Gerald Albert received the Patti L. Hyslop award at the Tanana Chiefs Conference annual meeting last week.
Albert, 47, was recognized for overcoming his addiction to alcohol. He stopped drinking in 1993, after several close calls with death.
“Every day, I would get up and there would be alcohol beside me and I didn’t know where it was coming from or how I got it," Albert told The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.
Albert is now considered a pillar of the small Athabascan village of Northway, near the Canadian border. He works for the Northway Village Council and is a transportation planner for the Bureau of Indian Affairs. He coaches the girls basketball team at Northway High School.
More importantly, he's more committed to his marriage and his family. His wife, Doreen, left him when he was heavily drinking but came back when he became sober. “We finally got to know each other better and are living a healthier lifestyle with our kids,” he said.
Get the Story:Northway man receives Hyslop Award for triumph over alcoholism (The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner 3/17)
Hyslop helped others fight addictions with an open heart (The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner 3/17)
