Published: Thursday
September 22, 2005

Mike Sallee

I was born and raised in Ketchikan. My family lived near what is now The Narrows Inn when North Tongass was a dirt road.
 
By age nine I was traveling by boat to and from Gravina Island where my family had begun to relocate. I accrued numerous boating hours crossing Tongass Narrows to catch the bus to High School.
 
My mother instilled in me fiscal responsibility, honesty and integrity by making sure I did my share of providing for our family by hunting, fishing and help with farm chores.
 
At the University of Alaska in addition to earning a degree in general science, my time with the college cross country ski team and mountaineering clubs taught me the value of perseverance, it also opened doors to experiencing other cultures and a life-long interest in travel and adventure.
 
I traveled with the U.S. Army biathlon team throughout the country as well as Europe and Scandinavia. I have skied the Iditarod Trail. I have mountaineered extensively in the Alaska Range including Denali, and even a trip to Argentina. Having been to other parts of the world has shown me the importance of respect for the place I grew up in beyond simply as a commodity to be bought and sold.
 
I've seen a lot of changes in this community and not all of it good but no matter where I ventured I always returned to this place and now make my living off its abundant resources. As a small sawmill operator and commercial dive fisherman I realize that protecting the environment is not about protecting the fishes and the birds for their own sake. It's about recognizing that nature is the ultimate infrastructure of our community and that if we want to meet our obligation as a generation, as a civilization, we must create a community for our children that provides them with the same opportunities for dignity and enrichment and good health that my mother gave to me. I'd like to see our community learn from its history and move ahead in a way that sustains a healthy connection with the land, which is the source of our values, virtues and character as Alaskans.
 
 
Community Organizations

Patchworks! An organization committed to building assets in our youth
Big Brothers/Big Sisters
First City Toastmasters
Ketchikan Trails Coalition
Leask Users Coalition
Resource Advisory Committee
Southeast Alaska Regional Dive Fisherman's Association (SARDFA)
Tongass Conservation Society
Southeast Alaska Conservation Council

If you share these values and goals and please vote for Mike Sallee on Oct 4th
 

 

SitNews
Stories In The News
Ketchikan, Alaska