A true joint venture - Dale and Carol Ann Lindsey.

• Position: Founders of fuel product firm Harbor Enterprises

In the late 1950s, Dale and Carol Ann Lindsey borrowed the money to buy a small-town heating fuel delivery business in Seward. In the nearly 40 years since, they have transformed it into a major Alaska corporation with annual revenues of nearly $200 million and more than 300 employees. With offices as far south as Seattle, as far east as Whitehorse, Yukon, and as far west as St. Paul in the Pribilof Islands, Harbor Enterprises supplies fuel and other petroleum products to Alaskans and Canadians for their homes and businesses.

Today, the Lindseys' company plays a key role in Alaska's economy, and Dale has become an influential leader. Becky Gay, executive director of the Resource Development Council for Alaska, said Dale's business expertise is an invaluable resource to her organization. She praised his ability to work with many different types of people, saying he is a "statesman."

"He can talk to anybody. He has a sense of humor that can take him from the dock to the governor's office," Gay said.

Harbor Enterprises now includes Forty Niner Transportation, a barge company operating four tugs and barges throughout Alaska's coastal waters; Shoreside Petroleum, Inc., the original Seward fuel business, now with a presence in Whittier and Valdez; Petro Marine Services, marketing fuel to the marine industry throughout southeastern, southcentral and southwestern Alaska; North 60 Petro Ltd., a bulk fuel and distribution company serving Yukon Territory; and Petro Express, Alaska's newest service station brand.

Those impressive names and numbers came from a humble beginning for the young married couple, both of whom were born in Seward. The first step was borrowing the money to purchase Andy's Oil Service in Seward in 1959. Dale drove the fuel truck and Carol Ann kept the books in their home, dividing her attention between the business and their four children.

Over time, the business grew. In 1966, Chevron appointed the company to be its Seward Commission Agent. During the ensuing years Dale dabbled in a number of ventures, ranging from owning king crab vessels fishing the Bering Sea, real estate, oil geophysical and gold mining.

By 1984, Dale had decided to focus most of his attention on the core business. He "risked it all" to compete with Chevron head-on in the huge Dutch Harbor/Unalaska market with a Petro Marine bulk terminal.

"I was sure we could compete on the basis of service," Dale said. Chevron operated five days a week, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m...