Author: Michael Levshakof

2020 Annual Meeting Of Shareholders Update

The full election results have been posted on the Shareholder Portal at portal.chugachregion.com. Congratulations to incumbent Board Directors Matthew P. McDaniel and Yiolet F. Yeaton, and thank you for your continued service on the Chugach Board. Congratulations to our newly elected Board Director George E. Morris.

The Early Bird, Online and Proxy Prize Winners were announced during meeting. The winners will be contacted directly, and the list of names is currently available on the Shareholder Portal.

This year’s Annual Meeting was held virtually as a precautionary measure to protect our Shareholders, employees, families and friends. We all know COVID-19’s effects are still being strongly felt around the world, with the number of new cases still on the rise, so we ask you to continue to be cautious, safe and vigilant.

We are indebted to all of the first responders, medical workers, law enforcement and to all of the Chugach employees who have worked through the pandemic and allowed Chugach to continue to meet our commitments to the military, the government and the essential infrastructures that we are contracted to support.

Our corporate headquarters at JL Tower remains closed to all visitors, but Shareholder Services and Shareholder Development are working remotely to support our Shareholder community and are available during regular business hours. You can reach each department at (907) 563-8866 or by sending an email to:

CAC-Shareholder-Relations@chugach.com  |  ShareholderDevelopment@chugach.com

Online voting and, due to COVID-19, a virtual annual meeting were offered this year. Please take a moment to complete a short survey and provide feedback on how to improve voting and meetings in the future.

Chugach Ranks Fifth In Alaskan-Owned Businesses

As in year’s past, the announce was made at Alaska Business’s Top 49ers celebration. COVID-19 pushed the prestigious luncheon to a virtual format. While the in-person portion of the gathering was removed for safety reasons, none of the excitement was lost as Alaska’s top performing businesses were showcased. A particular point of pride for Native corporations like Chugach was the fact that 81 percent of the revenue attributed to this year’s Top 49ers was derived from Alaska Native corporations and businesses.

Alaska Business has been making a Top 49er announcement since 1984, and Chugach has made the list 30 times. While Chugach’s inaugural appearances on the list were closer toward the 49th position, rapid growth and diversification in business lines has allowed Chugach to rise to the top of the list, consistently ranking in or near the top five positions.

This year, Chugach retained fifth place on the Top 49er list due to a 2019 revenue of more than $977 million, a three percent growth over the previous year. The lion share of recognition for retaining our place on the list and attaining nearly a billion dollars in revenue goes to the nearly 6,000 employees who work for the Chugach family of companies in locations around the world. Thank you to all of the incredible people who work for Chugach, and here’s to another successful year for all of the Top 49er companies.

To see all of the companies on Alaska Business’s 2020 Top 49er list, click here.

Chugach Employees Raise Funds For Covenant House Alaska

Early into the COVID-19 pandemic, most of the Chugach employees who work in the Alaska headquarters were hunkered down at home and telecommuting in accordance with the Municipality of Anchorage’s health mandates. One month into the separation of our Anchorage team, the fundraising for the Alaska Run For Women (AKRFW) launched, and a question arose. Could the Chugach employees come together and raise funds remotely? The stats of the race answered the question. Chugach fielded the largest virtual team for the race and, at more than $12,000, Chugach raised the most money for the annual rally to defeat cancer.

As summer drew to a close and our Anchorage employees neared the five-month mark in their telecommuting, fundraising for the Anchorage Heart Walk launched, and the question was asked again. Could our employees raise money remotely for the annual effort to find a cure for heart disease? The answer was a resounding yes. As in year’s past, Chugach set a heart walk fundraising goal of $5,000, and our employees answered the call. In total, Chugach raised $6,571 to improve heart health in Alaska.

Squeezed between the AKRFW and the Anchorage Heart Walk was another challenge that was put before our employees. The Chugach Sleep Out Challenge asked our employees to take a break, get outside, rest and relax, and do it for a good cause.

The challenge was to go camping somewhere in Alaska and make a minimum donation of $25 to Covenant House Alaska. The goal was to raise $1,000 for the largest provider of services to homeless and runaway youth in the state of Alaska. Apparently, the goal was not set high enough, because our employees raised $2,575 for the youth who depend on the services of Covenant House Alaska.

COVID-19 has proven itself to be the great physical divider, separating people at all levels of society, but it has not divided the Chugach team from their compassion or ability to support worthy causes. One of the Chugach Employee Core Behaviors is We Build Community; simply put, it means that we try to make a positive difference in the communities where we live in and work, even during a worldwide pandemic.

“Thank you to all the incredible people who wear a Chugach employee badge for continuing to support our community through service and gifts during this challenging summer,” said Melanie Osborne, Chugach Executive Vice President. “And thank you to the inspiring organizations that we support for all that you do to make Anchorage and Alaska communities worth building.”

TCC Receives Governor’s Safety Award of Excellence

“For us, it’s the same with oil spills,” MacDonald went on. “We never want to see oil in the water, but on the rare occasions it happens, more than 25 years of experiences kicks in, and we immediately start deploying equipment and doing our part to protect the public and the environment.”

TCC, LLC, known as TCC, is a partnership between the Tatitlek Corporation, the Chenega Corporation and the managing partner Chugach Alaska Corporation. For more than 26 years under contracts with Alyeska Pipeline Service Company (Alyeska), TCC has provided personnel and expertise to maintain and deploy Alyeska’s stockpile of oil spill response equipment located through Prince William Sound (PWS) and Southcentral Alaska.

The Trans Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS) delivers a large portion of the supply of oil to Alaska and the West Coast of the United States. This oil is a vital component of the nation’s economy. In early 2020, the world began to hunker down and social distance to lower the spread of COVID-19, but the work of TCC employees had to go on to ensure the lifeblood of the United States economy continued to safely flow through TAPS.

On the evening of April 12, 2020, as most of the world sheltered in place as per COVID-19 health mandates, the TCC employees were performing their duties when an oil sheen was discovered on the water near the Valdez Marine Terminal’s (VMT) small boat harbor. Priorities immediately shifted, and within one hour of detection, TCC crews were hard at work, initiating containment and recover efforts.

“In my career, I’ve worked at nearly every level in the oil spill response apparatus that protects PWS,” MacDonald stated. “Now in my leadership role at TCC, I’ve never been prouder to be a spill responder, especially with the added complexity of COVID-19. On April 12 and in the days since, TCC has done an incredible job of lessening the impact of this spill and recovering the oil. More than two and a half decades of experience came together, and we shined throughout.”

The response began with containment efforts and deployment of boom at the small boat harbor and at two sensitive area sites in the Port of Valdez: Solomon Gulch Hatchery and the Valdez Duck Flats. The rapid response paid off, and no oil was detected outside of the containment area at the small boat harbor. Once containment was established, skimmers were deployed to recover the discharged oil. In total, 1,350 barrels of oil and water were recovered during the response operations.

In addition, as a result of the successful spill response, TCC was able to provide their regular services that allowed the TAPS oil tankers to make visits the VMT and safely load oil for transport to refineries along the West Coast. “We were definitely pulling double duty,” MacDonald stated. “TCC is in place to provide oil spill response services to Alyeska and the TAPS tankers that transit PWS. Normally, we’re strictly there for maintenance and prevention. During the spill response, we met both of these obligations all while playing the lead in the hands-on containment and recovery efforts.”

Safety was paramount throughout the response with priorities placed on the health and wellbeing of all response personnel and the PWS community and the protection of the environment. All responders, including the TCC employees, remained aware of and adhered to state, local and Alyeska company policies to keep themselves and the public safe from exposure to COVID-19.

“Safety is definitely another area where we shine,” MacDonald said. “Behind the nuclear power plants in the lower 48, TAPS is the second most regulated entity in the United States. With that degree of scrutiny and the mission of safely moving the nation’s oil, safety must be at the forefront of everything we do. Chugach and TCC’s safety motto is ‘Safety Today Secures Tomorrow’. That means today, right now, safety vigilance every second for every employee who puts on a TCC hardhat, especially during a spill.”

MacDonald went on to identify the most important statistic of the VMT small boat harbor spill. “Every factsheet and update posted by the spill’s Unified Command – comprised of representatives from Alyeska, the United States Coast Guard and the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation – stated: no injuries,” MacDonald said. “We got the oil out of the water, and no one got hurt. You can’t ask for more than that.”

It’s one thing for the General Manager of TCC to boast about his organization’s adherence to safety; it’s another thing entirely to have the Governor of the State of Alaska make a similar boast. But that’s exactly what happened when TCC received Governor Dunleavy’s Safety Award of Excellence.

The Governor’s Safety Award of Excellence is presented to organizations demonstrating distinction in the following: safety and health of their personnel, the environment, assets and reputation that demonstrates and promotes superior corporate citizenship.

For more than a quarter century, TCC has been providing oil spill and emergency response services, oil spill prevention support, and oil spill boom and equipment deployments, during normal and emergency operations, drills, exercises, and training. TCC operations include boom deployments, skimmer operations, small boat operations, tanker and berth booming and debooming operations, and maintenance and deployement of boom mooring systems, vessel mooring systems, remote site boom deployment systems, remote site contingency storage units, dispersant application systems, in situ burning operations, dock and barge work.

The most important statistic that secured the award for TCC was the fact TCC employees have accumulated more than 1,000,000 hours without a single Lost Time Accident. This number grew substantially as a result of the hours worked during the spill response, and the fact that this work, like so much of the work performed by TCC, was accomplished with out a single injury.

To learn more about TCC and its incredible employment opportunities, go to www.chugachalaskaservices.com.

Non-Profit Thanks Chugach For Donation

The Alaska Legal Services Corporation (ALSC) has a similar goal. Established in 1967, ALSC offers free civil legal services to low income and disadvantaged people to protect their safety, their health, and promote family stability. So where do a remodel and a private, nonprofit law firm intersect? ALSC became the home of a number of furnishings that we replaced during our renovation.

Nikole Nelson, Executive Director of ALSC, shared a letter with Chugach expressing ALSC’s gratitude for the donation. “On behalf of everyone at ALSC, we would like to thank Chugach for the office furniture. The wonderful gifts were put to work right away! The chairs have created a welcoming waiting area for our clients, and the desks are being put to great use by our staff.”

Nelson continued, touching on the true significance of what the contribution meant to the law firm. “Donations like this are what make our day-to-day operations possible and allow us to provide excellent free legal help to those who need it most. Thank you so much for thinking of us!”

Melanie Osborne wears multiple hats in her many roles at Chugach. Chief Compliance Officer and Executive Vice President to name a few, but her duties as Chugach’s General Counsel gives her a special connection to ALSC. “As an attorney and an Alaskan, ALSC is near and dear to my heart. As lower-income Alaskans grapple with issues affecting their families, homes, incomes and access to vital services such as health care, it is so important that we have these services available to provide advice and self-help resources for navigating the court system,” Melanie said. “I’m humbled by the incredible work of ALSC and Chugach is honored to continue building community by supporting ALSC.”

To learn more about ALSC and the great work they do, click here. Chugach’s Five Core Behaviors are:

  • We do things the right way
  • We create meaningful value
  • We empower people
  • We build community
  • We leave things better than we found them

Company Picnic Becomes Donations For Homeless & Hungry

This thank you was delivered in the form of picnic packages that we shared with all of our Anchorage-based employees. Friday, July 10, members of Chugach leadership met in a socially distant and safe fashion and handed out swag and care packages full of tasty summer treats.

The day centered around volunteers and our leadership team working a drive-through pickup line that allowed employees to pull, open their trunks or hatchbacks and have care packages safely placed in vehicles for a non-contact handoff.

While distance was maintained throughout the day, Chugach leadership team was able express their gratitude in person, from a safe distance, and say thank you in person. There weren’t any handshakes or hugs, but there were definitely waves and fond hellos.

The excess packages, totaling approximately $2500 in food items were taken down to Bean’s Café, a local non-profit that has been serving the needs of the hungry and homeless in Anchorage since 1979. In addition, the Bean’s Café Children’s Lunchbox program provides meals to hungry children. The mission of the organization is to fight hunger for all ages, one meal at a time, while providing a pathway to self-sufficiency with dignity and respect.

In all, it was an incredible day. The Chugach employees, after spending a summer apart, were able to briefly and safely connect with one another, and Chugach as a whole was able to stand by our Core Behavior of We Build Community. Simply put, building community means that our employees always try to improve the places where we live and work or, on this day, community improvement was a contribution that eased the hunger of the Bean’s Café clients.

The following slideshow showcases the fun had by our volunteers and leadership team.

Chugach Stands Together (Virtually) For AKFRW

With the COVID-19 shutdowns and the need to social distance, assembling people together for a group photo was simply not possible. In addition, the race that draws huge crowds to Anchorage’s Mulcahy Stadium had to go virtual, i.e., team members ran separate races in separate locations. The race went on, but in a socially distanced fashion, so sadly, the in-person coming together of our team didn’t happen.

While we couldn’t stand together like we have in years past, that didn’t stop the Chugach Team from uniting together to raise nearly $12,400 for the AKRFW, the highest team total for this year’s race. Additionally, Chugach is proud to report that 192 people – employees, family, friends and business partners – joined our team, and that also set a record for the largest team to raise funds for this year’s race.

Chugach employees live by five Core Behaviors that guide everything we do:

  • We do things the right way
  • We create meaningful value
  • We empower people
  • We build community
  • We leave things better than we found them

Chugach’s annual AKRFW campaign is a clear demonstration that our Core Behaviors are alive and well. Making a donation to defeat cancer is, by and far, the right thing to do. Donating to a worthy cause is so very meaningful. This campaign is employee driven, meaning that our employees are empowered on their own accord to take a stand against cancer. Our employees make a difference in the communities where they live and work, and making AKRFW donations builds our community for the common good. Finally, someday soon, a cure for cancer will be found, and donations made to the AKFRW will have contributed to that historic day, and that’s how you leave things better than you found them – one donation at a time.

Tammy Morton, co-captain of Chugach’s AKRFW Team, expressed her gratitude to all who took part this year and in years past. “A huge thank you to our team! For the last five years, we have fielded the largest AKRFW teams, AND we’ve raised the most donations in that same time period! In total, Chugach has raised almost $88,000 for the AKRFW! Thank you for your support. Each of you are true champions in the fight against breast cancer and your efforts make the AKRFW the success that it has become!”

Chugach Employee & His Family Sew Masks For Community

Glenn and Kimberly Potter, and their son Seth are taking part in a vital national trend. “We are making masks in house and have bigger goals to coordinate local efforts to make and distribute masks to organizations in need and health care facilities,” Glenn Potter said. “My wife Kimberly works in the medical field and because of the shortage of supplies, we are doing what we can to support those who are in dire need—medical professionals, first responders, and even those who are ill.”

The Potters are going beyond the mere utility of medical masks—a protective barrier that stands between the wearer and harmful air particles, including the coronavirus—to tailoring their masks in a way that is reducing the fear. “Our masks are made by hand and sewing machine with love, using patterns that promote smiles and hope (and protection).” Glenn went on to describe the durability of their handcrafted masks, though he touched on a caution. “Our masks are washable, and the filter is removable. As with anything used in healthcare, there are specific guidelines and safety measures that need to be followed. Masks appropriate for individual use may not be appropriate for hospital-wide use.”

Glenn was quick to take the spotlight off of himself and point to the group effort the Potters have undertaken and why it is so important. “It’s a Family effort, and my wife is a nurse, and I have to give her most of the credit,” Glenn said. “I just perform the supply, logistics, and quality control part. Our son Seth is a senor this year. He’s helping while he watches his prom and graduation and the last days of his school evaporate. The world completely changed a couple of weeks ago. The first responders are the boots on the ground, and they are the heroes we are supporting.”

Glenn Potter works for Wolf Creek Federal Range Operations Support, a subsidiary of Chugach Government Solutions (CGS). Glenn serves as Healthy, Safety, Environment & Quality Control Manager at Patrick Air Force Base in Florida. Chugach Alaska Corporation is proud of the role Glenn plays in CGS’s mission to support the United States Military, and we’re even more proud of the way he, his wife and his son have stepped up to do their part to end the COVID-19 crisis.

We will make to the other side of everything that COVID-19 puts before us, but it will take people like the Potters to make that happen. “It’s in times like these when helping and gratitude will become more important than ever,” Glenn concluded. “Make no mistake, in the weeks to come, we will need ten times our current discipline to stay focused and productive. When you find yourself struggling through times of uncertainty, like we all are right now, you have a choice to make. Will you be a victim or will you do something to improve the situation?”

Glenn, Kimberly and Seth have made their choice. Please join us in thanking them.

Chugach Supports Strengthening 8(a) Contracting in NDAA

The FY 2020 NDAA includes Section 823 (see below for details), which promotes the abilities of ANCs to continue to meet their Congressional mandate: operate as for-profit corporations that return monetary and non-monetary benefits to their Alaska Native shareholders. This provision would mitigate the damaging effects that Section 811 has had on the ability of Native contractors to compete with larger contractors on sole-source contracts with values in excess of $22 million (inflation adjusted from $20 million).

“We’re grateful to Senator Sullivan for his unwavering support and leadership on issues critical to the Alaska Native community,” said Interim President and CEO; and Chairman of the Board Sheri Buretta. “The SBA’s 8(a) business development program is the missing link to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) in that it provides an economic engine for ANCs to generate profits that benefit an entire community of Alaska Native shareholders. Beyond that, the Alaska Congressional Delegation and their staff understand that the success of ANCs echoes beyond our Alaska Native shareholders to help create jobs, inject capital and help strengthen the state’s economy. We thank Congressman Young for passing this provision in the House, as well as Senator Inhofe and his staff for their help in getting this important provision adopted.”

Like the majority of ANCs in government contracting, Chugach has experienced challenges over the past several years in securing federal contract awards as a direct result of attacks on the 8(a) program and resulting regulatory changes. Specifically, the stigma of language from section 811 has led to a significant decrease in awards to ANCs. These attacks are indicative of the ongoing misperceptions and lack of understanding surrounding ANCs and their participation in federal government 8(a) contracting.

Through opportunities created by the program, Chugach provides its 2,600 Alaska Native shareholders (an economically disadvantaged group) with countless benefits that would not otherwise exist.

These shareholder programs are an important focus of the business development model required by the ANCSA originally enacted in 1971. When Congress expanded the SBA’s 8(a) program to include community-based organizations and authorized businesses owned by ANCs, they understood that these Native enterprises benefit more than one individual or family. The profits of ANCs like Chugach benefit thousands of Alaska Natives through dividends, educational programs, scholarships and other programs.

The passage of the FY 2020 NDAA highlights the federal government’s confidence in the value ANCs bring to the federal government through contracting, while simultaneously recognizing the long-term impacts on current and future generations of Alaska Native people.

For more information, please contact Randi Jo Gause at (907) 261-0348.

About the Provision:

Senator Sullivan’s provision – Section 823 – requires the Department of Defense to remove overly burdensome restrictions first enacted in late 2009, which applied to only to Native 8(a) contractors.  Specifically, this language reduces the administrative burden and lowers the disproportionately high level of approval authority for small-to-medium-sized sole-source contracts – $100 million and below – awarded to Native 8(a) contractors.  This language – which Senator Sullivan included in the markup of the FY2020 NDAA – also positively impacts contracts above $100 million by delegating the approval for these contracts to the head of the procuring activity, or their designee.

Moreover, this provision, which applies to tribes, and Alaska Native and Hawaiian firms, helps ensure that DOD contracting officers have additional tools they need to quickly and efficiently procure products and services when the need arises. As the 2018 National Defense Strategy explicitly states, “Current processes are not responsive to need; the Department is over-optimized for exceptional performance at the expense of providing timely decision… We must not accept cumbersome approval chains… Delivering performance means we will shed outdated management practices and structures while integrating insights from business innovation.”

About Chugach Alaska Corporation:
Established in 1972 under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, Chugach Alaska Corporation exists to serve the interests of the Alaska Native people of the Chugach region with a focus on profitability, celebration of our heritage and ownership of our lands. Through responsible management of our lands, businesses and assets, we provide meaningful opportunities and benefits to our community of 2,600 shareholders. Chugach fulfills its mission through a range of investments and operating businesses that provide government, facilities and energy services. Learn more at www.chugach.com.

Contact: Randi Jo Gause, Director of Business Innovation & Communications
(907) 261-0348 (w)
(907) 301-8886 (c)
randi.gause@chugach.com

Chugach Board Announces CEO Transition

Kompkoff served on Chugach’s Board of Directors from 2010 through 2011, before joining the company in 2012 as the leader of the commercial division, Chugach Commercial Holdings LLC. Soon after, he was appointed by the Board as Chugach’s President and CEO from 2012 to 2017.

“The Board thanks Gabe for nearly a decade of service and leadership in building the business, and wishes him well in his next endeavor,” said Buretta. “His passion for the Chugach mission helped advance the Board’s vision to diversify our portfolio. We’re all tremendously grateful that Gabe dedicated himself to helping steward Chugach through these critical years.”

Kompkoff said, “It has been a great honor to build and lead this great company on behalf of the shareholder community, and I look forward to seeing the corporation continue to grow and thrive under its next evolution in leadership.”

For more information, please contact Randi Jo Gause at (907) 261-0348.

About Chugach Alaska Corporation:
Established in 1972 under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, Chugach Alaska Corporation exists to serve the interests of the Alaska Native people of the Chugach region with a focus on profitability, celebration of our heritage and ownership of our lands. Through responsible management of our lands, businesses and assets, we provide meaningful opportunities and benefits to our community of 2,500 shareholders. Chugach fulfills its mission through a range of investments and operating businesses that provide government, facilities and energy services. Learn more at www.chugach.com.

Contact: Randi Jo Gause,
Director of Business Innovation & Communications
(907) 261-0348 (w)
(907) 301-8886 (c)
randi.gause@chugach.com