Visions for our future

What’s your vision for the Mat-Su? Do you dream of a metropolis larger than Anchorage, or do your fantasies lean more toward being a cradle for high-tech manufacturing? Perhaps your vision is more preservationist: a back-to-basics approach to strong family values.

Whether a pipe dream, lofty ideal or serious goal, vision is what drives communities to grow and mature. How that vision is applied takes many forms. And every once in a while, a visionary steps up to galvanize those efforts.

Bill Hybels, foun-der of one of the nation’s largest church congregations in Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, Ill., defines the role these people play in a community.

“Visionary people face the same problems everyone else faces,” he said. “But rather than get paralyzed by their problems, visionaries immediately commit themselves to finding a solution.”

In the Valley, we have many examples of this commitment from all sectors, including government, industry, nonprofits, education and business. These are exceptional people who, sometimes with public acknowledgment and other times not, act on their visions for the Valley.

In today’s Frontiersman, we feature seven of these visionaries in the first installment of our annual “Profiles” special sections. We could fill volumes with the visionaries around us, and likely will in the future, but chose these seven for our first “Profiles: Visionaries” in an effort to show a diverse cross-section of how our Valley has evolved and what may be in store for the future.

From Valley born and raised to those who found Alaska through the military to those who followed their Last Frontier sense of adventure, all are committing themselves “to finding a solution.”

Today’s section is the first of three consecutive “Profiles” editions taking a unique and informative turn from the past.

On Tuesday, “Profiles: The Business of Sports” examines the Valley’s connection to sports of all kinds, including our facilities, the business of youth sports, the competition for local sports dollars and how outdoor recreation affects the local economy.

Friday, “Profiles: Inside Industry” looks in depth at some areas of local industry that don’t see much reporting, and some that do. For example, tourism is a leading and important industry that can make or break the economy, but why do people come here? What does it mean that several area RV parks are for sale? Long-range economic planning is crucial, and we’ll look at how the Valley is using its airports as economic assets.

For now, enjoy today’s stories on local visionaries Marvin Yoder, Bert Hall, Elizabeth Ripley, David Johnston, Dave Hanson, Lorali Carter and Jillyan Webb. We salute these visionaries and the many, many others who will continue to shape the growth of the Valley.