American Seafoods' Community Advisory Board Celebrates its 10th Anniversary.

A monumental milestone: a decade of giving back to Alaska communities

SEATTLE -- The Community Advisory Board (CAB) of American Seafoods Company LLC, one of the nation's largest at-sea seafood processors, is celebrating its 10th anniversary of supporting Alaskan communities through grants.

Since 1997, the CAB has granted more than $700,000 in 635 separate awards to worthy organizations and programs in nearly every region of the state. The program awards $75,000 annually to various Alaskan community projects that tackle issues such as hunger, housing, safety, education, research, natural resources and cultural activities.

In the past 10 years, the CAB has given more than 181 academic scholarships totaling more than $142,000 to students in Alaska. Additionally, the CAB has helped fund organizations such as food banks, youth programs, search and rescue teams, senior citizen programs, local police and fire departments, trade organizations and Native associations.

The CAB first met on May 27, 1997 at the Captain Cook Hotel in Anchorage. Founding Board members included Shirley Marquardt, Linda Kozak, Harvey Samuelson, Dale Lindsey, John Binkley, Bryon Mallott, Carl Merculief and John Litten. Currently on the Board are John R. Merculief, Doug Ward, Ken Adams, Ronalda Olivera, Peter Andrews, Carl Brady, Shirley Marquardt and Linda Kozak.

"American Seafoods Company's Community Advisory Board's grant program is a great way to reward the people and organizations contributing to the improvement of their communities, and we are honored to have played a role in helping them over the last decade," said company president Inge Andreassen. "In the future, we will continue to create opportunities for the people and organizations in the communities we serve."

The next CAB meeting will be held in February and will continue the tradition of helping organizations and communities throughout Alaska fund their programs, Andreassen said. Applications for those grants are not yet being accepted.

About American Seafoods Group and American Seafoods Company

American Seafoods Group LLC, the parent company of American Seafoods Company, is one of the world's leading companies in the harvesting, processing and distribution of quality seafood. The company harvests a variety of fish species and processes the catch into an array of finished products, both on board its fleet of state-of-the-art vessels and at its facilities in New Bedford, Mass., and Greensboro and Demopolis, Ala.