www.AlaskaMiners.org 33 AMA Award Winners Presented by Dave Hoeffel This company is perhaps one of AMA’s longest tenured members, having began operations in 1943. For several decades, they have sustained an active branch of AMA titled the Denali Branch in which all members meet regularly and maintain active memberships, serve on AMA Committees, and stay active in the community of Healy. The company is no doubt a fixture in the community, supporting sports teams, social programs, and so much more. In fact, the entire community of Healy is invited to the annual Christmas party. The tightknit community is truly a part of the mining family, and it has resulted in a deep appreciation of how mines can be good neighbors. The company also acts in ways to ensure AMA, from the staff to the board to the entire membership, also feels like they are part of the family. Aside from always maintaining an active branch, for the past several years their VP of External Affairs, Lorali Simon, has served as a Statewide Board Officer and is currently the AMA President. Lorali takes her job exceptionally seriously and is a constant fixture in the AMA office, events, and anywhere AMA has a presence to lend her support and talent to AMA’s activities and efforts. Case in point: this year, AMA worked to get National Mining Association CEO to Alaska and were successful thanks to Lorali’s efforts. Lorali helped secure his attendance and chauffeured he and his wife (and the AMA Executive Director!) throughout Alaska touring mines and seeing our state’s impressive sights. Her efforts ensured that mining had a starring role in the Alaska Chamber’s annual conference, with attracts hundreds of attendees from outside of the mining industry, ensuring an effective place to tell our story. This company should earn Corporate Member of the Year for 2024 in particular this year as they hosted the 13th annual Alaska Mining Day at the mine. Attendees were bussed from Anchorage and Fairbanks, and again, the entire community of Healy was invited to participate in tours, a large barbecue in the maintenance shop, and a community reception. It no doubt took hours and hours of the workforce time to put on the event and disrupted operations so that the event could take place, which we can point to the efforts by Branch Chair Ethan Trickey, Safety Manager Colin Keith, Public Relations Manager Lisa Cassino, Fred Wallis, Alan Renshaw, and so many more great mine employees. It was a major success – hundreds of attendees enjoyed a perfect day highlighting mining and celebrating Alaska Mining Day. The award criteria says, “This award will recognize a company that has gone above and beyond to provide significant efforts to strengthen the membership of AMA and is a classic example of why members are the true lifeblood of AMA.” Usibelli Coal Mine, Inc. exemplifies that and is the perfect recipient of the 2024 Corporate Member of the Year Award. Usibelli Coal Mine, Corporate Member of The Year
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