HUMAN

Name: Chuck Talsky
Age: 72
Residence: Right now in Hayesville, North Carolina.
Occupation: I’m an advertising executive. 

Years involved with Iditarod: I’ve been involved with the Iditarod since 1978.
Iditarod Role: Right now I’m a spokesperson for one of the principal partners, Anchorage Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram.
Current Location: Lakefront Hotel, Anchorage, Alaska
Date of Photo: March 4, 2020
Temperature: 10 F outside/ 68 F inside

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

I got involved with the Iditarod back in 1978. I was actually doing the sports and news for Channel Two television back then, and it was remarkable. I wanted to go to Nome so badly, and they said, “Well, it’s kind of expensive to do all of that.” So I wound up having to stay in the studio and everyone knows what happened in ’78. One second. Swenson and Mackey, and Mackey won it. And to this day, I think there’s only a little bit of eight millimeter film that someone from the Air Force shot. So that was kind of a baptism of not fire, but getting frozen out of the biggest and most important finish ever.

What is your Why?.. Why are you here today and involved in Iditarod?

Well, I’m here today and involved in Iditarod because I believe in what many Alaskans do and race fans do, and that is the spirit of the husky. It’s the spirit of the husky that’ll lead the way, blazing through the snow 100 miles a day. Wrote a little thing called Iditarock and roll music video that encompassed a lot of footage, and I believe that’s what it’s all about. That’s something that we emulate in our lives as well. The spirit of the husky in everything we do. That means you’re going forward, always doing your best.

Tell me about just one of your most memorable Iditarod experiences?

One of the things I remember most about my Iditarod experience was 1979, actually wound up being an advertising person for a financial institution. Came up with a belt buckle that was designed by an Athabaskan artist and flew up to Nome that time and gave it to Rick Swenson. It was made out of jewelers bronze and it had a sunset and gold nuggets. The big dipper was in diamonds. One of a kind. It’s never been done before since, that was 1979. And again at the finish, this was interesting. He finished, Rick did, and won his fourth race, I believe, sat in a flatbed truck on a metal folding chair. There was no television, and he just said, “Anyone got any questions?” And there was a radio person and myself, and we just talked to him for 20 minutes.

What do you know for sure?:

Well, what I know for sure in life is this, the proof is in the performance, and that has to do with anything and everything you aspire to.