Newsletter - April 1999 Page 2

Your board of directors took an important step when it decided to rotate the annual meeting among the areas where we have the greatest concentration of shareholders: the Kenai Peninsula, the Pacific Northwest, and Anchorage. The annual meetings that were held in Kenai in 1997 and in the Seattle area in 1998 a first in each location were enthusiastically received by shareholders in those areas.

This year the annual meeting returns to Anchorage, where a large number of shareholders live and, of course, where the company has its headquarters.

The meeting returns to Anchorage at an important time in our corporation's history. We have had a consistent upturn in business results, culminating in an excellent year in terms of cash flow, underlying shareholder value, and net profits. Regular dividends are up to their highest level in the company's history as a result.

Not only has your dividend increased, but since inception CIRI has had profits of more than half a billion dollars. Forty percent of those profits, more than $207 million through December 1998, has been paid directly to shareholders as dividends. Even while paying out this level of dividends, your book shareholders' equity in CIRI has grown from about $34 million to nearly $527 million. This means that the equity shareholders have been paid out of the profits, plus the equity shareholders still have in the company, adds up to $734 million, nearly three quarters of a billion dollars. It is our objective to continue this growth far into the future.

In addition, our non-profit organizations are providing more services to more people in need in the region than ever before. And The CIRI Foundation, which helps prepare all shareholders nationwide for the future with educational support, was further strengthened this year.

We have also made good progress this past year in working with village corporations and tribal organizations in the Cook Inlet region, and I hope to continue the dialogue we have established in the coming year.

No matter how well your corporation does, however, there will always be critics. Some of these critics simply do not like the Claims Act, do not like CIRI, and do not like your board of directors, or me. There may be nothing short of giving them control that you could do to satisfy them.

As you approach the annual meeting, though, I would like to ask you to keep in mind the company's record of performance. We are doing better than ever in business, and are making strides both in communication with, and participation of, shareholders.

All in all, we have accomplished a lot together, and have a bright future. I look forward to seeing all of you who can attend the meeting in person, and I thank all of you who make the effort to participate by proxy. Either way, your vote, and your participation, is important to all of us.

Thank you for the opportunity to serve as your president during this time of outreach and growth.

New Vessel to Join Tourism Fleet

A new vessel for Prince William Sound Cruises & Tours is in the final manufacturing stages in Westport, Wash. The 95-foot, 149 passenger m/v Tanaina is being constructed by Westport Shipyards and will increase the Prince William Sound Cruises & Tours fleet to five vessels. The Tanaina will be the second of its kind in the fleet, with a custom vessel design to enhance the sightseeing experience with multi-level outdoor viewing decks and over-sized windows. The Tanaina will operate the new Prince William Sound Wilderness Explorer Cruise out of Whittier, Alaska this summer. The new vessel is scheduled to arrive in early June.

Hyatt Regency to be 'Topped Out' in May

In the summer '98 issue of the Shareholder Update, CIRI's investment in a new Hyatt Regency Resort Hotel was announced. The investment entails a 50-percent partnership in the new Hyatt Regency Resort Hotel being built at Lake Las Vegas, Nevada a new resort destination alternative to the Las Vegas Strip.

The Hyatt Regency will be a 496-room destination resort hotel set among a scenic mountain backdrop, an 18-hole Jack Nicklaus-designed golf course, and fronting a 320-acre lake.

The hotel, which is scheduled to open to the public in mid-December, is 30 percent complete, with construction of the hotel exterior scheduled to be topped out or completed in May.

Hyatt Regency is among the leading upscale hotel chains. There are 185 Hyatt hotels and resorts worldwide. Hyatt Hotels Corporation operates 109 hotels and resorts in United States, Canada, and the Caribbean. Hyatt International, through its subsidiaries, operates 76 hotels and resorts in 34 countries.