May 18, 2012, Juneau, Alaska – Governor Sean Parnell today announced recent appointments to the Natural Resources Conservation and Development Board, Aviation Advisory Board, Alaska Aerospace Corporation Board of Directors, and State Officers Compensation Commission.

Natural Resources Conservation and Development Board

Governor Parnell reappointed George Woodbury to the Natural Resources Conservation and Development Board. The five-member board, representing land users from around the state, makes recommendations to the commissioner of the Alaska Department of Natural Resources on the orderly development of farm, forest and grazing land in the state. It also represents the state in local, federal, and state soil and water conservation programs, makes recommendations on the use or disposal of land and resources, and serves as the board of directors for the Alaska Soil and Water Conservation Districts for areas of the state not organized into local conservation districts.

Woodbury, of Wrangell, has been a forest products harvesting, manufacturing and marketing consultant in Alaska and Hawaii since 1999. He was vice president of timber operations for the Alaska Pulp Corporation in Sitka from 1986-97, managed the Ketchikan Pulp Corporation’s timber division from 1974-86, and was a contract logging engineer and manager for the corporation from 1969-74. Woodbury earned a bachelor’s degree in forest management from Purdue University and then served five years as an officer in the U.S. Air Force. He has served on the board as chair since 2005, and is reappointed to a seat reserved for a Southeast Alaska agricultural producer.

Aviation Advisory Board

Governor Parnell reappointed Kenneth Lythgoe, Steven Strait, Frank Neitz, and Lee Ryan to the Aviation Advisory Board. The 11-member board advises the commissioner of the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities on aviation issues and consults with the commissioner on choices of chief administrative officers of Anchorage and Fairbanks international airports, which comprise the Alaska International Airport System.

Lythgoe, of Anchorage, is the general manager of Alaska CargoPort, a hangar and warehouse facilities business at Anchorage International Airport. He has also been a rental property manager, commercial pilot, construction contract administrator, and a municipal facility director, capital projects director, and airport division manager for the Municipality of Anchorage. He earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Alaska Anchorage. Lythgoe has served on the board since 2003, and is reappointed to a seat representing non-airline tenants of the Alaska International Airport System.

Strait, of Anchorage, has owned Alaska Broadcast Media, an advertising sales firm, since 2000. He previously worked in television marketing and sales management in Anchorage from 1985-97, and as a TV producer in New Zealand from 1981-84. He is a licensed private pilot with many years of experience flying in Alaska. Strait is a member of the Alaska Airman’s Association, Anchorage Chamber of Commerce, Turnagain Community Council, and is a past president of the Anchorage International Rotary Club. He served 12 years on the Alaska Public Broadcasting Commission, including serving as chair from 2008-09. Strait earned a bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Idaho. He is reappointed to a seat representing the mayor of the Municipality of Anchorage.

Neitz, of Bethel, is a utility management specialist for the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium and an experienced commercial pilot and longtime air taxi operator in Southwest Alaska. Neitz also works occasionally as a hovercraft pilot, delivering cargo and passengers along the Kuskokwim River. He serves on Bethel’s Public Works Committee, is chairman of the Bethel Community Services Foundation, and is a captain in the Civil Air Patrol. Neitz holds a U.S. Coast Guard master mariner’s license, and earned a bachelor’s degree in speech and business from Montana State University. He is reappointed to a seat reserved for a representative of the state’s unorganized borough.

Ryan, of Unalakleet, is an airline captain from a family with long experience in Alaska aviation. He is chief pilot for Ryan Air, Inc., which was founded by his grandfather in 1953 and later run by his father. Ryan has logged more than 3,500 hours of flight time. He was a delegate to the Conference of Young Alaskans in 2006, is a member of the Arctic Winter Games Team Alaska, and has served on the Inuit Circumpolar Youth Conference’s executive council. Ryan earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Alaska in 2004. He has served on the board since 2006, and is reappointed to a seat representing Northwest and Arctic Alaska.

Alaska Aerospace Corporation Board of Directors

Governor Parnell appointed Lindsay Knight to the Alaska Aerospace Corporation Board of Directors. The corporation allows Alaska to play a lead role in the exploration and development of space, in enhancing human and economic development, and in providing direction for space-related education and research.

Knight, of Kodiak, is the owner of Kodiak Athletic Club. He is also the president of the Kodiak Chamber of Commerce and the Kodiak Morning Rotary Club. Knight owned Gold’s Gym in Anchorage for 20 years and served on the Municipality of Anchorage Solid Waste Advisory Council. He is appointed as a representative of the private business sector and a resident of the borough where the corporation’s launch activities occur.

State Officers Compensation Commission

Governor Parnell reappointed Rick Halford and Tom McGrath to the State Officers Compensation Commission. The five-member commission was created by the Alaska State Legislature to review the salaries, benefits, and allowances of members of the Legislature, the governor, lieutenant governor, and each principal executive department head.

Halford, of Chugiak, is a commercial pilot and registered guide. He is also a former Alaska state legislator, representing Chugiak/Eagle River from 1979-2003. Halford was elected to two terms in the House and five terms in the Senate, and served twice as Senate president. He served in the Alaska Air National Guard from 1968-75, and has belonged to the National Conference of State Legislatures, the Chugiak/Eagle River Chamber of Commerce and the Greater Wasilla Chamber of Commerce, among others. Halford received a bachelor’s degree from Alaska Methodist University in history and political science.

McGrath, of Anchorage, has owned Frigid North Company, an electronic supply business, since 1979. He previously worked for General Electric on remote radar projects in Alaska from 1977-89, and served in the U.S. Army as a radio specialist. His community service includes membership on the Spenard Community Council since 1983, a term as chairman of the Federation of Community Councils from 1995-97, and former service as co-chair of the Anchorage Healthy Future project. He is a director of Edge Marketing and Procurement, an international marketing organization for electronics stores. McGrath earned an associate’s degree in social sciences from the Anchorage Community College.

Source: Office of Governor Parnell