Dave’s Story – From Driver Guide to Vice President!

I began my career with Princess as a seasonal driver/guide in Skagway, Alaska in 1985, while attending Pacific Lutheran University and finishing my Bachelor of Business Administration degree. Coincidentally, this was the same year Princess, under the Royal Hyway Tours moniker, began motorcoach operations in the state of Alaska. I have great memories of that summer; I met some people that I am still friends with today. I also had the opportunity to hike the Chilkoot Trail, a 33 mile trail that was used during the gold rush of 1898 (http://www.nps.gov/klgo/planyourvisit/chilkoottrail.htm).
During the summers of 1986 and 1987, I continued to work as a driver/guide, based in Fairbanks and driving the Whitehorse-Dawson-Skagway route. In the summer of 1987, I met my future wife, Laura, who was a Princess Outfitter working out of the Captain Bartlett Inn in her home town of Fairbanks at the time.
In January of 1988, I accepted a full time position in the Seattle corporate office as a Senior Accountant. Later that year, I passed all four parts of the CPA exam on the first attempt.
I have been on a dozen different cruises, including one from Athens, Greece to Mombasa, Kenya which culminated in a hot air balloon ride over the Serengeti and a marriage proposal (she said yes!). A few years later, Laura and I were married in St. John, USVI while cruising with a group of friends and family.
Today, I’m the Vice President of Finance and Administration for Holland America/Princess Alaska-Yukon. Working for this company has been a very rewarding experience; I’ve had the opportunity to work with many talented, friendly people while the company has experienced tremendous growth. I’ve been with the company for over twenty years now and I’m still as excited to be with the company as I was back in 1985 when I first started.