Calista shareholders will decide this weekend whether to issue shares to thousands of so-called “afterborns” – those born after December 18, 1971, the year Alaska Native Corporations were formed. The final vote happens Saturday corporation’s annual regional meeting in Kasigluk.
Shareholders will be able to vote in-person at the meeting, but they’ve also been voting online and through the mail. Thom Leonard is communications manager for Calista. He says the corporation first offered online voting last year, however, less than 3 percent of the proxy votes were submitted online.
“The final numbers aren’t in for this year, but it’s looking to be many, many more times that. The number of shareholders participating in online voting has grown tremendously, which is very exciting,” Leonard said.
If shareholders approve opening up enrollment, descendants and those who could have but didn’t enroll in 1971 will be able to enroll. An estimated 25,000 new shareholders would triple the number of shares that make up the corporation. A three-fold increase in shares means per-share dividends would drop to a third of their previous value. This year’s annual dividend averaged about $380.
Leading up to the vote, the company met in person with shareholders in 15 communities and Anchorage. Leonard says they wanted to make sure shareholders know how including descendants would change the geographic makeup of shareholders.
“Right now about 61 percent of shareholders live in the Calista region. If this passes, we anticipate that that percentage will drop to about 55 percent,” Leonard said.
If more shareholders are added, holding annual meetings could also get more complicated.
“If the number of shareholders increases dramatically, that certainly could be a challenge to make sure the 50 percent plus quorum requirement is met,” Leonard said.
If enrollment is opened up, Calista would join other corporations such as the Arctic Slope Regional Corporation, Doyon and Sealaska — all regional corporations that issue shares to descendants. There are currently about 13,000 Calista shareholders.
