Sponsors are AWESOME!

Here's Conor and I, showing off last year's sponsor gear!
Many folks don't realize what it takes to put together a quality racing kennel. For us here at Rogue Summit, it's a family affair. Manny, Devlyn, myself and soon, Conor, all run dogs. We've worked hard to develop a competitive team of excellent race dogs. We started running dogs back in 1994, with our first siberian husky, Stika. We'd been inspired by watching the start of the Iditarod, while we were stationed in Alaska (Navy). As a girl, I used to pretend to 'mush' with my keeshond, Tasha, before I really knew what sled dogs were about. It wasn't a long stretch to imagine running a team of huskies with a sled...it just seemed meant to be. Well, it wasn't long before we started building our "kennel." We soon had 3 dogs, then 5 that we were tooling around with. We quickly discovered that Washington State wasn't such a great place to run dogs. Off to Montana we went and before we knew it, we had 30 dogs! We'd started with siberians; but, quickly found that Alaska Huskies could far outrun these beautiful, fluffy furballs. It wasn't long before we began to think, "Hey, wouldn't it be fun to do some races?" By this time, we'd already read as much as we could about Irod. Plus, we'd heard about the Yukon Quest and read every single book we could get out hands on. It became Manny's dream to one day run this fantastic race. We knew that if we wanted to be serious about it, we needed to be in a place where we could run dogs right from our home. A place where a musher could learn from other mushers. A place where we could fit in and belong. That's what led us to Two Rivers here in Alaska.

It's been 9 years since we came back to Alaska and Man, what a ride! We are truly blessed to live in such a wonderful place, close to town; yet, with a whole wilderness for our 'backyard'. We've built our kennel from the ground up, gaining experience, slowly working our way to the Yukon Quest. We are just about at that goal now. We have such a fine group of high caliber athletes in the yard. We have direct access to a vast amount of training trails right out of our house. Manny is working hard to train the team for this year's races. We can't wait to hit the trails on sleds.

However, we can't realize our dream alone. Sponsors help make our dreams become a reality. Sponsorships come in many shapes and forms, from Corporate level sponsorships, to individuals who sponsor a dog, even down to folks who simply provide a needed item for races. Even the smallest bit helps. Last year, I ran the Yukon Quest 300 in Whitehorse...but, I never would have made it there without the generous help of sponsors like Cuppachena Coffee, Ginger Stock-McKenzie (Arbonne International), Grubstake Feeds and the staff at Hutchison High School. Some provided entry fees, some provided dog food and meat, others provided booties for the dogs' feet. All in all, they helped to get us down the trail. These folks were instrumental in getting team RS out there on the race trails, gaining experience for our future bid at the Yukon Quest 1000.

This year, Manny and I are both working on qualifiers for the Yukon Quest. Our plans include: Cantwell Classic 200 (Tammi), the YQ300 (Tammi), the Two Rivers 200 (Manny) and possibly the Taiga 300 (Manny). Manny plans to run the Yukon Quest in 2009 and Tammi may run it in 2010. Hopefully, we can make our dreams a reality.

Sponsorship allows folks to be an integral part of our team, even if they can't make it to Alaska to go for a sled ride with us, or race the Yukon Quest. These people receive training updates on their "dog", receive "insider" tips and stories from the trail; basically, they become a part of Rogue Summit Kennel. Folks who can sponsor at a higher level, know that they helped fuel our team down the trail, as their contributions will go to getting the high quality feed the dogs need. A dog sponsor will know that they are providing the necessary gear and supplies needed to help their chosen dog along the trail in comfort. A bootie sponsor knows that they help to provide protection for our dogs' paws; a much needed asset to keep the dogs in great shape. Or perhaps someone provides warm gloves or heat packs for keeping Manny's or my hands warm at -40F while we're on the trail. These folks that help team Rogue Summit make it to the starting line are in essence with us on the runners, rooting us, content knowing that they help get us down the trail. Now those folks are truly AWESOME!

Manny and I also bring our love of mushing into the classroom. I am a High School teacher; therefore, I love the fact that I can bring my two passions together....teaching and racing sled dogs. Manny and I do presentations for students by bringing in our gear, sleds and some of our key sled dogs to the classroom. We are fully committed to education and believe in what we do. This is a blessing for us and allows us to share our knowledge and promote this fantastic sport to future generations.

So, join us on the trails this year and in the years to come, as we continue working our way to the dream that is "The Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race"!