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Working Watson Brothers

Brothers Rusty and Donnie Watson are both hardworking CIRI shareholders proud of their Athabascan heritage. Their father, Donald Watson, originally from the Shageluk area, was raised at Pilot Station near the Yukon River. As president of Cook Inlet Native Association during the late sixties, the elder Watson participated in getting land claims started and was involved in the early development of CIRI, while their mother, Dorothy Watson Bernhard, moved north from North Dakota.

Donnie has worked for Alaska Communications Systems (ACS) for almost 26 years. He started out as an apprentice in a line crew and did that for 15 years. These days at ACS, he's a cable splicer and shop steward responsible for trouble-shooting cable faults, splicing telephone cables and, as shop steward, making sure everyone complies with IBEW Union rules. He says that ACS "has been very good to me and is proud to work for such a great company."

peak employee

Rusty Watson on the job for Peak Oilfield Service Co.

For 12 years, Rusty Watson has worked for Peak Oilfield Service Co. Over the years, he has worked his way from a laborer to supervisor and foreman at Deadhorse, which is part of the Prudhoe Bay oil fields located on Alaska's North Slope. He's hauled mud, water and drilling equipment across the vast network of gravel roads that branch out across the flat, isolated North Slope terrain, where it isn't unusual for him to drive 400 miles in one day. Currently, he supervises the operation of vacuum trucks, which haul various kinds of fluids to drilling pads located throughout the slope. He considers it a privilege to be able to work in such a unique setting and for "a first-class company."

Rusty, like his brother Donnie, likes to fish and hunt when he gets time off. Rusty took his 11-year-old daughter on a five-day fishing trip where they caught four king salmon. He said it was a great time and also looks forward to the hunting season. Every fall, both brothers set out towards the Denali Highway to camp, go caribou hunting and pick berries. Each night they build a campfire under the stars and, over coffee,

talk about how the day went.

Shareholder Enjoys Position at

VoiceStream Wireless

Jay White knows all there is to know about voice switches. As senior engineering manager for VoiceStream Wireless Corp., a leading provider of digital wireless communications in the United States, he handles about 35 voice switches in the network.

CIRI shareholder Jay White in his Seattle office on his VoiceStream phone.

According to White, it is these switches that connect wireless phone calls to other phones after the analog voice has been transferred into a digital binary pattern via airwave mediums. And it was White's knowledge that attracted VoiceStream's vice president of engineering to recruit him.

Luckily for White, while enlisted in the United States Air Force in 1980, military budget cuts lead him away from being a qualified helicopter pilot to the open electronics division. Due to the budget cuts, he was placed in the Airborne Command Post and actually trained on Air Force One, the 747 used by the President of the United States. He worked on multiple transmitters and receivers, ranging from very low frequency (VLF) to satellite communications and missile-launching equipment, as well as analog and digital telephone equipment. He also worked on something called crypto, which is the scrambling of messages in order to secure them and then unscrambling them so they can be received by specified people.

While in the Air Force, White completed a degree in electronic engineering. He eventually moved to Los Angeles and went to work for U.S. Telecom, now Sprint Corp., for 12 years. For the next five years, he worked internationally putting in telephone networks (switches) throughout the world.

A CIRI shareholder of Aleut heritage, White was born in Anchorage and raised in the state of Washington. His mother, Vassa White, is

originally from Unalaska.

Shareholder Reunites with Family

Sunday, August 26 was a day of celebration and reunion for three CIRI shareholders who were reunited after a 31 year separation. Monique Skinner-Metcalf, Jacob Stepanoff and Michelle Coates are three siblings who were adopted out as infants and raised by different families. The biological children of Rosanne Stepanoff, Jacob and Monique found each other in 1996 just six weeks after their mother passed away. Motivated by this, they searched for their other two lost siblings. This past fall they found Michelle who was also searching for her biological family. They continue to search for their younger brother, born July 19, 1971. They are hoping they'll find him in time for their second family reunion, which will be held next summer in Anchorage.

Shareholder Volunteers Time to MDA

CIRI shareholder Delaine Forbes, a senior at Service High School, spent a week volunteering at the Muscular Dystrophy Association Summer Camp. Her camper was Luke, a sweet eight-year-old who never took off his green John Deer hat. While the campers have MD, she learned quickly that they are like any other normal kid wanting to play games such as spaceship-Star Wars and baseball. "These children are some of the brightest, most positive children I will ever have the pleasure of knowing," says Delaine, who encourages others to take the time to volunteer in their community. "There is a tremendous need out there, and each of us has a great deal to offer. It is a very beneficial, rewarding experience not just for the recipient but for the giver as well."

	Delaine Forbes spent time this summer with Luke, a camper at the Muscular Dystrophy Assoc. Summer Camp.

Charlie III & IV\ Carlie Blatchford IV was born Sept. 13 at 12:15 p.m. to Charlie Blatchford III and Julie Launceford. At birth, he weighed six pounds, eight ounces and is the grandson of Donna Ahvakana, and her husband Larry, and Mr. and Mrs. John Launceford.	Charlie Blatchford and son
A Shareholder Engagement CIRI shareholder Lawrence Glenn Clark and Mary Alice Tetlow announce their engagement and plans to wed in Anchorage in May of 2001. Lawrence is the oldest son of CIRI shareholder Gloria J. Spaulding. Mary is a full-time student at the University of Alaska Anchorage working toward a degree in computer engineering.	Lawrence Clark and Mary Tetlow
Miss Fiona Born in Canada Miss Fiona Nola Clark from Hazelton, BC in Canada was born on June 1 at 8:34 a.m. Born at Mills Memorial Hospital, she weighed seven pounds, two ounces. Her parents are CIRI shareholder Ron Clark, Jr. and fiancée Barb Joseph. Fiona's grandmother is CIRI shareholder Linda Champion of Mayo, Yukon.	Fiona Nola Clark