On November 30, 2007 (at about 5 pm Alaska Time) Millennium Alaska’s Max Lowe got a phone call. “I was sitting down in my home when I got the call from Iditarod Executive Director Stan Hooley. I remember there were others present when the call was made. Iditarod Trail Committee President Richard Burmeister was one of them.” recalled Lowe.

That’s when Max Lowe was informed that he had been selected as the 2008 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race Honorary Musher.

“I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t speak. I remember barely being able to say thank you. What I experienced in that moment was disbelief… I was stunned, and I am so very humbled to be selected as the 2008 Honorary Musher.” added Max.

Flash back twenty one years; it’s Valentines Day (1986) in Chicago Illinois. Max Lowe told his wife Marcia that he had been offered an opportunity to open and manage a brand new hotel on the banks of Lake Hood in beautiful Spenard. For Max it meant the adventure of a lifetime. It also meant a huge leap for Marcia, and their young children. They were heading “North to Alaska” to start a new life and start up a brand new hotel, the Clarion.

According to Max, it didn’t take very long at all before the Iditarod trail Committee approached him about sponsoring the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race as the “Official Hotel and the Anchorage Race Headquarters.

“I have to tell you, 1986 was a shaky time in Alaska. The Clarion was the first new hotel built in Anchorage in nine years. The economy was in the dumps. And I was working 24-7 to try to get the new hotel open by the fall. I distinctly remember thinking, no matter what, being a part of “The Last Great Race on Earth” would be a great way for the Clarion to become a part of the community.” said Max.

In March of 1987, Max and the Iditarod began their journey together on The Iditarod Trail. He joked about how the “Official Hotel” quickly embarked on the longest catering route in the world. They flew into Anvik and set up their mobile kitchen. Over the course of the next 20 years, through the transitions from the Clarion to the Regal Alaska and finally to the Millennium Alaska Hotel, Max and his crew covered thousands of trail miles. They found a way to produce fabulous cuisine under some very interesting situations.

“One year Chef Al and I packed up what we thought was everything and headed up the trail to Ruby. When we arrived I quickly noticed that we forgot one of the main ingredients for “First to the Yukon” dinner; shrimp. We started looking around Ruby, and there wasn’t a single shrimp to be found. We got the word out that we needed shrimp pronto and the next thing I knew, the wheels were in motion.” Max recalled.

The way Max tells the story word spread down the trail, and an F-15 headed for Galena Air Base Alaska wound up with a little extra cargo (the shrimp). From there, former USA Network producer, Peter Henning and Pilot Tony Oney air lifted the precious cargo across the Yukon River to Ruby just ahead of the first musher’s arrival.

“It was just meant to be I guess. It amazes me how unbelievable this community called “The Iditarod” is. The Iditarod is about dogs and people and how much they truly care for each other. The race itself has weathered the test of time. And I believe it’s because of the resolve that this community called Iditarod will continue to endure. It will continue to touch the hearts and souls of future generations just like it touched my heart… my wife Marcia’s heart and our children’s hearts. It will continue to grow” said Max.

One of Max’s favorite memories about the Iditarod was the year five-time Iditarod Champion Rick Swenson’s team arrived in Nome after battling a huge snow storm on the Norton Sound. Swenson signed a photo depicting an image of his arrival on Front Street and gave it to Max. On the photo Rick personalized the following; “Never Turn Back.”

“For me that pretty much sums up this wonderful journey I’ve had with The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race over the last twenty one years. No matter what you encounter, you can find a way to make it happen. There are so many wonderful friends that I have made because of the Iditarod; great friends from Anvik and Ruby, and all the volunteers who have traveled from the corners of the Earth just to connect with the Iditarod. I’ve had the opportunity to be their host while they visited our hotel. I’ve had the opportunity to be a part of transforming The Millennium Alaskan each year from a fantastic tourism destination to the Official Headquarters of The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. And now I’m a part of Iditarod tradition. You know, it just doesn’t get better than that!”