Sbauna Lee works the crowd at The Great Alaska Lumberjack Show in Ketchikan.
January 1, 1970
Name: Shauna Lee
Title: Shore Excursion and Marketing Manager, The Great Alaskan Lumberjack Show, Ketchikan.
Her business: We present a live action competition featuring world champion athletes of the sport. The Great Alaskan Lumberjack Show operates five months of the year primarily for cruise ship passengers. We also operate a large retail store, which carries north woods clothing, authentic Alaskan souvenirs and Christmas ornaments.
Shauna's first tourism job: Susan Bell hired me as the Event Coordinator for the Ketchikan Civic Center in 1994. Rob Scheer, the owner of the Great Alaskan Lumberjack show, heard me singing at a concert once and asked me to sing the National Anthem at one of the shows. I did, and then started working for him on a full-time basis. That was 8 years ago.
The best part of Shauna's job: The company and the people who work there are like one big family and make the environment fun. My daughter works at the show, too. I really enjoy that we put out a great product that people are excited and happy to see it.
Shauna's favorite cruise passenger story: One time a woman came to the Ketchikan Convention and Visitors Bureau while I was working there and told me she had lost her bag but needed to catch a tour she had signed up for. I promised to track down her bag and sent her on her way. I made the call, found the bag, and took it back to the ship with her name on it. I found out two weeks later the woman donated $200 in my name to a local charity.
Shauna's thoughts on supporting cruise industry: Most people don't realize how the cruise industry trickles down to every man and woman in Alaska. It's really important for everyone to remember the vital role tourism plays in our economy and how it has grown exponentially in the past 10 years while other industries have dwindled. It is still astounding to me that people in Southeast Alaska don't think that tourism affects them. With the passing of the cruise initiative, we're sending messages to the cruise lines that we don't want them here. Alaska is throwing road blocks while other countries around the world are opening up their doors. People don't realize that these actions can be the tip of the ice berg and the industry can decide that they don't need to come here anymore. The industry is my bread and butter- it pays my mortgage.