Chugach Alaska Corporation has a three-pillared mission: profitability, celebration of our heritage and ownership of our lands. Dave Phillips, Chugach’s Senior Manager of Lands, is one of the key drivers behind the third pillar.

On May 20, 2017, Dave celebrated 21 years with Chugach, and for more than two decades, he has been instrumental in surveying and managing all aspects of the vast tracts of land that were bestowed to Chugach under the terms of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act.

In the past couple of years, Dave led the organization in the development and successful completion the Bering River Coal Field transaction and carbon offset, a project that will likely be modeled throughout the Last Frontier and that is, most certainly, a foundation for Chugach’s far-reaching vision of creating a strategic 100-year plan. Dave was also instrumental in identifying and driving the development of the granite quarry at Port Gravina.

Highlights of Dave’s career include escorting celebrities in the wilds of Alaska (e.g., Congressman Don Young and the congressman’s wife Lu); sleeping in rustic settings (abandoned chicken coops); and enjoying some of Alaska’s remote fine cuisine (bear-meat burritos wrapped in pancakes rather than the traditional tortillas).

Dave Phillips has criss-crossed the Chugach region for more than 20 years and ensured that the corporation and the ancestral lands of the Chugach shareholders has been inventoried and accurately measured. This vital work safeguards the jewel of the corporation and places Chugach land in a permanent position of protection for the posterity of shareholders and descendants.

On a personal note, Dave would probably point to a single defining day at Chugach as the most rewarding moment of his life. That day would be when he met Wendy Hill. Three years into his time with Chugach, Dave and Wendy were married. Eighteen years later, Mr. and Mrs. Phillips are two of the warm personalities that make Chugach a company that is more than a company.

Here’s to an amazing career and the hard work and dedication that have helped shape Chugach into one of the biggest and most successful businesses in Alaska. You can take the man out of the south, but you can’t take the south out of the man. Chugach has been fortunate to be acquainted with Dave and his undiminished southern charm. Thank you, Mr. Phillips.

For media inquiries, contact Communications
Director Randi Jo Gause

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