Knowles names Bill Cheek to board of children’s fund

Petroleum News Alaska Staff

Bill Cheek, Chairman of the Board of Natchiq Inc., has been appointed by Gov. Tony Knowles to the board of the Alaska Children’s Trust. The board oversees a $9.6 million

trust that works to improve the status of children and healthy families in Alaska. Interest earned by the trust is awarded each year to programs to prevent child abuse and neglect, and strengthen families.

“Bill Cheek has a proven track record in the business world and a commitment to Alaska’s children, and I am very happy to have him join the board of the Alaska Children’s Trust,” Knowles said in early October.

A subsidiary of the Arctic Slope Regional Corp., the governor’s office described Natchiq as “the number one oil and gas contractor in Alaska and the 15th largest such company in the nation.”

Created in 1988, the Children’s Trust remained dormant until Knowles sponsored a $6 million deposit in 1996. Additional funds have been raised over the year from donations — mushing, golfing, and cruising events — and the sale of heirloom birth certificates and special license plates.

“As a businessman and a parent, I know it’s critical to invest in healthy children and strong families,” Cheek said. “That’s why Natchiq has been a strong supporter of the Children’s Trust from the beginning and I am pleased to work with Gov. Knowles and the members of the trust board to continue the success of this important program.”

Cheek fills one of four public seats on the 7-member board previously held by Alyeska Pipeline president Bob Malone.