Alumni of the Bureau of Indian Affairs' Chemawa Indian School, located in Salem, Ore., are invited to attend a school reunion on Thursday, Oct. 24, in Anchorage during the Alaska Federation of Natives Convention. Interested Chemawa alumni need to contact Elsie Mailelle Hendryx at (907) 277-3716 or CIRI shareholder Joyce Quijance Trewyn at (920) 233-3552 to purchase a ticket. Tickets are $40 each, and there is limited seating.

Chemawa is a BIA boarding school established in 1880. Because many rural Alaska communities did not have school beyond the eighth grade, many Alaska Natives wanting further education attended BIA boarding schools, including Mt. Edgecumbe in Sitka and Chemawa Indian School in Ore.

Airport kiosk staff Monina Willis assists Sally Shortly and May Crosley, both Sealaska shareholders.

The Alaska Native Medical Center's Quyana Hospitality House now offers assistance for patients who travel through Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport. Since opening their doors in October 2001, the airport kiosk has served some 20 people daily. The Quyana Hospitality House staff provides assistance to patients during their travel from the airport to lessen the stress of travel. Staff, such as CIRI and Bristol Bay Native Corp. shareholder Monina Willis, meet and greet patients at the gate; escort patients to the hospital shuttle; provide vouchers for accommodations, meals, taxi and airline tickets; and confirm appointments.

According to Quyana Hospitality House Manager Carole Dunne, a Doyon shareholder, there are five staff members who rotate two-week shifts at the kiosk, which is located on the lower level of the airport near the rental car kiosks. The Quyana Hospitality House kiosk is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., when most flights arrive from rural Alaska.

Jason Hurly, a Bristol Bay Native Corp. shareholder and Quyana Hospitality House travel and housing services staff member, enjoys helping elderly patients to the airplane. All five airport staff members have clearance to get through the security gates to assist patients with boarding. On one occasion, a staff member spent several hours with a patient waiting for a flight to depart, then realized the patient was too ill to travel home. The staff member was able to make the necessary arrangements for the patient to be readmitted to the hospital until he was well enough to travel.

The Quyana Hospitality House services are available through the Alaska Native Medical Center. Village clinic travel offices have information about this service, or patients can call the Hospitality House directly at (907) 729-2400 or visit the Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport kiosk on the lower level next to the rental car kiosks.

In an effort to assist each other and share ideas, shareholder records employees from Native corporations throughout the state met in Anchorage at the CIRI offices Aug. 23 for a workshop organized and coordinated by Doyon, Ltd. "There's no reason for each of us to re-invent the wheel when we can share information," said Robin Renfroe, vice president of administration at Doyon who facilitated the workshop. The Aleut Corp., Arctic Slope Regional Corp., Bering Straits Native Corp., Bristol Bay Native Corp., Calista, Chugach Alaska Corp., CIRI, Doyon and Sealaska each had representatives. Also attending were representatives of Natives of Kodiak, Inc.

Shareholder relations employees from Alaska Native corporations share ideas.

Renfroe said it's particularly helpful for shareholder records departments to share ideas because the departments are the heart of each corporation and deal with issues that are vital to shareholders. A number of such workshops have been held over the last 20 years, she said, and all have been valuable. A significant development that took place at the recent meeting is that there was a consensus about formalizing such get-togethers in quarterly teleconferences and annual workshops.

A growing number of shareholders are members of more than one corporation, and it's helpful for records departments to be able to work together, said betsy Peratrovich, CIRI's manager of Shareholder Relations. She believes that as shareholders inherit stock, more and more people will belong to more than one corporation.

Renfroe feels that another important trend that bears tracking will be the dilution of blood quantum of Alaska Natives. When the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act passed in 1971, only Alaska Natives with one-quarter or more Alaska Native blood quantum who were alive on Dec. 18, 1971, were eligible for enrollment. Amendments passed later authorized corporations to open enrollment, and in the case of those that have, the majority of their shareholders are much younger. Looking at the big picture, Renfroe said, it's important for corporations to know who their shareholders may be in the future.

Another issue that the workshop participants discussed was the number of corporations that allow fractional shares, which can add to the complexity of settling estates in cases where there is no will, Peratrovich said. Although it is always preferable for shareholders to have a valid will specifying who will inherit their CIRI shares, it is particularly helpful in cases where shareholders own a small amount of shares.

Renfroe said the overall question discussed was: Why do we do things the way we do? "We gain from sharing information and the forms that we use. Do the departments work closely with their accounting departments or do they process dividends within the records department? These are all issues that are helpful to discuss. I think it's really important that we share ideas."

Renfroe is looking forward to regular teleconferences and workshops for shareholder records departments and believes that there is much the regional corporations can gain from each other. She looks forward to village corporations' shareholder records departments participating in the future.

Peratrovich said she was pleased that CIRI was able to host the workshop and that it was very helpful to meet people from other corporations. "We were able to forge relationships and learn from others. Doyon did a great job in organizing this workshop, and Robin is to be commended for getting us all together."

No special legal background is required. Interested volunteers should be objective and committed. Informational meetings, attending one of which is required to volunteer, will be held at the Office of Public Advocacy located at 900 West 5th Ave., Suite 525 on Tuesdays on Sept. 24, Oct. 1 and 8 all at noon. Training dates are scheduled for 6 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. on Tuesdays, Oct. 15, 22 & 29 and Nov. 5; and 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Saturdays, Oct. 19 & 26, and Nov. 2 at the Snowden Court Administration Building located at 820 West 4th Avenue. For more information, contact the Office of Public Advocacy at (907) 269-3500.

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