A Message from the Executive Director
Dear Members, We did it!
You have heard us use the expression “Alaska Miner Strong” often this year and it is not just a slogan — it is our way of life. We are also looking forward to 2021 with a combination of hope and trepidation. Hope, that science, nature, and time will carry us past this dreadful pandemic that has touched and harmed so many families in and beyond Alaska. We have been blessed that ours is an essential industry able to continue work as others are shut down, in part because safety is our core value and we were among the first industries in the state to establish and implement the rules that have allowed us to continue working safely.
Despite the challenges, the unknowns, and the limitations, we held a measurably successful 2020 AMA annual convention. Elsewhere in this Journal you will see details and scenes from that convention, but the good news is hundreds of our members and member companies met, albeit it virtually, continuing one of the oldest traditions in Alaska mining.
While we did not meet face-to-face, sharing a handshake, a joke, and a warm hug, we still did what we do best. We learned, shared, and taught. And continued our commitment to provide the absolute best annual meeting possible for you, our members. I hope you were able to join us throughout the week. Many of the presentations are online at our AlaskaMiners.org website in case you missed any (and we all do). Please take a moment, not only to read them, but to join us in thanking the presenters. Thanks to our hardworking convention committee, that proved once again that the greatest skill for any miner is resourceful, creative problem solving! Thanks for your time, your enthusiasm and your inspiring good humor through this whole process and trying year. And especially thank you to the hundreds of companies and individuals who contributed as AMA Sustaining Sponsors to help make the virtual convention possible. The convention is traditionally our biggest financial endeavor each year, and without your support, the convention would not have been possible and the harm to our bottom line would have been terrific. It reinforces once again that, more than the vast riches under our Alaska soil, the most valuable resource we have is you, the members of our industry and our association. And together we are a force to be reckoned with, whether it is facing the cruelties of a deadly virus or the vagaries of opponents who hate our industry without even understanding who we are or what we do.
Trepidation because November’s general election has and will shake up our government from the top down. The last four years have been good for Alaska miners and resource development in general as we have been able to remove barriers that have long kept us locked out and locked down. It has been a welcome new normal, to focus on mining instead of legislation and lawsuits. We do not know that the new direction will be vastly different or negative. But we can expect that it will quite different. As usual, the only constant is change! Regardless of where the winds shift, you can count on one thing — your association. Regardless of the challenges, the faces or the policies, we remain relentless in first learning and sharing what’s really going on that may affect our industry, and then advocating firmly to ensure that your voice is heard. Referring to our earlier comment about Alaska Miner Strong, more than ever we will need and call on your support when we need it. Thanks for always being there! Be well,
Deantha Skibinski, Executive Director
Executive Board Bill Jeffress, President SRK Consulting, Anchorage Bartly Kleven, First Vice President Kinross-Fort Knox, Fairbanks Lorali Simon, Second Vice President Kim Aasand, Treasurer Aasand & Glore LLC, Anchorage
Branch Chairmen Ted Hawley, Anchorage Lorali Simon, Denali Mark Huffington, Fairbanks
The Alaska Miner is the official journal of the Alaska Miners Association, published eight times a year exclusively to our members.
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Houston Morris, Kenai Blake Bogart, Nome Andrew Spokely, Ketchikan/Prince of Wales
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December 2020 I The Alaska Miner I www.alaskaminers.org
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