Photo provided by Photo Emporium Alaska

onstruction is in Sam Robert Brice’s blood. His grandparents started Brice, Inc. in 1961. Through hard work and a lot of determination, the company has succeeded where many others have faltered, becoming one of Alaska’s premier remote civil construction firms, specializing in airport and road construction projects in rural Alaska. Under Brice’s watch, the company has expanded into several subsidiary companies, which Brice leads as president and CEO of Calista Brice Holding Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Calista Native Corporation, which acquired Brice, Inc. in 2010.

On November 11, Sam Brice was welcomed into a distinguished group within the Associated General Contractors, or AGC, of Alaska: The Hard Hats. The Hard Hat Award, AGC’s most prestigious honor for its members, recognizes longtime AGC members (and a few nonmembers) for their service to the industry, as well as their integrity and generosity.

“It’s an amazing community to be in,” Brice says. “My dad and two of my uncles were Hard Hats.”

Sam Richard Brice, Andy Brice, and Al Brice were selected as Hard Hat recipients in 2014.

Sam Robert Brice has been involved in AGC for more than forty years, joining as a student member while still in high school at West Valley High in Fairbanks. He attended Oregon State University on an AGC scholarship. Brice, Inc. has been an AGC member steadily since the ‘80s.

“Sam Robert understands the value of early entry into the construction industry as a career path, championing workforce development for Alaskans. He understands the value of advocacy to support Alaska’s construction industry. Sam Robert promotes membership in the AGC of Alaska, not only within the ranks of his many subsidiary companies but in his dealings with other Alaska-based contractors and vendors,” the Hard Hat Award plaque states.

The award plaque also notes that Brice has worked hard to bring benefits beyond new construction projects to the many rural communities in which he has worked.

“Paramount to the success of the Brice companies is Sam Robert’s commitment to local hire. Understanding the economic values and impacts of rural construction projects, he has dedicated resources and time to visiting the local communities and residents where Brice is working, understanding their needs, and crafting employment and career opportunities to not only improve infrastructure but improve the lives of rural Alaska residents. With business focus on rural Alaska, Brice has returned many times to the same location, building friendships which have lasted generations. Sam Robert can regale any conversation with his enthusiastic storytelling of construction in rural Alaska,” the Hard Hat Award plaque states.

Other Hard Hat honorees stopping by Brice’s table at the November 11 AGC Dinner Dance where the award was presented congratulated Brice and proclaimed the honor “long overdue.”

Brice, upon accepting the award that evening, dedicated it to his wife of 38 years, Theresa, who died in July after a battle with metastatic cancer.

“This one is for Theresa,” he said.