Vote for Mushers in Alaska Sports Hall of Fame public vote!

[MelanieGouldFanBrian]

Fellow sled dog fans. Public voting open in below link for Alaska Sports Hall of Fame. Several mushers included in people category, Libby Riddles. Jeff King. Aliy Zirkle. Martin Buser. As well as Susan Butcher's first win, Swenson's win #5, and the 1925 Serum Run, in the Moments category, and Fur Rondy in the Events category. Simply write in email address and a ballot is sent to it. Vote for four people, three moments and two events.

http://alaskasports.wpengine.com/election/candidates/

[Holly Golightly]

Would anyone be annoyed if I did a little politicking (sp?) for a very dear favorite?

[txbennett]

Please do Holly. My favorites are probably predictable by most Iditabuds.com regulars

[fladogfan]

Would anyone be annoyed if I did a little politicking (sp?) for a very dear favorite?

Go for it Holly!!

[Holly Golightly]

(Try to picture some stirring music in your head as you read--kinda like a TV vote-for-so-and-so ad.)

My fellow mushing fans: as you cast your ballot for the Alaska Sports Hall of Fame tonight, I urge you to remember to vote for Martin Buser as one of your five People worthy of induction.

Some would say "But in the last two years he's finished out of the top 20!" To this, I say "True, but he has as many wins as Dallas Seavey does."

Some would say "But he doesn't have a gripping back-story of overcoming adversity!" To this, I say "Remember 2005, when he had a table-saw mishap less than a week before the race and ran anyway--placing in the top fifteen, even. And 2014, when he limped into Nome on a severely sprained ankle and with a dislocated finger--and despite those physical woes, he finished in sixth place. Weren't those years enough adversity?" (And I won't even mention January.)

Some would say "But it's been years since he's won anything!" To this, I say "Every time he's started the race--thirty-three times so far--he's finished. Only Rick Swenson has more finishes, 34. Martin should be an inspiration to those who applaud hard work, dedication, and commitment."

Some would say "But I'm a woman--I'd rather vote for Aliy Zirkle!" To this I say "I'm a woman too, and I never said you couldn't vote for Aliy. Vote for both."

Some would say "I'm still not convinced." To this, I say "Would it help if I mention the five times that he's won the Humanitarian Award in the Iditarod for taking such excellent care of his dogs? When it comes to doing right by his dogs, he doesn't just talk the talk--he walks the walk."

Vote for Martin. He's got the credentials, on the trail and in life.
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I would've done this sooner but, well, I can't go online at work. And now I'm gonna tiptoe away again....

[sc-race-fan]

Holly, all good points, but my favorite memory of Martin is that after winning the race, he went back to the finish line, day or night, to meet and congratulate every finisher of the race. That's a man with class! Since then, (and before) he has always been in my Top Ten Picks.

[fladogfan]

Another memory of Martin is the first year of the GPS when Martin's signal went for a plane ride.

[Holly Golightly]

I knew I was forgetting something, SC! (And considering that I'd recently re-read Don Bowers' -Back of the Pack-, which starts with Don standing at the finish line during the 1994 race, waiting for a musher to come in, and realising that Martin was there too and that he had actually walked out of the Finishers' Banquet to make sure the incoming musher would get a greeting...well, I should've remembered how when he wins, he stays around to greet everyone else. )

The GPS was a good prank, FDF, but my own favorite was the fake cell phone hijinks in 1993, a recounting of which can be found in -Dog Man- and also in a very cute YouTube clip from a few years back.

[txbennett]

I think it's already too late to vote this year, I just got in under the wire -- included in my top 5 were Aliy, Jeff and Martin; along with two deserving non-mushers. The Alaska Sports Hall of Fame covers all sports, not just sled dog racing, although outside of Alaska we do not get much media coverage of "other" sports. The bios provided on the "vote" web site are interesting regarding all of the "nominated" candidates.

[Holly Golightly]

They'll tabulate the votes tomorrow, apparently. I voted for Martin (of course), Aliy, Libby, Egil Ellis (sprint mushers need love too, haha) and a non-musher who I've forgotten the name of (tsk!), not to mention the Rondy, ONAC (the Fairbanks sprint racE) and Tour De Anchorage for events, and the Serum Run plus Rick's and Susan's wins for moments. I wish I could remember if the AK Sports HOF does things like the Baseball HOF does, as in "if someone doesn't get voted in on their first year, they can stay on the ballot for a while and try again next year".