About Us
Our Purpose
The Alaska SHRM State Council (a 501(c)6 organization) promotes the purposes of SHRM by providing a structure for SHRM members in the State of Alaska to consult together concerning the affairs, needs, activities , needs and problems of SHRM in the State and to adopt programs that will promote the progress and welfare of SHRM and the HR profession as a whole.
Our Mission
The Mission of the Alaska State Council is to be a strategic partner with individuals, businesses, community organizations, SHRM and NHRMA in order to encourage the advancement and knowledge of dedicated human resources professionals by providing communication and professional development resources throughout Alaska.
Our History
"Everyone here has the sense that right now is one of those moments when we are influencing the future." - Steve Jobs, Apple
This is the history of the “new era” of the Alaska SHRM State Council. As an affiliate of SHRM, we have tremendous responsibility to all our Alaska members. The Council is composed of a group of dedicated and passionate HR Professionals who have the wellbeing of the group in mind at all times. Like many other organizations before us, we have lived through challenges, but we have learnt from our past and are using those lessons to design our future.
The “new era” of the Alaska SHRM State Council starts in 2003. Prior to this year, it was an organization that had been inactive for two years and near bankruptcy. It was Ron Fraze and Marilyn Hoppen, who approached Heather Wagner about this situation and the need to enact some change. Ms. Wagner decided to take the bull by the horns and become Director in 2003, supported by a group of concerned HR professionals throughout the state who saw the need not only to rebuild the council but to find ways to generate revenue.
This is where the Alaska spirit comes in. The Anchorage SHRM Chapter became involved in the effort, providing the seed money for the first Alaska State HR Conference, an event that generated the first source of revenue and income that the Council had had in recent years. That is all that the Board of Directors needed to continue their efforts to rebuild a stronger foundation and define a different path for the future.
Since then, the group has flourished under the leadership of several more Directors (see below) who have continued the task of continuing to take the State Council on the right path, continuing the conferences, ensuring there is a healthy bank balance, strengthening the partnerships with NHRMA and its interactions with SHRM and doing their best to fulfill the mission and vision of the group. We now in 2018 continue to serve the professional while advancing the profession and doing it better each year.
Directors, 2003 - Present
Year | Director |
2003 | Heather Wagner |
2004 | Heather Wagner |
2005 | Janet Waldron |
2006 | Janet Waldron |
2007 | Patty Billingsley |
2008 | Paul Bauer |
2009 | Paul Bauer |
2010 | Sallie Stuvek |
2011 | Sallie Stuvek |
2012 | Patty Hickok |
2013 | Patty Hickok |
2014 | Nancy Miller |
2015 | Nancy Miller |
2016 | Anne Sakumoto |
2017 | Anne Sakumoto |
2018 | Ben Krisher |
2019 | Ann Kjera |
COUNCIL DOCUMENTATION
STATE COUNCIL RECOGNITIONS
- 2016 Platinum EXCEL Award
- 2015 Silver EXCEL Award
- 2014 Platinum EXCEL Award
- 2013 Platinum EXCEL Award
- 2013 SHRM's Pinnacle Award (907) WEB-INAR Alaska—Where Technology, Certification and Common Sense Converge
- 2012 Platinum EXCEL Award
- 2011 Gold EXCEL Award
- 2010 Silver EXCEL Award
ALASKA CHAPTER RECOGNITIONS
Alaska chapters and HR professionals have been recognized by SHRM and NHRMA over the years.
SHRM Pinnacle Awards
- 2013 ASHRM's "ASHRM: The Last (Recertification) Frontier"
- 2007 ASHRM's Partnership with the Municipality of Anchorage's Mayor's Diversity Week, Anchorage
- 2002 HR & Order, Anchorage
- 1998 HRCI Certification Study Group Project, Anchorage
NHRMA Awards
Randy Lundberg Northern Lights Award
This award recognizes Association Chapters for outstanding achievement and excellence in overall chapter programming and operations. This award is named for NHRMA Awards and Recognition Director Randy Lundberg, a member of the Rogue Valley Chapter, who was designing an award to recognize NHRMA Chapter Achievements at the time of his death in 1994.
- 2018 Prisoner Reentry Walk, Anchorage SHRM Chapter
- 2012 A Multi-Agency Partnership, Anchorage SHRM Chapter
- 2010 The Last HRCI Recertification Frontier, Anchorage SHRM Chapter
- 2008 ASHRM Partnership with the Municipality of Anchorage’s “Mayor’s Diversity Month,” Anchorage SHRM Chapter
- 2004 Transition Assistance Program (TAP), Anchorage SHRM Chapter
- 1996 Outstanding Chapter Operations, Anchorage SHRM Chapter
Distinguished Member
This award is intended to be a “HUMAN RESOURCES PROFESSION ACHIEVEMENT AWARD” to individuals who have provided exceptional service to the profession over a period of years.
- Kristi Acuff, SPHR (2003)
- Todd Allen, SPHR, CCP
- Patty Billingsley, SPHR, SHRM-SCP (2017)
- Louis M. Christie, SPHR (2010)
- Ronald Fraze, SPHR (1996)
- Patty Hickok, SPHR, GPHR (2011)
- Patty Hickok, SPHR, GPHR, SHRM-SCP (2016)
- James Jose, Ph.D., SPHR
- Arve Solomon
- Sallie Stuvek, SPHR, SHRM-SCP (2017)
- Mary Tesch, SPHR (2008)
Robert W. Denomy Award for Student Leadership
This award recognizes students who have performed outstanding service to the HR profession and to the Association, in the best tradition of Bob Denomy. Bob Denomy is now retired after many years of service as PNPMA/NHRMA Association Director, providing significant support to the development and growth of student HRM programs in the Pacific Northwest.
- 2014 Rachel Saddler Wayland Baptist University Student Chapter, Anchorage
- 2013 Brittany Sogge Wayland Baptist University Student Chapter, Anchorage
- 2011 Julie Drinnen Wayland Baptist University Student Chapter, Anchorage
- 2010 Bonnie Dorman Wayland Baptist University Student Chapter, Anchorage
- 2003 Patty Hickok University of Alaska Anchorage Student Chapter, Anchorage