n many industries, continuing education is a must in order to keep up with the latest rules and regulations and technological advancements. But finding the time and the money to send employees to these classes isn’t always a priority for businesses that are already stretched thin.

“For employers and employees, taking time out of a busy day is a burden; these days, everyone is doing more with less,” explains Anchorage Society for Human Resource Management (ASHRM) President Patty Hickok, who also serves as the membership and workforce readiness director for the Alaska SHRM State Council. “But businesses and individuals need to look at the time and cost spent on continuing education as an investment. In the human resources field, or in any field, things are changing so rapidly that employees must continue lifelong learning or get left behind. In today’s job market, the only constant is change.”

laska’s military bases are looking to make new hires at a rapid pace. Between Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson’s (JBER) influx of non-appropriated funds (NAF) jobs and Civilian Personnel openings and Eielson Air Force Base’s available jobs tied to the new F-35 beddown, there are hundreds of military jobs available throughout the state. And many of them don’t require any affiliation with the military.

In July, JBER’s public affairs office issued a news release in which human resource directors estimated there are roughly 330 positions to fill between its NAF jobs—which are positions that don’t require approval from Congress—and additional openings in the Civilian Personnel office.

Although the open positions at JBER involve working on the base, the bulk of them are entry-level positions that welcome civilians even if they have little knowledge about military operations.

hether it’s for a weekend getaway, exhilarating cruise, or extended adventure to Alaska, travel insurance can help vacationers protect their trip investment. Travel insurance can cover a myriad of potential calamities, from lost luggage and travel interruption/cancellation to health emergencies and even accidental death.

There are a multitude of real-life situations in which vacation insurance becomes crucial. For example, if someone loses a piece of luggage containing important medications, travel insurance coverage assists with finding the bag or even filling an emergency prescription. Or say an extended family has been planning a big, annual reunion for months. But right before the event, a key family member gets too sick to go, and everyone decides to cancel. Travel insurance helps people get reimbursed for non-refundable deposits, pre-payments, and other covered expenses.

arketing brains know the “age of digital content” is now and has been going strong for a number of years. Digital content marketing has evolved from novel to necessary for startups and billion-dollar corporations alike. In fact, a common adage in the field is the phrase “content is king.” If that’s the case, video content is undoubtedly the supreme ruler of the land.

Cisco’s Visual Networking Index projects consumer video traffic to comprise 82 percent of all online traffic by 2021. Marketing tech company Unruly calculates that about 18 percent of internet users share videos on social networks at least once a week and that 61 percent of American Facebook users share video advertisements specifically.

ome of Alaska’s most ambitious start-ups are now among the top-earning companies in the state. The following are examples of top-producing entities that originated in Alaska and have expanded beyond its borders to serve a broad base of customers.

Alaska USA Federal Credit Union is one of the longest-standing home-grown entities in Alaska. It was established on December 6, 1948, when fifteen civil service personnel gathered in Anchorage’s Alaska Air Depot pooled their savings—and their conviction in one another—to form a member-owned credit union. “This decision was made in order to provide financial services to the personnel who had been recently transferred to Alaska,” says Senior Vice President of Corporate Relations Dan McCue. “Members began extending credit to one another while volunteering their time to operate the credit union.”

Wiping some spittle off my face, I took a quick peek at the papers still crushed in his grasp, praying to catch a glance of a word or a number I could extrapolate into an answer that might send him packing. “Top 49ers” and “1998” flashed in my view, and I quickly stifled a sigh of relief. “Of course, Mr. Martin,” I said, sweet as grandma’s cookies. “That’s historic Top 49ers data.”

Topping the list (and there’s no need to sit down for this, it’s not surprising) is Arctic Slope Regional Corporation; what may knock you out of your easy chair (if you did sit) is that the company increased its revenue by a whopping 23 percent year over year, reporting a skyscraping $3.4 billion in revenue for 2018.

In fact, the top eight of the Top 49ers all managed (very possibly with the aid of grappling hooks and anti-gravity boots) to hold onto their rankings this year from last year.

hat is a heroic trait? It depends on who you ask. Ask a teenager and the answer will more than likely be x-ray vision or flying. Ask a fully-grown adult and the answer will still more than likely be x-ray vision or flying.

But in a more broad (and reality-based) sense, the definition of a hero is one who goes above and beyond the norm to help others. This certainly holds true among the 2019 Top 49ers—they made the list because of their ability to garner revenue in even the toughest of financial environments, but their true power and value lies in their super-sized philanthropic abilities.

his year is the debut of Top 49er Choggiung Limited, the ANCSA village corporation for Dillingham. The corporation reported 2018 revenue of more than $95 million, propelling it to number thirty-five in the rankings. The last two years for Choggiung have been full of positive changes, including the addition of a new CEO, a significant acquisition, and positive movement throughout its business holdings.

Cameron Poindexter joined Choggiung in July of 2017 as the company’s president and CEO. He’s a Choggiung shareholder who was born and raised in Homer and Anchor Point, where his parents owned a small business, “so I gained interest in business just from the very start, working and living in an entrepreneurial family,” he says. Poindexter’s upbringing led to his decision to study business, and he earned his undergraduate degree in business management from the University of Alaska Fairbanks and MBA from the University of Alaska Anchorage.

ast year was one of outstanding growth for Tyonek Native Corporation (TNC), which saw its revenue increase 85 percent from 2017, reporting 2018 revenue of more than $144 million. This boosted TNC up twelve spots in our Top 49ers ranks, landing them at number 25. “We’ve had pretty unprecedented, rapid growth,” says CEO Leo Barlow. “We’ve been fortunate and successfully bid a number of contracts with the US government, and in some cases we’re a preferred provider for a number of our customers.”

Barlow stepped into his role as CEO in 2016, and at the same time a new management team took the reins at TNC. “Frankly speaking, the company had strayed from its core business of government defense contracting into more commercial activity. So we brought it back together and refocused our strategies on what we were successful at, reaffirming our relationships with the US government and defense contracting personnel,” Barlow says.

ill and Helga Watterson founded Watterson Construction in Anchorage in 1981. Sixteen years later in 1997, Watterson Construction debuted as an Alaska Business Top 49er, reporting revenue of nearly $27 million in 1996. With the exception of 1998, Watterson Construction has been a Top 49er every year since. While the company has moved up and down the list, Watterson Construction has consistently found itself in the ranks of Alaska’s top earning, Alaskan-owned businesses.

This year Watterson Construction is once again climbing up, jumping 13 places to the number 35 spot, reporting more than $85 million in 2018 revenue. That’s more than double the revenue the company reported for 2017, much of which can be attributed to federal spending on construction in the Interior. Watterson Construction is one of the many companies that have secured contracts related to the F-35 beddown at Eielson Air Force Base.

t’s easy to marvel at the size and scope of the large marine vessels that pull into port in Glacier Bay, Juneau, Ketchikan, or Sitka. Between their size, design, and stature, the sight of some of the vessels can take a person’s breath away.

ichael Burke was named the CEO at MTA in September 2015 and brings with him more than thirty-five years of experience with telecommunications and technology matters. He has worked in senior management for a diverse number of companies, including the Anchorage Telephone Utility, TelAlaska, and Alaska Fiber Star/WCI Cable. In addition, prior to MTA, Burke ran his own management/utility consulting company for fourteen years, where he worked on a number of regulatory and strategic projects and also served as an expert witness before regulatory agencies in Alaska, California, and Hawaii. Burke has a BA in accounting from Seattle University and is a CPA in the State of Alaska. [Editor’s Note: Sending a Hulk-sized thank you to BOSCO’s for supporting our super-secret mission to capture Michael Burke’s image at your command center.]

Approximately 1,600 employees are currently associated with BP’s Alaska business and BP is committed to providing clarity about their future as soon as possible as part of the transition process with Hilcorp.

Hilcorp has been operating in Alaska since 2012 and is today the largest private oil and gas operator in the state, currently operating more than 75,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day gross production. bp.com/us | hilcorp.com

*Financial data has not been adjusted for INFLATION.

*Financial data has not been adjusted for INFLATION.