Vol. 2, No. 3 • February 23, 2007
Growing Great Leaders
Helvi Sandvik
NDC President
Leadership is not only about directing a company in growth and performance. A good leader is honest, trustworthy, and sets the standard for integrity in the workplace, understanding that people respond to those who lead by example. While good leaders have vision, day-to-day effectiveness depends on their ability to be inspiring, energetic and optimistic about the future. There have been recent leadership changes at NANA. John McClellan, ASCG President and CEO has recently retired as well John Wood who retired as President and CEO of Akima Management Services. Both take with them a list of accomplishments that includes ushering ASCG to one of the top engineering firms in the nation, and growing Akima to six nationwide companies known for their outstanding reputation as a government contractor. At John Wood’s recent retirement party, I had the opportunity to chat with Ed Morris, incoming President of Akima, and to watch four generations of Akima Presidents and CEOs pay tribute to John. As they spoke, I reflected on how blessed NANA is to have benefited from this group of amazing talents. Although the departure of a successful leader can be emotional and disconcerting, at the same time, we can rest assured that our incoming leaders will build on their predecessors’ contributions and the guiding NANA beliefs—that leadership is about human beings and understanding attitudes, not only processes and procedures. As former NANA leaders move onto other endeavors, let us say ‘thank you’ for their contributions, while welcoming the next era of new energy and ideas.
A Job With a View
Jeannette Duenow and family
Vice President of OperationsNMS Lodging Division
Jeannette Duenow, Vice President of Operations for the Lodging Division of NANA Management Services, oversees the management of NANA hotel properties and focuses on maintaining current clients, while also acquiring new business. Jeannette started her career in the hospitality industry as a front desk clerk and housekeeper at a Marriott hotel property in the lower-48.
Jeannette joined NANA 11-years ago as the first General Manager of the Courtyard by Marriott in Anchorage. To learn about our Region she also spent time managing the Nullagvik Hotel in Kotzebue. When we began expanding our hotel portfolio with new properties in Anchorage and Fairbanks, Jeannette was promoted to oversee all of our hotel properties and the Lodging Division of NANA Management Services. Jeannette holds a bachelor’s degree in business from Arizona State University in Phoenix, as well as an MBA from Alaska Pacific University.
Headquartered in Anchorage, NMS Lodging began 10 years ago with the opening of the Courtyard by Marriott. Since then, it has grown to include six Alaska hotels, including four Marriott franchised properties, comprising an inventory of 700 rooms, as well as meeting room space and full-service catering in Anchorage and Fairbanks. As the head of operations, Jeannette manages more than 200 full-time managers and employees.
In an industry that is notorious for high staff turnover, demanding hours, seasonal fluctuations, and the stress that comes with ever-changing guest expectations, good management requires mentoring, teamwork, communication and feeling confident in your employees. One of the greatest strengths Jeannette brings to her position, she says, is that she always has a top-of-mind awareness about the importance of people.
“People matter,” Jeannette says. “Our employees matter, our customers matter—not just as employees and customers, but as people. I strive to treat our employees as I want to be treated. Unhappy employees make for unhappy customers, so by keeping our employees happy in their work, I hope to ensure that our guests are treated in a hospitable and friendly manner.”
Well Done!
John McClellan Retires from ASCG
John McClellan
John McClellan, President and CEO of ASCG Incorporated, announced his retirement early this month, marking the end of a remarkable 24-year journey that started with two men and a desk. Under his guidance the company grew to be a $100 million architectural, engineering and technical consulting services company. Headquartered in Anchorage, ASCG has 700 employees in 17 locations, including Alaska, Colorado, New York, New Mexico, Idaho, Oregon and Washington. It has been ranked as one of the top 100 firms in the nation by both Engineering News Record and Zweig White’s Hot Firm listing for being one of the fastest growing companies in the industry.
John started the firm while working for Arctic Slope Regional Corporation in 1981. NANA purchased the company in 2005.
“John has been invaluable to NANA as he led the transition into the NANA family from ASRC ownership to NANA ownership. He has built an impressive organization filled with talented employees. We look forward to continuing the success of ASCG, and wish John 'smooth sailing' as he enjoys his retirement,” Helvi Sandvik, NDC President said.
NDC Board Visits East Coast Subsidiaries
Dr. Peter Cooke, with the ERRC Core Technologies Department, shows the NDC Board and Akima Management Services personnel views of bacterial growth on spinach leaves with the powerful imaging of the Electron Microscope and Confocal Laser Microscope systems.
Following the recent Akima Management Services (AMS) Board meeting in Charlotte, North Carolina, the NANA Development Corporation Board of Directors visited two East Coast project sites managed by Akima subsidiaries.
The group first joined AMS at the Akima Facilities Management (AFM) project site in Philadelphia, where they visited the US Department of Agriculture Eastern Regional Research Center to meet with AFM personnel and federal researchers. They had the opportunity to see first hand the great work done by our AFM employees and to meet with our clients who delivered praise to the talented and dedicated AFM team.
The NDC Board also visited Akima’s project site at the West Point Military Academy in West Point, New York. Akima personnel are responsible for vehicle operations services to the Academy, and also run the consolidated maintenance shops. This was a particularly meaningful visit for the Board because Westpoint was the first contract won by Akima Corporation, under the leadership of Fred Hamren, and represents NANA’s beginning in the development of our successful Government Contracting Service business segment.
It’s Off to Work We Go!
NANA Contracting Services (NCS) is recruiting for the High School Business Orientation Program (HSBO), a one-week business orientation for NANA shareholder high school juniors and seniors. Students spend one week with one NCS company to learn about different career paths, business operations and procedures. A flyer was recently mailed to NANA shareholders, and the eligibility requirements and application can be downloaded at www.nana.com.
Have a Heart
Smoking, cholesterol, high blood pressure, extra weight—it’s no news that if you have one or more of these risk factors, your chances of having a heart attack or stroke are significantly higher. But what do you do to reduce those risks? For starters, go to americanheart.org in honor of American Hearth Month. The site provides information on simple steps for being heart healthy.
If you suffer from stress, one of the biggest risk factors, here’s another reason to get your emotions under control. According to recent studies, there is a critical link between the heart and the brain, and how the two send information back and forth to each other. This research explains how the heart responds to emotional and mental reactions and why certain ones stress the body and drain energy. Anger, frustration, anxiety and insecurity are just a few feelings that make heart rhythm patterns more erratic, measurably increasing the risk of developing heart disease when they create a chain reaction in the body—stress hormone levels increase, blood vessels constrict, blood pressure rises, and the immune system is weakened. To learn more about this heart-head connection, go to http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11023208/.