Race volunteers in awe

March 14, 2006

JOEL DAVIDSON/Frontiersman reporter

NOME - The dog lot was quiet and empty in Nome Monday afternoon, with the fastest dog teams still a couple hundred miles out of town.

It's a mistake, however, to think it was at all quiet on Alaska's western front in the final hours of Iditarod XXXIV.

Hundreds of volunteers from around the world busied themselves in and around a mini convention center at the edge of town, tirelessly updating race results, organizing Iditarod merchandise, selling hot dogs, mopping floors and cleaning toilets. Others prepared for the impending arrival of the dogs and mushers or helped prepare the finish line.

Out on the trail, volunteer race officials, dog handlers, pilots, cooks and countless others helped facilitate the running of &#8220The Last Great Race.”

&#8220We've got everyone from the West Coast to the tip of Florida,” said volunteer coordinator Deborah Menedez, of El Paso, Texas. &#8220We've got Canadians, a volunteer from South Africa and a young lady from Great Britain. The Iditarod could not be done without these volunteers.”

According to Menedez, there were 93 volunteers in Nome, not counting the scores out on the trail. &#8220The number of volunteers has been steadily increasing,” she said. &#8220Anyone can come - we've got plenty to do.”

Many of those who venture north to volunteer end up coming back again and again.

After three years volunteering, Sue Weiss, of North Carolina, brought her friend, Lottie Supples, up this year to share in the volunteer experience.

&#8220It's so fun because you get to see people here that you only see once a year,” Weiss said.

By Monday afternoon, the rookie volunteer, Supples, was already working the convention center information desk, answering tourists' questions and directing phone traffic. Before flying to Alaska, she studied up on the Iditarod. As of Monday, the giddy volunteer was still getting the hang of mushing lingo.

&#8220I wanted to see the sleigh dogs and the sleighs,” she said. &#8220This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”

Like many outside volunteers, Supple spent more than $1,000 in air fare to make the trip to Nome. Once here, she paid for her own food and lodging and in return for her hard work, she'll receive a hat, a pin and lots of thanks. That's more than enough for most of these tireless workers.

&#8220There is something that keeps bringing me back - something about this event,” said 70-year-old Sheri Clewis.

&#8220It's the adventure, the remarkable feat of these people and these dogs going out into the middle of God-knows-where and surviving.”

Clewis, who hails from California, has faithfully headed north each of the past 11 winters to help with Iditarod.

&#8220I don't know what it is,” she said, while trying to grasp the essence of her work. &#8220There's just something about this country.”

When she heads back to California, Clewis plans to continue her tradition of giving talks about the Iditarod to schools, church groups and teachers. She's not alone in her desire to tell others about her northern experience.

&#8220I go tell schools, church groups, senior citizen groups,” said North Carolina volunteer Weiss. &#8220I've had stories about me in three different newspapers and I was on radio and television.”

The missionary-type zeal to spread the good news of the Iditarod is something 69-year-old New Mexico resident Eunice Thaeler can't suppress either.

After seven years as an Iditarod helper, Thaeler said she sees her volunteer sessions in Nome as the start of her calendar year.

&#8220It's bigger than New Year's for me,” she said. &#8220I keep coming back because I love being a part of a huge team of volunteers that makes something like this work; I love the spirit of this place.”

Contact Joel Davidson at

352-2266 or joel.davidson@

frontiersman.com.