The Afognak Center on Kodiak’s Near Island was packed with guests dressed up for the Hollywood-themed event over the weekend. The crowd was most excited though to see which businesses would be honored.
One of the biggest awards of the night was the President’s Award, which went to Kodiak Kindness, a nonprofit that helps families with young kids.
“To have the opportunity and support needed to found the program, help it grow, and to witness the powerful lifelong impact that it has in people’s lives is beyond anything I ever imagined,” said Heather Preece, the nonprofit’s longtime executive director.
Other winners included Bells Flats Little Store for Business of the Year, the Kodiak Daily Mirror for Member of the Year, Sutliff/Ace Hardware for the Customer Service Award, Ocean’s Plastic Recovery for the Cornerstone Award, Island Trails Network for the Service Organization of the Year, and Kodiak Lions Club for Volunteer of the year. Each business was given a metal plaque.
The night wasn’t just about awards though.
The evening also included a look at a survey from the Kodiak Economic Development Corporation about the island’s economy, which sampled more than a hundred businesses across nearly two dozen industries. The study estimated that roughly 8,000 workers generated about half a billion dollars in earnings last year alone.
Despite that sum, about half of respondents had negative outlooks on the future of the community’s economy. Karl Hertz, the corporation’s president, says those responses were likely skewed because the survey was done shortly after Trident Seafoods, the largest processor on the island, announced it would sell its Star of Kodiak plant.
Hertz noted that other respondents seemed a bit more hopeful.
“Visitors and tourism, food and beverage, financial activities, healthcare, construction, all had a more positive outlook,” he said.
Hertz also noted some other survey highlights, including housing issues. The cost of an average single family home went down to about $400,000 from an all-time high of $440,00 in 2022 two years ago, but he shared concern about the rise in those homes being listed as short-term rentals on places like AirBnB and VRBO.
Overall, the sentiment of the night was that while fisheries struggle, the best way through is to focus on supporting other local businesses when possible.
