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Weekly UpdatesThere has always been a friendly rivalry between the state's two largest cities, Anchorage and Fairbanks. But in one arena, that rivalry has taken on a more serious tone, with competitive emotions running high and about $6 million at stake. Fairbanks has wooed the economically and culturally rich Alaska Federation of Natives 9005 convention away from Anchorage, where the event has been held every year since 1966 except one, which was held in Fairbanks in 1988. The Golden Heart City hasn't taken the task lightly. And a wounded Anchorage is already trying to entice the conference back to its turf.
AFN is Alaska's largest annual convention. More than 3,000 Alaska Natives convene, many arriving from rural villages to meet, shop, visit relatives and provide a weeklong economic boom to the host city. Two years ago, AFN decided to mix things up and find out if Anchorage had perhaps begun to take the convention for granted, while giving other cities an opportunity to showcase its hosting capabilities.
The change began at the 2003 convention, when a resolution was passed asking the AFN board to explore other possible locations to hold the convention. Jen Jolis of the Fairbanks Convention and Visitors Bureau said her agency got a call in December 2003 from the convention committee asking Fairbanks to prepare a bid and presentation outlining if and how the town could host the convention.
ENOUGH INFRASTRUCTURE?
Jolis said the first priority for the agency was to determine if there was enough infrastructure and lodging to host 3,000 visitors for a single convention, a logistical puzzle for the city. Jolis and staff used convention agendas to estimate how much meeting space and lodging is required for the event.
"We took the 2003 agenda and just went through and found a place for everything," she said.
Jolis and staff decided that between the Carlson Center, which hosts most major concert and sporting events in Fairbanks, and Pioneer Park, which has several facilities, there was enough convention space. They also determined the city had enough lodging for convention goers. With the two primary pieces of the puzzle solved, Jolis said the city had to determine if they wanted to commit to the project.
"Basically, the mayor (borough Mayor Jim Whitaker) took the ball and ran with it," Jolis said. "He said 'yes, we are going to do this, and we are going to do it terrifically.'"
ECONOMIC IMPACT
The economic impact the convention has on a community is impressive. Most estimates, including Jolis', put the convention contribution to a community at no less than $4 million, just in direct convention activities. That amount can jump another $2 million when other factors are figured in; Permanent Fund Dividend checks are distributed shortly before the late October event, many convention goers will spend time holiday shopping and many rural visitors will take the opportunity to stock up on supplies or schedule medical, dental and other services while in the city.
The economic benefit is not lost on Jolis, nor on Anchorage officials who say the absence of the convention this veal will be a blow.
"The AFN impact is multiple fold," Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich said. "And not just regular convention activities; beyond that it's all this additional activity."
Begich is confident in his assessment that Anchorage has better facilities and more resources to host the convention year after year. He said the Egan Center, the main location for convention activities, is centrally located in downtown Anchorage, close to lodging and shopping. He said also that Anchorage is more conducive to Native gatherings, noting the more than 22,000 Alaska Natives live in Anchorage, a number that will rise in the next few years to encompass 50 percent of the state's Native population. Begich says the AFN convention is a time many families are able to gather and see relatives from other parts of the state. And as the largest city in the state, the AFN is not only more accessible to Natives, but to other Alaskans as well.
"It really allows Alaskans to come and enjoy the Native culture, when I don't think Fairbanks has that," Begich said.
But Jolis and her staff see it differently. In addressing its bid for the AFN board, the Fairbanks task force noted that Fairbanks has strong ties to the Native community and is already home to several Native events, including the World Eskimo Indian Olympics and the Athabascan Fiddle Festival.
FINANCIAL INCENTIVES
Jolis said another important factor with the AFN board was that the community demonstrated a willingness to offer some financial incentive to the board.
"There was feeling at the AFN board level that they wanted the community that hosted AFN to show community support by assisting AFN financially to produce it," Jolis said. And Fairbanks gathered that support.
By March 2004, FCVB had raised more than $100,000 in pledged in-kind donations that included Holland American, Gray Line and Princess Tours, pledging support with transportation efforts. Frontier Flying Service offered 100 tickets for AFN staff to travel back and forth between Fairbanks and Anchorage. Warbelos Air pledged two delegate tickets from each village they service. And many hotels agreed to set aside blocks of rooms and pledged $2 to AFN for each room reserved for the convention. Donations also came in from Doyon Ltd., Tanana Chief Conference, the Central Labor Council, the city of North Pole and the Fairbanks North Star Borough, among others.
HELPING OUT
The FVCB also created 13 committees charged with addressing areas such as transportation, health and safety, retail and restaurants, arts and elders and youth. It created a Web site for convention planning and a central database for lodging reservations. It even created a position for an AFN community liaison.
George Yaska was hired as liaison in 2004 and has a history of working with AFN, Doyon Ltd. and Tanana Chiefs Conference. He said he thinks convention goers will enjoy Fairbanks even if it poses different challenges as Anchorage. He said many delegates are familiar with Fairbanks, having traveled to the city for visits or other events.
"I think people like what they have experienced in Fairbanks," Yaska said. "They want to come back to see that again."
Jolis is also confident the delegates and visitors will like what they see come October. She said AFN officials are regularly visiting Fairbanks and are satisfied with the progress of preparations, Jolis and city officials hope the delegates and visitors will also be impressed enough to bring the convention back to the city more often than every 17 years. But that is a decision that rests on Fairbanks efforts in hosting the 2005 event; the AFN board has held off its decision to name the location of the 2006 convention until shortly after the completion of this year's event.
Jolis is actually grateful for that decision; she wants a chance to prove Fairbanks will honor the cultural and economic opportunity it presents and not take the event for granted.
"Part of what we're doing is to make sure that doesn't happen here and to make sure everybody knows that and that everybody is welcome," Jolis said.
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