2023 Alaska Business Hall of Fame Laureates.

• Author: Anderson, Tasha

The Alaska Business Hall of Fame honors Alaskans who have made ongoing, significant contributions to the Alaska business community. They have established strong relationships within that community, donated their time and expertise to nonprofit and charitable causes, and built up the Alaska economy through their dedication, innovation, and leadership. The path that each laureate takes is highly varied, but they all start with a first job.

Below, we get to know the 2023 Alaska Business Hall of Fame laureates a little better, starting with their origin stories. To learn more about the laureates, the induction ceremony is being held January 19. Visit Alaska. ja.org for more details.

Greg Romack, Davis Constructors & Engineers

Greg Romack's introduction to earning money was a common one: delivering morning newspapers. "My parents came out of World War II," he explains, "so there wasn't a lot of extra money. They were generous, but they just didn't have anything to be generous with So if I wanted a new bike or something, I would have to earn it, so that motivated me."

Romack grew up in a farm community in Idaho and attended college there. "The day after I graduated from college, three of us, we got into a car and drove to Alaska," he recalls. "The phrase I use, and I've used this quite a lot, is: I wasn't born here, but I got here as soon as I could."

Romack and his friends planned to fight fires in Alaska. Unfortunately for their plans (but fortunately for local communities) it was a wet summer and there were no fires to fight. "So we stayed in town and, out of all things, the three of us bought a car wash," Romack says.

The car wash was on the site where the Sheraton Anchorage Hotel b Spa now sits and was called the Splash & Dash. "Regular people would drive through for their car wash, but we also had some clients who were [auto) dealers. If someone bought a car, they sent it somewhere to get it all cleaned up, so we had both the retail and commercial side."

Romack says he knew from a young age that he was an entrepreneur and had a mind for business. He was initially hired by Jeff Davis, Davis Constructors & Engineers' namesake, and he "knew right away that I liked everything about contracting. You make a bid, you get the work, you do the work, and you get paid for the work--it just fit really nicely for me."

He attributes his and the company's success in part to ethical and honest client relationships. He gives the example of the recently...