By Lucas Wright
Turnagain Times Correspondent
Girdwood Rotary Club, the local chapter of Rotary International, recently hosted a presentation given by Alaska state representative Mike Hawker. During the Oct. 23 Rotary meeting held in the Columbia Ballroom at the Alyeska Resort, Rep. Hawker spoke for approximately an hour about his and fellow legislators’ initiatives.
Hawker discussed long term fiscal planning, public education, energy, and renewable energy in the state and the Girdwood community.
Hawker said a new $250 million grant fund has been designated for renewable energy projects, and he said the state legislature has set up an Energy Authority to manage the disbursement of the funds exclusively for renewable energy sources.
“We are moving toward developing an alternative energy plan in the state“ said Hawker. “We are very closely monitoring the grant applications for these funds. We need a long term energy plan that is durable and tangible.”
Regarding education, Hawker mentioned that the base allocation for the Alaskan student had not been changed since 1998, until a bill he sponsored was passed that would restructure pension finance transactions in a way that would make more funding available for Alaska school systems.
Hawker said that it is his goal to implement a long term fiscal plan with the state’s annual budget along with a ten year forecast of all projected use for funds.
At the next Girdwood Rotary meeting, U.A.A. Professor Dorn Van Dommelen will be speaking about the new geography curriculum at U.A.A. during the Nov. 6 meeting, which will be held at Jack Sprats.
Girdwood Rotary is a community service and community involvement based organization. The club is involved in local fundraising and many other community activities and charity events. The club also adopted a stretch of the Alyeska Highway from the Tesoro gas station into town and contributed a playground to the community.
The current president of Girdwood Rotary is Ron Burson, and the Public Relations Director is David Alexander. Burson describes the club as being nonpolitical and nonreligious.
“Non-profit organizations seem to be able to work out a consensus,” said Burson.
The Girdwood Rotary Club was chartered in December of 1995. Their mission statement is “Service Above Self.”