An honor to paddle with you these last four years
Bill Bjork, President

My Alaska adventure started the summer of 1977. Debby and I had fallen under the spell of the Yukon River on earlier trips to Alaska, so in the summer of ’77 we paddled a canoe a thousand miles from Lake Bennett, British Columbia, to Fort Yukon, Alaska. We met the Yukon Flats superintendent of schools, who needed to hire two teachers in Arctic Village. We weren’t interested because we were paddling, and we had good teaching jobs in Minnesota. He convinced us to fly up to Arctic Village “just for a look,” where we ended up teaching for six years. Neither of us realized at the time what a life-changing trip it would be. Thirty-one years later I want to share a few thoughts with you in my final AKtivist editorial as your president.

Our first mentor in Alaska was Margaret Tritt, the school cook in Arctic Village. She guided us deftly through cross-cultural communication and showed us the path to living successfully in a small, remote village. Despite Margaret’s guidance, there were bumps in the path. Margaret introduced us to the subsistence lifestyle. She showed us that when we became a part of the community, the community engaged in school.

Once the initial flurry of fall work was complete, we re-read our one-page teachers’ negotiated agreement with the Yukon Flats School District. We were shocked at the brevity of the document and the lack of contractual protections for teachers. We had both been active in a well-organized local in Minnesota and understood the need for a good contract. Much work had to be done.

We met our fearless NEA-Alaska UniServ Director, Mary Ann Eininger. She guided a small group of us through negotiations of a successor agreement that afforded teachers the security of a good contract. Mary Ann also showed us how to be active union members despite communications problems (one phone in the village that rarely worked) and transportation problems – the plane wouldn’t fly if the temperature was colder than 40 below zero.

Public education has changed dramatically during my career; and this change has accelerated exponentially in the past decade. The role of NEA-Alaska continues to grow to address the demands educators face at our jobs. NEA-Alaska is here to support you. NEA-Alaska members are the mentors guiding Alaska on the path toward the future, just as Margaret and Mary Ann guided Debby and me.

I have been asked many times in recent months what I will be doing when my term ends in July. I think the more important question is how will NEA-Alaska members respond to the challenges facing public education. We are an organization of inspired educators and dedicated activists. This November we have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to change Alaska and America. It’s vital that we remain engaged in the process.

It has been my honor to serve as your president these last four years. Together we faced a series of challenges no one could have imagined years ago. I am proud of the good work we have done together. NEA-Alaska is strong when we pull together. Let’s keep our paddles in the water.