies from UAF, where

Qayaq Construction has

nonprofit co-owner of Mat-Su Regional

he also earned a PhD in Arctic and

a new General Manager.

Medical Center, elevated some new

Blake Anderson is

leaders.

degrees in management science

Northern history.

Bering Straits Native Corporation

Anderson

promoted to lead the division of Alaska

Ashley Peltier becomes

Civil Construction, an arm of UIC

Director of Philanthropy,

Commercial Services, itself a business

leading the team that seeks

The Alaska Native corporation for the

line of Ukpeaġvik Iñupiat Corporation.

grant funding. She most

Nome and St. Lawrence Island region,

Anderson holds a bachelor’s degree in

Peltier

Bering Straits Native Corporation (BSNC),

construction engineering technology

of Connect Mat-Su, a health and social

from Montana State University in

services hub that she led from concept

Bozeman. He joined Qayaq in 2021 after

to implementation. Prior to her six years

to Human Resources Director,

several years as a project engineer and

with MSHF, Peltier served as director

bringing more than two decades of

project manager for oil field support

of programs with the American Lung

HR experience, including seventeen

services and heavy civil construction.

Association, and she spent portions

made two administrative promotions. Johnathan Sommer is promoted

recently served as director

RIGHT MOVES IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY NORTHERN AIR CARGO

Committed to the Alaska Spirit 96 | September 2026

Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com

of her professional career at Alaska

from the Pacific Coast School of Banking

shareholder services. She spent her

Native Tribal Health Consortium and

in 2014. Durham began his banking

childhood in Nome and Teller and earned

career in 1992 as a teller with National

an MBA from Western Governor's

Southcentral Foundation. MSHF promoted Jessica

Bank of Alaska.

Clarkson to Director of

Clark son

The bank appointed

R.O.C.K. Mat-Su, a collective

Allison “Alli” LeBon as

impact model organization

Executive Vice President

of local stakeholders

and COO. LeBon earned

committed to ending child abuse and

LeBon

neglect. Clarkson previously served

MBA from UAF. She also graduated

as associate director of R.O.C.K. Mat-

with honors from the Pacific Coast

Su, which MSHF started ten years ago.

Banking School and completed the

R.O.C.K. Mat-Su now partners with more

Certificate in Foundational Commercial

than seventy local organizations and

Lending through the American Bankers

agencies. Clarkson has worked as a

Association.

a bachelor’s degree and

school social worker, a children’s clinical

Jeremy Pletnikoff

therapist, and a coordinator for Valley

becomes Executive Vice

Court Appointed Special Advocates.

President and Chief Credit

Mt. McKinley Bank

Administrator, ensuring Pletnikof f

University.

strong lending practices,

Glenfarne Alaska The developer of an Alaska LNG

pipeline hired Anchorage’s municipal manager to serve as Head of Alaska Legal and Corporate Affairs. Becky Windt Pearson comes to Glenfarne Alaska LNG after two years as municipal manager; her successor is Bill Falsey, who held the municipal manager position from 2017 to 2020 and was the city’s chief administrative officer under Windt Pearson. An attorney and former corporate counsel for GCI, Windt Pearson is directing corporate and legal affairs as Glenfarne closes in on a final

The oldest and largest full-service

portfolio quality, and prudent risk

local community bank in Fairbanks,

management. Raised in Fairbanks,

North Pole, and Delta Junction named

Pletnikoff earned a bachelor’s degree in

some new chiefs upon the retirement of

Russian studies with a minor in criminal

First Alaskans Institute

justice from UAF, and he graduated from

First Alaskans Institute

longtime CEO Patty Mongold. The new President and

Bank since 2011. He was

(FAI), a statewide nonprofit advancing Alaska Native

Graphite One The developer of a graphite mine

voices in decision-making Larson

roles, hired Carissa Larson

near Nome hired an executive from the

as Communications Director. A member

in January 2025 in advance of this year’s

regional Alaska Native corporation to

of Afognak Native Corporation’s board

leadership transition. Durham holds an

serve as Vice President of Community

of directors, Larson comes to FAI from

associate degree from Antelope Valley

Relations. Lucille Carter comes to

The Alaska Center, where she served

Community College and a bachelor’s

Graphite One from Bering Straits Native

as communications manager. Larson

degree in business management from

Corporation, where she served as

first connected with FAI in 2017 as a

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. He graduated

senior vice president of regional and

communications intern.

Durham

promoted to bank president

Pacific Coast Banking School in 2021.

CEO is David Durham, who has been with Mt. McKinley

investment decision.

Northern Air Cargo is committed to getting your cargo where it needs to be, on time, so you can worry about what really matters.

For more information, please visit us at www.nac.aero. www.akbizmag.com

Alaska Business

September 2026 | 97

ALASKA TRENDS

s the saying goes, Alaska is an hour’s drive from Anchorage. North or south of the state’s most populous city are two very different neighbors. Across Knik River, there’s the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, twin watersheds the size of West Virginia with a population smaller than the Charleston-Huntington metropolitan area. And

through the continent’s longest highway tunnel, there’s Whittier, the Town Under One Roof. This issue highlights these places with Vanessa Orr’s article “Mapping Whittier’s Future” and Rindi White’s “In the Valley of Luxury.” Whereas the Mat-Su population is notably growing fast, at more than 112,000, little Whittier boasts barely 400 residents. According to US Census figures, 34.5 percent of Whittier workers commute by car while an equal portion walk. In the Mat-Su, by contrast, 71 percent commute by car, and 11.7 percent work from home. Those homes are worth more, with a median property value in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough of $346,000 while Whittier’s is $83,000. More than 77 percent of Mat-Su residents own homes, whereas nearly 60 percent of Whittier folks are renters. Thus, Whittier’s median property tax payment is $56, the average Mat-Su taxpayer owes $3,437. To pay those bills, the 39,900 households in the Mat-Su earn a median income of $94,031, while Whittier’s 138 households get by with a median income of $62,500. The Mat-Su also counts an average of two cars per household while Whittier averages just one. Those cars can only leave town via the Alaska Marine Highway System ferry or, by land, through the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel. This edition of Alaska Trends elaborates upon the engineering details of that subterranean monument.

SOURCE: Alaska Depar tment of Transpor tation and Public Facilities, Whit tier Access Tunnel

Max. Length 75' Max. Width 10' Max. Height 14'

Size Matters For safety, vehicles travel through the tunnel according to vehicle class. The distance between commercial trucks is greater than the distance between cars because commercial trucks have a greater potential fire load than cars. The number of buses in the tunnel at any one time needs to be limited so there is always ample room in the safe houses.

Longest combined rail & highway use tunnel in North America. 98 | September 2026

Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com

Chain Link Mesh

1.8K pre-formed concrete panels line the tunnel.

Light

The panels have a concrete textured driving surface, allowing trains to use the same surface. These panels are concrete to reduce longterm maintenance costs. Asphalt was placed adjacent to the rail to allow the removal of the rails for maintenance or replacement. The majority of the tunnel walls remain natural rock. The ceiling is lined with a wire mesh, catching loose rocks that could work out over time.

Minimum Clearance

Tunnel Height 21’

Tunnel Construction

Rock Surface Concrete Pavement Driving Surface

Railroad Track

Asphalt Sidewalk

In areas where the rock is less competent, the tunnel is lined with a steel plates.

Roadway Width 11’ 6” Tunnel Width 16’

1st computerized regulation of both rail & highway traffic.

Avalanche Ready The entrance roof on the Whittier side is designed to withstand forces of 1K lbs per square foot. At the entrance on the Bear Valley side, the roof is designed to withstand forces of 220 lbs per square foot.

1st designed for -40° F & 150 mph winds

250/125/62.5

1st US Tunnel with Jet Turbine & Portal Fan Ventilation

10 Miles of Drainage

In case of emergency, the powerful portal fans at the entrance of the tunnel will blow smoke & fumes away from any vehicles stopped in the tunnel. During normal operations, the jet turbine fans keep the tunnel air healthy at a lower operating cost.

Below the concrete surface, the drainage system is designed to remove water flowing at 250 GPM during peak conditions in the spring & 40 to 70 GPM during the rest of the year.

www.akbizmag.com

Alaska Business

September 2026 | 99

What book is currently on your nightstand?

A Sense of Urgency by John P. Kotter. What charity or cause are you passionate about?

Covenant House Alaska. What’s the first thing you do when you get home after a long day at work?

Figure out what I'm going to eat because I’m

What vacation spot is on your bucket list?

The Seychelles. If you could domesticate a wild animal, what animal would it be?

A raccoon. 100 | September 2026

Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com

Photos by Kerr y Tasker

always starving. [she laughs] Oh, I’m terrible.

OFF THE CUFF

Linda Leary

hen Good Morning America highlighted

AB: What’s your greatest extravagance?

smal l businesses in each state this

Leary: Being able to fly in a private jet… Not often; it’s only happened a couple of times.

summer, the T V show chose Linda Lear y’s outdoor apparel brand Fishe Wear as A laska’s

AB: What’s your favorite local restaurant?

entr y. Lear y makes her own media, too, so

Leary: Ginger.

she’s recognized around A nchorage. She

AB: Dead or alive, who would you like to see

recal ls, “Two ladies come up to me, and

perform live in concert?

they’re li ke, ‘Thank you for what you’re doing,

Leary: Steve Wilson Jr.

and thank you for representing women.’”

AB: What’s your best attribute and worst

Lear y star ted Fishe Wear in 2015 af ter

attribute?

str uggling with clothes whi le f ly fishing. She also r uns the Women’s Fly fishing g uide

Leary: I’m a good networker. And probably

ser vice. Lear y grew up fishing in Maine, and

not being able to say no—

she says the Kenai Peninsu la reminds her of

too many commitments—

Vacationland: coastal yet r ural, with down-to-

would be the worst.

ear th people.

AB: Is there a skill you’re

Her ex perience growing Carli le from a smal l tr uck ing company into a branch of logistics conglomerate Saltchuk gave her confidence

currently developing or have always wanted to learn?

to stri ke out on her own. Now, Fishe Wear is

Leary:

growing, with a major retai ler stock ing the

I’ve been

brand this fal l.

working on

Alaska Business: What’s the most daring thing you’ve

for forty

ever done?

years…

Linda Leary: Once I did “Toss the Boss.” We scaled down

so I

the JL Tower in Midtown. It was a fundraiser for one of the

picked

nonprofits, and I had to put on a harness and scale down

it back

the 200-foot building… There were many guys doing it

up again,

with me, and they were more scared than I was.

trying to

a parka

get that

AB: What are you superstitious about? Leary: If my husband books flights for us, I like to sit in even-numbered rows. www.akbizmag.com

project done.

Alaska Business

September 2026 | 101

ADVERTISERS INDEX Airport Equipment Rentals............. 103 airportequipmentrentals.com

Construction Machinery Industrial...... 2 cmiak.com

Lynden........................................ 104 lynden.com

Alaska Travel Industry Association.... 75 alaskatia.org

Cook Inlet Tug & Barge LLC............... 77 cookinlettug.com

Manley Brautigam Bankston P.C........ 29 mbb.law

Aleut Corporation........................... 23 aleutcorp.com

Craig Taylor Equipment.................... 89 craigtaylorequipment.com

NANA Regional Corp........................ 39 nana.com

Altman, Rogers & Co........................ 37 altrogco.com

Davis Wright Tremaine Llp................ 43 dwt.com

NCB.............................................. 25 ncb.coop

Anchorage Convention Centers......... 81 anchorageconventioncenters.com

Delve Group................................... 55 delve-group.com

Nenana Heating Services, Inc........... 13 nenanaheatingservicesinc.com

Arctic Shred................................... 51 arcticshred.com

Embley Communications.................. 57 aiinalaska.com

Northern Air Cargo......................... 96 nac.aero

ASTAC - Arctic Slope Telephone Assoc............................................ 59 astac.net

First National Bank Alaska.................. 5 fnbalaska.com

Oxford Assaying & Refining Inc......... 95 oxfordmetals.com

Fountainhead Development............. 67 fountainheadhotels.com

Personnel Plus Employment Agency.......................................... 77 perplus.com

Bering Straits Native Corp................ 31 beringstraits.com Birch Horton Bittner & Cherot........... 47 birchhorton.com Cascadia Cross Border Law Group LLC...................................... 31 cascadialawalaska.com

GCI................................................. 3 gci.com Haskell Corporation......................... 25 haskellcorp.com

PND Engineers, Inc.......................... 93 pndengineers.com Port MacKenzie............................... 21 portmackenzie.matsugov.us

Chugach Alaska Corporation............. 13 chugach.com

Home Instead HI Southern Alaska, Inc. .................. 53 homeinstead.com

CIRI.............................................. 37 ciri.com

JD Steel Co Inc................................ 19 jdsteel.com

Clendaniel Heyman Campion............34 sweflaw.com

JDO Law.........................................46 jdolaw.com

Colaska.......................................... 15 colaska.com

Landye Bennett Blumstein LLP.......... 32 lbblawyers.com

Structured Communication Systems......................................... 60 structured.com

Color Art Printing, Inc...................... 73 colorartprinting.com

Law Offices of Jimmy E. White LLC..... 35 jewhitelaw.com

T. Rowe Price.................................... 7 alaska529plan.com

Conrad-Houston Insurance Agency... 59 chialaska.com

Long Spring..................................... 9 longspringak.com

Ukpeaġvik Iñupiat Corporation......... 33 uicalaska.com

Republic Services............................ 11 republicservices.com/es Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt, P.C..... 49 schwabe.com/locations-anchorage-alaska Span Alaska Transportation LLC........ 27 spanalaska.com

NEW EPISODE ALERT! As police enforce criminal law, Alaska Court Services walks the civil beat. The newest episode of This Alaska Business knocks on the door of a process server to peek behind the scenes of the legal system. Part 46 of THIS ALASKA BUSINESS, an ongoing video series.

Real Stories. Real Alaska Businesses.

102 | September 2026

SCAN

AND WATCH ON OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL

Watch more on akbizmag.com

Alaska Business www.akbizmag.com

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RENT FROM OUR DEALER-OWNED FLEET Whether it’s a moment’s notice or loads of lead time, our equipment is always ready to roll to your site. Swap out machines. Avoid capital outlays. Try new technology. And never worry about maintenance. Call today because just like our machines, we’re ready to deliver morning, noon or night.

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Only Pay for the Speed You Need... Dynamic Routing! At Lynden, we understand that plans change but deadlines don’t. That’s why we proudly offer our exclusive Dynamic Routing system. Designed to work around your unique requirements, Dynamic Routing allows you to choose the mode of transportation – air, land, or sea – to control the speed of your deliveries so they arrive just as they are needed. With Lynden you only pay for the speed you need.

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