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Today's Featured Biography

 
James McConnell Jr.

After 2 years at ICCC I received a wonderful letter from "Uncle Sam" in 1968, and he invited me to join the military. I elected to enlist in the Navy and spent eighth years at it before I decided to move on. My more exciting duty stations included a 13 month stint on a river assault craft on the Mekong Delta in Viet Nam, an enjoyable tour in Kodiak, Alaska …which included a operational visit to a 5 mile wide, 90 foot thick "ice island" that housed scientific research units. We were 180 miles from the magnetic North Pole at that time. I also spent 6 months in Antarctica flying to other research stations to service their electronic equipment.

I joined National Bank of Alaska as a "management trainee" in 1976 and worked my way up the ranks to being the bank's senior forest industry lender. This family owned bank sold to Wells Fargo in 1976, at which time I retired from "salaried" banking and became a banking consultant. I have 19 years of project development, private loan placement and troubled debt restructure behind me since leaving the bank. I specialize in fixing broken companies or reviewing projects that are having trouble getting off the ground.

I'm semi retired and work out of a home office. I currently underwrite energy, mining and conservation related projects for the state of Alaska's Industrial Development Authority. This includes hydro dams, wind towers, granite and rare earth mineral mines and remote road and/or shipping port development projects.

Mary and I have 6 kids between us and 15 grandchildren. She retired in June 2014 so I get to carry luggage to wherever she likes to travel 3-4 times a year. We have ties in Georgia, Iowa, Wisconsin, Arizona and Hawaii so travel time always seems to be sunny. For personal time, two of my friends and I do big game "bucket list" hunts throughout the "Lower 48". White tail, mule deer, Russian boar and elk have been taken care of. Buffalo in South Dakota in next on the list to be followed by tahr and stag in New Zealand in 2017. We keep and process the game meat for ourselves and/or process it and donate it to local charity organizations and food kitchens wherever we hunt.

My greatest satisfaction after 39 years of banking and project development is knowing that my work has either saved or helped start more than 3,000 jobs in Alaska over this timeframe. Not bad for a guy who got "D's" in every math class. I thank my parents for passing on their work ethics; and, my wife for persevering with my never ending trips to other parts of the state for days on end.

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