Leadership is a difficult quality to define, but we recognize it in our hearts when we see it. And we know instinctively that leadership does not spring from fear, but rather from a spirit of honesty and courage.

I hope that as you, CIRI shareholders, make your decisions about this year’s Board of Directors election, you will give strong consideration to the importance of stability for CIRI’s future and will support leadership that will create an environment that encourages that stability. Sending in your CIRI proxy provides the Board and management with the support we need to continue our efforts to focus on CIRI’s future.

I bring the issue of leadership to your attention this month because there are two issues I want to discuss with you as you make your decisions about this year’s election.

* Time and again at Board meetings, the people who call themselves the Alliance leadership, led by former CIRI president and chairman Roy Huhndorf, have offered up proposals to have me removed as CIRI president and CEO.

* Some CIRI shareholders may vote in favor of Alliance candidates because they believe Alliance Board members will provide a system of checks and balances on the current CIRI Board and management.

Let me address the first issue. Focusing on the firing of a corporation’s top executive is a negative way of seeking change. We sent out the management survey you received earlier as a way to address the issue in a positive manner. Although we may receive more cards before the deadline, to date only about 200 shareholders, out of a total of almost 7,200, have indicated a desire to change out CIRI’s current management team. We think this means most shareholders are happy with the basic leadership and direction of the company.

Alaska Native corporations are unique in that shareholders cannot sell their stock. I sympathize with shareholders who do not like what the CIRI Board of Directors or management does, but while these disgruntled shareholders cannot sell their stock, they can work with us to effect change. To that end, I pledge that I will always do whatever I can to listen to shareholders, even those who do not like me or disagree with me.

It may not be apparent to everyone, but I am not a member of the CIRI Board of Directors. I am the chief executive whom the Board has chosen to lead the corporation, and I serve at their pleasure.

In regard to the second issue, I sympathize with efforts to create a system of checks and balances within CIRI. Criticism by dissidents can have positive results, and as a matter of fact, this has sometimes been the case over the years. But the current effort by Roy Huhndorf is not an attempt to create oversight, but rather in my view a drive to take over control of CIRI. This is not only disruptive, but it may, in my view, be destructive to the corporation.

If you’re looking for people who care about CIRI and its future, you need look no further than the current Board-endorsed slate of candidates for the Board of Directors. They are a group of people who can have jobs elsewhere and are trying to do the right thing in devoting time to CIRI. They are people who constructively criticize specific decisions or proposals while still working together to support a positive direction for your company.

How does this relate to my earlier comment about leadership? My role at CIRI is to lead the company into the bright future that beckons us. The person you need for the position of chief executive is someone who will work with you and for you and, above all, listen to you. And that’s what I will do every day that I am here because I know that I am like you. I know where I came from, and I have no fears about facing any of you, and as long as I’m here, I never will.

CIRI shareholders own this company, and as shareholders, we all would like to have a say in how it is operated. We don’t get there by basing our decisions on fear or antagonism. We get there through mutual respect. We get there through honesty and integrity. We get there by listening to each other and working together.