Alaska to Celebrate the First Annual Vic Fischer and Jack Coghill Constitution of the State of Alaska Day
By Noah Hanson | AKLEG on Comments Off on Alaska to Celebrate the First Annual Vic Fischer and Jack Coghill Constitution of the State of Alaska Day
Bill Egan, president of the convention and a future governor, signs the proposed Alaska Constitution in the gymnasium, now Signers’ Hall, on Feb. 5, 1956 followwing Alaska’s first Constitutional convention. Image-UAF
JUNEAU – On Sunday, April 24, Alaska will celebrate the first annual Vic Fischer and Jack Coghill Constitution of the State of Alaska Day. April 24 recognizes that day in 1956 when the citizens of Alaska ratified the Constitution of the State of Alaska, “guaranteeing that the individual will always be in-charge” and enshrining our state’s values of individual freedom, local control, and personal autonomy at the core of our statehood. The 55 delegates to the Alaska constitutional convention provided a visionary template for guided governance that has served this state well.
Vic Fischer and Jack Coghill Constitution of the State of Alaska Day also recognizes the comradery of Alaska’s constitutional convention – where people of different regions, ideologies, and convictions found common ground in the interest of statehood. Vic Fischer and Jack Coghill embraced that vision at its foundation.
“We have a long history of working together and overcoming our differences in Alaska, and that spirit is embodied at its core – in our Constitution,” said Senator Tom Begich (D-Anchorage). “We must continue to embrace and cherish that dedication, our willingness to work through challenges, and our commitment to this great land, now and into the future.”
On February 13, 2019, Jack Coghill passed away at the age of 93. Vic Fischer currently resides in downtown Anchorage, continuing to advocate for all Alaskans – and Alaska’s Constitution.
The other members of the Alaska Constitutional Convention are Robert Roland Armstrong, Dorothy J. Awes, Frank Barr, John C. Boswell, Seaborn J. Buckalew, E. B. Collins, George D. Cooper, John M. Cross, Edward V. Davis, James P. Doogan, William A. Egan, Truman C. Emberg, Mrs. E.A. (Helen) Fischer, Douglas Gray, Thomas C. Harris, John S. Hellenthal, Mildred R. Hermann, Herb Hilscher, Jack Hinckel, James Hurley, Maurice T. Johnson, Yule F. Kilcher, Leonard H. King, William W. Knight, W. W. Laws, Eldor R. Lee, Maynard D. Londborg, Steve McCutcheon, George W. McLaughlin, Robert J. McNealy, John A. McNees, M. R. Marston, Irwin L Metcalf, Leslie Nerland, James Nolan, Katherine D. Nordale, Frank Peratrovich, Chris Poulsen, Peter L. Reader, Burke Riley, Ralph J. Rivers, Victor C. Rivers, R. E. Robertson, John H. Rosswog, W. O. Smith, B. D. Stewart, George Sundborg, Dora M. Sweeney, Warren A. Taylor, H. R. VanderLeest, M. J. Walsh, Barrie M. White, and Ada B. Wien.
