CIRI
SPOTLIGHT:
Sharon
Boling, Manager, Administration
As
manager of administration at CIRI, Sharon Boling's keen ability to prioritize
and organize information is of vital importance. Boling is responsible for
providing CIRI with efficient, cost effective records management.
Boling, who started
out as a secretary for the land department back in 1983, has worked at CIRI
for 17 years. In addition to records management, she is responsible for smooth
operation of CIRI's office equipment and oversees the resources necessary
to maintain an efficient work environment.
Sharon Boling, manager,
administration
A CIRI and Kenai Natives Association shareholder, Boling is of Athabascan descent. Her mother, Katherine Boling, was born in Kenai and was president of Kenai Natives Association at the time of her death in May 1994. Boling's family history and lineage is interesting. She was born in Ohio, which is where her father, Norman Boling, originally came from. When she was two years old, she and her younger brother drove with her mom up the Alaska Highway. The travel was quite a journey for her family and a testament to her mother's courage and sense of adventure.
On her father's side, Boling says she is related to Pocahontas and to Edith Boling Wilson Gant who was married to President Woodrow Wilson. On her mother's side of the family, her great-grandmother was in Sitka in October 1867, when the Russian flag was taken down.
Because of her unique
background, she is intrigued with history and books about that subject. She
recently enjoyed reading The Greatest
Generation by Tom Brokaw. Boling's
other creative outlets include embroidering tablecloths, pillowcases and pillow-tops.
She proudly embroidered the Athabascan gloves that are on the CIRI banner.
The intricate and graceful pattern of brightly colored flowers sewn onto the
gloves reveal Boling's fine sense of and appreciation for detail.
NON-PROFIT
NEWS continued
from page 3 Award-Winning
News Journalist New Host of National
Native News
Yes, you've been hearing a new host of National Native News on your radio. The new voice is that of Bernadette Chato, a member of the Navajo Nation from New Mexico who joined Koahnic Broadcast Corporation's news staff in April.
Prior to hosting National Native News, Chato served as the news and public affairs director of KTNN on the Navajo Nation where she anchored and produced the station's hourly newscasts. In addition, Chato produced a daily public affairs program and produced and hosted the highly popular, weekly talk show, Ha'at'iish Naahane' one of KTNN's most listened to programs.
Last
month, the New Mexico Associated Press Broadcasters acknowledged Chato with
a second place award for Best Radio Newscast. Chato has a long history in
radio including positions at KANW and KUNM, in Albuquerque, and KABR, in Magdalena,
New Mexico. As an independent producer, Chato has filed news reports for the
Associated Press, Arizona Radio News Network and National
Native News. She is also an
active member in the Native American Journalists Association, and serves as
an instructor in the radio-training program.
NNN host, Bernadette Chato
At Coho Cup, Shareholder Goes from Welfare to Work Serving Up Coffee
CIRI shareholder Victoria Crooker has a sunny and positive personality. She also knows exactly how to make a great latte, which is espresso coffee with just the right amount of milk and flavored syrup added. Crooker is lead barista, the person who operates an espresso machine, at the newest Coho Cup in the CIRI Building.
The original Coho Cup, in the Anchorage Native Primary Care Center, and the CIRI Building location are products of Cook Inlet Tribal Council's Welfare to Work program, which assists people trying to get back to work or who have never worked before.
Crooker, who was a homemaker for many years, is a single mom with four children. It is her children she remains devoted to and who have inspired her to reach for her goals. She has been working at the Coho Cup for several months and trains new baristas on the fine art of espresso making. Crooker knows that for coffee lovers a latte, americano or iced mocha can be just the thing to make the day a better one. In addition to making fabulous coffee drinks, she takes pride in keeping Coho Cup tastefully decorated and spotlessly clean.
Her position has provided a wonderful experience to meet people and served as a confidence builder helping her tap into her own potential. Now, in the morning, Crooker drops her children off at daycare and at school, and then makes her way to work. Soon after her arrival, she starts making cups of espresso for her patrons and, before long, the aroma of fresh roasted coffee glides through the Coho Cup. All in all, she says that at this point in her life she feels like she can climb mountains.
For more information
on the Welfare to Work program, contact CITC at (907) 265-5900 or Sunshine
Ludecker Stewart at (907) 727-3378.
Victoria Crooker prepares a coffee
drink at the new Coho Cup.
