BBNC elects Nelson, Bennis to new terms, adds two directors

Bristol Bay Native Corporation shareholders elected board chair Russell S. Nelson and director Wassiliisia (DeeDee) R. Bennis to three-year terms. They also added two newcomers, Eric Shade and Raina Thiele. Vice chair Greta L. Goto and director Joseph L. Chythlook leave the board as their terms end.

Nelson already held the chair title, but BBNC's recap does not say shareholders re-elected him to that post. The recap also does not name the board's officers, including a vice chair. BBNC's leadership page still shows the pre-meeting 12-member board, with Nelson as chair and Goto as vice chair.

BBNC has more than 12,000 Alaska Native shareholders with ties to the Bristol Bay region, it told a U.S. Senate committee in February.

The vote took place at the Oct. 3 annual meeting at Bristol Bay Borough School in Naknek. BBNC posted the results in its recap Tuesday. Nelson and Shade list Dillingham as home. Bennis and Thiele list Anchorage.

The recap thanks Goto and Chythlook "for their many years of dedicated service to BBNC, our shareholders, and the Bristol Bay region." It does not say whether either ran again, or whether a board committee, which recommends candidates for open seats, backed Shade and Thiele.

Shareholders elected Bennis, Chythlook, Goto and Nelson to terms ending in 2026 at the 2023 annual meeting, according to the corporation's 2023 annual meeting newsletter.

BBNC offered 39 cash prizes, ranging from $500 to $3,500 and totaling $36,000, to shareholders who voted early, online or by the final proxy deadline.

Vote totals, turnout and the full candidate field are not in the public recap. The proxy statement and results sit behind the shareholder login.

Four more seats come up next year. Peter Andrew Jr., Kimberly Johnson, Gerda Kosbruk and Hazel Nelson hold terms ending in 2027, according to the corporation's 2024 annual meeting newsletter.