APEI News
Office Manager and Admin Assistant Depart APEI
APEI’s Office Manager, Carmen Zabel, is moving with her family to Eastern Washington; her last day with APEI is Thursday, May 31. Carmen has been with the company for four years. Originally hired as the Administrative Assistant, she was eventually promoted to her current position.
APEI’s current Administrative Assistant, Allison Rhyner, is also leaving. Allison’s last day at APEI was Wednesday, May 23.
Both Carmen and Allison will be sorely missed by the rest of the APEI team. Their hard work and positive attitudes have made the office a better place to work for all of us. We wish them all the best in their future endeavors.
Loss Control Seminar to be held April 27
APEI is proud to offer a spring loss control seminar in Anchorage on April 27, 2007. We will cover several general risk management subjects as well as property and workers' compensation. The seminar will be held at Hotel Captain Cook and once again, APEI is offering to pay for the hotel rooms for up to two employees for each member entity that attends. Download the details.
APEI's Long-time Finance Director, Bonita Williams, Retires
Bonita Williams, the sole remaining member of the original Alaska Schools Insurance Company (ASIC) team, has decided to put aside her red pencil and enjoy life to the fullest. Bonita was the director of ASIC from 1990 to 1996 and then returned to APEI in 2000. She will truly be missed and impossible to replace. We wish her the best in her new adventure.
Hooper Bay Holds Celebration for New School
APEI staff members Margot Knuth and Mike Lary attended the grand opening of Hooper Bay's new school. In this photo, students are performing dances for their guests in their new gymnasium.
APEI Staff Attends Broker Office Opening
Jeff Bush, APEI Executive Director, and Margot Knuth, APEI Deputy Director, met in January with APEI's brokers, Alliant Insurance Services, at the opening of their new Seattle offices. Pictured include Jeff (seated,left); Margot (seated, center); Deb Bovee, Alliant, Seattle (seated right); Ralph Hurst, President of Alliant's public entity arm, California (standing, second from left); Jerry Hall, Alliant COO, California (standing center); and Tom Long, APEI's broker (standing, second from right).
New Year’s Resolution: Follow the Safety Checklist
to Combat School Violence
As we start this New Year, two school shootings have occurred in the United States in the first ten days. Not a very good start. We have learned some lessons from previous shootings, and they should cause us to pause and refocus on this serious issue.
One lesson learned is that no school, regardless of size is immune from the possibility of violence. That means that we all must make a good faith effort to have in place appropriate policies and procedures, should a violent situation arise at one of our schools. Although it is the human and personal issues that cause most incidents, we have also found that good systems and practice for emergencies does make a difference. Failure to recognize these lessons came at a great cost to the communities where the recent dramas played out. Let’s all work at applying them, and hopefully we can avoid experiencing this type of tragedy.
APEI has developed a School Safety Checklist that can help you evaluate your current school safety program for violence prevention. For help with any school safety matters, please feel free to call on your APEI Loss Control Coordinator Michael Lary or call APEI toll-free at 877-586-2734.
Regional Loss Control Seminar Held in Wrangell
On December 8-11 APEI provided loss control training in Wrangell, hosted by the Wrangell Public Schools. The training was attended by employees from Wrangell Schools, the City of Wrangell, Petersburg City Schools and the Lower Yukon School District.
Over the course of those few days, attendees participated in a wide variety of trainings:
- School maintenance personnel participated in a review of fire and general safety issues
- Teachers and staff attended trainings on Harassment Free Workplace, Workplace Violence and Safety Responsibilities
- School board members and school leaders were trained in Employment Liability, Safety Responsibilities, and APEI’s new Loss Control and Premium Credit Program
- School and municipal administration employees attended sessions that covered Employment Liability, the Loss Control and Premium Credit Program, the School Safety Checklist and Active Safety Committees
- Secretarial and administrative staff attended sessions that covered Ergonomics and the School Safety Checklist
- Facility and custodial employees were trained in Chemical Hazards, Lifting and Back Safety, Electrical Safety, and Preventing Slips, Trips and Falls
Thanks to the Wrangell School District and their wonderful people for making this a fun and successful event. We particularly want to thank Pam Roope for her hard work at getting the word out to everyone.
To schedule a similar training program in your area, contact Mike Lary.
After Fire, Hooper Bay School Back in Session
Last August, Hooper Bay residents could only watch in horror as much of their village went up in flames. A blaze that started in the school quickly spread to nearby homes and businesses. By the time the fire was out, dozens of people were homeless and the community had no school.
Fortunately, no one was hurt and community, state, and federal resources were mobilized quickly. APEI, the school district’s insurer, knew that speedy rebuilding was crucial; otherwise, students in this southwest Alaska community would not be able attend school in their village this winter. APEI helped the district expedite the completion of the construction of their new school, allowing the school to open earlier. APEI also provided funds to build eight units of teacher housing.
APEI Executive Director Jeff Bush described the process this way: “Seldom, if ever, has a claim of this magnitude been resolved so quickly. We are proud of the way this situation was handled. Restoring the community's educational program required commitment and hard work from all parties, including the school district, its broker, APEI, the professional adjuster, and the excess property insurance carrier.”
To the delight of students, teachers and community members, a beautiful new school opened its doors in early December, only four months after the devastating fire. Read more about the new school.