NDC E-Bulletin Vol. 3, No. 1 • January 31, 2008
President's Message
Helvi Sandvik
NDC President
In 2007, we celebrated NANA’s 35th anniversary. I was recently asked to look back at the past 35 years and reflect on NANA’s “really big story” and its impact.
I remember those early years when people from my home village of Kiana were beginning to learn about what it means to be in business. All of a sudden we saw village members, subsistence hunters and fishermen heading off to meetings carrying briefcases. I was young and wondered, “Where are they going?” And, “What is in those cases?” As I entered adulthood NANA became a visible sign of change in our region and Alaska. I was proud as NANA distinguished itself as a successful Native Corporation.
NANA’s first businesses were those that offered jobs within our region. Our leadership was as concerned then as it is today about the lack of employment opportunities for people who live in extremely remote, roadless villages.
When oil development began in Alaska, NANA entered into businesses that served the oil industry. For more than 25 years, we have provided food service, security and housekeeping on the North Slope. We also provide engineering services, camp management, training, soils testing, bulk fuel and water delivery, training and drug testing.
The mining industry was our next venture with the development of Red Dog Mine on our own land in the Northwest Arctic. Our leaders’ strategy was to develop our own companies to provide services at Red Dog so we could offer our shareholders jobs and training opportunities. We continue to make progress. NANA shareholders make up more than 55 percent of Red Dog’s workforce. In addition, NANA serves the mining industry at Red Dog and beyond through 12 business units involved in transportation, construction, drilling, facilities maintenance, food service, oil and lubricants, engineering and workforce development. As we move forward, we will continue to press for more opportunities for NANA companies to deliver all services at the Red Dog Mine.
We looked outside of Alaska for the next stage of development, providing engineering, IT, facility management, logistics, property management and food services all across America and all the way to Antarctica, Guam, Europe, and the Middle East.
Who would have thought that people from above the Arctic Circle who were not business people 35 years ago could build a global company with annual revenues of a billion dollars? Today, NDC has 48 companies that employ 6,500 highly qualified professionals dedicated to providing exemplary service and exceed client expectations on a daily basis. We accomplished this through embracing opportunities and overcoming challenges that have come our way. We’ve adopted new technology and acquired the tools to prepare for the future. We’ve adapted to changing times, while keeping a strong hold on our values. And at all times, our shareholders are top-of-mind.
We must be successful in the work we do, committed to being the best of the best. And while we work, we must always honor our values of honesty, integrity, commitment, dignity and respect. Through our many companies and the dedication and hard work of their employees, we will earn the sustainable income needed to help our people and our region.
I view my time with NANA as a privilege, a chance to contribute, and a way to maintain my cultural identity in a very large world. My commitment to NANA as we look to our next 35 years is to keep on building a strong and stable company so we can continue to provide jobs, dividends, educational opportunities, and do our part in guiding a healthy future for NANA’s 11,400 shareholders, our employees, and the communities in which we live.
Focus For 2008: Ethics
NANA Development Corporation (NDC) will sharpen its focus on three key areas this year: safety, compliance and ethics.
A corporate ethics program is vital for any organization. Since its inception, NANA has had a defined code, which governs all decisions employees make at work. It is based on three principles:
- Honesty and integrity govern our activities
- Commitments made will be fulfilled
- All individuals are treated with dignity and respect
Based on NANA values, these principles have been core to Iñupiat survival for the last 10,000 years.
These principles are the heart of all business decisions NANA makes,” said David Marquez, chief operating officer for NANA Development Corporation (NDC).
“The values and the principles on which they are based translate very easily to the business environment and are the very essence of the Qivliq Compliance and Ethics Program,” said Race McCleery, president and CEO for Qivliq LLC.
“Qivliq’s Ethics Program and Code of Conduct are meant to enhance – not replace – these principles. To meet our responsibilities as a company, the program is designed to sharpen the focus on acceptable and expected behavior in our business environment. By establishing the code, the company establishes a means by which systems and procedures may be audited with a goal toward compliance and monitoring.”
Look for NDC roll-out of a formal, system-wide ethics and code of conduct program later this year that incorporate elements from Qivliq as well as other NANA companies’ programs.
Food Service At The Bottom Of The World
The NANA Services team in Antarctica takes a break from their fast-paced schedule for a group photo.
Since 2000, NANA Services LLC has provided food services to the U.S. Antarctic Program (USAP) as a subcontractor to Raytheon Polar Services Company. Last November, NANA Services foodservice operations was profiled in the Government Food Service magazine.
The article, “The Heights of Food Service at the Bottom of the World,” focuses on the unique challenges associated with providing foodservice operations in one of the most remote areas of the world – the Antarctic – where temperatures may vary from an extreme low of -130 degrees Fahrenheit in winter to a maximum high of 59 degrees Fahrenheit during the austral summer (October – February).
Approximately 3,000 scientists and support personnel rotate through the USAP annually, which includes three primary stations and several substations. The bulk of the group is on “the ice” during the austral summer, when they work around the clock.
In addition to food service, NANA Services manages all quality of life services and living services that directly impact workforce moral. NANA’S scope of work with USAP continues to grow. This year the company provided the food procurement and prepared the annual supplies shipping, prep, crating. Recently, NANA also began providing plumbers, electricians and a host of other trades to accommodate the needs on “the ice.”
For a unique look at food services operation at the bottom of the world, click here.
Going To Extremes
WHPacific’s Boise office was extremely busy this past year on some pretty amazing projects in the Northwest – both catching the attention of local and national media.
Extreme Makeover
The Stockdale's home before before the Extreme Makeover demolition occurred.
WHPacific Boise and others on Extreme Makeover team totally transformed the Stockdale's home.
If you watched the December 2, 2007 edition of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition on ABC, you saw the results of a project in which WHPacific’s Boise office was very involved. WHPacific served on the design team, providing surveying and landscape architectural services for Middleton, Idaho residents Ryan and Karia Stockdale’s new home. The couple has four children, ages two to six, who suffer from eosinophilic esophagitis, a rare white blood cell disease that affects multiple body systems including the blood, lungs, kidneys, esophagus, and digestive system.
WHP surveyors topographically mapped the site, resolved the boundary, and staked the property and new foundation corners and setback lines. Landscape architectural services included tree mitigation and preservation, landscape planting design, and irrigation specifications. Site planning included walkways, patios, and fencing layout. Other WHP employees volunteered throughout the demolition and building, carrying wood, handing out water, and providing general labor services.
Extreme Move
WHPacific helped move Big Mike, a 1920 locomotive built in 1920, from one part of Boise to another.
Big Mike, a 283,000-pound locomotive built in 1920, needed help moving from its 30-year home in Julia Davis Park in downtown Boise to its new location in the Boise Depot. Tender and locomotive were 90 feet long and weighed a total of 463,000 pounds, so navigating through downtown was going to be difficult. The biggest challenge, however, would be getting the locomotive across the 9th Street Bridge as Big Mike’s weight exceeded the bridge’s weight limits.
Joe Keller (WHPacific’s Northwest Region’s Director of Structural Engineering), who helped design the bridge in the 1980s, was involved throughout the process, from planning to execution. Joe’s structural team determined that the bridge could accommodate the move by using a special rig with more than 40 articulated axles and 128 wheels. This allowed Big Mike’s weight to be spread over many wheels so the locomotive could safely traverse the bridge.
The move took place between 2 and 3 a.m. on Sunday, December 9, 2007, and was documented by local television and print media, as well as the Discovery Channel.
ASCG Is Now Officially WHPacific
WHPacific Denver proudly show off new jackets sporting the new company name.
WHPacific’s Denver office shows off its new jackets. The transition from ASCG Incorporated, with 17 offices in eight states, to a one-company organization under the WHPacific, Inc. name began in October 2007, and was completed this month.
Alaska News
NANA Educates About Mining
NANA conducts print and radio campaign to educate Alaskans on the importance of Alaska’s mining industry.
Mining benefits all Alaskans. Red Dog Mine is a substantial economic contributor to NANA, the Northwest Arctic Borough, and Alaska as a whole. As the largest employer in the NANA region, Red Dog has paid more than $223 million in wages to shareholders since it opened in 1989. Additionally, 70 percent of the royalties received from Red Dog are shared among all Native Regional corporations.
To educate Alaskans on the mining industry in the state, NANA embarked on a print and radio public awareness campaign in mid-December. Rosie Barr, Sonny Adams and Walter Sampson were featured in radio spots and newspaper ads running in Anchorage, Fairbanks, Juneau, Kenai/Soldotna, Kotzebue, and Mat-Su Valley. New radio and print ads featuring Marie Greene, President of NANA Regional Corporation are underway this week. In addition, Rosie has been interviewed for news stories about the issue. To learn the facts about Alaska’s mining industry and the vital role it plays in the state, visit www.NANA.com.
New Hotel To Provide Lodging And More
NANA's SpringHill Suites by Marriott on Anchorage’s Alaska Pacific University campus is slated to open in 2009.
NANA is moving forward with the development of a 159-room SpringHill Suites by Marriott on the Alaska Pacific University (APU) campus in Anchorage, Alaska, near local hospitals and universities. The hotel is expected to break ground this spring and be ready for occupancy in summer 2009. DOWL Engineers, a NANA company, is providing project management, planning, platting, geotechnical engineering, traffic studies, civil design, landscape architecture, and materials testing for the project. NANA Management Services (NMS) lodging division will manage the hotel. This will be the third SpringHill Suites for NMS, which manages the SpringHill Suites in midtown Anchorage and Fairbanks, as well as The Courtyard by Marriott – Anchorage, The Residence Inn – Anchorage, Nullagvik Hotel – Kotzebue, and Arctic Caribou Inn in Deadhorse, Alaska.
“We’re excited to have the opportunity to manage another SpringHill Suites in Anchorage. We believe this hotel will be of great benefit to the people who frequent both the universities and the surrounding medical community,” said Jeannette Duenow, vice president of lodging and hotel management for NMS.
In addition to lodging, the hotel will provide opportunities to local students. APU’s educational mission is centered in the concept of “active learning” and inclusion of students in “real world” projects. The hotel and APU have entered into an agreement to provide guest instructors to APU’s business and hospitality programs and internship opportunities to students. This agreement will also provide hotel guests access to APU’s nationally recognized outdoor leadership program. Students seeking careers in Alaska’s outdoors will be able to gain experience leading kayak tours of the lake, educational nature walks on the park trail system, and cross-country ski tours of Anchorage’s trail system.