WAVE Operations Bring Convenience to the Bush.

• Author: PARDES, JOAN
• Position: Western Alaska Village Enterprises

Selling everything from groceries to snowmachines, WAVE operations create jobs for shareholders and help residents in rural Alaska get the most for their money.

In Alaska, there is perhaps no greater success story than Native corporations succeeding and helping their shareholders, the first people of the 49th state. To that end, Calista Corp. and 11 other Native corporations created Western Alaska Village Enterprises (WAVE) in 1997. Within three years the fledgling company grew to include WAVE Wholesale Co. (that consists of the wholesale food operation), WAVE Hub Foods, WAVE Northland Transportation, WAVE Northwest Motorsports and WAVE Arts & Crafts. Plus, in 1999 the company created WAVE Fuels and Transportation and Wave ores Inc. Today, the company is owned by 17 Native corporations, employs 143 people and is determined to create a higher standard of living with opportunities for economic growth in rural Alaska.

In the bush, most food is acquired through subsistence or from merchants outside of the community. Along with playing a significant role in establishing the region's cost of living, the dollars spent on food, goods and services often drain rural Alaska's limited resources, leaving little room for community improvements.

To ascertain how much money was actually circulating in its region, Calista Corp. conducted a study in the early 1990s. "The volume of the economic activity was shocking. It was between $300 million and $400 million," said Peter Saunders, general manager of WAVE Fuels and Transportation. "But all the money was going to Seattle and not benefiting the communities in any way."

Using the results of the study, Calista and various village leaders went to work to develop a plan to create Native control of the supplies and goods coming into the region. "They wanted to turn the circulating dollars into Native dollars that would stay in the region and benefit the villages and towns," said Saunders.

Initially, WAVE Wholesale Co. serviced schools, hospitals, restaurants and government agencies with institutional packs of food. The company then expanded into the retail arena offering dry groceries, quality meat, fresh produce, soft goods, hard goods, electronics, building supplies and other requested items. By combining villages, WAVE created purchasing power and an economy-of-scale buying system that resulted in lower prices for the company's customers.

"WAVE Wholesale is really unique. We're Native-owned by the village and...