The Corporate 100--Keeping Alaska Employed.

• Author: Mackenzie, Kathryn
• Position: FROM THE EDITOR

The Corporate 100 is our chance to recognize and celebrate the companies that keep Alaskans working in good times and bad. The companies themselves are important to the health of our economy, but it's the employees that really keep us all going. This marks the second year of many to come that we feature one of an organization's longest-running employees--this year the amazing Bev Crum, ER Nurse Manager for the Emergency Department at PeaceHealth Ketchikan Medical Center--while giving some insight into how a company manages to retain quality employees like Crum for decades and decades (in this case, four of them).

Along with a directory of the state's largest employers, we profile three organizations that qualified for the Corporate 100 list to learn about what they look for in an employee, the ways they show their staff appreciation, and how they give back to the community. It's not enough just to employ people--to be truly successful at running a company of any size, employees have to be happy, healthy, and fulfilled. The companies we profile in the Corporate 100 Special Section starting on page 26 have found a formula that works for them, their employees, and their communities.

At a time when many of the industries that form the backbone of Alaska's job market are rebounding from several rough years and beginning to fill positions again, knowing who to hire, how to teach new-hires about the company's culture, and retaining those employees long-term becomes increasingly important.

This year the Alaska Business Corporate 100 reported...