Local manager named one of '40 under 40'

Juneau businessman Jim Scholz, 38, has been chosen by the Alaska Journal of Commerce and the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce as one of Alaska's top 40 professionals under the age of 40.

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Scholz and 39 other businesspeople around the state were honored with a ceremony and banquet hosted by the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce in Anchorage on Monday.

"We give the awards to find people who are involved in the business community and the community in general - the future leaders who are rapidly becoming current leaders of our state," said Ed Bennett, managing editor of the Alaska Journal of Commerce in Anchorage.

Scholz is the Southeast regional sales manager for Northland Services, a barge company based in Seattle that recently merged with Boyer Barge Lines, a Ketchikan-based transport company.

He also is president of the Juneau Chamber of Commerce, on the board of directors for the Alaska Chamber of Commerce and a member of the Juneau Planning Commission.

"I guess it's really nice to feel that I'm supported by peers in the business community for the things I've been doing," Scholz said. "That just encourages me to continue with my civic, pro-business attitude towards things."

He said having access to Southeast Alaska's resources is a key issue for business in the region.

"Infrastructure is probably the most important thing for development," he said. "We need to have roads to our resources. I think a road out of Juneau is important for mining, fishing and keeping the capital in Juneau."

Jamie Parsons, executive director of the Juneau Chamber of Commerce, said the local chamber nominated Scholz because he is one of only a few people in town with such a resume.

"There are few people at any age that concurrently serve on a local planning commission, (are) not only active in both state and local chambers of commerce but serve on those respective boards of directors, serve on a local parks and recreation advisory committee and actively participate on a regional transportation committee as complex as the one in Southeast Alaska," Parsons wrote in his nomination letter for Scholz.

The Alaska Journal of Commerce is online at www.alaskajournal.com/.

Christine Schmid can be reached at cschmid@juneauempire.com.