HUMAN
Name: Rick Calcote
Age: 69
Residence: Anchorage, Alaska
Occupation: I’m a mental health clinician.
Years involved with Iditarod: 35 years.
Iditarod Role: Start coordinator.
Current Location: Anchorage, Alaska.
Date of Photo: March 7, 2020
Temperature: 18F/Outdoors
What, who or how and when did you first get involved with the Iditarod?
I got involved with Iditarod, the first time in 1988, because a friend of mine said that I should come out, and it was a lot of fun. And so, I started to do almost all the volunteer positions in the Iditarod. I worked in the phone room, I worked out here on the street as a dog handler, security, Et cetera. I was out on the trail, trail guards.What is your Why?..
Why are you here today and involved in Iditarod?
I’m here today and involved with the Iditarod, because a lot of my friends are still here, and involved with the Iditarod. So it’s like a big family. And coming back on Race Day is kind of like coming to a family reunion.
Tell me about just one of your most memorable Iditarod experiences?
One of my most memorable experiences on the Iditarod was, unfortunately, we actually experienced the real and true murder on the Iditarod trail, right out here on the street, in front of our motor home, at about 3:30 in the morning. And a young man had been attacked in a car with his friends being chased by another car, and they fired rounds into the car. And the young man was struck by a bullet and was killed. And so, it created quite the flap here, obviously, for us. It was a very sad event; and a very challenging one for us because, of course, the streets suddenly turned into a crime scene, and not a race event. So it was handed to both of the volunteers, as well as the municipality. It really stepped up and helped us re-route some of the street cleanup, a lot of the snow, so that the dogs certainly wouldn’t be attracted by the blood. And so, it was, like I said, it was probably the most memorable occasion.
What do you know for sure?:
What do I know for sure in life is that we are… we’re all very much the same. We have wonderful differences, and uniqueness, but down below the skin, down below in our hearts, we’re all very much the same.