The Kuskokwim Corp.: diversifying investments proves lucrative.

• Author: Kalytiak, Tracy
• Position: 2010 Alaska's Top 49ERS: Still Growing Strong - Company overview

Maver Carey found herself in a predicament at the start of what she thought would be a promising marketing career. The architectural engineering firm she worked for decided to lay off employees, including Carey. She needed to find work.

"I came knocking on the door of the village corporation, asking, 'Do you have anything at all?" Carey said. "I took a $9-an-hour administrative assistant job. I thought I'd keep it until I found a real job, but they kept adding things to my plate."

Eighteen years later, Carey, 42, is settled in the same workplace, though not in the same job. She now serves The Kuskokwim Corp. as its chief executive officer. The company ranks No. 41 among Alaska Business Monthly's annual list of the Top 49 revenue earners in the state.

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FORMED BY MERGER

The Kuskokwim Corp. was formed in 1977 when 10 Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act village corporations located along the middle region of the Kuskokwim River merged in an effort to reduce the higher cost of running each corporation independently. The villages included Lower Kalskag, Upper Kalskag, Aniak, Chuathbaluk,

Napaimute, Crooked Creek, Red Devil, Georgetown, Sleetmute and Stony River.

TKC had 1,100 shareholders, primarily Yupik Eskimos and Athabaskan Indians from the middle Kuskokwim River region, when Maver Carey first found her job there in 1992. Now, the corporation has 3,100 shareholders on its rolls.

Those rolls are swelling because the board of directors has, since 1993, twice approved enrollment of 2,000 shareholder descendants.

Shareholders are receiving dividends, as well as a chance to participate in managing the corporation, thanks to TKC's efforts to provide scholarships and training for them.

FIRSTHAND KNOWLEDGE

Carey knows firsthand what other shareholders might be able to accomplish if they receive jobs and training within the company fold.

She moved from her administrative assistant job into being a shareholder records clerk. That led to being a shareholder relations and records manager to managing the day-to-day office affairs. Then, she moved into strategic planning, budgets and investments before becoming vice president, acting president and then CEO.

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"Working for a small organization, you're able to wear many hats and dive into projects you might not be able to with a larger company," she said. "The adding to the plate helped me grow and focus on what more I could do for the company. I was never bored...