Linking Alaska’s Resources to Alaska’s People 40 2024 Meet Alaska Conference & Trade Show Over the years Meet Alaska has become such a significant event that it is a “must do” for the senior political leaders, including the state’s congressional delegation and governor. Webb became known for innovative and sometimes unconventional approaches, including handing out bologna sandwiches to legislators at the capital and organizing the Alliance’s first “Fly In” to Juneau where Alliance members could walk the halls and make their presence felt in the state capitol building. The bologna sandwiches were a kind of joke, Webb explained, a way of poking fun at legislators at their unfulfilled promises were baloney. “Some (legislators) took it in good spirit, some didn’t,” Webb recalled. One other notable accomplishment by the Alliance under Webb’s leadership was the forming of the Prudhoe Bay Environmental Alliance and groundbreaking “backhaul” project of scrap metal and junk from Prudhoe Bay which led to significant environmental remediation, but also strengthened finances for the Alliance from the sales of the scrap. The cleanup of scrap and junk was mainly around the state-owned Deadhorse airport industrial area, which is outside the oil field operating areas. In the producing fields the operator kept things tidy. The presence of the junk around Deadhorse was typically the first thing visitors saw of the North Slope on disembarking from passenger flights and it left an impression, usually negative. This was an important time for the industry because Congress was gearing up for a vote on opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Opponents to ANWR leasing quickly obtained photos of Deadhorse and its junk, which became an embarrassment for industry. The Alliance decided to do something about it. And they did. The environmental activities expanded beyond scrap to include collection and disposal of hazardous materials, including paint. Having helped found the Alliance and spending 25 years with it, and still restless with entrepreneurial energy, Webb went on to develop a new career developing the popular weekly Anchorage Downtown Market. That, in turn, inspired Alaska farmers and others to organize weekly farmer’s markets in several parts of Anchorage. Farmers’ markets are well known elsewhere but had not been done to scale in Anchorage. Webb showed how it could be done. — Tim Bradner CONTINUED from PAGE 39 The Alliance has always been a dominant force in Juneau, representing our industries and members with the Alaska Legislature. Here last month are members and past presidents Randy Beltz and Kelly Droop, current President Liam Zsolt, incoming President Jeff Baker and board member Skeet Black, and our own Catherine Chambers and Rebecca Logan on the steps of the Capitol during our most recent Legislative Fly-In.
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