Pictured here (l to r) are Tiffany Simmons, NPS employee Adia Cotter, MTCVC board member Dawn Murphy, Executive Director Cindy Schumaker, and ExxonMobil’s Kimberly Jordan.

ExxonMobil has donated $25,000 to the Morris Thompson Cultural and Visitors Center Cultural Program Endowment Fund.  “ExxonMobil is committed to engaging with Alaska Native communities in a manner that is respectful of their cultures and customs,” said Karen Hagedorn, production manager for ExxonMobil Alaska. “We take pride in supporting the cultivation and preservation of Alaska Native traditions.”

The purpose of the endowment is to provide a long-term revenue stream for Alaska Native cultural programs within the Center.  “Our ultimate goal is to grow the endowment to $2 million to help ensure the Morris Thompson Center is filled with educational programs that preserve our cultural heritage.” said Morris Thompson Center Board Member Tiffany Simmons. “Exxon’s gift will help keep our fiddlers fiddling and our dancers dancing until the last jigger wears a hole in their moccasins! Thanks ExxonMobil!”

Lorna Shaw (far right), External Affairs Manager with Sumitomo Pogo Mine presents the Mining Match gift to Morris Thompson Center representatives.

Anna Atchison (far right), Government Relations Manager, presents Kinross Fort Knox’s mining match gift to the campaign.

Thanks to the help of more than a thousand generous donors and dedicated volunteers, the Morris Thompson Cultural and Visitors Center has successfully completed a capital campaign that raised $29.3 million to build the Morris Thompson Cultural and Visitors Center. After nearly two decades of planning, the effort officially came to a close today with the fulfillment of pledges made by Sumitomo Pogo and Kinross Fort Knox. Last Summer, Fort Knox and Pogo gold mines challenged the community to come together to raise the final $175,000 necessary to complete the campaign – promising to match each donation that came in until the goal was met. Today both mines made good on that pledge, presenting a total of $87,500 ($43,750 each) which amounted to their half of the mining match challenge.

“Both Pogo and Fort Knox wanted to jump in at the end to help complete this great project,” said Lorna Shaw, External Affairs Manager with Sumitomo Pogo. “We felt the Mining Match was a way we could encourage the community to get involved. Everyone I know believes the Center is a real jewel for our community, and both companies are very proud to have played a part in making it happen.”

It was a $25,000 gift from ConocoPhillips presented last month that actually took the mining match campaign over the top. Scott Jepson, VP of External Affairs at ConocoPhillips presented the final mining match gift to Morris Thompson Center President Charlene Marth at the Doyon annual meeting. “This was a special milestone for us because in 2004 Doyon made the first major gift to the campaign,” said Marth. “At the end, it was ConocoPhillips made the final gift that took us over the top.” 

Marth, who is the late Morris Thompson’s niece, said, “This facility really does embody my Uncle. He was a bridge between cultures, this facility provides that. He brought people together, this center does that. He talked about being world class, this building is that!”

A Leadership Team made up of 28 volunteers from across Alaska was committed to raising funds to complete the building with zero debt, which is what makes operating costs affordable to the lease-holding partners. The $29,334,112 raised for planning, land purchase, construction and exhibit installation included a combination of federal ($16.7M), state ($7.6M), Fairbanks North Star Borough ($250,000) and private ($4.7M) funds. The project required a small line of credit during the construction phase, but that has been paid off and the Center is now debt free.

It was the late Senator Ted Stevens who first challenged the project partners to show how they could afford to operate the building once it was built. “The Senator always told us that we shouldn’t rely on state or federal funds to operate,” said Executive Director Cindy Schumaker. “The high cost of energy makes it tough, but with nearly five years under our belt, we’re doing it.”

ConocoPhillips Alaska presented a $25,000 donation to the Morris Thompson Center in March 2012. This was the oil company’s third gift to the Center, and brings ConocoPhillips’ total donation to $105,000. Jarrot Handy, Vice President of North Slope Operations (center) and Mary Gibbs, Director of Philanthropy (left) presented the gift to Morris Thompson Center’s Board President Charlene Marth (right). Handy said, “I can see why the Center is such a source of pride to your community and a tribute to a beloved leader.”

Athabascan beadwork – and a willow root basket – will soon become sidewalk art outside the Morris Thompson Center. Inspired by designs from Athabascan master artists from all over Interior Alaska, the artwork was digitized, enlarged, and translated into glass tile mosaics that are being prepped for installation later this month. Belarde Company out of  Seattle, WA provides a patented process, Lithocrete, which allows for the seeding of small glass tiles in concrete. “The color palette is vibrant enough to do justice to these incredible beadwork designs,” said Cultural Program Director Dixie Alexander. “They look beautiful!” The completed sidewalk mosaics will be 8 ft to 14 ft in diameter.

Designs are inspired by the following artists:

• Lina Demoski/Anvik
• Judy Thomas/Northway
• Mary Simple/Ft. Yukon
• Master Artists working on the Athabascan clothing project for Tanana Chiefs Conference
• Unknown artist from the Tanana area – from a slipper in the UA Museum of the North collection

Brian and Marilyn wed under the Antler Arch

Outgoing News-Miner publisher Marilyn Romano and her longtime beau Brian Hove got married under the Morris Thompson Center’s Antler Arch in late June. Romano was relocating for her new position at Alaska Airlines, and wanted to get married in Fairbanks before moving to Anchorage. “Brian and I met here 13 years ago, so the banks of the Chena River was perfect,” said Romano. “We love the Alaskan feel of the antler arch.”

The Antler Arch Web Cam made it easy to involve her family in Texas on short notice. She called and told them to check out the website, but didn’t tell them why. “They were all surprised and happy to be able to watch us get married on the ‘Antler Cam’ – and the tourists loved it!” said Romano.

If you want to coordinate your own special moment under the arch, tell your family and friends around the world to go to www.morristhompsoncenter.org and click on the Antler Arch link.

More than 250 family and friends of the late Bishop William Gordon gathered in October 2010 to dedicate the plane and exhibit installed in his honor. They sang hymns in Inupiat and Athabascan dialects, laughed, and shared warm memories with the Bishop’s wife Shirley and their children Bill, Paneen, and Anna who were all on hand for the dedication.

Bishop Gordon arrived in Alaska in 1943. During his 30 years of service, the Bishop logged hundreds of thousands of air miles ministering to congregations throughout the state. The sound of his plane buzzing a community became a frequent and welcome greeting. “We weren’t excited about church, we were excited about donuts,” joked the Rev. Anna Frank.

“He loved his work and the people he met along the way,” said his wife Shirley. “And he was loved in return.” We hope the sight of the Bishop’s plane hanging in our lobby reminds those who visit the Center to celebrate and strengthen the ties that bind Alaska’s diverse people.

A special Friends of the Flying Bishop plaque will list the names of businesses and individuals who make a donation to the Center in honor of the Bishop. For more information, call 907.459.3701 or email info@morristhompsoncenter.org.