■ The Soldotna Chamber of Commerce will not meet this week. For more information, call 907-262-9814.
■ The Kenai Chamber of Commerce will not meet this week. For more information, call 907-283-1991.
■ The Kenai and Soldotna Chambers of Commerce will host a joint luncheon at noon Jan. 5 at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex. Sen. Peter Micciche will provide an update on the upcoming legislative session. RSVP required by noon on Jan. 4 to 262-9814 or 283-1991.
The Alaska Marine Safety Education Association (AMSEA) will offer a 12-hour Fishing Vessel Drill Conductor workshop in Homer on Jan. 16, 2016 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. The workshop will be conducted at the Best Western Bidarka Inn, 575 Sterling Highway. This workshop is an opportunity for commercial fishermen and other mariners to gain hands-on training with marine safety equipment and learn best practices for surviving emergencies at sea. Instructor, Rob Hulse, will cover cold-water survival skills; EPIRBs, flares, and maydays; man-overboard recovery and firefighting; immersion suits and PFDs, helicopter rescue, life rafts, abandon ship procedures, and emergency drills. There will be and in-the-water practice session, giving participants practical experience with PFDs and immersion suits, employing survival techniques, and righting and boarding an inflatable life raft. AMSEA Drill Conductor workshops meet the training requirements for documented commercial fishing vessels operating beyond the federal boundary line. This workshop is offered to commercial fishermen at no cost, thanks to support from the U.S. Coast Guard, the Alaska Department of Commerce, Community & Economic Development, and the National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health. Interested mariners may register at www.amsea.org or call 907-747-3287.
Alaska’s Top Forty Under 40, sponsored by the Alaska Journal of Commerce, recognizes the state’s top professionals younger than age 40 who have demonstrated professional excellence and a commitment to their community. Nominees must be younger than age 40 before Jan. 1, 2016, must live and work in Alaska year-round, must have demonstrated professional excellence in their field, and must display a commitment to the community.
To make a nomination, go to www.alaskajournal.com/webform/top-40-under-40. The deadline to receive entries is 5 p.m., Jan. 15, 2016. Winners will be announced Jan. 29. Employees and family members of Morris Communications are not eligible. The Top Forty Under 40 recipients will be recognized in a special publication by the Alaska Journal of Commerce and during an awards reception and dinner beginning at 6 p.m. on April 8, 2016, at the Hotel Captain Cook. For additional information, contact Managing Editor Andrew Jensen at editor@alaskajournal.com or 907-275-2165. Event sponsorship opportunities are available by contacting Advertising Director Jada Nowling at 907-275-2154 or jada.nowling@morris.com.
The U.S. Small Business Administration is now accepting nominations for its 2016 National Small Business Week Awards, including the annual Small Business Person of the Year.
Since 1963, National Small Business Week has recognized the outstanding achievements of America’s small businesses for their contributions to their local communities, and to our nation’s economy.
The dedicated website http://awards.sba.gov provides criteria and guidelines for submitting a nomination. All nominations must be submitted no later than 3 p.m. EST, Jan. 11, 2016. In addition to the website, nominations can also be sent directly to an SBA District Office. For contact information and other District Office information visit online at http://www.sba.gov/district offices.
Alaskan commercial fishermen can find business management assistance on the Alaska Sea Grant FishBiz website.
The redesigned site has material on financing, income diversification, exit strategies and other topics. The website has resources for fishing careers in all phases and includes financial spreadsheet downloads and podcasts of popular workshop presentations. Visit the site at alaskafishbiz.org or contact Torie Baker at 907-424-7542, and torie.baker@alaska.edu or Sunny Rice at 907-772-3381 and sunny.rice@alaska.edu.
Have you opened a new business, moved to a new location, hired a new person or promoted an employee? Send us your information at news@peninsulaclarion.com, fax it to 907-283-3299, or drop it by the Clarion at 150 Trading Bay in Kenai.
Questions? Call 907-335-1251.
Business announcements may be submitted to news@peninsulaclarion.com. Items should be submitted by 5 p.m. on the Friday prior to publication.
