January - Page 1

CIRI's Nevada investment, the Hyatt Regency Lake Las Vegas Resort, officially opened its doors for business in December and is already projecting to reach 80 percent occupancy by February. The resort's marketing department has booked more than 40,000 room nights at an average rate of $200 a night.

"When we were approached to invest in this new property, we new it had the potential to become a first-class resort destination," said Carl Marrs, CIRI president and CEO. "Hyatt hotels and resorts are among the premier properties worldwide, and our other partners have reputations for developing world-class destination resorts in Arizona, Texas, and Hawaii.

CIRI became an equity investor in the Hyatt Regency Lake Las Vegas Resort in the spring of 1998 and joined a stellar team of partners, including Hyatt Hotels Corporation, Dallas-based Woodbine Development Corporation, and Santa Barbara-based Transcontinental Properties, Inc.

The Hyatt Regency Lake Las Vegas Resort, the first Las Vegas-area property for Hyatt Hotels Corporation, is part of the $4 billion master-planned community Lake Las Vegas Resort. The resort hotel is situated on 21 acres of lakefront property, just 17 miles from the famed Las Vegas Strip.

"There is a demand for a luxury resort off the Strip, and Hyatt Regency Lake Las Vegas will cater to discerning customers with an abundance of
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Hyatt Regency

The Hyatt Regency Lake Las Vegas Resort, CIRI's Nevada investment, opened its doors in December

A book featuring 27 oral history interviews with Alaska Natives from each of the 13 regions will be published under the title, Growing Up Native in Alaska, The CIRI Foundation announced.

The book is written as an oral history, focusing on interviews with Alaska Natives born between 1957 and 1976. They were selected, in part, based on their potential as leaders and because they have struggled in one way or another with the question of what it means to be an Alaska Native today.

"This is a book that offers role models for young Alaska Natives," said Dr. Lydia Hays, executive director of The CIRI Foundation. "It's aimed at high school and college students, but we believe it will also appeal to a wider audience."

The foreword of the book is written by CIRI President and CEO Carl Marrs and stresses his concern for education, especially the study of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971.

"I view this book as a first step in a long process whereby we will document and catalog as much as we can about ANCSA

Doris Hunter-Whitley (above) and Gloria O'Neill are CIRI shareholders featured in Growing Up Native in Alaska.

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