From the publisher: Balance hard to come by in world filled with opportunities to do more

December 29th 8:23 pm | Jason Evans    

Last year at this time, I told myself I should not be working this hard.

A year ago, five of us sat on in our third-floor office in midtown Anchorage. It was just after 5 a.m. and the Federal Reserve just opened and we huddled over a computer screen to watch numbersmovearound. We were one of several teams transferring money to complete a complex tax credit transaction. In 15 minutes the transfer was complete and then it was time to wait. These tax credit deals were important, not only because we got a fee to put them together, but also they benefited a project in rural Alaska. This one was going to the Maniilaq Elder Care facility in Kotzebue.

Ian Erlich, the CEO of Maniilaq, had been in Anchorage for several days waiting to get this deal completed. The closing was delayed over and over and this had to be done by year-end or it may not get closed. Now it was New Year's Eve. Ian promised his kids he would be home for New Year's evening celebrations.

As we waited, I told myself I had to work fewer hours in the New Year. It took months of long hours to get this deal to close. We worked weekends and during holidays. I felt like I missed out on a lot during the past three months.

Now a year later, just days before the New Year, I am telling myself I need to work fewer hours. Over the summer there was another important tax credit deal, another big transaction, another deal to take up weekends and holidays. But again, it was another deal to close to earn a fee and benefit rural Alaska. That has been my life these past few years. Work on complex deals that take a ton of time, but have great benefits to people in rural Alaska.

Over the last year, there were a lot of changes in our lives. We were blessed with our first child, a baby girl who is pictured with me in the column each week. We bought a new home and after nine months, still need a dinning room table. We bought a business, the newspapers including this one. I was elected chairman of my village corporation.

Instead of taking things off the table I think we are always adding to it. We are offered to do more than we did before and it is hard to make things balance. Whether it's coaching our kids' sports, volunteering with our search and res- cue team, participating in dog or snow machine races, or helping out at the church, there is always more we can do for others and our communities.

So maybe it's not about working less hours in the New Year. Maybe it's about trying to work hard and find a balance in life so we have the time to not only accomplish those things that we feel motivated and obligated to do for our friends and community, but also set aside time to spend with our loved ones, not to mention get a second to relax once in a while. I'll let you know next year if I figure it out.

 

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