Senator Stedman Legislative Wrap Up at Chamber Luncheon

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Speaker
Senator Bert Stedman

Presentation
Legislative Wrap Up

Biography
Bert Stedman is a fourth-generation Alaskan. His great-grandfather, Charles Stedman, moved to Juneau from Washington State in 1902. In the hundred years since, the Stedman family has shown an enduring commitment to Southeast Alaska.

In 1908, the Stedman family homesteaded in Kake, where Charles operated a fox farm and worked as a hunting guide and shipwright. Bert’s grandfather, Ken Stedman, his father, Ken Jr., and his mother, Bernice Espeseth, were born in Southeast Alaska. His mother’s family migrated from Norway in the 1920s and settled in Petersburg, where his mother was born. Bernice’s family and their descendants have fished out of Petersburg for 85 years. Bert is named after his mother’s father.

Ken Stedman Jr. met Bernice in high school. After graduating from Petersburg High School, Ken enlisted in the U.S. Army. Bert and his sister, Larine, were born at Elmendorf Air Force Base in Anchorage, where the family was stationed. After Ken Jr.’s Army service, the family returned to Petersburg, where Bert’s younger brother, Karl, was born.

In 1969, Bert’s father bought an independent insurance agency in Sitka and moved the family there. Stedman Insurance continues to operate throughout Southeast Alaska and has been run by Bert’s brother Karl. His sister Larine lives in Petersburg.

Bert Stedman attended Sitka High School, where he was a founding member of the Sitka swim team. He spent his summers commercial fishing out of Petersburg; he long-lined and seined throughout Southeast Alaska. After graduating in 1974, he worked in the heavy construction industry and continued to fish commercially for several years. Over his fishing career, Bert fished from Dixon Entrance to the Bering Sea.

Bert attended Lane Community College and the University of Oregon in Eugene. He studied business and finance and in 1985 graduated from the U of O with a bachelor’s degree in business administration. He returned to Sitka and founded Pioneer Capital Management. Bert has successfully operated this personal investment services firm since 1986.

Bert met his wife Lureen in Oregon. They were married in 1991. Their daughter, Susie, was born in Sitka and attends Sitka High School.

Bert has been active in local government. He served eight years on the Sitka Planning and Zoning Commission and four years on the Sitka Assembly, including one as deputy mayor. Bert was appointed chairman of the Sitka Permanent Fund Committee. As chairman from 2000-2001, he was instrumental in modernizing management of Sitka’s Permanent Fund and moving it to a percent of market value (POMV) management style.

Bert is an active member of the Sitka and Ketchikan Chambers of Commerce, Elks Lodge, Masonic Lodge, Sons of Norway and the National Rifle Association. He is a Paul Harris fellow and former Rotarian.