Princess Cruises celebrates tour associates
Princess Cruises recently named its top-rated Alaska tour operators that it partnered with this year. They are:
WHITTIER -- Shore excursion: Wilderness Explorer Glacier Cruise, Prince William Sound Cruise & Tours. Tour guide: Richard DiJulia of Alaska Sea Kayakers.
SEWARD -- Shore excursion: Alaska SeaLife Center & Puffin Experience, Alaska SeaLife Center. Tour guide: Danny Seavey of IdidaRide Sled Dog Tours.
KODIAK -- Shore excursion: Best of Kodiak, First Group. Tour guide: Dee Ann Valdivia of Kodiak Tours.
SKAGWAY -- Shore excursions: Glacier Discovery by Helicopter, TEMSCO Helicopters; Glacier Point Wilderness Safari, Chilkat Guides; and White Pass Bennett Lake Adventure, White Pass & Yukon Route. Tour guide: Steve Merrow of Chilkat Guides and Tyler Geist of Alaska Mountain Guides. Dock representative: Jeff Neis of Skagway Street Car Co.
ICY STRAIT POINT -- Shore excursion: Whale & Wildlife Cruise. Tour guide: Annette McLaughlin.
JUNEAU -- Shore excursions: Helicopter Glacier Trek, Northstar Trekking; Rainforest Canopy & Zipline Expedition, Alaska Canopy Adventures; and Taku Glacier Lodge Flight & Feast, Wings Airways and Taku Lodge. Tour guide: Collin Pilcher of Gastineau Guiding Co. and Joel Kersting of Gold Rush Tours. Dock representative: Dawn Dulebohn of Dolphin Jet Boat Tours.
KETCHIKAN -- Shore excursions: Bering Sea Crab Fisherman's Tour, Commercial Fishing Adventures; Mountain Point Snorkeling Adventure, Snorkel Alaska; and Rainforest Canopy & Zipline Expedition, Alaska Canopy Adventure. Tour guides: Joe Williams of Where the Eagle Walks and Rob Holston of Lighthouse Excursions. Dock representative: Jill Gates of The Great Alaskan Lumberjack Show.
Annual development report receives accolades
The Anchorage Economic Development Corp. has received an Excellence in Economic Development Award for its 2009 annual report from the International Economic Development Council.
Designed by Anchorage-based marketing agency Walsh Sheppard, the report provides readers with information about the Anchorage economy, including employment, population, building values and other economic indicators in an at-a-glance format. AEDC also highlights projects and marketing achievements and provides its annual fiscal information along with a description of its services through this report. The winning report was printed locally by PIP Printing.
The AEDC Annual Report is available for download at aedcweb.com/documents.
Helicopter flight training, service firm opens
Group 3 Aviation Inc. of Van Nuys, Calif., recently opened new satellite helicopter flight training and commercial helicopter service facilities in Anchorage. Group 3 Aviation is an FAA-approved Part 141 flight training facility and Part 135 charter service.
Group 3 Aviation Alaska said it is the only FAA-approved Part 141 helicopter flight training facility in Anchorage. The facility and Group 3's administrative offices and hangar are at 2600 E. Fifth Ave.
Company will offer cloud computing services
Nathaniel Gates and Keith Dobson have formed a cloud computing solutions company, Cloud49, in Anchorage. Gates will serve as president, and Dobson as vice president.
Cloud computing provides resources, from servers and storage to applications such as e-mail, security and ERP/CRM voice, all delivered over the Internet. Their services will be offered in a pay-as-you-go utility model.
Gates has worked with petroleum companies, oil-field services, government contracting and Alaska Native corporations. He has held a variety of IT positions. Dobson brings 25 years of IT experience to his position. He has worked for such companies as IBM, Dell Inc., Brocade Communications, Marconi Communications, Nortel Networks and Bay Networks.Call 222-4011 or visit www.cloud49.com.
Trade Center hosts trip to India, Singapore
World Trade Center Alaska is hosting a trade mission to India and Singapore from Dec. 6 to 19.
The trade mission is intended to benefit Alaska business executives, government officials, economic development professionals, transportation and logistics providers, educators, travel and tourism professionals, and business consultants, the trade center said.
Participants will receive private briefings by American Embassy officials and private-sector leaders in New Delhi and Singapore, and meet with government officials to learn about business opportunities and how to pursue them, the trade center said.
For more information, contact the trade center at 278-7233 or e-mail info@wtcak.org.
Alaska Trucking Association sets up PAC
The Alaska Trucking Association has formed a political action committee to help with high-priority legislative issues facing the industry, particularly transportation funding, said Aves Thompson, executive director.
"The Alaska Trucking Association has priority issues in upgrades and maintenance for the Dalton Highway, Parks Highway weight restrictions elimination projects and statewide highway funding," Thompson said.
"With the formation of the PAC our members will now have a way to contribute funds to support candidates for elective office that support our mission and goals," he said.
Chuck Onstott, general manager of Midnight Sun Transportation, is the PAC chairman.
Work will make Antarctic station safer
The Prince of Wales Tribal Enterprise Consortium has been awarded a new contract for a project at the South Pole. POWTEC was chosen to develop a comprehensive emergency management system for McMurdo Station, Antarctica, according to Greg Gould, POWTEC division manager. POWTEC was selected from a national field of contractors largely due to its extensive experience in remote and arctic emergency operations.
McMurdo Station is the largest research station on the continent. POWTEC will provide a system to guide the U.S. Antarctic Program in preparing for, responding to and recovering from emergencies and disasters in the remote polar environment.
The project will involve writing the emergency plan, creating emergency response protocols, establishing emergency operations command center practices and performing emergency management best-practice evaluations for Antarctic operations.
For more information, visit www.usap.gov.
Anchorage Daily News / adn.com