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Commission Member Bios
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The Local Boundary Commission consists of five members appointed by the Governor. One member is appointed from each of Alaska's four Judicial Districts. The Chairperson
is appointed at-large. 
Local Boundary Map
Kermit L. Ketchum, Chair, At-Large Appointment
Kermit Ketchum June 25, Governor Palin appointed Kermit L. Ketchum as Chair of the LBC, effective July 1, 2007.  Commissioner Ketchum succeeds Darroll Hargraves, who retired effective June 30, 2007.  Commissioner Ketchum is a resident of the greater Wasilla area in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough.  He received his bachelor’s degree in business administration and has undertaken graduate studies in computer science.  Commissioner Ketchum served 21 years in the U.S. Air Force, retiring from that career in 1976.   He subsequently worked for the University of Alaska Matanuska-Susitna College from 1976 to 1997, and was an Associate Professor in Computer Science at the College from 1987 to 1997.
Georgianna Zimmerle, First Judicial District, Ketchikan
Georgianna Zimmerle
Commissioner Zimmerle is a life-long resident of Ketchikan. She earned an Associate of Arts degree from the University of Alaska in May 1985.  Commissioner Zimmerle was appointed to the LBC on March 25, 2003, and was reappointed to her second term in January 2006. An Alaska Native, Commissioner Zimmerle is a Tlingit of the Raven moiety and her Indian name is JEEX-GA-TEET´.  She is also Haida from her paternal family.  Commissioner Zimmerle worked for the Ketchikan Gateway Borough for 27 years, serving five years as the Borough Manager and 22 years in the Borough Clerk’s Office.  Commissioner Zimmerle served as the General Manager of Ketchikan Indian Community for 2½ years.  She is currently retired and working part-time for Tongass Federal Credit Union.  Her current term on the LBC ends January 31, 2011.
Dr. Robert Harcharek, Vice-Chair, Second Judicial District, Barrow
Robert Harcharek
Commissioner Harcharek was appointed to the LBC on July 18, 2002 by then-Governor Knowles.  Governor Murkowski reappointed him to the LBC on March 24, 2004.  In April 2007, his fellow commissioners elected him Vice-Chair of the Commission. Mr. Harcharek has lived and worked on the North Slope for more than 25 years. He has been a member of the Barrow City Council since 1993 and a member of the North Slope Borough School Board since 1999. He is currently the Community and Capital Improvement Projects (CIP) Planner for the recently created North Slope Borough Department of Public Works. Mr. Harcharek earned a Ph.D. in International and Development Education from the University of Pittsburgh in 1977. He has served as North Slope Borough Senior Planner and Social Science Researcher, CIP and Economic Development Planner, Community Affairs Coordinator for the North Slope Borough Department of Public Safety, Director of the North Slope Higher Education Center, Socio-cultural Scientist for the North Slope Borough Department of Wildlife Management, Director of Technical Assistance for Upkeagvik Inupiat Corporation, and Dean of the Inupiat University of the Arctic. Commissioner Harcharek served for three years as a Peace Corps volunteer in Thailand and was also a Fulbright-Hays Professor of Multicultural Development in Thailand. He is a member of numerous boards of directors, including the Alaska Association of School Boards and the Alaska School Activities Association. His current term on the LBC ends January 31, 2009.
Lynn Chrystal, Third Judicial District, Valdez
Lynn Chrystal

Governor Palin appointed Lynn Chrystal to the Local Boundary Commission as the member from the Third Judicial District, effective March 27, 2007.  Mr. Chrystal is a former Mayor and member of the City Council of the City of Valdez.  He has lived in Valdez for the past 32 years.  Mr. Chrystal retired in 2002 from the federal government after 4 years in the Air Force and 36 years with the National Weather Service.  He has worked in Tin City, Barrow, Yakutat, and Valdez.  He has served on the boards of several civic groups and other organizations including the Resource Development Council, Pioneers of Alaska, and Copper Valley Electric Cooperative.  Commissioner Chrystal is retired, but teaches on a substitute basis at Valdez schools.  His current term on the LBC ends January 31, 2012.

Lavell Wilson , Fourth Judicial District, Fairbanks

Lavell Wilson, a resident of Tok, serves from the Fourth Judicial District.  Governor Palin appointed him to the Commission on June 4, 2007.  Commissioner Wilson is a former member of the State House of Representatives, serving the area outside of the Fairbanks North Star Borough in the Eighth State Legislature. He moved to Alaska in 1949 and has lived in the Northway/Tok area since that time.  Commissioner Wilson attended college at the University of Alaska Fairbanks and Brigham Young University.  Commissioner Wilson worked as a licensed aircraft mechanic, commercial pilot, and flight instructor for 40 Mile Air from 1981- 1995, retiring as the company’s chief pilot and office manager.  Mr. Wilson became a licensed big game guide in 1963.  He has also worked as a surveyor, teamster, and construction laborer, retiring from the Operating Engineer’s Local 302 in Fairbanks.  As a member of Local 302, he worked for 12 years on the U.S. Air Force’s White Alice system, the ballistic missile defense site at Clear, and the radar site at Cape Newenham.   He has also taught a course at the University of Alaska for the past few years on the history of the Upper Tanana Valley.  His current term on the LBC ends January 31, 2010.

For more information about the Local Boundary Commission, contact:

Melissa Taylor
Division of Community & Regional Affairs
Department of Community, Commerce, and Economic Development
550 West 7th Ave., Suite 1770, Anchorage, AK 99501-3510
Phone: 269-4587 FAX: 269-4539
E-mail: melissa.taylor1@alaska.gov
Website: http://www.commerce.state.ak.us/dca/lbc/lbc.htm

Please Note: Information provided on this site is updated continually, please check regularly for the most current information

 



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