Southeast Conference annual report highlights demographic, economic trends

By the time the fog finally dissipated Tuesday afternoon, the 56th annual Southeast Conference (SEC) was already underway at Wrangell's Nolan Center.

Poor visibility prevented the appearance of the conference's opening speaker, Alaska Governor Sean Parnell, but a number of other interesting presenters took up the slack.

This year's speakers included industry figures, tribal leaders, government officials, resident experts, salespeople and civic organizers. Issue for issue they addressed shared regional concerns and possible solutions.

At that forefront was Meilani Schijvens, director of Rain Co...