Shauntel Bruner-Alvanna is the new Visitor Center Director
Shauntel Bruner-Alvanna in February took the position of the new director for the Nome Visitor Center. Now with Nome thawing out and tourism season on its way, she’s ready to take promoting Nome as a destination to the next level.
“I really want to put Nome on the map,” Shauntel told the Nugget in an interview about her new role. “Obviously, we will have our capital growth from the Port expansion, but I see beyond that.”
Arriving in Nome over ten years ago, she stepped off the plane with her daughter Audrey and two job offers. One at the city office as a secretary and one working as a French translator for Robin Johnson at Nome Discovery Tours.
From her first day here, BrunerAlvanna was interested in Nome culture, learning as much as she could about the fascinating place that foreign tourists, mud researchers and birders wielding huge cameras all seemed drawn to. She met her nowhusband within the first year of living in Nome.
Like many Nomeites, Bruner-Alvanna has held many jobs around town, her latest as a caretaker at the Midnite Sun Reindeer Ranch. Before getting the Visitor Center director position, she was thinking of starting her own touring business in Nome, now she’s ready to do both.
“I love talking about Nome, so to get paid for it is just the ultimate dream!” she said.
Seeing a need for more Indigenous
culture education, she plans for her tourism business to do just that, with help and guidance from indigenous friends in the community. This summer she will establish Beyond Captured Tours and prepare the Visitor Center for the nine cruise ships set to dock in Nome bringing over 4,592 people to town. Having tackled the Iditarod rush, Bruner-Alvanna is preparing for summer tourism to begin in two ways, more activities and more cultural focus.
“I see us not as like the new Fairbanks because we’re cooler than that, but we kind of appeal to the same clientele, the millennials, the outdoor folks, people who are looking for that authentic off-the-grid experience,” she said.
Shauntel thinks the best way to get people to love Nome is to get them out of town and into the country to see the area from a different perspective.
Creating an updated list of all the local businesses and events around Nome is the first step, Shauntel said she wants to make sure the cruise passengers never lack options in town. Often people on the ships are just passing through not staying more than a night. “I want to figure out how to get people to stay longer,” Bruner-Alvanna said. “We can get creative so people are coming back and spending more time off the boat and more money here, too.”
The Port of Nome expansion is set to begin construction next year. Because of this, many entities in town are holding discussions how the change will impact Nome’s image. With the port introducing more people to Nome. What will town look like? How will it be perceived? Those questions are on the top of mind for Nome panels like the city’s planning commission.
The Visitor Center is the face of town and Bruner-Alvanna said it’s important to have the community give input. With plans to set up an open forum to hear from Nomeites, she hopes to grow the season of ship docking into a more mutually beneficial relationship for Nome. The growth also means increased jobs for youth in the region. “They’re [college students] all here in the summer and I want them to be passionate about Nome and give them more reasons to come back when they’re done with school,” Shauntel said.
With lots of big ideas to transform the Visitor Center and tourism in Nome, Shauntel is most excited to do what she loves most, “I can’t wait to have people come in and just talk about Nome.”