May 2017 – A Message From Meera:
Posted: June 2, 2017It is with great sorrow that we learned on April 16, Easter Sunday, of the passing of Moses Paukan Sr. of St. Mary’s. Moses served as an AVEC board member from 1976 to 1979, and also served for several decades as St. Mary’s power plant operator. He was an AVEC mainstay and could be relied on at any time of the day or night to respond to St. Mary’s power needs. He will be deeply missed by his community and AVEC family.
The results of the membership vote for directors were announced at AVEC’s 48th Annual Meeting on April 5. Robert Beans received the highest tally of votes and was re-elected to the board, along with Robert Hoffman from Bethel. More than 24 percent of the 7,000 ballots sent out were returned, which is a respectable turnout. The new board members will be sworn in prior to the next board meeting in early June. The board will then elect officers for the coming year.
Once the newly elected board members are sworn in, we will say farewell to Charlie Curtis of Kiana. Charlie served on the AVEC board in 1990-1991, and was elected again in 2002. Most recently, he served 15 years on the board. He was highly respected by his peers and everyone at AVEC. His wise leadership and gentle ways left a mark on all of us. He will be missed.
Finally, AVEC is delighted to welcome Yakutat to the AVEC family! The Regulatory Commission of Alaska recently approved the transfer of the city and borough of Yakutat’s utility certificate to AVEC. We expect the community residents to become AVEC members on June 1. Yakutat is a community of 650 on the scenic Gulf of Alaska Coast. It is surrounded by Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Tongass National Forest. It attracts a variety of outdoor enthusiasts to hike beaches, float rivers, explore bays and passages, climb mountains, view glaciers and surf remote breaks. Yakutat Bay provides some of the finest saltwater sport fishing in Alaska, and is home to a local fish processor for the many varieties of commercial seafood harvested in the area.
