Meeting Your New Legislators

Built to Last by Rindi White

Excellence in Construction Photos

Celebrating Safety by Rindi White

Individual and Associate Awards by Rindi White

Green Earth Landworks by Dimitra Lavrakas

Exclusive Paving by David A. James

Independent Lift Truck of Alaska by Jamey Bradbury

EMC Engineering by Jamey Bradbury

Road to Recovery by Rachael Kvapil

New Members

President’s Message by Brian Midyett

Executive Director’s Message by Alicia Amberg

Calendar of Events

2022 AGC of Alaska Conference

2022-2023 Executive Board and Board of Directors

2022 Chili Cookoff

New Tool for Members by Rindi White

Business Development by Max Frey

Human Resources Update by Darci Ahlin-Stieren

2022 Summer Safety Fair

Occupational Health by Andy Wyman

Financial Services and Contractors by Doug Ladenburger

Member News

Advertisers Index

Jenith Ziegler
ChemTrack Alaska Inc.

Pearl-Grace Pantaleone
Cornerstone General Contractors

Alicia Amberg
Associated General Contractors of Alaska

Christine A. White
R&M Consultants, Inc.

Heather Sottosanti
Big State Mechanical, LLC

Brian Midyett
STG Pacific, LLC

Rindi White
Editor

Monica Sterchi-Lowman
Art Director

Fulvia Lowe
Art Production

James K Brown
Graphic Designer

BUSINESS STAFF
Charles Bell
VP Sales & Marketing
907-257-2909 cbell@akbizmag.com

Janis J. Plume
Senior Account Manager
907-257-2917 janis@akbizmag.com

Christine Merki
Senior Account Manager
907-257-2911 cmerki@akbizmag.com

The Alaska Contractor is published by Alaska Business Publishing Co. Inc. for the Associated General Contractors of Alaska. Contents of the magazine are not necessarily endorsed by AGC of Alaska or Alaska Business Publishing Co. All rights reserved. Copyright 2022 by the Associated General Contractors of Alaska. For information about articles in this edition or for permission to reproduce any portion of it, contact Alaska Business Publishing Co.

am honored to introduce myself as the incoming Associated General Contractors, or AGC, of Alaska president. First, I would like to thank Past President Sarah Lefebvre for her friendship, tireless volunteerism, and commitment to AGC Alaska. Sarah has been a bold, effective leader, and we cannot say enough good things about her time serving this role. Thank you, Sarah. Also a big thanks to Alicia and all the AGC staff for all they do.

Our incoming executive board is made up of these dedicated volunteers:

• Marcus Trivette: Vice President, Brice Inc.
• Saigen Harris: Secretary, F&W Construction
• Carrie Jokiel: Treasurer, ChemTrack Alaska
• Dave Johnson: Associate Member, AS&G
• Luke Blomfield: Contractor at Large, Davis Constructors and Engineers

2022 Conference a Great Success

hat a difference a year makes! 2022 saw us back in person for our traditional conference and dinner dance celebration. The energy for both events was off the charts as members from across the state gathered for the week. We appreciate our members’ support of this important annual program that provides news and information for hundreds of Alaskans working in the building industry (not to mention a heaping portion of fun).

I am proud to report that, following the conference, it is clear our membership is fired up. The desire to get involved with our chapter spiked in the days since. My phone has chimed with texts and rung nonstop with offers from members eager to increase their involvement with Associated General Contractors, or AGC, of Alaska. We welcome this trend and will gladly take everyone up on these generous offers. If you or your employees are looking for opportunities to get engaged with chapter activities, drop me a line. Whether you want to advocate for the industry with elected officials, help young people enter the field, or recruit new members, we can find a role for you.

hey say you can never go home again, but the 2022 Associated General Contractors of Alaska Annual Conference at Hotel Captain Cook November 9 through 12 felt a little like coming home. During the two-year COVID-19 hiatus, the conference was virtual in 2020 and in 2021 was an in-person/virtual hybrid that was still missing the crowning event, the Dinner Dance Gala. So this year a “normal” conference was something worth celebrating. And there was much to celebrate, from luncheons honoring companies who received awards for excellence in construction and for excellence in safety to welcoming new AGC Board members and a new AGC Executive Board President. Attendees heard updates about the Port of Alaska project; learned tips for keeping safe in an aviation crash; heard from Alaska Senator Click Bishop about state and federal infrastructure funding; learned how to better collaborate and communicate with stakeholders during a project; and found new ways to understand how the brain works and how to raise team energy and deal with difficult emotions. Whether in seminars, around tables in the Fore Deck, or between presentations in the hallways, the energy among participants was electric. At the Dinner Dance Gala, with a 1920s speakeasy theme, the hotel was awash in furs and beaded flapper dresses, striped suits and silk shirts, feathered headbands and flat caps—and the place positively sizzled. We can’t wait to do it again next year!

hris Hamre, president and senior project manager of Denali General Contractors, always wanted a career in Alaska. In 1983, he expanded his existing construction career by opening his own contracting business in Anchorage. From there, he developed niche markets in communities like Nome and Bethel and occasionally completed projects in the Lower 48. As Denali General approaches its fortieth anniversary, Hamre and his team are just as dedicated to providing quality construction statewide.

“When you’re a young company just starting out, you do what you can with the talent you have,” says Hamre. “As you gain experience, you also gain financial resources in addition to talent and can take on more ambitious projects.”

ood planning and preparation are the keys to success in any construction project, but getting ready for remote work on Shemya Island takes project management to the next level.

“Shemya is a harsh marine environment at the edge of the Aleutian Islands,” says Jacob Pomeranz of Electric Power Systems. “It’s out there.”

Shemya Island is a logistically challenging location, located about 500 miles from mainland Russia and about 1,500 miles southwest of Anchorage, at the western edge of the Aleutian Chain. It’s so far to the west that it observes the Hawaii-Aleutian time zone, which is an hour behind mainland Alaska.

Getting to the island requires military clearance and a chartered flight, as it is home to Eareckson Air Station—formerly known as Shemya Air Force Base—and the Cobra Dane Phased Array Radar Facility, which is currently operated by the US Space Force and has been used to monitor space and missile activities. The radar has been in operation since 1977.

For the past decade, Electric Power Systems, or EPS, has been working on Shemya Island. Most recently, EPS and two of its sister companies—Electric Power Constructors and Mechanical Builders, Inc.—subcontracted under Brice Environmental to complete a two-year project that upgraded Cobra Dane’s existing electrical and mechanical infrastructure with state-of-the-art technology.

ou had an idea for a business, found a niche, and found success—but then different possibilities spring up before you. What do you do?

You pivot.

That’s exactly what Anchorage’s Green Earth Landworks has done.

Initially, Green Earth Landworks offered landscaping, then revegetation and environmental services as well as storm pollution prevention products.

ach year the Associated General Contractors, or AGC, of Alaska faces new—and sometimes quite unexpected—challenges. But each year AGC leaders work together to find the best way to approach the challenges and advocate for the best solution for members. They help inform members of new policies, gather input from people whom the policies directly affect, and advocate on behalf of members at every opportunity. AGC of Alaska would like to welcome the 2022/2023 executive board and all the members of its board of directors as we embark on a new year of service.

nnovation, meeting challenges with unique resilience, and building community good will for projects were some of the strengths that helped the 2022 Excellence in Construction award winners achieve recognition. Awards were presented at the Parker, Smith & Feek Excellence in Construction awards luncheon on November 11 during the the Associated General Contractors of Alaska Annual Convention.

afety is more than talking with your team about appropriate ladder use or eye protection on the job site. It’s a practice, one that is perfected over time and driven by a company-wide commitment to safety from project beginning to end, including reporting unsafe job practices and equipment in need of repair.

Associated General Contractors of Alaska, or AGC, and ConocoPhillips recognized four companies and one individual for outstanding commitments to safety at the ConocoPhillips Excellence in Safety Luncheon on November 10, a part of the 2022 AGC Annual Convention.

elly Layman first got involved with Associated General Contractors, or AGC, of Alaska after moving to Anchorage with his family and not knowing a soul.

“I knew I needed to get connected in the construction industry,” Layman says. “I started working with AGC and trying to get connected there.”

Working in the field of insurance, Layman came to Alaska in 2003 to join Ribelin Lowell & Company Insurance Brokers in the company’s bonding department. Sixteen years ago, he joined Marsh McLennan Agency, where he currently works as director of the surety department.

hen Sarah Lefebvre began working at Exclusive Landscaping and Paving in 1998, then-corporate president and principal owner Phil Anderson was serving on the Associated General Contractors of Alaska board of directors.

Impressed with how quickly his newly-hired bookkeeper learned about the varied aspects of the company, and the zeal with which she took on new tasks, Anderson encouraged her to think about joining the board.

“That planted the seed,” Lefebvre says nearly twenty-five years later, “and he mentored me all those years.”

Tips about maintaining a relevant social media presence, how best to market your business at trade shows, and countless other assistance was available from Society of Marketing Professional Services members at the November Associated General Contractors of Alaska annual conference at the Hotel Captain Cook.

ow much would you pay to have an expert eye take a look at a contract proposal or provide insight about how to create a social media presence that makes sense for your business?

What if it were free?

It was, for the first time this year, at the 2022 Associated General Contractors of Alaska, or AGC, Annual Convention. At registration, companies were offered the chance to take part in the Business Development Check-Ups, held Thursday and Friday afternoons. The sessions were one-on-one meetings with members of the Society for Marketing Professional Services, or SMPS, and covered one of four topics: proposals; websites; marketing material/digital content; and social media.

magine this: you are going about your daily professional life as an A/E/C, or Architecture/Engineering/Construction, marketer, maybe working on a big internal project or perhaps a short-fuse, high-profile proposal. You have your head down, focused on the objective. Out of the blue, you hear your firm is being acquired and your organization will be fully adopting the new company’s brand. This is where I found myself in the spring of 2020, when my Alaska-based company, PDC Engineers, was purchased by a firm out of South Dakota called RESPEC.

Over the past two tumultuous years, our industry saw dramatic slowdowns during the height of the pandemic, with equally dramatic upticks as the lockdowns have eased. This extraordinary resumption of activity led to an increase of 34 percent in A/E/C mergers and acquisitions, according to Morrissey Goodale, meaning many marketers were having the same experience.

ILT is a dealership for several product lines of forklift and other rough terrain equipment.

ayne Dick checks the Associated General Contractors of Alaska website every day. “Even if there’s not equipment I have availability to quote, I still look at who wins the bids for specific jobs,” he says, “because they may need additional equipment to complete that job. Whether it’s a forklift or a compactor, I tend to look at the bid wins to see if I can provide equipment to help make the job happen.”

Making the job happen is Independent Lift Truck of Alaska’s, or ILT’s, specialty. As Alaska’s leading forklift dealership for the last forty years, this family business services the entire state’s forklift and material handling needs across several industries—from energy and mining to seafood harvesting or warehousing.

Federal money plays a crucial role in funding construction projects nationwide, including infrastructure like roads, bridges, military structures, courthouses, and prisons, in addition to other emergency projects reimbursed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA. Direct federal contractors, such as those with contracts directly with the US Army Corps of Engineers, General Services Administration, or other federal agencies, and federally assisted prime construction contractors, or contractors with transportation contracts directly with state departments of transportation, are subject to reporting subcontractor awards of $10,000 or more within ten working days of the award. Claiborne Guy, director of employment policy and practices for the Associated General Contractors of America, says reporting this information within this timeframe wasn’t so easy in the past.

e have been through quite a storm these past couple of years. Our work environments have fluctuated with the way we engage and connect with each other. Many have found themselves shifting to a virtual or hybrid work model that has reduced impromptu conversations; instead we find ourselves scheduling zoom calls or trying to connect in person.

Finding our new normal has meant changing how we communicate and revisiting some of our programs. One example is shifting away from traditional annual performance reviews by forming a more continuous feedback approach. This is not to say an annual review does not still occur, it just means a different approach is taken leading up to the review.

ver the years, I have heard a few people attempting to explain the challenges of fall protection by claiming that fall protection is “easy.” Having worked in fall protection for more than ten years across multiple industries—including logistics, defense contracting, parks and recreation, shipbuilding, oil and gas, and construction—I have learned one simple lesson: fall protection is ever-changing and far from easy.

Since falls make up the majority of construction fatalities, it has been the number one most cited violation from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, or OSHA, for decades. Calling it easy is an arrogant approach. This short article will cover the American National Standards Institute, or ANSI, update for Self-Retracting Lifelines, or SRL, and will explain the future updates to the ANSI standard.

he first time EMC Engineering was hired on a contract, the company operated behind the scenes. When major flooding hit the Kenai Peninsula in 2003, the state mobilized all available contractors to get the road system open again. EMC—then a fledgling company that had been in operation since 2002—was contracted by the Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities, or DOT&PF, to verify time and materials used during the emergency response for contractor payments.

“EMC performed well during this contract, which gained us a strong reputation with DOT&PF,” says Tara Masters, EMC’s executive vice president and office manager.

hile economic conditions have improved, challenges with supply chains, shipping, and labor linger. At the same time, fraud attempts and cyber security attacks show no sign of slowing.

Businesses of all sizes and from all industries should leverage every opportunity to address these ongoing challenges. Treasury management services from your financial services provider can help you run your business more safely and efficiently.

On October 24, 2022, Roger Hickel Contracting attained the Construction Health and Safety Excellence Program (CHASE) Blue Level. The CHASE Program is a partnership between licensed Alaska contractors and the Alaska Occupational Safety and Health section to take a proactive approach in reducing injuries, illnesses, and fatalities within the construction industry in Alaska.

Bettisworth North Leaders Honored

Two leaders with Bettisworth North Architects and Planners have been awarded high honors within their respective practice areas. Leah Boltz, principal, has been named a fellow by the Society for Marketing Professional Services, or SMPS. Dana Nunn, director of interior design, has been inducted into the American Society of Interior Designers, or ASID, College of Fellows. The announcement was made by Tracy Vanairsdale, president of Bettisworth North.