Launched in 1979 from a small apartment in a section of downtown Anchorage known as Bootlegger's Cove, General Communication Inc. has grown from a three-person operation that advertised its services on the side of a beat-up Volkswagen van to become Alaska's premier telecom, broadband, cable and wireless provider, with 2,300 employees and a dominant position in one of the harshest markets in the country. Read senior finance editor Mike Farrell's profile of the "MCN" Independent Operator of the Year and these related stories from the July 10 issue.