April - Page 2

CIRI, Doyon Team Up for Joint Tourism Venture

CIRI and Doyon, Limited announced their intentions in March to jointly expand their tourism ventures. The two corporations made public their agreement to investigate a number of opportunities, including the feasibility of building a destination resort near the entrance to Denali National Park and jointly bidding for the Denali National Park concession contract currently held by ARAMark.

Both corporations have been expanding into the burgeoning Alaska tourism industry over the past several years. Partnering at Denali National Park makes sense, as the area is a "must see" for almost all Alaska visitors and represents a focal point for each group's tourism business strategy. CIRI concentrates its tourism investments on the area between Denali to the north, Prince William Sound to the south and Cook Inlet to the west, while Doyon's operations begin at Denali National Park and proceed north, mirroring Doyon's shareholder region.

"Our location in Alaska, our solid footing in Native culture and tradition, and our commitment to being a crucial player in Alaska tourism make us naturals for the Park concession. In addition, our combined staff has the experience necessary to jump into the concession contract and make changes which will increase efficiencies and meld with visitor needs," according to CIRI Executive Vice President Barbara Donatelli. "Most important to Alaskans, we'll keep tourism money in the Alaska economy and ensure the utilization of our land holdings in the area."

CIRI and Doyon are in the midst of a feasibility study surrounding plans for a destination resort near the entrance to Denali National Park. "Our plan is to develop a resort property which is close to the Park entrance that will provide an Alaska nature experience beginning with the 2002 visitor season. The rustic, upscale mountain lodge will provide a truly unique experience as well as all the amenities today's traveler requires," according to Doyon President and CEO Rosemarie Maher. "The resort's nature trails and other attractions - river rafting, hiking, trips into the Park - will create a destination we believe visitors from all over the world will enjoy."

"Sound strategic investments in the tourism industry make a lot of sense for us because of the tremendous growth potential in the visitor industry, the potential for Alaska jobs, and our commitment to developing the land in ways that will encourage pride among our shareholders," explained Donatelli. According to research for the Alaska Visitors Association the number of visitors to Alaska has been steadily increasing over the past several years.

Rosemarie Maher,
Doyon President and Barbara Donatelli, CIRI Executive VP at the announcement.

It is annual meeting season, and I thought I should use this space to address a few business matters and issue a caution about campaigning by candidates for the CIRI Board of Directors.

First, I am happy to report our current board and management have done very well for the company over the past few years and 1999 was the best year of all. You elected a board and gave them the mandate to grow your equity and the company's assets. Shareholders are beginning to see the fruits of those efforts, including increased dividends and the new elders trust, and we should remain on the course you have helped set. I firmly believe that from the perspective of our partners, investors, subsidiary companies, and banking institutions, maintaining a stable Board of Directors is critical to sustain confidence of others in the company and in the agreements we have made.

Speaking of partners, I recently sent all shareholders a letter regarding the complex details of our PCS investments. I hope this correspondence provides shareholders sufficient information about the investments, but if you have additional questions please call and we will try to answer them. I also suspect some board candidates may try to make these investments an election issue. Please be very cautious if someone tells you to count your chickens before they are hatched. We are working to handle our PCS investments in the most financially responsible manner possible. Federal law requires we adhere to timelines with these investments. Because of these mandated timelines, and the potential future value of these investments, we need to avoid taking any action that could have a negative effect on their market value.

I have also heard rumblings that some candidates may make an issue of the use of company aircraft. Let me lay out the facts. From time to time, I have been able to use other companies' jets, such as

those belonging to Petro Star, Alaska Communications Systems, National Bank of Alaska and Pacific Diversified Investments. These are largely companies CIRI does business with; we own stock in ACS, we are a customer of NBA, and we are a partner with PDI in Alaska CARL H MARRS

Interstate Construction.

CIRI also leases a King Air 200 through PDI. A King Air is a seven-to-eight passenger turbo-prop plane that is used frequently in Alaska. It is often difficult to get from place to place on regularly scheduled flights in Alaska and chartering aircraft can be a hit or miss proposition. Charter aircraft are not always available, they force you to depend on pilots whose experience you do not know and on equipment whose maintenance you are unfamiliar with. We use the King Air for
many areas of business Peak Oilfield
Services, tourism, heavy equipment, construction, CIRI and non profits and for travel to destinations throughout Alaska, including Barrow, Prudhoe Bay, Talkeetna, Valdez, Juneau, Fairbanks, Ketchikan, Dillingham, and other sites. This is an efficient and economic means for us to get our work done in areas that are difficult to reach. We also lease smaller single-engine planes to get us into areas the King Air can't go. I believe this practice makes good sense and is justified in light of the benefits and the additional safety it provides.

Which leads me to my final point. I strongly encourage you to look at candidates who run a campaign that is positive -- those who can contribute to our success and build on it. If you look back over CIRI's history, you will see that your continued support for a steady, experienced slate of board members is what has distinguished CIRI, in my view, from other Native corporations and helped bring us our success. Your current board members have provided the leadership that brought us where we are today. I encourage you to elect those who can be part of a team that will continue our company's stable, steady direction into the future.