Think getting perhaps 70 mushers and more than 1,000 dogs to Nome is the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race's biggest logistical challenge?
Organizing some 1,800 volunteers may be equally demanding. Only 22 towns in Alaska have a population greater then 1,800.
That effort takes a step forward at 7 p.m. tonight in the Redington Room of the Millennium Alaskan Hotel at a meeting that will detail the volunteer positions available. A similar meeting is Saturday at Iditarod Trail Committee Headquarters on Knik Road.
At the moment, said Iditarod public relations director Chas St. George, the race has about 2,000 volunteers.
But volunteering will cost you.
Volunteers are asked to pay to join the Iditarod Trail Committee (costing $50-$150 for adults, depending on the level of membership -- or $1,500 for a life members) or fork over $10 to help cover administration costs for the Iditarod's insurance liability policy.
"The fabric of any membership organization is judged by the number, loyalty and active involvement of its members," Iditarod president Lee Larsen said in a press release. "The ITC depends on member volunteers to stage the world's premier sled dog race."
Anchorage Daily News
sports@adn.com