Trade Associations Business Publications International (TABPI) honored this magazine with a Silver award for the June 2022 cover. Designed by Art Director Monica Sterchi-Lowman, it features a picture taken by freelance photographer Kerry Tasker of the co-founders of logistics app Remora. The Gold prize went to the April 2022 issue of Datacenter Dynamics. TABPI also gave an Honorable Mention to “Unpacking an Underdog” by Dan Kreilkamp, a profile of Brian McKinnon’s invention of the PacBak cooler/vacuum sealer combo in the December 2022 issue.
akbizmag.com

The Alaska Oil & Gas Association (AOGA) presented the 2023 Industry Awards at its annual conference in August. The Contractor of the Year Award for Safety Performance goes to NANA Management Services for a second year in a row. The Project of the Year Award for Environmental Stewardship and Innovation goes to another repeat winner: Alyeska Pipeline Service Company. The Marilyn Crockett Lifetime Achievement Award goes to Cindy Bailey, senior vice president of community affairs for Santos. AOGA’s fourth annual award, the Rising Star, goes to an assistant program director at Alaska Resource Education, Taylor Burgh.
aoga.org

Alaska now has an accredited inpatient medical rehabilitation program. Providence St. Elias Specialty Hospital has been recognized by the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF) International for its level of service. The three-year accreditation is the first for an inpatient rehabilitation program in Alaska. The hospital near International Airport Road and C Street in midtown Anchorage opened in 2006. Inpatient rehab opened in 2020, and St. Elias began pursuing CARF accreditation. The accreditation extends through June 30, 2026.
providence.org

Alaska has its first Veterans Business Outreach Center (VBOC). Business Impact NW adds the VBOC thanks to a grant from the US Small Business Administration. “We’re bringing together resources that uplift our entrepreneurs and strengthen our small businesses that give back to the people,” says center director Traci Willett. The center extends the Anchorage offerings of the Seattle-based nonprofit, which also include microlending and the Alaska Women’s Business Center.
businessimpactnw.org

The largest solar farm yet built in Alaska began sending sunlight into the Matanuska Electric Association grid in late summer. Renewable Independent Power Producers (IPP) completed the 45-acre facility near Houston High School with panels that can collect 8.5 MW, enough to power about 1,400 homes. CleanCapital, a New York underwriter of solar energy projects, invested in Renewable IPP to serve as the facility’s official owner. Renewable IPP already operates a 1.2 MW solar farm in Willow.
renewableipp.org

The second phase of an affordable housing complex in Anchorage’s Spenard neighborhood secured financing thanks to KeyBank Community Development Lending and Investment (CDLI). The branch of the Cleveland-based bank packaged $20.3 million for the construction of Ch’bala Corners II, to be managed by Cook Inlet Housing Authority (CIHA). The first phase, with forty-eight units, sprouted last fall at Spenard Road and 36th Avenue, kitty-corner from CIHA headquarters. Phase II, one block away on 36th, consists of three eight-plexes, three four-plexes, and one duplex. Seven buildings are scheduled to be ready for occupants by the end of next summer.
key.com | cookinlethousing.org

For the first time since it was established in 1976, the Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation is opening a branch office outside of Juneau. The board of trustees decided to open an Anchorage office to aid in recruitment and retention of the Fund’s money managers. Board Chair Ethan Schutt says a couple of potential hires would only take a job based in Anchorage. The office uses surplus space the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation leases on Cordova Street.
apfc.org

The board of Bering Straits Native Corporation (BSNC) is supporting a graphite mine near Nome with a $2 million investment. The agreement with mine developer Graphite One provides for establishing a joint advisory board with BSNC. The investment adds to the $37.6 million grant that Graphite One received in July from the US Department of Defense to pay for a feasibility study.
beringstraits.com | graphiteoneinc.com

A new meaning for the ‘N’ logo on a new airline: Northern Pacific Airways rebranded in September as New Pacific Airlines. The change sidesteps trademark litigation from BNSF Railway, which owns the defunct Northern Pacific Railway. De-emphasizing “Northern” also aligns with the current flight schedule—one-hour hops between Ontario, California and Las Vegas, Nevada—while the company arranges routes that could include the South Pacific as well as East Asia, using Anchorage as a hub airport.
np.com