On The Hunt... Message from the Board of Directors. Inside this issue: Dear Shareholders,

Transcription

1 THE EYAK CORPORATION Inside this issue: On The Hunt... Message from the Board of Directors Management Report Welcoming New Shareholders/Remembrance Shareholder Survey Highlights Photo Contest Anchorage Holiday Potluck and Open House Eyak Permanent Fund Settlement Trust Committee Declares Dividend Candidates Sought for 2018 Board Election Seattle Shareholder Informational Meeting and Descendant Enrollment Discussion Update on Descendant Enrollment Fifth Annual First Fish Art Show Fundraiser (and More) Frequently Asked Questions Dates To Remember Board of Directors TEC Staff Mission Statement Save-the-Date Message from the Board of Directors Dear Shareholders, March 2018 It was great to see so many of you at the Seattle Shareholder Informational Meeting in January. We are thankful to all of the shareholders and descendants who attend TEC meetings and events each year in Anchorage, Cordova, and Seattle. For those shareholders and descendants who have not attended TEC events in recent years, we hope to visit with you in The Eyak Corporation s 44th Annual Meeting of Shareholders is scheduled for Saturday, May 12, at the Embassy Suites Anchorage. There will be door prizes, swag, salmon spread, and a silent auction to benefit The Eyak Foundation. Please mark your calendars! This year s annual meeting will reflect on 2017, which we are pleased to report is another profitable year for your corporation. The meeting will also provide an update on 2018, a year in which we intend to keep moving forward through the growth and diversification of our business lines. We anticipate increasing our revenues and profits in Three seats on The Eyak Corporation s Board of Directors are up for election at this year s annual meeting. Voting is one of your most significant rights as a shareholder and we encourage you to vote your shares. The official notice of the meeting, proxy materials, and annual report will be mailed to you in mid-april, after the independent auditors review and issue the corporation s audited financial statements. We hope each of you can attend this year s annual meeting. Whether or not you expect to make it, we urge you to vote by proxy. This helps the corporation reach a quorum to ensure a valid meeting can be held. As added incentive to encourage proxy voting, several years ago the Board of Directors approved a proxy incentive program. Shareholders who submit proxies to the corporation by May 11 have the option of receiving $25 or donating the $25 proxy incentive payment to The Eyak Foundation. There will also be early bird prizes. Submitting a proxy increases your chance of winning a prize. Thank you for the enthusiasm and interest you are showing in your corporation; we look forward to seeing you at this year s annual meeting.

2 Page 2 Management Report, by Rod Worl It is my pleasure to provide you with this Management Report. I can t think of a better place to start than with a quick recap of As we ve discussed in prior newsletters and informational meetings, the Board s number one annual priority in 2017 was for Management to continue growing and diversifying TEC s business lines. TEC continued to grow and diversify its business lines in Thanks in large part to our Aeonian Group of subsidiaries, we significantly grew TEC business in 2017 through Rhonda Kelley new contract awards with the Federal government. During the same period, we continued to develop business lines outside of government contracting. Those efforts included the 2017 investment into Baxter Senior Living LLC, which is developing an assisted living/memory care facility in Anchorage. The facility will address the under-served market for elder housing in Alaska while providing a hiring preference for qualified TEC shareholders. We also took several large strides forward in 2017 on the Fire Alert Project, which was spotlighted in our last newsletter. Perhaps most importantly, 2017 was another highly profitable year for your corporation. Based on numbers to date, it appears that 2017 will be the sixth most profitable year in TEC s history. And though 2017 was a very good year, we re putting forth our best efforts to make 2018 a great year. I look forward to updating you on those efforts in future newsletters and during shareholder informational meetings. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Welcoming New Shareholders Sherry Smith Remembrance It is with deepest sympathy and fond memories that we respectfully recognize those whom have passed. John Brizgaloff George Gordaoff

3 Page 3 Shareholder Survey Highlights, by Rikki Addy As Chair of the Communications Committee, I am pleased to share with you highlights from the fall 2017 shareholder survey. We had a strong response rate, with 270 completed surveys returned. This represents 57% of our voting shareholders and 60% of all TEC voting shares. In addition, the surveys were statistically representative of current shareholders based on demographics such as residence, age, gender, and number of shares owned. The survey included questions on TEC priorities, land use issues, Board and Management performance, descendant enrollment, communications, and demographics. Shareholders identified the following three activities as the most important for TEC to be doing now: Provide educational opportunities for TEC shareholders and descendants; Pay dividends to TEC shareholders; and Provide specific, job-related training. With respect to land use activities, shareholders identified the following as the most important for TEC to be doing now: Strategic land planning; Overseeing the Shareholder Land Use Program; and Clean-up of TEC lands; Completing the Hartney Bay Subdivision resurvey [tie]. To determine shareholder satisfaction with the Board and Management, the survey asked, Overall, do you think that the TEC Board of Directors and Management are doing a very good, good, poor or very poor job? 75% of the shareholder responses stated the Board and Management are doing a good (49%) or very good (26%) job. 12% stated the Board and Management are doing a poor (8%) or very poor (4%) job. On the issue of descendant enrollment, 44% of the responses were supportive or very supportive of descendant enrollment, 35% were opposed or very opposed, and 21% did not know whether they were supportive or opposed to descendant enrollment. The large number of shareholders that did not know whether they support or oppose descendant enrollment shows we need to provide shareholders with more information before a shareholder vote on descendant enrollment. When it comes to corporate communication, shareholders have a strong preference for the quarterly newsletter (74%), followed by shareholder informational meetings (42%), and the annual meeting (41%). Future newsletters will include additional articles and information on the shareholder survey. In the meantime, if you would like a copy of the 19-page shareholder survey report, please let us know by ing us at shareholder@eyakcorp.com or by telephone: (Anchorage office( ; or toll-free ); Cordova office ( ).

4 Page 4 Photo Contest The Eyak Corporation is pleased to announce a photo contest for TEC shareholders and descendants. Three prizes will be awarded, in the amounts of $250, $150, and $75. Please submit photos to shareholder@eyakcorp.com. Rules: Contestants must be TEC shareholders or descendants. All photos submitted for this contest may be used in TEC newsletters, annual reports, and other TEC printed or online materials. The deadline for the contest is March 30. The winners will be announced on TEC s Facebook page on or before April 13. Only digital images will be accepted and must be no smaller than 750 KB (.75 MB) or no larger than 8MB. Photos must be accompanied by the photographer s name and address, and location of where the photo was taken. Submission of entries will serve as acknowledgment and acceptance of these contest rules. Editor s note: we are grateful to those shareholders who have previously donated spectacular photos for TEC s use, with special recognition due to Mark Hoover, John Johnson, and Sylvia Lange. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Anchorage Holiday Potluck and Open House, by Heidi Van Gilder The Eyak Corporation s Anchorage office hosted a shareholder and descendant holiday potluck and open house on December 8, The potluck was a wonderful turn out! Thank you to everyone who attended, to those who brought food, and for all the behind the scene effort. I love to host events and parties, it s always a great time to be able to mingle and spend time with all of our shareholders and descendants, catch up, and talk about The Eyak Corporation. Our door is open, coffee is always hot and it is always good to see all of you so come by anytime! Patricia Borer Lewis Lange Lewis Lange Lewis Lange II

5 Page 5 Eyak Permanent Fund Settlement Trust Committee Declares Dividend On March 1, the Eyak Permanent Fund Settlement Trust Committee declared a dividend, subject to completion of the annual audit, of $13.32 per share, to be paid on or about April 6, 2018, to TEC shareholders of record as of March 31, The Settlement Trust s dividend is an 11% increase over last year s dividend of $11.98 per share. The Trust distributes 55% of before tax net income annually to beneficiaries. Net income for the Trust includes all realized earnings which includes such things as interest, dividends, and capital gains. For 2017 net income before taxes was $789,566; 55% of which is $434,261, resulting in a per share dividend of $ The Eyak Permanent Fund Settlement Trust Committee manages the Trust for long-term sustainable growth. The Committee includes the following members: Eyak Alex Website & Slivka FaceBook (Chair); Nancy Barnes; Kim Jaime; Matt McDaniel; and Rod Worl. Alex Slivka will attend The Eyak Corporation s Annual Meeting of Shareholders on May 12, 2018, and will be available to answer any questions that shareholders may have about the Settlement Trust. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Candidates Sought for 2018 Board Election The Eyak Corporation s Board of Directors is seeking qualified shareholders who want to serve on TEC s Board. There are three director seats, each with a term of three years, to be filled by shareholder election at the May 2018 TEC Annual Meeting of Shareholders. The seats are currently held by Rikki Addy, Nancy Barnes, and Jim McDaniel. To be listed as a candidate in TEC s proxy materials, the interested shareholder must submit a complete Candidate Application Form. TEC must receive completed forms no later than 5 p.m. Alaska Time on Friday, March 9, Please note this an application receipt deadline and not a postmark deadline. Candidate Application Forms are available at TEC s Anchorage and Cordova offices; on our website: ( forms.html); or via (shareholder@eyakcorp.com). The Candidate Application Form can also be requested by telephone: (Anchorage office ( ; or toll-free ); Cordova office ( ).

6 Page 6 Seattle Shareholder Informational Meeting and Descendant Enrollment Discussion The Eyak Corporation held its annual shareholder informational meeting in Seattle in January. We had another strong turnout, with more than 50 shareholders, descendants, and family members in attendance. As always, our CEO Rod Worl provided a Management report and answered questions. Vice President of Finance Sue Jolin followed with a financial update. Several Board members then gave brief presentations on matters they oversee, including lands, donations, The Eyak Foundation, and the Shareholder Advisory Committee. Shareholders spoke from the heart and provided great feedback to the Board and Management. Immediately after the shareholder informational meeting, Descendant Issues Committee Chair Rikki Addy led a discussion on Descendant Enrollment. The discussion included an update on the Board s and committee s actions to date. It also provided an opportunity for shareholders to ask questions and share views on descendant enrollment. We close with a special thanks to Shareholder Advisory Committee member Lena Augafa, who flew in from Arizona just to attend the meeting. For those shareholders and descendants who live outside of Alaska, the Seattle shareholder informational meeting is a great opportunity for an in-person update on your corporation, while visiting with family and friends. We look forward to seeing you next year! Darcie Pacholl Jim McDaniel Rikki Addy Brooke Johnson Nancy Barnes Nancy Barnes Rod Worl Dennis McMillian Darcie Perpetual Plaque Lena Augafa

7 Page 7 Quang Le Rod Worl Jerry Tiedeman Lewis Lange II Lena Augafa Brennan Cain Elfreda Lilleness Tor Daley Sheryl Hartman Margaret Fennell Donna Barnes Dawn Barnes Vince Mulcahy Lloyd Montgomery Amanda Essex Teresa Jones Serena Lilleness Sophia Todd Lilleness

8 Page 8 Update on Descendant Enrollment, by Rikki Addy As Chair of the Descendant Issues Committee, it is my pleasure to provide this update on the issue of descendant enrollment. In November 2017, we discussed holding an advisory vote on descendant enrollment. The Board discussed the idea as a way for shareholders to provide clear-cut direction on the issue of descendant enrollment before voting on a binding resolution. An advisory vote is non-binding and will not change TEC s Articles of Incorporation, which currently do not provide for descendant enrollment. However, the Board would evaluate the results of the advisory vote when considering whether to put the issue before the shareholders for a vote on a binding resolution in the future. In January 2018, the Shareholder Survey report was received from the McDowell Group. On the issue of descendant enrollment, 44% of respondents were supportive (17%) or very supportive (27%). 35% of respondents were opposed (17%) or very opposed (18%). 21% of respondents didn't know whether they were supportive or opposed to descendant enrollment. As a direct result of these responses, the board re-visited the earlier plan to hold an advisory vote in May of 2018 and determined that it is important to ramp up education efforts on the subject before holding an advisory vote. On that effort, TEC is developing a comprehensive informational booklet on descendant enrollment to be published in The booklet will include background information on descendant enrollment including relevant Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act history; terms and definitions; information on what other Alaska Native Corporations have done with descendant enrollment; answers to shareholder frequently asked questions; information about dividend dilution; preliminary estimates of costs to enroll new shareholders and estimates on the number of new shareholders we could be expected to enroll, and more. At this time, no date has been set for voting on descendant enrollment, either by non-binding advisory vote or by binding resolution. We look forward to continuing educational outreach efforts and answering questions on the topic put forth by you. Finally, I'd like to offer sincere thanks to former committee chair Sylvia Lange who stepped down from the committee in December of I'd also like to welcome and thank board member Jim Ujioka who has been appointed to fill the vacant seat on the committee. If you get the chance, please thank both Sylvia and Jim for volunteering to serve on this committee.

9 Page 9 Fifth Annual First Fish Art Show Fundraiser (and More), by Jim McDaniel I am very pleased to announce that Snow City Café in Anchorage has selected The Eyak Foundation for a First Friday art show in June The Fifth Annual First Fish art show will open with a reception on Friday, June 1, from 5:30 p.m. 8:00 p.m., and we will be holding a silent auction as well. Please mark your calendars! The art will be displayed on Snow City s walls for the month of June and will be available for sale. Net proceeds from the event will go to The Eyak Foundation. To the amazing artists who have previously donated, we d greatly appreciate another piece (or two) this year. To those artists who have been unable to contribute, we would be grateful for a Eyak Prince Website & FaceBook William Sound themed piece for the art show. We cannot promise your art will adorn Snow City s walls (there will likely be a juried selection process) but we can promise our deepest gratitude for your efforts. Our deadline for gallery ready submissions is May 25. In other news, we learned in January that The Aeonian Group of our subsidiaries is donating more than $225,000 to the Foundation for fiscal year An additional $1500 was raised for the Foundation s benefit during the silent auction at TEC s shareholder informational meeting in Seattle. Thanks to everyone who donated to the fundraiser and to TEC s Board for matching the amount raised. Also in January, TEC s Board appointed Martin Dean Parsons and Nicholaus Tiedeman to the Foundation s Board of Trustees. We are very excited to have Martin Dean and Nicholaus join the Trustees and are grateful for their willingness to give back to the Foundation. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Eyak Foundation was formed as a non-profit charitable organization in 1997 to provide educational and charitable benefits to shareholders of The Eyak Corporation and their descendants. The Foundation provides annual scholarships for both college and vocational training programs.

10 Page 10 Frequently Asked Questions Q. Do shareholders really ask these questions? A. Yes, shareholders really do ask these questions. Many of the questions are asked during the annual shareholder informational meetings (in Cordova and Seattle) and the annual meeting (in Anchorage). Shareholders also ask questions by submitting comment cards or contacting Board members or staff. TEC s Board and Management believes that the FAQ section of the newsletters is a great way to keep shareholders informed on the issues that are most important to shareholders. Q. Has the corporation mailed 1099-DIV forms to shareholders? A. TEC mailed 1099-DIV forms to shareholders in January. If you have not received your 1099, please contact the Anchorage office at (907) Ext. 1, toll free (800) , or by at shareholder@eyakcorp.com. Q. What percentage of the parcels in the Hartney Bay Subdivision are held by non-natives? A. After research, we believe that approximately 20% of the Hartney Bay Subdivision parcels are held by non-natives. Q. Is there a limit on the number of shares a shareholder can gift? A. A shareholder can gift one share, all the shares he or she owns, or any whole number of shares in between. Q. Does The Eyak Foundation limit scholarships to original shareholders? A. No, scholarships are not limited to original shareholders. Voting shareholders of The Eyak Corporation and lineal descendants of original shareholders are eligible for scholarships. Additional eligibility requirements are as follows: a high school diploma or equivalent; enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate program at a college or university, vocational education school, job training program, or continuing education program; and maintaining at least a 2.0 grade point average. Q. Can you please post information about what available scholarships or programs are out there, so I can complete college or a trade? A. We have recently started posting this type of information on The Eyak Foundation s Facebook page and plan to increase those efforts.

11 Page 11 Dates to Remember & Special Announcements Board of Directors March, Daylight Saving Time April, Eyak Permanent Fund Settlement Trust Distribution 27- Deadline for Early Bird Prizes May, Annual Meeting of Shareholders 25- Deadline to Donate Art for The Eyak Foundation s Fundraiser June, Fifth Annual First Fish Art Show Fundraiser (Anchorage) 15 - Seventh Annual Pioneer Cemetery Cleanup (Cordova) July, Nuuciq Spirit Camp (Session 1) Nuuciq Spirit Camp (Session 2) 26- Nuuciq Visitor Day 28- The Eyak Corporation Summer Picnic (Jewel Lake Park), Anchorage Martin Parsons, Chairman Nancy Barnes, President Jim McDaniel, Vice President Rikki Addy, Treasurer Roxanne Dolfi, Secretary Brooke Johnson, Director Todd Lilleness, Director Jerry O Brien, Jr., Director Jim Ujioka, Director Alaska Staff Rod Worl Chief Executive Officer Ext 1 Sue Jolin Vice President of Finance Ext 7 Brennan Cain Vice President & General Counsel Ext 5 Angela Butler General Manager, Cordova Operations Raven Madison Public Relations Assistant/Cordova Heidi Van Gilder Office and Shareholder Relations Manager Ext 1 Peggy Fisher Senior Accountant Ext 3 Kate Kalkman Administrative/Financial Support Specialist, Ext 6

12 The Eyak Corporation 615 E. 82nd Ave Suite 300 Anchorage, Alaska PRSRT STD US Postage PAID Anchorage, AK Permit #537 The Eyak Corporation Mission The Eyak Corporation will return financial benefits to present and future shareholders through the development of economic opportunities and growth of our assets while protecting the ownership of our ANCSA lands and Native cultural heritage. Contact Us: THE EYAK CORPORATION ANCHORAGE: CORDOVA: 615 E. 82nd Ave. 901 LeFevre St. Suite 300 P.O. Box 340 Anchorage, AK Cordova, AK Tel Tel SAVE THE DATE The Eyak Corporation Annual Meeting of Shareholders May 12, 2018 at the Embassy Suites Anchorage (600 E. Benson Blvd) in Mid Town, 9am-2pm. We have negotiated a room rate for shareholders coming in from out of town that would like to stay in Anchorage Friday or Saturday. Reservations can be made by calling The Embassy Suites (907) by April 19, 2017 to get the special rate of $ single or double per night. Please ask for group code EYAK CORPORATION.