Fourteen board members of the Rasmuson Foundation were Cordova’s guests for a site visit June 26-27 that included a luncheon in their honor and visits to many facilities the foundation has helped to fund.
Local projects that the foundation has supported financially over the years include work that has helped build or otherwise benefit the Cordova Family Resource Center, St. George’s Episcopal Church, the Red Dragon, the Pioneer Igloo, Prince William Sound Science Center, the Cordova Center, the Native Village of Eyak and the Ilanka Cultural Center.
The guests included Diane Kaplan, president and chief executive officer of the Rasmuson Foundation, and board members Jeff Cook, Laura Emerson, Adam Gibbons, Jay Gibbons, Lile R. Gibbons, Dr. Matt Hirschfeld, Natasha von Imhof, Linda Leary, Jason Metrokin, Kris Norosz, Cathryn Rasmuson, Edward B. Rasmuson, Judy Rasmuson, and Aaron Schutt.
Board member Judy Rasmuson was unable to attend the Cordova site visit.
To date, said Cordova Mayor Clay Koplin, the Rasmuson Foundation has contributed $2.3 million for these projects.
During a morning visit to the Native Village of Eyak and Ilanka Cultural Center, the board toured the art gallery and admired several artworks which the Rasmuson Foundation assisted NVE in acquiring.
“We were very pleased to have the Rasmuson Foundation visit our Cordova community and our Ilanka Cultural Center,” said Native Village of Eyak Tribal Council Chairman Darrel Olsen.
“We are thankful to them for all of their support throughout the years.”
Salmon dip and crackers were served at the cultural center, along with homemade salmonberry pies prepared by Olsen’s niece, Denise Asp Olsen, and her aunt, Altana Hamilton, who picked the fresh berries for the pies the day before the visit.
“The ladies wanted to show our Cordova hospitality,” the elder Olsen said.
Following the visit to NVE, the foundation members visited the newly opened Cordova Center. The Cordova Center was made possible with a $750,000 Top Off Grant from the Rasmuson Foundation once the community had raised matching funds.
While at the center, the board members toured the museum, and the Copper River and Ziegler Galleries, said Cathy Sherman, information services director for the city of Cordova.
At a luncheon for the Rasmuson board and local guests on June 27, local dignitaries , including Koplin, spoke during the meal, thanking the foundation for its work.
“The Cordova Center is the culmination of nearly 20 years of work by Cordova leadership, citizens, and staff – from the seeds planted during Mayor Margy’s (Johnson), town hall meeting on the frontend, to the tough, behind-the-scenes work of Mayor James Kallander to help it through the rough seas of completion — to the community center we have today,” Koplin said.
“When you stand on Main Street Cordova, it is hard to look in any direction and not see the important work that Rasmuson Foundation has accomplished in the community. Cordova is stronger because of the Rasmuson Foundation.”
Koplin presented Rasmuson Foundation Chairman Ed Rasmuson with the keys to the City of Cordova.
A $25,000 grant, awarded to the City of Cordova for the restoration of Nirvana Park, was presented to Koplin in turn by the Rasmuson Foundation. The grant will be used by the city parks and recreation department to upgrade the historical location.
“The Rasmuson Foundation has invested hundreds of millions of dollars to the good of others and the good of Alaska,” said Rep. Louise Stutes, R-Kodiak, who was there for the luncheon.
Stutes represents House District 32, which includes the Cordova area.
Following the luncheon prepared and catered by the Reluctant Fisherman Inn’s Chef Lance Webb, the crowd moved downstairs in the Cordova Center to the theater, to listen to a special performance by musician Annie Carlson, who played her acoustic guitar and sang.
Carlson, a born and raised Cordova girl, sang, “Alaskan Grown,” which she also wrote.
The song describes what she knew she’d feel if she ever left her home in Cordova.
Carlson, who will be a sophomore at Trevecca Nazarene University, in Nashville, TN, in the fall, majoring in commercial music, said this was her first time performing in the North Star Theater.
While the site visit was relatively quick, board members appeared to be clearly enjoying their stay, chatting easily with locals and taking in the spectacular scenery, and going fishing on Eyak River and in Prince William Sound.
“Rasmuson’s work transcends financial support – it comes at critical times and in critical places to elevate the psychology and social fabric of the community,” Koplin said. “Rasmuson Foundation will always be welcome in Cordova – not merely as friends or partners, but as heroes and champions.”
More information about the Rasmuson Foundation is online at
http://www.rasmuson.org/.
