HUMAN

Name: Joy Berger

Age: 66

Residence: Anchorage, Alaska

Occupation: Retired

Years involved with Iditarod: 50

Previous Iditarod Roles: Alaska Airlines, shipping dogs back

Current Location: Ceremonial Race Start, 4th Ave, Downtown Anchorage, Alaska
Date of Photo: March 5, 2022

Temperature: 30 F Outdoors Dumping Snow

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

I first became involved with Iditarod when I went to the end of the first race in 1973. And later on, but I didn’t go to any other races until I worked for Alaska Airlines, and I was involved with the sponsorship that Alaska Airlines had for Iditarod. And it involved me being up in Nome. So for the last 34 Years, I was in Nome for the end of the race, shipping teams back. And I’ve since retired from Alaska Airlines and now have a closer relationship with a lot of the mushers.

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

I’m here today and involved with the Iditarod because although I’m retired, I’m friends with many of the mushers that we have developed relationships over the last 30 years with. And we’re here to see them off. I take photos of them, and I end up in Nome for the finish of the race. And we’re supporting Martin Buser and Tim Failor and Sean Williams. And we also have our little group up in Nome that we’ve had for 30 some years, the Village Girls. And we have, it’s Dee Dee Jonrowe, Martin Buser’s wife, Kathy, Sue Greenley, Pat Hawn. I mean, it’s a whole group of people who we’ve had together for all these years and still are up there for the finish, even though we’re retired, all of us.

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

One of my most memorable Iditarod experience was, and I don’t remember the year, but there was a huge blizzard going on in Nome, and it caused all the mushers to be stuck in White Mountain. And there was 30 of them, 30 teams, and they couldn’t go any further. And so it was decided that when the storm broke, they were going to head into Nome in the order that they arrived in White Mountain. The blizzard was so bad, airplanes couldn’t get in. And I had my movie camera with me, and I took movies of them coming down Front Street, one at a time right behind each other, 30, 25 or 30 teams. And then I Gold Streaked it into Anchorage and it was on the news because they didn’t have any reporters in to capture that finish.

What do you know for sure?

What I know for sure in life is that it’s very short, to have fun, to do what your passion is, and be kind.