A fresh page: meet ACVB's president, Julie Saupe.

• Author: Bohi, Heidi
• Position: TOURISM

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Although she didn't know it at the time, biking to her high school summer job every day helped Julie Saupe, the newest president of the Anchorage Convention and Visitors Bureau (ACVB), get to where she is today. An almost lifelong Alaskan--she moved to Fairbanks when she was 10--Saupe (pronounced soppy) unknowingly started her career in tourism at the Fairbanks Convention and Visitors Bureau (FCVB) log cabin where she was responsible for answering questions, giving out information and pointing visitors in the right direction during the city's four-month visitor season. A teenager at the time, she says, she was "pre-learning permit," so pedaling to work was how she solved the commuting challenge.

Today, at 42, driving her silver blue Volkswagen Touareg SUV to her downtown Anchorage office from her home in Eagle River is a little more practical, but her sporty choice of transportation still reflects what she enjoys doing most, just about anything that involves Alaska's great outdoors.

ADVENTURESOME SPIRIT

"I know it sounds like a bad personal ad, but I really do love the entire range of Alaska outdoor activities, from hiking and snowshoeing to fishing and camping," she says, adding that camping is recently changing to "cabining," as she tries to spend what little free time she has at her cabin near Montana Creek. And when she's not clearing brush or packing through the backcountry, it's likely to find her taking advantage of the midnight sun by getting in 18 holes of golf after work.

"I'm a very bad, but avid golfer," she says of her determination to one day shoot another 92.

As the first woman and one of the youngest presidents to ever lead ACVB, Saupe's unflappable demeanor and approachable nature are part of what made the board of directors search committee confident that she would be able to direct the organization and her staff of 41 during one of the most crucial and exciting times in the city's tourism industry and the organization's history. Although her down-to-earth, self-effacing style of leadership and management often make first-time acquaintances wonder how she will carry on the traditions established by her four predecessors, those who work with her have no doubt that this 5-foot 3-inch Ivory girl has what it takes to make the right decisions for this $7.4 million operation.

EASY NEGOTIATOR

"Julie has a constant smile, which can be disarming to those she's negotiating with across the table," David...