Letter from the Chairman
AK CHARR Annual Convention
PAUL THOMAS | CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD
This is the last Magazine before our annual convention. Our 54th Annual Convention this year will be held in the Kenai Peninsula. Each year, our conventions are held
“ in a different part of the state and occasionally out of state, allowing attending members the chance to see operations from other parts of the state, or potentially to host in your town. I hope you all are starting to make plans to attend. I believe that our conventions are an essential part of our organization, not only
I COME to strengthen our connections between CHARR staff and current directors, but more importantly, to foster connections
VALUABLE with our members from different parts of the state that we may not get the chance to connect with regularly. Meeting in FOR OUR person with other owners and industry people from all over Alaska, whether you are a CHARR director, a single operator, PLUS or a large multi-location operation, gives us all insight into how our industry is doing. We need to anticipate potential problems, stay ahead of industry changes as operators, and examine how others may be operating to benefit and improve
OF THE our own operations. All of this comes from just being able to come together in one spot, relax, talk, and have some fun. But convention brings a lot more to the table than that. Our staff works hard each year to put together a great set of speakers that provide information relevant to our industry. Each year, I feel
EACH YEAR, I FEEL LIKE
AWAY WITH
INFORMATION
INDUSTRY,
SOMETHING SPECIFIC TO MY SEGMENT
INDUSTRY. like I come away with valuable information for our industry, plus something specific to my segment of the industry. At the same time, being able to visit a different part of the state and participate in the fun recreational events that the local affiliate and staff have organized for their visitors makes the convention an event I look forward to every year.
While convention signals the end of our tourist season for many of our members, the responsibilities of maintaining our staff training continue all year long. Not long before this issue came out, AMCO enforcement was working through Southeast, checking on TAP cards and postings. It’ s often easier to keep an eye on the seasonal staff TAP training than on the key employees we have had for many years. But remember, recertification needs to be completed every three years. It is often easier to have all your year-round employees recertify during whatever is the slower part of your year. Maybe even a few months earlier than needed to keep them from having to do it when you are relying on them to train seasonal new hires again in the spring. There have also been multiple changes to the class recently, with the different parts of Title 04 that have come into effect, changing interpretations of policy and statute. The staff invests considerable time in ensuring the TAP curriculum remains current and delivers the highest quality training for you and your staff. While class sizes have been relatively large with the addition of employees in the 18-20 year old range, class sizes are coming back down now. The training department has also been doing a fantastic job handling the larger than usual class sizes efficiently. Registering and taking the class is easier now than ever, with the Online Webinar class schedules and registration all available on the CHARR website under
ALASKA CHARR MAGAZINE | 2