Alaskan of the Year awards are an Alaska tradition dating from 1967.
Alaskan of the Year, Inc., arose out of a 60th birthday party that year, to honor Robert Atwood, publisher of the Anchorage Times. Initially its only award was "Alaskan of the Year", but the "Governor's Award", the "Denali Award", and the "With Great Respect Award" were in turn added to its repertoire. The corporation gave awards until 2002, when decreased membership made continuation impracticable. [1]
Alaskan of the Year awards have since become projects of the Alaska State Chamber of Commerce and of the Governor's Committee on Employment and Rehabilitation for People with Disabilities. [2]
This event was eventually named the William A. Egan Alaskan of the Year Award.
Theodore Fulton Stevens Sr. was an American politician and lawyer who served as a U.S. Senator from Alaska from 1968 to 2009. He was the longest-serving Republican Senator in history at the time he left office, though his record was later surpassed in January 2017 by Utah Senator Orrin Hatch. He was the president pro tempore of the United States Senate in the 108th and 109th Congresses from January 3, 2003, to January 3, 2007, and was the third U.S. Senator to hold the title of president pro tempore emeritus. He was previously Solicitor of the Department of the Interior from September 1960 to January 1961.
Denali is the highest mountain peak in North America, with a summit elevation of 20,310 feet (6,190 m) above sea level. With a topographic prominence of 20,194 feet (6,155 m) and a topographic isolation of 4,621.1 miles (7,436.9 km), Denali is the third most prominent and third most isolated peak on Earth, after Mount Everest and Aconcagua. Located in the Alaska Range in the interior of the U.S. state of Alaska, Denali is the centerpiece of Denali National Park and Preserve.
Walter Joseph Hickel was an American businessman, real estate developer, and politician who served as the second governor of Alaska from 1966 to 1969 and 1990 to 1994 and as U.S. Secretary of the Interior from 1969 to 1970. He worked as a construction worker and eventually became a construction company owner/operator during Alaska's territorial days. Following World War II, Hickel became heavily involved with real estate development, building residential subdivisions, shopping centers and hotels. Hickel entered politics in the 1950s during Alaska's battle for statehood and remained politically active for the rest of his life.
Edward Lewis Bartlett, known as Bob Bartlett, was an Alaska politician and a member of the Democratic Party.
William Allen Egan was an American Democratic politician. He served as the first governor of the State of Alaska from January 3, 1959 to 1966 and 1970 to 1974, as well as a shadow U.S. Senator from Alaska Territory from 1956-1959. Born in Valdez, Alaska, Egan is one of only two governors in the state's history to have been born in Alaska. He was the Democratic nominee in the first five gubernatorial elections.
Keith Harvey Miller was an American Republican politician from Alaska. Miller was the second secretary of state of Alaska under Walter Hickel. He became the third governor of Alaska after Hickel’s resignation to become U.S. Secretary of the Interior. Under his tenure, Alaska came into sudden wealth after an oil lease sale on the North Slope created a revenue of $900 million.
The Alaska Railroad is a Class II railroad that operates freight and passenger trains in the state of Alaska. The railroad's mainline is over 470 miles (760 km) long and runs between Seward on the southern coast and Fairbanks, near the center of the state and the Arctic Circle, passing through Anchorage and Denali National Park where 17% of visitors arrive by train. The railroad has about 656 miles (1,056 km) of track, including sidings, rail yards and branch lines, including the branch to Whittier, where the railroad interchanges freight railcars with the contiguous United States via rail barges that sail between the Port of Whittier and Harbor Island in Seattle.
The Alaska Statehood Act was a statehood admission law, introduced by Delegate E.L. Bob Bartlett. which was signed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower on July 7, 1958, allowing Alaska to become the 49th U.S. state on January 3, 1959. The law was the result of a multiple decade effort from many Alaskans such as Bartlett, Ernest Gruening, Bill Egan, Bob Atwood & Ted Stevens.
The Anchorage Times was a daily newspaper published in Anchorage, Alaska, that became known for the pro-business political stance of longtime publisher and editor, Robert Atwood. Competition from the McClatchy-owned Anchorage Daily News forced it out of business in 1992.
Henry Bradford Washburn Jr. was an American explorer, mountaineer, photographer, and cartographer. He established the Boston Museum of Science, served as its director from 1939–1980, and from 1985 until his death served as its Honorary Director. Bradford married Barbara Polk in 1940, they honeymooned in Alaska making the first ascent of Mount Bertha together.
Robert Bruce Atwood was an American journalist who served as the long-time editor and publisher of the Anchorage Times. He was also an early advocate of Alaska statehood.
Elizabeth Peratrovich was an American civil rights activist, Grand President of the Alaska Native Sisterhood, and member of the Tlingit nation who worked for equality on behalf of Alaska Natives. In the 1940s, her advocacy was credited as being instrumental in the passing of Alaska's Anti-Discrimination Act of 1945, the first state or territorial anti-discrimination law enacted in the United States.
The Alaska Democratic Party is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in Alaska, headquartered in Anchorage.
Robert Walter Ward was an American electrician, businessman, and government executive, and Republican politician from the U.S. state of Alaska. He was the third Secretary of State of Alaska from 1969 to 1970, and was the last person to serve under that title, as the title was changed to lieutenant governor by a constitutional amendment passed by voters on August 25, 1970 making him the first lieutenant governor of Alaska.
Dennis William Egan was an American politician who was a member of the Alaska Senate representing Juneau from April 19, 2009, until January 15, 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the Mayor of Juneau from February 13, 1995, to October 3, 2000, and was a member of the local assembly prior to that. Outside of politics, he was known for his work as a radio broadcaster, most notably for KINY, and was inducted to the Alaskan Broadcaster Association's Hall of Fame in 2001.
Robert Neil DeArmond was an American historian who specialized in the history of Alaska, especially the Alaska Panhandle. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, DeArmond wrote several historical columns for southeast Alaska publications; these included Days of Yore, Gastineau Bygones, and News of the Gold Camp. He lived in Sitka, Alaska, and continued to write until his death.
Commonwealth North is a nonprofit, nonpartisan educational organization based in Anchorage, Alaska. Founded in 1979, it is the oldest and largest public affairs forum in Alaska. Membership is open to everyone.
The name of the highest mountain in North America became a subject of dispute in 1975, when the Alaska Legislature asked the U.S. federal government to officially change its name from "Mount McKinley" to "Denali". The mountain had been unofficially named Mount McKinley in 1896 by a gold prospector, and officially by the federal government in 1917 to commemorate William McKinley, who was President of the United States from 1897 until his assassination in 1901.
Evangeline Atwood (1906–1987) was an American historian, activist, and philanthropist. She was the co-founder of numerous organizations in Alaska, including the Alaska Statehood Association, the Anchorage League of Voters, the Alaska World Affairs Council, Parent-Teacher Council of Anchorage, and the Cook Inlet Historical Society. In 2009, she was named to the Alaska Women's Hall of Fame. Her husband was Robert Atwood and was the co-owner, alongside him, of the Anchorage Times.
Edith Rose Bullock was an American businesswoman and politician active in Alaska during its territorial and early statehood eras. She was named "Alaskan of the Year" in 1979, making her the first woman to be given the title. Bullock was also the first woman to be named to the Alaska Chamber of Commerce. In 2009, she was named to the inaugural induction class of the Alaska Women's Hall of Fame.