Ann Metcalfe's dual roles as Alaskan's Chief Financial Officer and Human Resource Manager give her a constant right-brain/left-brain workout.  Few are able to master both the finance and human sides of our business, but Ann makes it look easy.
Ann came to Juneau on the ferry MV Columbia in March 1976 to make a little money while taking time off from college.  As with many who come to Alaska for a "season," she hasn't left since!  Ann was attending Evergreen State College when a classmate originally from Juneau assured her that if she made the trip, she would get a job on her first day in town. 

"Sure enough, I walked into State of Alaska personnel office on the 10th Floor of the State Office Building - they asked me if I could type, and promptly sent me down to the 8th Floor to fill an open secretarial job," recalls Ann.  She later became the Controller at a regional corporation, but when she saw an ad in the paper for the Controller position at Alaskan Brewing, she admits she couldn't resist - who could?

Ann has been a member of the Brew Crew since 1997, starting as the Controller and then becoming CFO and HR Manager in 2008.  My how the 14 years have flown, Ann says that with the way things move so quickly around Alaskan, "It feels like I just started yesterday!"

Ann, her husband Mac, and their three children all enjoy the outdoors, and they don't mind putting in some work to enjoy it.  One of her favorite memories is hiking the Chilkoot Pass with the entire family. 

"They all trooped up the pass without complaining, which wasn't surprising since Mac and I were the sherpas. Our packs so heavy we may as well have been carrying stoves like the original stampeders in the Klondike Gold Rush!"

Ann loves to cook and is famous for her cookies among friends and family.  One of her recipes even won the ‘People's Choice' Award at the Brewery's very competitive crew potluck this year! And because somehow she's not busy enough, Ann is also an active member of a local Rotary club. She devotes a great deal of time to projects in the community and is will attend the Rotary International Conference in Bangkok in May 2012, followed by a tour of Thailand and Vietnam with Mac.

Another passion she shares with Mac is bicycling.  They've already cycled across many parts of the globe, and she hopes to one day bike across the entire United States.  While she prefers the man-powered versions now,  Ann's history on two wheels also involves the motorized sort. In February 1974 she drove a Honda 350 Motorcycle several hundred miles up the Interstate-5 when she transferred from Berkeley to Evergreen, using plastic bags on her feet for rain gear along the way.

Ann puts the endurance she's built during her cross-country cycling adventures to good use keeping things moving at Alaskan Brewing.

"But after either a long day at work or a long day on the road, I love that I get to unwind with my favorite beer and the best group of people anywhere."