We all have springtime traditions. As a child, my family tradition included participating in my mother's spring housecleaning ritual. For CIRI shareholder and longtime CIRI employee Hazel Felton springtime tradition is sharing the first freshly-caught king salmon of the season with family and friends. For many of us on staff at CIRI, our springtime tradition involves planning and hosting CIRI shareholder information meetings.

For three consecutive weekends this spring, I have had the pleasure of leading CIRI's contingent of staff to the CIRI Shareholder Information Meetings. Unlike the annual meeting, whose main purpose is election of members to the Board of Directors, these informational meetings are designed to report the prior year's financial results to CIRI shareholders and discuss the outlook for the current year. This spring, meetings were held in Sacramento, Calif., and Puyallup, Wash. In Alaska, the meetings were held in Anchorage and Kenai. In total, 529 shareholders and their family members attended these meetings and demonstrated their keen interest in CIRI.

Springtime also gives us an opportunity to take a fresh look at some of the issues facing us. One issue that was brought to our attention at the shareholder informational meetings is the level of Alaska Native hire in our joint ventures. CIRI does not have a wide array of subsidiaries and joint ventures as do many other Alaska Native regional corporations. However, we do have a few, such as our partnership with Nabors Industries Ltd. in Peak Oilfield Service Company. So when concerns over the hiring and retention of Alaska Natives are voiced by shareholders, we take it in the same spirit in which it is raised - which is to say we take it seriously.

Those who work full time on increasing the level of employment of Alaska Natives in Alaska's industry and those in industry itself know that this issue of increasing Alaska Native hire is a complex one. It is my opinion it is not productive to point fingers of blame. Rather, I would like to rededicate ourselves with new springtime vigor to understanding the complexity of the issue and improving our performance.

To begin with, I have asked for a report on Alaska Native hire from Peak and have re-emphasized with Peak CIRI's desire to increase the number of qualified Alaska Native shareholders hired to fill positions as they become available. In addition, I am forming a high-level task force that will reach across organizational boundaries to help guide CIRI in thinking through this renewed initiative. The formation of the task force is well-timed as CITC is gearing up to put more resources and thought into making its Alaska's People a more effective work placement entity. I have asked the task force to address and report back to me on whether the training programs that are in place to provide a well-trained and work-ready workforce are actually doing what they are intended to do. Further, if those programs are indeed working, are we doing a good job at steering people to these training opportunities? Having a corporate culture that encourages the retention of Alaska Natives in the workplace is important to successful placement of Alaska Natives – but no more so than providing the training to deliver people to the workplace fully trained to do their jobs. As we look forward to potential projects that may develop in Alaska where skilled labor will be needed, this springtime's re-commitment to look hard at our collective role in employment and job training is timely.