GROUP TAPPED TO NAME NEW CONVENTION CENTER
Mayor asks citizens to weigh in with suggestions

Mayor Mark Begich has appointed a panel of citizens charged with naming the new Anchorage Civic and Convention Center. He presented the seven names to the Anchorage Assembly earlier this week.

“A key part of Anchorage’s rich cultural heritage is the enormous contributions of Alaska’s Native people,” Begich said. “Surveys tell us that residents and visitors alike believe the role of Native people is inadequately recognized in Anchorage. So it seems fitting to consider a name for Anchorage’s grand new civic and convention center which reflects their enormous influence on this city and its landscape.”

The panel, which will hold its first meeting at 3 p.m. on June 13 in the Mayor’s Conference Room in City Hall, will be chaired by Janie Leask, President and CEO of First Alaskans Institute and a former president of the Alaska Federation of Natives.

Other members are:
• Sheri Buretta – Chugach Alaska, Inc., board chair;
• Bruce Bustamante – president and CEO of the Anchorage Convention and Visitors Bureau;
• Jana Hayenga – owner of Cabin Fever Gifts and a member of the Downtown Partnership;
• Al Parrish – chief executive officer and vice president of Providence Alaska Medical Center;
• Former Anchorage Mayor Jack Roderick; and
• Jon Ross – president and CEO of the Alaska Native Heritage Center.

The mayor asked the naming panel to solicit public comment on their naming suggestions. Begich asked the group to work quickly because architects for the new center need the name soon to incorporate it into the building’s design. Suggestions can be sent to mayor@muni.org. They will be forwarded to the committee.

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