In Collaboration with the City of Valdez, AK, Office of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services, The Port Valdez Company wishes to honor and recognize its mutual founders George Cheever Hazelet, and Andrew Jackson Meals, including those indigenous people that came before them or aided them in the founding of Valdez, Alaska with a public art statement titled VALDEZ RISING – SUACIT at the entrance of the newly established “Meals Hill Parkland” in Valdez, Alaska.
In October 2019, The Port Valdez Company, Inc. (PVC) sold and transferred 184 acres of land owned by the founders’ descendants, known as “Meals Hill”, to the City of Valdez, to become a conservation easement. The land will remain undeveloped and be used as a protected wildlife conservation habitat and public recreation area.
The Great Land Trust facilitated the purchase of the property using Exxon Valdez Oil Spill (EVOS) Trustee Council funds. The Port Valdez Company worked with the Great Land Trust, the Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Coastal Program, the State of Alaska, and the City of Valdez to complete the transfer of the land. The City of Valdez will manage the new recreation area that recognizes its founders and represents the many Alaska Partnerships that ushered the Alaska Territory into statehood and these United States of America.
Any amount of donation is welcomed. $25, $50, $100, $250, $500 or other. Your support is very much appreciated. This public art experience will be magical and one to come see!