Less than one-third of the outstanding voting stock of the corporation was represented in person or by proxy at the special meeting of CIRI shareholders, held in Anchorage on Sunday, March 23, 2003. There were 592,745 shares of common stock of CIRI outstanding and entitled to be counted for quorum purposes on the date of record for the meeting, but only 183,316 shares were present or represented by proxy at the meeting.

One advisory resolution was to be presented to the shareholders during the special meeting–whether to urge the CIRI Board of Directors to declare a special dividend of $100 per share. The resolution was purely advisory, and had it passed, the approval by a majority of the CIRI Board of Directors would have been required in order for any action to be taken.

Because a quorum was not present, the meeting was adjourned to a later date, yet to be agreed upon, to allow the Ad Hoc Committee for a Special Dividend an opportunity to produce a quorum.



Viewing Gray Whales Kicks off Summer Visitor Season

CIRI Alaska Tourism continues to target the soft-adventure traveler looking for independent activities and opportunities to explore Southcentral Alaska this coming summer.

Kenai Fjords Tours, operating out of Seward, kicked off its season with its Gray Whale Watching cruise on March 22. This 4-hour cruise features the opportunity to view the annual migration of the California gray whale and view Resurrection Bay through oversized windows from the boat’s heated cabin or on the wrap-around deck.

Each spring, more than 20,000 California gray whales migrate from their wintering grounds near Mexico’s Baja California coast to Alaska’s Bering and Chukchi Seas. Their 5,000-mile migration takes them by Resurrection Bay as they head north to feed. While this tour only continues through May 2, Kenai Fjords Tours offers visitors a variety of other tour options throughout the summer beginning in May.

With declining traffic in and out of the port town of Valdez due to the closure of the Valdez Marine Pipeline Terminal to visitors, cruise ship companies canceling Valdez as a port of call, and the decline in overall highway traffic, CIRI Alaska Tourism decided to discontinue its Valdez-based tours and to refocus its wildlife and glacier cruise operations to Seward and Whittier.

Whittier, a small port town only 56 miles from Anchorage, is growing in popularity as the gateway to Prince William Sound and is now easier to access through the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel, which opened to car traffic in 2000. With the increase in summer visitors, CIRI Alaska Tourism is adding a second tour out of Whittier aboard Prince William Sound Cruises & Tours.

The 4-hour Glacier Adventure Cruise, beginning June 7, will offer views of two active tidewater glaciers and hanging glaciers; an opportunity to participate in marine experiments, view plankton through a microscope, and touch glacier ice; and an opportunity to view waterfalls and bird rookeries. The original Prince William Sound Wilderness Explorer, a 6-hour tour, will begin operating May 17. This tour cruises through glacier-carved fjords, by a working hatchery, and the inlets of Esther Passage. Both tours include lunch and provide opportunities to view marine wildlife and seabirds.

CIRI shareholders receive a 30-percent shareholder discount on CIRI Alaska Tourism products, including Kenai Fjords Tours, Prince William Sound Cruises & Tours, the Seward Windsong Lodge, Talkeetna Alaskan Lodge, and the Anchorage RV Park. Mention the CIRI shareholder discount when calling to make reservations toll-free at (877) 258-6877 or in Anchorage at (907) 265-4500. For more information about CIRI Alaska Tourism products, visit www.ciritourism.com.