Homegrown success stories: four locals parlay parental guidance and life experience into personal fulfillment.

• Author: Bohi, Heidi
• Position: YOUNG ENTREPRENEURS

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When Tom Owens took his two boys on their first heli-skiing trip to the remote Selkirk Mountains of the Canadian Rockies, little did he know he was influencing the career path of his youngest son, Chris. It is a career Chris would one day pursue with the same determination Tom saw in his son's eyes right before Chris set off down that mountain. Still, he used the trip to make a point. After a week of dreamy lodge lounging and meeting international jet setters from around the world, Tom topped off the trip by giving his son a big dose of Dad reality.

"He said, 'Chris, did you have a good time?' and I said, "'Yes, I did.' And he said, 'Good, because I'm never buying you one of these trips again,'" Chris recalls from his business headquarters in Girdwood. "Finish your education so you can buy the next one yourself."

Well, look at me now, Dad.

When Chris, now co-owner of Chugach Adventure Guides (CAG), a high-end guide service and expedition company, started selling his own heli-skiing adventures, one of the first people he treated was his father. Chris took him on one of CAG's most popular trips, Kings & Corn, a week-long outing in the Tordrillo Mountains that combines the best of spring heli-skiing and king salmon fishing with top shelf wine, gourmet dinners and customer service that drips off of a client's every wish. Had he charged his father, the bill would have been $8,200--assuming he would have even been able to get a reservation: today, the trip sells out almost two years in advance.

As one of several Alaska "kids"--Chris is now 38 and has two children of his own--who are now this generation of successful business owners. His father, an attorney, psychologist and mediator and his mother, Tennys Owens, owner of Artique Gallery in Anchorage, undoubtedly helped steer Chris to where he is today. In the past five years, CAG has continuously experienced 40 percent to 60 percent growth and this year merged with Sun Valley Heli Ski Guides to launch the international adventure travel company called Epic. The move supplements the current lineup with luxury adventure opportunities that include international fishing expeditions, African safaris and a Hawaii water sports program with surfing legend Laird Hamilton.

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Although Chris did, in fact, heed his father's advice, graduating from Colorado State University with a degree in hazardous materials and industrial technology management, it was watching the way his parents developed their careers that helped shape his own. Besides sharing his loved for skiing with Chris, Tom is a tireless worker and has continued to further his own education: while practicing law, he earned a master's degree in psychology, pairing that with training in mediation, arbitration and negotiation. His mother, who started the first art gallery in Alaska in 1971, taught him to hold out for quality.

"My mother has a touch of presentation and placement and perfection that I have run into in very few people in...