Joanne Potts with musher Becca Moore
The Iditarod Trail Committee has selected Joanne Potts to be the Honorary Musher for Iditarod XLIV. Her association with Iditarod began in 1975 when a neighbor asked if she’d like to volunteer for the race. Being fairly new to Alaska at the time, Joanne didn’t even know what Iditarod was. Over the past forty years, Potts has worn many hats in the Iditarod organization. In 1982 she joined the Iditarod staff as Race Coordinator. Today her official title is Assistant to the Race Director.
For the Ceremonial Start of the 2016 Iditarod, Joanne will see the race from a very different perspective. Instead of handing out bibs, directing traffic, parking mushers, assigning volunteers, assisting VIPs or answering questions like usual, Joanne will experience the Ceremonial Start from the perspective of an Iditarider. Wearing bib #1 and riding in the sled of the Junior Iditarod Champion, she will lead all mushers down 4th Avenue on the first Saturday of March. It’ll be the day the Iditarod Trail Committee, past and present mushers, friends, family, race fans and volunteers recognize and thank Joanne for forty-plus years of service to Iditarod and all she’s done in making the Iditarod what it is today.
Born in 1940, Joanne grew up in Richmond, Kentucky. She and Art have been married for more than fifty years. Their two children, Valerie and Jim, were born in Hydaburg, Alaska while Art was serving as the Presbyterian minister.
Being the Honorary Musher is recognition for Joanne that Aliy Zirkle says, “Has been a long time coming. Joanne has been an integral part of Iditarod for longer than most of us can remember. When any musher has a question, the answer is always – ASK JOANNE. Joanne has no favorites and she cares about everyone. She will help the most disorganized musher (which face it… most of us are) and not think ill of us. From the bottom of our hearts, all of us thank her for everything she’s put into the race and into the mushers.”
Answering phones a couple nights a week at race headquarters in Anchorage was Joanne’s first job as a volunteer. This was well before search engines and Internet were the means of finding information. Standings for the top ten mushers were recorded on answering machines. Folks could call anytime and hear the recordings. Those calling with other questions or inquiring about a back of the pack musher needed to talk to someone like Joanne in the phone room. The next couple of years she manned a bare-bones satellite race headquarters in Eagle River. She posted standings on a chalkboard for interested locals. Potts also spent time in the Iditarod booth at the state fair selling merchandise.
After three years of getting her feet wet, Joanne took on the job of running race headquarters in Anchorage. She was substitute teaching at the time but refused jobs during March to volunteer for Iditarod. Turning down a paying job to volunteer? It’s sounding like she’s pretty hooked on the race.
In 1982 the Potts family moved from Eagle River to Wasilla and Joanne staffed the office at the newly established Iditarod Headquarters above Teeland’s Store. She told them before starting she’d need to be home with her children during the summer. When summer rolled around, there was no one to take over so Joanne stayed on.
Race Director Joanne Potts Anchorage Start 1999
In August of 1982, over the objection of race founder Joe Redington Sr., Joanne was hired as the Race Coordinator. One hot day in August Redington trekked upstairs to the office and found Joanne sitting with her feet propped on the desk. Joanne says, “It was hotter than blazes and nobody was around until Joe walked in and I was just trying to stay cool.” Redington thought it was completely unbecoming of her to have her feet on the desk; after all it was the Iditarod office. Joe told the Iditarod Board they needed to find somebody “classier” for the job of Race Coordinator. Joe quickly came to respect Joanne for her organization skills, tireless energy, people skills and devotion to the race.
Official Iditarod Photographer, Jeff Schultz, recently said, “I photographed my first race in 1981 and Joanne was there and as always was happy to help a newbie. I believe Joanne has been and is the best public relations person for Iditarod it could ever have had. Not in the sense of sending out press releases, talking to the press and such, but she has helped countless mushers, sponsors, volunteers and staff in getting answers and/or results for anything they need. She has helped the Iditarod name and race by going the extra mile in everything she does for Iditarod including doing her best to see that people are satisfied. Over the forty years she’s served Iditarod, she’s done tons to perpetuate the race.”
Joanne put her PR skills to use on her first big assignment as the Race Coordinator. She was sent to Nome to smooth some ruffled feathers from the previous race. In Nome, she met and talked to a lot of people. Joanne assured the people of Nome that she was there only as a resource and that Iditarod didn’t want to control what went on in Nome. A Nome resident agreed to coordinate activities for the finish and appoint people to do things. Her visit improved relations immensely.
Barb Redington said, “Joanne is so personable and that’s what endears her to everyone. She really cares. It’s great to honor Joanne in this way so everyone has the opportunity to say thank you and we appreciate you and everything you’ve done.” Raymie Redington, son of race founder Joe Redington Sr., said, “It’s real good they’ve choose to honor Joanne. She deserves it.”
Not only does Joanne care for the adult mushers; she’s there for the Junior Iditarod mushers as well. She’s watched many of those kids grow up from cradle to sled. Once they reach the age of fourteen, they can compete in the Junior Iditarod and then many continue mushing and run the Iditarod. Joanne delights in seeing the kids come full circle. She’s served on the Junior Iditarod Board of Directors, currently acts as the secretary and is the voice of Iditarod for the Junior Iditarod organization. Potts served as the Starter/Timer at Yentna Station, the halfway point of the junior race for many, many years. She recorded the time teams arrive at the rest stop, calculated their layover and differential and then gave them the count down to leave for the finish. Their departure might be at 3:00 or 4:00 in the morning and it might be thirty degrees below, but she was out there to send them to the finish with a smile, wishes of good luck and pride in their accomplishments.
When mushers have questions, Joanne is their primary contact. She says, “I feel like they’re my kids and I take care of them the best I can.” Cindy Abbott seconds that, “My first contact with Joanne was three days after the finish of the 2011 race. Even though she was busy working on thousands of post-race duties, she took the call from the crazy California woman who knew very little about mushing or Alaska but wanted to run the Iditarod. Over the years, Joanne and I became friends,” says Abbott. “I could go to her for advice and guidance on any issue. No matter how busy she was, Joanne always responded quickly in her positive, supportive and forthright manner. She’s one of the most kind, caring and hardworking people I’ve ever known. Her dedication knows no limit – she goes to great lengths to help with whatever needs to be done.”
At the burled arch in Nome, Potts congratulates the finishers, not just some of them but ALL of them. It makes no difference if it’s 3:00 PM or 3:00 AM, if it’s the champion or the Red Lantern or somebody in between. Joanne is there. She greets every finisher, rookie or veteran, like they were her own children, sharing their joy and pride in what they’ve accomplished.
“Joanne missed my finish in 2015,” says Abbott. “My dream of finishing Iditarod came true because Joanne had taken my call. I was the Red Lantern musher but it felt as if I were the winner. I was excited to see Joanne, but where was she? Come to find out, Joanne had slipped on some ice and was on her way to the hospital but she sent someone to give me a hug and congratulations for her. Joanne Potts is the embodiment of The Last Great Race®.” Before heading back to California after her race, Abbott collected her congratulations hug from a mended Joanne.
In 2013, Joanne was the first Iditarod staff member to be inducted into the Anchorage Dispatch News Iditarod Hall of Fame. The ADN announcement mentions Joanne’s super powers. No question about it, Potts does seem to have superhuman qualities along with the perceived ability to somehow be in two places at once. When it comes to Iditarod facts and information or people’s names, think of her brain as a storage device with a mega Terabyte capacity, then consider her exceptional ability to multi-task that is her standard operating mode every day of the year, especially at race time.
If you’re at an Iditarod function and somebody calls out, “SUPERWOMAN,” they’re asking for Joanne, who can easily be considered the female version of Clark Kent. Jeff Schultz calls her the ‘Iditarod Answer Woman’ (like the Shell Answer Man from years ago), “If you have an Iditarod related question, she can answer it or she’ll find out and get back to you, sooner rather than later. She seems tireless in her energy to be involved in it all – setting up meetings, giving advice to rookies, helping a musher with paperwork, being at all the pre-race functions, fetching donuts or pizza and selling raffle tickets at the banquets in Anchorage and Nome.”
Over her lengthy Iditarod career, Potts has enough stories to create a book that would easily be one of the 10 largest books ever published. A story from the 1988 race would certainly be included. Before departing Anchorage for the burled arch in Nome via Alaska Airlines, Joanne was handed a box that contained a unique Iditarod handgun and a solid gold Iditarod belt buckle. The content of the box was valued at $5,000 dollars. Joanne was told, “Deliver this to Rosemary Phillips (Iditarod Executive Director) and don’t let it out of your sight.” Joanne took the charge very seriously and put the box in her carry on bag.
Anchorage Airport security took their job just as seriously. When the x-ray of her carry on bag revealed the contents, a small army of security officers quickly surrounded Joanne and escorted her to a room for questioning. Authorities advised Joanne that carrying a gun onto an aircraft could result in a $10,000 fine and ten years in prison. The FAA and the FBI were alerted. The next few hours were tense and emotional until the Vice President of Alaska Air came to the rescue. Finally, after a lot of explaining and negotiation, the pilot was put in charge of the handgun and belt buckle and Potts was allowed to fly. As Joanne deplaned in Nome, surely with more gray hair than when she began the day, the pilot handed her the precious package. She then delivered it to Phillips as instructed.
Going the extra mile, getting things done and doing it with a smile is what Joanne is known for. Musher Becca Moore says, “Our family (Becca and husband, Ramey Smyth) has had a team in the race since 2005. I have always admired Joanne’s dedication, hard work and can do attitude. While we’re deep into training and focused on the dogs, Joanne keeps us up to date and informed on things we need to know. She is there at sign-up, she’s at the start and she’ll be at the finish line.”
Joanne does so much more than what the Assistant Race Director’s job description requires. Moore continues, “She is genuinely concerned for mushers and their families from sharing in the joys of the birth of a baby to concern and support during a family hardship and all things in between. When we stop at Iditarod Headquarters, the kids and I love to go into the office to say Hi to Joanne. She has photos of the mushers’ children pinned up at her desk. She has welcomed both of our children to the mushing family with handmade blankets. Once, before the race utilized GPS to track the mushers, I was worried about Ramey spending 18 hours in Rohn. I called Joanne. She let me know he was fine; it was the race standings that hadn’t been updated. Planning for and preparing for Iditarod is year round both in the office and in the kennels. Joanne has always been available, summer and winter, always going the extra mile.”
Her current job title is Assistant to the Race Director, but Joanne is pretty much the Iditarod Jack of all Trades. Potts loves working for the race. Over the years, she’s gotten to know the mushers and their families and has talked to and met a lot of people from all over the world. Joanne considers all those contacts to be the best part of her job. No two races are the same and there’s no such thing as a routine day for the Superwoman of Iditarod. Congratulations Joanne and thank you.
