HUMAN

Name: Jennifer Gourley
Age: 68
Residence: Wasilla, Alaska
Occupation: Retired from the South Central Foundation Valley Medical Clinic in Eklutna, where I was a medical assistant.
Years involved with Iditarod: My first introduction was in 1978. I was involved with Iditarod for 20 plus years.
Iditarod Role: Worked with Raine Hall at ITC HQ in Wasilla and as a Musher
Current Location: Musher Banquet at Dena’ina Center, Anchorage, Alaska

Date of Photo: FEBRUARY 27, 2025
Temperature: 68F inside

What, who or how and when did you first get involved with the Iditarod?:

I got involved with Iditarod in 1978 when I moved up from upstate New York to Wasilla, Alaska, and ended up in just circumstances working with Raine Hall at Iditarod headquarters in Wasilla, which at the time was in the back part of the Wasilla Museum on Main Street.
At that time, I got to meet Joe Redington Sr., Dick Mackey, Susan Butcher, Lavon Barve, Rick Swenson, just a bunch of mushers who at the time meant nothing to me. But after that point, I ended up personally getting involved when my husband, who was a builder in the Valley, took a dog team fresh off Iditarod Trail as a down payment for a home.

What is your Why? Why are you here TODAY and involved with the Iditarod?

I was involved with Iditarod because of our love for the dogs and passion for the dogs, and the whole background with Iditarod and the people involved. Inspiration to my husband and myself and my children.

Tell me about your most memorable Iditarod experiences?:

One of my most memorable Iditarod experiences was pulling into the little village of Kaltag in the 1988 Iditarod when an elder flagged in us to park in his front of his home where he had a large single doghouse. And when he flagged us in, the dogs parked up there and the first four dogs, leaders and swing dogs, all four of them jumped in at the same time into that little house to get warm and relaxed for a little while.

What do you know for sure?:

What I know for sure in life is that there is some higher power out there, because too many miracles and magical things have happened, and I have experienced them in my lifetime.