TotemTimes - Cape Fox Corporation!

TotemTimes
O c t obe r 2 0 1 1
Internship
Program
Gets Started
Four interns have been accepted
for the Cape Fox Corporation
Shareholder Internship Program
Mike Brown, CEO has announced.
They are Crystal Blair, Daniel
Williams, Denny Blair and Gabriella
Daniels. All four start work in early
October.
Crystal and Daniel will be interns
in office administration for the
CFC Federal Contracting Group in
Anchorage. They will provide office
support for executives in Anchorage
continued on page 3
Shareholder Spotlight:
Elizabeth Denny, an 88 year old Cape Fox shareholder, spent time discussing
her life and observations and thoughts for the future.
Totem Times (TT): What changes in Saxman have you observed in your
lifetime?
Elizabeth Denny: The culture of our people has slowly been taken away.
Also our Native Tlingit language is being lost, our youth cannot speak it.
TT: What was it like growing up in Saxman?
Denny: There was much more Native food available and eaten by Saxman
residents. Food like boiled fish soup, black seaweed with clams, fry bread
and Soapberries were staples. People would help one another in troubled
times without expecting payment. It is not like that now.
continued on page 4
A Look at NAVAR
NAVAR, Inc. is an Alaska Native Corporation (ANC) based in
North Carolina committed to sustainability and building and
one of Cape Fox Corporation’s most recently SBA certified 8
(a) small disadvantaged businesses. NAVAR supplies products
and services directly to government agencies, government
contractors and commercial entities.
continued on page 2
continued on page 2
Message from the ChAIRMAN
NAVAR
As we enter the fall season, the articles in this newsletter reflect on
the Saxman Group’s successful summer tourism season, the startup of Cape Fox Corporation’s internship program and an interesting
story focusing on the life of one of Saxman’s prominent citizens.
Its mission is to provide single source solutions
to small business procurement goals.
The Cape Fox intern program (see separate story) is now underway
with four interns joining the program. There are two in Ketchikan
and two in Anchorage. We are extremely pleased to see the start up
of this operation that we feel will be not only helpful in the future
to Cape Fox, but to those who partake in the program designed to
help our shareholders gain meaningful employment training and
become future leaders. We are projecting that this program will grow
substantially along with an increase in shareholder interest.
Following a couple of difficult years in tourism, not just for Cape
Fox Corporation but the entire state of Alaska, we were glad to see
continued improvement in this area. For our Saxman operations we
are encouraged that the upward swing is being forecast to continue
into next year.
I am also pleased to note that CFC’s effort
to bring you new and improved services to
Shareholders is progressing with each passing
month. Some of these services include the
new Shareholder ID cards; the CFC stock “Gift
Packet” reorganization and booklet printing;
continued transition to electronic records; the
Testamentary Disposition cash-prize contest
during the Annual Meeting; and now we
have complimentary giveaways in the office
for Shareholders who come in to update their files. As a reminder,
Shareholders can also get continuous updates on the Corporation’s
activities by visiting our website at www.capefoxcorp.com.
In this issue of the Totem Times, we have a special feature: an
interview with Mrs. Elizabeth Denny, one of our village’s esteemed
elders. We plan to continue with stories of interest like this on a
frequent schedule, for example, in the past year we have produced
five newsletters. This is the sixth in a 13-month period. In the year
ahead we will stick to one issue each quarter, and a special one if
needed. As always, your board remains open to suggestions and
comments on the content of the Totem Times. Please contact me
directly or any of our CFC offices with suggestions, we always
welcome your input.
Lastly, while the CFC revenue was down by 24% from the previous
year, our net income was only off by 5.5%, and we can be proud that
our continued efforts for successful corporate endeavors have not
gone unnoticed.
continued
Strategic alliances with industry leaders give
NAVAR unmatched buying power and national
distribution of a broad comprehensive product
portfolio. In addition NAVAR performs as a
prime contractor or subcontractor through
a network of Teaming Partners with a track
record of excellent past performance with the
federal government and a record for quality, on
–time delivery and competitive pricing.
As a supplier NAVAR has strategic supplier
agreements with leading distribution
companies in the United States giving NAVAR
exceptional buying power in products ranging
from materials, supplies and equipment for
new construction and manufacturing, to
maintenance, repair an operation of existing
facilities.
On the service side NAVAR has assembled
a design build Green Team to accomplish a
full range of construction service to convert
existing buildings into high performance, ecofriendly green buildings.
Key to NAVAR’s success is its ability to manage
multiple, concurrent projects from $50,000
to $100,000,000 in the following areas: new
construction; modular construction; interior
and exterior repair, alteration and renovation;
historic building modernization; sustainable
design and engineering; building systems
upgrades; building tune-ups; roof replacement;
and renewable energy solutions.
Currently NAVAR has a contract for the U.S.
Corps of Army Engineers to construct a large
building at Fort Polk, Louisiana. The contract,
worth $5 million, is the first of several NAVAR
is pursuing. It is also finishing up several
contracts to install refrigeration equipment
at various Defense Commissary locations
throughout the United States. Value of that
contract is $2.9 million.
Thank you,
Clifford Blair, Chairman
TotemTimes
october
2011
2
Internship
continued
and perform a variety of clerical tasks, maintain general
office equipment and provide customer service.
In addition, they will assist the Chief Administrative
Officer with Small Business Administration 8(a) annual
reporting and will be trained in completing an 8(a)
application for an operating company.
According to Brown, “During their internship they will
also develop professional administrative skills necessary to
effectively manage an Alaska Native Corporation office.”
In Ketchikan, Denny will be a culinary/food service intern
at the Cape Fox Lodge where he will learn a variety of
cooking techniques using various kitchen equipment and
tools. His training will include food preparation according
to recipe and restaurant specifications. He will also learn
how to stock supplies, maintain work areas according to
OSHA, assist with dishwashing duties and adhere to safety
practices.
Brown noted that when done with their internships both
Denny and Gabriella should be able to find good permanent
positions in their fields of interest.
For other shareholders who may be interested in the intern
program, information is available by contacting Shareholder
Services at [email protected] . The last issue of the
Totem Times was a special edition devoted to the internship
program and is full of vital information on eligibility and
duration, participation benefits, intern positions, and
application requirements. Extra copies are available in
both Anchorage and Ketchikan offices as well as on the
Cape Fox Corporation web site at www.capefoxcorp.com
in the Shareholders section where you will find a link to
Publications.
“We are excited about this program and want it to succeed,”
said Brown. “And each intern will be paid a competitive
intern wage with additional financial grants available from
the Corporation for those attending school while enrolled in
the CFC Internship Program.”
Gabriella will be a property research intern in the
Ketchikan Title Agency where she will perform
clerical tasks to support timely escrow closings
and title recordings and assist the Escrow
Closer. She will also perform customer
service duties, work with field escrow
officers and be responsible for submitting
property recordings to the Recorder’s
Office, archive records management and
storage and bank deposits.
Crystal Blair
3
Daniel Williams
Gabriella Daniels
Denny Blair
Spotlight
continued
I grew up with eight siblings, we had no radio but we all could
fish and pick berries. We had a subsistence lifestyle. We ate
lots of halibut and other fish while growing up. I was in the
middle of the pack of kids so to speak, and I only have one
sibling left now. It was a hard life. I married when I was 22
years of age and had seven children, three boys and four girls.
My Native name was Koo dux which means “Grizzly Bear
Coming Out of the Den.”
TT: What crafts or activities did your elders impart to you?
Denny: I used sit on the floor and sort beads for moccasins
with my Mother and then we would sew the moccasins. I still
make moccasin designs today and make vests for the family.
My Mom used to tan the hair off the hides on a frame before
assembling moccasins or other clothes. She learned from her
Grandfather.
We would get skins from our family’s hunters when we didn’t
have any ourselves.
TT: What advice would you give to younger shareholders?
Denny: The same thing my Mother taught me—to save
money, to can food, to learn the Tlingit language and to do
unto others as you would have them do unto you. And to help
elders and watch out for your neighbors if they needed help.
TT: During your lifetime what invention or new discovery
have you enjoyed the most?
Denny: The ease of transportation—getting rides to places
is so much easier today or using motorized boats instead of
rowing to town (Ketchikan). To go shopping in Ketchikan
was an all day excursion.
CFC Business
Development
Center Helps
Win Business
The washing machine was a great invention to help us. The
old washboards gave you bloody knuckles and the wringers
would sometimes squash your fingers. We got our first
machine I was 10 years old –my mother was sick and so I
had to learn how to run it for the family.
The Hamilton Beach mixer was wonderful too. We used it to
make fruitcake and other goodies. The mixer was better and
faster than a wooden spoon.
TT: What other things would you like Cape Fox
shareholders to know?
Denny: That the local crafts (goods) should be made by
locals and that our local craft sewers should be kept busy.
Local crafts will if they are marketed right—in the old days
kids used to walk around selling beaded items. That doesn’t
happen today.
Things change a lot so fast and today’s children are missing a
lot of their culture and knowledge. I think it was better when
I was younger.
The Cape Fox Corporation Business Development Center of Excellence is an
innovative, new approach now in place to assist CFC subsidiary companies win new
business.
Known in operative lingo as BDCX , the primary objective is to efficiently increase
current efforts to win business opportunities for subsidiary companies. BDCX
provides three main areas—Capture, Proposal Preparation and Marketing/Branding.
Since formation of this operating unit, BDCX has been instrumental in assisting CFC
companies with winning 36 contracts/task order for a total dollar value in excess of
$52 million.
TotemTimes
october
2011
4
The 2011 Tourism Season
“Good, but not great,” is the way Cape Fox Tours
General Manager Frank Seludo of explains the
results of the company’s 2011 tourism season.
“We don’t have all the figures in yet, although
there are some general trends we have seen,
given the marginal summer weather. The
wilderness guided hiking was superb, but the fly
fishing tour was down due to a late Salmon run
and high-water conditions in White River during
August and September.” The Saxman village
tours and retail operations, he added, were about
even from the previous year in terms of visitor
count and gross revenue.
Earlier in the year it was hopeful that the 14
cruise lines sailing in Alaska during 2011 would
be bringing additional customers. One standout
was the Disney Cruise Line, which made a
stop in Ketchikan each Sunday. Overall, the
cruise industry provides a high-quality tourism
experience for visitors to our region, including
Saxman, Seludo said.
David Landis, Saxman Group Manager, noted
that “Cape Fox Tours has proven to be a bright
spot among our local business units, and as the
economy gets back on track nationally we expect
that an increasing number of visitors will choose
to visit Saxman.”
Summer employment of Saxman residents is
also a part of Cape Fox Tours’ mission. “This
year, we employed many youth that at one point
started out as child dancers alongside their
parents. Now the young 14 and 15 year olds are
hosting the tours, giving presentations, answering
questions and running tills at the gift store.”
said Linda Williams, who manages the Saxman
retail and tour staff. “This is considered a great
accomplishment, not only hosting but teaching
the Tlingit Culture to the young people so they
can also teach the guests that come to learn about
our culture.” Williams said.
“Next season there will be an
additional 72 ports of call,
“he said, “so we are
looking forward to a
much improved season
for 2012.” The Alaska
Cruise Association noted
that Alaska can expect to
really feel positive effects of
the reduction of the cruise
head tax by 2012.
We’re
Feeling Smug
5
Shareholders who want to share information or
events where shareholders were involved are now
invited to put it on the internet at www.capefoxcorp.
com.smugmug.com. You can share photos of friends,
family or yourselves. By the click of a button and a
couple of bucks, you can send it to whomever you want.
For further information contact Dave Landis.
New Benefits for Employees
and Shareholders
The Cape Fox Corporation is pleased to announce
that both employees and shareholders can now
participate in the Dell Member Purchase Program.
Through this program you are entitled to exclusive
savings on great gear you want for home use. You
can purchase such items as computers, laptops, tvs,
cameras or a GPS at discounted prices.
Dell also offers 6-month special financing on all
purchases.
The Dell Member Purchase Program can be found at:
www.dell.com/epp with member id PS99217135, or
phone 1-800-695-8133. For further information contact
Human Resource or Information Technologies.
Cape Fox Corporation
P.O. Box 8558
Ketchikan, AK 99901