PRESIDENT, CONTINUED from PAGE 11
excruciating two-year period. During this two years, my then-husband was terribly injured in an accident and we didn’t know if he’d ever be able to work again; I caused tens of thousands of dollars of damage to my house by leaving the washing machine on when I was gone; our home in Fairbanks was robbed twice, and that is isn’t all — but you get the idea! It was a tough couple of years for sure. This was before the days of working from home. I was embarrassed about needing to be away from the mine to take care of my family — I felt like a new- bie shirker. I was on my last nerve and was often ready to throw in the towel, move back to Fairbanks and quit trying to learn about mining. However, I received a lot of grace from Steve Denton and Joe Usibelli, Jr. and I stuck it out. Things turned around and I have never experienced a time in my life quite that dark again (fingers crossed). There is a silver lining: through those two years, I developed into a much more empa- thetic person. When possible, I pass on the grace and kindness that was shown to me in my first job in mining. What do you love most about this business? Mining is just fun! The teamwork is what makes it incredibly fun for me. The energy you get working with a team of experts and meeting goals is extremely gratifying and energizing. Overcoming obstacles and navigating hazards togeth- er just makes it exciting! Miners at all levels have a tremendous level of experi- ence, expertise, and skill. Miners are very accomplished people who have worked hard to learn their craft. I learn some- thing new every day. In order to produce that ounce of gold, zinc, silver or ton of coal, everyone needs to do their part to support the team. If the operations folks can’t operate, it doesn’t matter how good your maintenance is. If your engineers can’t put together a good mine plan, it doesn’t matter how good your operators are. Everyone has to pull together for the team to succeed – and that is what makes it really fun. What do you do for fun? In the summer I love to garden, fish, berry pick, pan for gold and camp with friends. I am hoping to take up kayak- ing this summer. In the winter I like to paint (watercolors) and do a little travel- ing. I have two kids (Carson and Shayne) who have brought a lot of fun and joy to my life and continue do so as they begin “adulting.”
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The Alaska Miner
Spring 2022
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