Yakutat History Foundation
2013 Board of Directors
President
Bob Miller – Yakutat, Alaska
Local businessman, pilot and fisherman
Bob has been in Yakutat since 1973 and is raising his young family here. Through the 1970’s and 1980’s, Bob helped his dad with annuals and 100 hour inspections on Yakutat’s local aircraft fleet in the Yakutat WWII Hangar. In 2007, Bob and his family began renovation work on the hangar, opening a small fly shop in the building in 2008. Bob and his wife now own the Yakutat WWII Hangar and he created the Yakutat History Foundation as a way of honoring the history of the building, while helping to educate his own children and others about the tremendous sacrifices the Greatest Generation made to give us all the freedom we tend to take for granted.
Vice President
Bob Bechtold – Eagle River, Alaska
Army Corps of Engineers (retired)
Bob is a retired Army Major with 21 years of military service, including seven years as a US Navy Aviation Electronics Repairman of Grumman E-2C Hawkeye aircraft in the 1970s, and his final seven years in the US Army with the Alaska District Corps of Engineers, where he retired as a Major, after working on many multi-million dollar projects from Annette Island to Shemya AFB. Fortunately for Bob, he was able to escort Retired Brigadier General B. B. Talley and his wife Virginia on many military functions and learned of the value General Talley played in the preparations for the securing and retaking of our Alaska land back from our Asian foe in the early 1940s. In other words, we kicked their butts, and BG Talley was the brains behind our building of many airstrips on the Muskeg, Shemya, and the tidal bay of Adak, the Whittier Tunnel, many of the large hangars on Elmendorf AFB, and many other major projects. Bob is an avid fly fisherman, who has returned to Yakutat for ten straight years to fish for Steelhead and other fish species, and to hang out with cool people, like Tanis and Eden Miller.
Secretary
Mark Lium – Tukwila, Washington
Commercial Real Estate
Mark entered the aviation industry in 1990 and has been a major influence over many industry developments over the past two decades. In addition to the Yakutat History Foundation, Mark created and manages a nonprofit corporation that recruits, trains and supports community volunteer groups in his home town. He currently manages with one of the largest commercial real estate firms in the world, but his love for aviation and community runs deep.
Treasurer
Ryan Baker – Yakutat, Alaska
Military Veteran
Ryan has a 12 year military aviation background from the AV8B to the C-130, in aircraft maintenance and Engineering. Formerly the Station Manager for Alaska Airlines Inc. in Yakutat, he now maintains the airport and aviation facilities infrustructure for the State of Alaska Department of Transportation. His family served in the European Theater in the 8th Air Force.
Director
Jeff Jordan – Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Pilot and businessman
Jeff received his private pilot license just after high school, and has been flying ever since. He co-owned Cascade Air (2005-2009), with Val McCollough, which operated C-47 cargo aircraft in and around Yakutat, Alaska. Jeff holds multiple type ratings and has flown numerous radial engine aircraft including the Beaver, Beechcraft 18, and DC3. He also owned a North American T-28B which he used for air shows, and formation flight. He is an FAA licensed A&P mechanic that has been very involved in the maintenance and restoration of several aircraft. Jeff is currently a Captain for AirAsia flying the Airbus 320, but plans to return to Seattle shortly to resume his love affair with Aviation and specifically warbirds.
Director
Matt Laver – Eagle River, Alaska
Commercial pilot, retired military
Matt is a commercial helicopter pilot and flies throughout Alaska. He fell in love with Yakutat and the Situk River while steelheading here and now hopes to give back to the community that seems to treat the Situk like a drainage ditch. Boy, these descriptions are really going downhill at this point, but I’m just practicing how to use the Dreamweaver software for the website and we can always fix this later. Sorry Matt for me running out of steam on your profile.
Alaska Warbird Museum Staff
Museum Acting Director - Veronica Keithley
Veronica Keithley serves as the Acting Executive Director for the Yakutat History Foundation. Originally from Oklahoma, Veronica adopted Yakutat as her second home when she became involved in the development of the Foundation and the Alaska Warbird Museum. Veronica has a background in non-profit foundations and their procedural intricacies, helping to move forward the foundation Board's many wonderful ideas. Veronica volunteers her time to the Foundation as she completes her law degree in Oregon.
Museum Acting Secretary - Christine Miller
Christine Miller is the foundation's acting secretary. Christine co-owns the Yakutat WWII Hangar that houses the Alaska Warbird Museum and has managed the hangar business with her husband (foundation President Bob Miller) since 2010. Christine has a long history in the aviation industry, working with travel agencies, PSA, USAir, Horizon Air and Alaska Airlines. Christine also spent several years with the Port of Seattle at Sea-tac International Airport, overseeing FAA compliance and security.
Museum Curator - unfilled
Museum Historian - unfilled
Museum Archivist - unfilled
Museum Educator - unfilled
Museum Director of Aircraft Maintenance – Charlie Russell
The foundation is pleased to welcome Charlie Russell
to our team. Charlie is an A.I. aircraft mechanic with decades of experience working on Yakutat's motley collection of aircraft. Charlie currently works for Alaska Airlines. The Russell family has a rich history in aviation, with roots going back to the "Great War". Jim Russell served with the Lafayette Escadrille in France. The Alaska Aviation Museum in Anchorage has the original Indian head dress insignia from an Escadrille aircraft from the Russell estate in their collection.
Museum Facilities Maintenance - unfilled
Museum CPA - Shaffer & Company CPAS, LLC
Museum Attorney - Barton Tiernan, Esq.