When I first heard that Alaska Christian College (ACC) had a brand-new athletic facility, I was glad for them, but I might have stifled a bit of a yawn. Educational institutions often tout new facilities and initiatives, so the story didn’t seem unusual at first glance. It wasn’t until I had a phone conversation with ACC President Keith Hamilton that I began to understand the significance of the project itself, as well as all the layers of both divine intervention and community involvement necessary to turn it from an idea to a reality.
It started with a journal entry back in 2002.
“The students want a gym,” wrote Hamilton in his journal.
For years, incoming students had been asking whether ACC had a gym. In Alaskan winters, due to harsh weather conditions and few daylight hours, indoor sports like basketball and volleyball play an especially important role in bolstering the physical, mental, and emotional health of youth and young adults. According to Hamilton, the school identified a four-acre tract of land adjacent to their Soldotna property that seemed perfect for a new gymnasium facility.
But they couldn’t move forward on trying to put together the money to purchase the land, because they were lacking a key bit of intel.
“We prayed, ‘God show us who owns this piece of land because we don’t know who owns it,’” Hamilton told me over the phone. “We were trying every which way to get an email or a phone number and nothing came through.”
It took several years, but Hamilton was finally able to contact the owner after a fateful meeting in an unlikely place. An ACC volunteer was in the airport in Minnesota, planning to fly back to Soldotna after a visit to Duluth and happened to strike up a conversation with a man in the restroom. After a bit of small talk, the man told the volunteer that he happened to own a piece of property in Soldotna. The volunteer excitedly got on his phone and immediately called Hamilton.
“I kid you not, the owner of this property is in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul International bathroom,” Hamilton said, relaying the volunteer’s urgent message.
Within a short period of time, a meeting was arranged. The man had purchased the land with the intent to flip it, but somehow Hamilton initiated a deal to purchase the land from him for a modest $52,000.
One miracle down, several more to go.
According to estimates from architects, the price tag to build the gymnasium would be about $18 million. But thanks to a lot of volunteer effort and generous donations, the actual expense ended up totaling about $3.2 million.
One major turning point was when Hamilton met someone who was willing to make a donation. “He didn’t know anything about ACC, or about the Covenant, really. He was just a friend of a friend. But he said, ‘Hey, you know what? If you can raise a million dollars, I’ll give you a million.’”
Sure enough, God provided. Between the board, the staff, and the president’s advisory council, 99 people combined to make pledges that surpassed the $1 million mark.
In addition to financial contributions, the project benefited from in-kind donations of labor and services. Kuna Engineering and Klauder and Company Architects provided pro bono design work, and several transportation companies donated shipping, traditionally an expensive endeavor in Alaska.
Dick Ruckman, a local steel vendor, caught the vision and decided to sell all the needed steel at cost. It was a generous promise when it was made back in 2019—and became even more generous after steel prices spiked 35% following the pandemic. Nevertheless, Ruckman honored the initial bid, helping to keep ACC’s costs low.
Another significant challenge arose when the engineer determined that the foundation would require four feet of gravel instead of the initially anticipated six inches. The estimated cost for that unexpected expense was $400,000. However, Doug Norris, the owner of a neighboring gravel pit, offered a solution, which Hamilton recounted. “He said, ‘But you know, your property backs up right against mine, and you have the same rock in your ground that I have in my ground. Why don’t you just mine it yourself?’” Norris lent the college a bulldozer and a steam roller, and volunteers from Minnesota even purchased a dump truck to expedite the work.
Now that the gym is a reality, Hamilton can already see the impact it’s making on the campus. “Those long winter months, to be able to have a place to come out of their dorms and to hang out…it’s a real win for them.”
Given the communal effort it took to get to the finish line, I’d call it a win for the whole ACC community—and given the holiday season, certainly something to be thankful for.
