Mr. Martin Pihl.

• Author: Gallion, Mari
• Position: SPECIAL SECTION: Junior Achievement--2014 Laureate

Many residents of small towns in Southeast, with their lack of access to a road system and distance from resources and conveniences found in a major metropolitan area, say that living in a small coastal community can be a bit like living in a fishbowl: an atmosphere that breeds civic involvement due to the intensified sharing of space. However, for some people, like Martin Pihl, the opportunity to make a positive impact on shared resources becomes more than a hobby; It's a purpose.

"I grew up on a small family farm outside Bothell, Washington," he says. "My parents were Swedish emigrants who settled in the Pacific Northwest along with other family. The family became seven children, four boys and three girls--I, the youngest of the boys. Strong Lutherans, two brothers became ministers, one an orthodontist, and me.

"Work was a strong ethic of the Pihl family," he says, "and it always seemed that work led to the next opportunity. Guess who inherited the farm chores as soon as I was able. There was always plenty of work to do on the farm, paper route, grocery store box boy, weeding, and irrigation pipe crew on a large truck garden and delivering produce to market in Seattle."

It was within those humble first years that Pihl met his wife, who still holds a high place in his life story. "It was at Bothell High School that, to my great fortune, I met a dairyman's daughter Darlene," he says. "And now, fifty-eight years later, [she is] my best friend and partner in every success we have achieved."

Possibly due in part to his practical upbringing, Pihl sought a practical education, one that was quite certain to ensure an ability to provide for his family.

"My start began with having an accounting degree from the School of Business at The University of Washington," he says, "having passed the CPA examination and working in auditing for Price Waterhouse for six years. Then came an offer from the Treasurer of Ketchikan Pulp Company, a person I greatly admired, to move to Alaska, starting a thirty-two-year career in forest products. That start led to many advances along the way and an opportunity to participate in many ways in the great and growing State of Alaska."

Ketchikan Pulp Mill was the engine of the Ketchikan economy through the latter part of the 20th century and was the main employer of residents of Ketchikan residents from 1954 to 1997. It was where Pihl grew as a professional

"My career was a succession of promotions at Ketchikan Pulp," he...