Association born from Unalaska friendships

MONICA SOUTHWORTH

September 11, 2008 at 2:13PM AKST

After leaving Unalaska in early 2008, a group of friends got together for a dinner. By meal’s end, their nonprofit organization — the Association for Seafood Processors International — was on the way to creation.

“We saw there was a real need in the industry for an industry that represented everyone,” said Janna Caldero, president of the organization. “We have our trade groups and market groups but there wasn’t really anything that represented everyone in the industry including employees, employers, vendors, etc.”
Caldero said that she and executive officer Terry Abarro have worked in the seafood industry and they wanted to give back by sharing their experiences with others and build something that would benefit a lot of other people.

The group members, who used to work in the seafood industry and live in Unalaska, formed the Anchorage-based organization earlier this year. Its purpose is to provide benefits and discounts to people in the seafood industry whether they are individuals or companies. Abarro said they also hope to serve as a connection between companies and workers in the seafood industry.

“We have already been asked to do training in some areas,” Abarro said.

The three full-time, unpaid employees of ASPI are using their collective experience from the seafood industry to grow the association.

Other options of service are being explored. Caldero said the association will primarily include offering group discounts and rates for numerous services such as insurance, banking and travel.

The three types of membership are individual, business, and corporate. Although the organization doesn’t have any business or corporate members, it has a strong base of a couple hundred members already.

“We’re open to anyone who has anything to do with the seafood industry, be it employees, employers, agencies, anyone with any affiliation in the industry. Membership is open to everybody,” Caldero said.

The membership is made up of friends of the board and some who have heard about the organization through word-of-mouth. The organization is still growing and, plus the staff of three, has a five-member board of directors.  

“Branching off from Dutch Harbor, our name is international and we’re going to go beyond Dutch Harbor, and beyond Alaska. The seafood industry is worldwide, and we see our roots in Alaska. But branching out into other parts of the world is what we’re planning,” Caldero said.

Abarro said they have already been receiving calls from other countries, including the Philippines and Mexico.

“One of the things we talked about was how we can get our name out there. Of course we thought about the statehood process, and Alaska not having a float during the Rose parade which is the No. 1 event in the world on New Year’s Day,” Abarro said.

To get the name of the organization out there, Caldero and Abarro looked for a notable event to be involved in, and settled on the annual Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, Calif.

“One thing that came to mind was the granddaddy of them all — the Tournament of Roses, seen by millions of people. And what better way than to partner with Alaska on a float,” Caldero said. “I believe this is the first time Alaska has had a float in the Rose Parade.”  

After talking to the committee, they discovered the state of Alaska had been trying to get a float for the previous six years. Soon, several organizations throughout the state formed a partnership to begin the planning and building of the float.

In celebration of the 50th anniversary of statehood, the state of Alaska will have a float in this year’s parade focusing on major themes throughout Alaska. Although the design has not been finalized, the rough plans are to represent each different part of the state, including the fishing industry.

Fiesta Floats has been contracted to build the Alaska statehood float for the parade, and the company has had several award-winning floats in the parade. The cost of the float will be about $200,000. There are several other small organizations and companies that are helping to sponsor the float, including the Alaska Railroad. The lead agency in charge of building the float is the Anchorage Convention and Visitors Bureau.

“[The ACVB] knows we’re just starting, and they’re a big help. They told us that because we’re representing a major industry in Alaska they were happy to have us on board helping with the project” Abarro said.