Veteran musher Jessie Holmes (bib # 7), of Brushkana, Alaska, is the first musher to reach the Unalakleet checkpoint at 9:27 a.m. with 13 dogs in harness, making him the recipient of the Ryan Air Gold Coast Award.
This award was first presented in 1987 and will be presented this year in Unalakleet by Ryan Air’s Marketing Director Stefanie Miller. Sponsored by Ryan Air since 2019, the award consists of $2,500 worth of gold nuggets from the Bering Strait region as well as a beautiful carved loon by artist Mark Tetpon, and a gold pan plaque commemorating this feat.
Ryan Air was founded in Unalakleet and its core business is serving the people who live along the Bering Sea coast and throughout western Alaska. Mushing has long been a way of life for the Ryan family. The company’s founder drove mail by dog team between Unalakleet and Kaltag in the early 1900s and other Ryan family members also mushed dogs in the territorial guard with Muktuk Marston.
The Ryan Air Gold Coast Award will be presented again to Holmes on Sunday, March 22 at the finisher’s banquet in Nome.
