First National Bank Alaska has been named among the nation's safest banks by two leading bank analysts.
This month, Bauer Financial Reports Inc. recognized First National as an Exceptional Performance Bank, a distinction reserved for banks that have earned a five-star rating for at least 10 consecutive years. It is the highest rating available for strength and stability. First National has received the five-star recognition for 71 straight quarters.
The rating is based on an evaluation of financial data provided by First National to federal regulators. Bauer Financial analyzes the data and issues the rating, from zero to five stars.
Throughout 2006 First National remained fourth on the Weiss Rating's top 20 safest banks in the nation list, the only Alaskan-owned bank on the list. First National received an A+ rating, the highest one awarded by Weiss. Weiss Ratings tracks the financial strength of 15,000 financial institutions each quarter, with ratings ranging from A+ to E-.
Established in 1922, First National is Alaska's largest locally owned and operated bank, with ATMs and 29 branches in 17 communities throughout Alaska.
Six Spenard Builders Supply locations received the second annual National Achievement in Safety award for achievement in overall workplace safety by the National Lumber and Building Material Dealers Association.
In 2005 the Spenard Builders Supply stores in Anchorage, Big Lake Truss Plant, Homer, Kenai, Kodiak and Soldotna had outstanding safety rates in the areas of employee injuries and illnesses, employee days away from work, restricted work activity and job transfer due to injury or illness. The six award-winning stores will be recognized throughout the year as examples of excellence in safety.
Spenard Builders Supply is Alaska's largest building materials supplier.
To commemorate its 20th year, Alaskan Brewing co-owners Geoff and Marcy Larson and seven of brewery's the 10 original volunteers packaged 253 cases of Alaskan Amber to honor the first packaging of the flagship brew.
“20th Year/1986-2006” is printed on all the bottle labels in the limited-edition cases, and each case offers a free memento to whoever buys it.
The commemorative packaging run went far smoother than the original one, Marcy Larson said in a written statement. “That first run took 12 people packaging by hand for 12 hours. Between the 1960s soda bottling machine and our inexperience, half the bottles were unusable,” she said. “Thanks to newer equipment and a well-trained crew, we now have a capacity of 300 bottles a minute.”
The last 10 of the 253 special anniversary cases were packed by hand like they were 20 years ago.
The nine members of the original packaging crew who attended the commemorative bottling run were: Win and Maggie Germain, Dayton Canaday, George Reifenstein, Larry Bussone, Marc Scholten, Vickie McMillan and Geoff and Marcy Larson.
When Alaskan Brewing Co. opened in 1986 it was the only operating brewery in Alaska and only the 67th in the nation. Alaskan Brewing Co. is in the top 10 out of 1,378 craft breweries nationwide, and it is the most award-winning craft brewery in the history of the Great American Beer Festival.
For the fourth straight year, Bad Ass Coffee Co. is ranked in Entrepreneur Magazine's Franchise 500 issue.
Entrepreneur Magazine publishes its Franchise 500 edition annually and the coffee chain has been steadily on the rise since its debut on the list in 2002, ranking 256 on the list this year in comparison to last year's 349 ranking.
Bad Ass Coffee provides 100 percent American-grown, Kona coffee. Bad Ass Coffee currently offers 52 franchise locations throughout the United States, including Alaska.
