2004 Jeff Peterson, MN “I hope students learn how important it is to dream, and how difficult and rewarding it is to follow that dream.” Jeff continues to teach at Wilshire Park Elementary School and along with his responsibilities of his fourth grade students, Jeff is a football coach. While on the trail, Jeff enjoyed interacting with students and learning first hand cultural games common to the villages. Jeff remains impressed with those associated with the Iditarod. “It’s amazing what a group of diverse people can do if they have a common goal. The teamwork and the hospitality that people provide toward this goal is something to see. Really, this attitude can be transferred to anything in life.” (http://www.vernhalter.com) Jeff is a member of the Teacher on the Trail^TM selection committee.

On Monday, April 7, 2003 - Jeffrey M. Peterson, a fourth grade teacher at Wilshire Park Elementary School in St. Anthony, Minnesota, was notified that he had been selected as the Iditarod Teacher on the Trail for 2004. Jeff is the sixth Teacher on the Trail (TOTT) and is the first male to be appointed to the position.

Jeff was one of three finalists invited to visit Alaska during the 2003 Iditarod. While there, he was interviewed by members of a selection committee and gave a presentation to the educators attending the Iditarod’s annual teachers workshop.

In March of next year, Peterson will be traveling along the trail, equipped with a laptop computer and a digital camera and will be transmitting reports, suggested classroom activities, as well as photographs to the Iditarod Trail Committee’s (ITC’s) website (www.iditarod.com). More than 5,000 elementary, middle and high schools around the world follow the race via the website each year with more joining each year.

Jeff is married to Sara and their first child, Ellie, was born in September.

 

Click here to read an article about Jeff.

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During the race, Jeff kept a trail journal, Peterson’s Posts,  recording his experiences.  The following is the content from his final post from the trail.   The rest of Jeff’s Journal will be added to the site soon!

Peterson’s Post  Monday, March 22, 2004
Musher Banquet in Nome (Final edition of the Peterson Post)

Inside this Edition
Character Education on the Trail
Businessmen’s Race
Musher Banquet
Did you Know?
YOU DID IT!
That’s all folks!
Awards Section
Daily Math
Daily Trivia
Mystery Musher
Weather Update

Character Education on the Trail
The mushers all showed good sportsmanship and respect when they spoke at the Mushers Banquet on Sunday evening.

Businessmen’s Race
I had the opportunity to participate in the Businessman’s Race on Saturday. The race is put on by the Nome Kennel Club and is a fundraiser. Each musher is provided with a sled and 3 dogs. The race takes place on the outside of town and follows a 3-mile course. There were 30 participants in the race this year. The participants leave every 2 minutes as they do in the Iditarod. I completed the race in 19 minutes and finished in 18th place. I was a little disappointed with my time, but I had a great time nonetheless.

Musher Banquet
The mushers banquet in Nome was held Sunday in Nome at the Recreation Center. The banquet is put on by Wells Fargo and is a great way to recognize the accomplishment of mushers and their teams. Many volunteers worked tirelessly to setup and cleanup for this banquet. Festivities got underway at 4:30 on Sunday afternoon and concluded around 11:00. The sponsors of the race talked a little about the race and why they believe in the Iditarod. Next, mushers were presented awards (see awards section of the Peterson Post), and each musher spoke about his or her experiences on the Iditarod Trail. Finally, a summary of the race and a thanking of the many race volunteers brought the banquet to a close. Many stories were shared, jokes were told, and good times were had as Iditarod XXXII came to the finish line.

There were a lot of people enjoying a great dinner at the Musher Banquet

Strawberries served in a dogsled

Did you Know?
The Alaska coastline is about 33,904 miles long, which is longer than the combined coastline of the lower 48 states.

YOU DID IT!
(Note: All mushers will be identified as “winners”) Today’s winners,42. Randy Chappel 43. Cim Smyth 44. Ryan Redington 45. Ellie Claus 46. Rick Mackey 47. Rick Larson 48. Scott Smith 49. Peryll Kyzer 50. Bernhard Schuchert 51. Dexter Kancer 52. Noah Burmeister 53. Doug Grlliot 54. Peter Bartlett 55. Kelly Williams 56. Karen Land 57. Rick Castillo 58. Karen Ramstead 59. Al Hardman 60. Ed stielstra 61. Mark Moderow 62. Tollef Monson 63. Wayne Curtis 64. Russell Bybee 65. Devan Currier 66. Todd Capistrant 67. Jim Conner 68. Harmony Barron 69. Cliff Wang 70. Jacob Lysyshyn 71. Matt Weik 72. Sue Allen 73. James Warren 74. Bennie Stamm 75. Steve Madsen 76. G.B. Jones (not in at time of print) 77. Perry Solmonson (not in at time of print)

That’s all folks!
I would like to thank Wells Fargo, all of Wilshire Park Elementary, and all our readers for supporting the Peterson Post. The Iditarod Educational program has been great to work with, and I’m excited to watch the program continue to grow in the future. It was an honor to cover and write about Iditarod XXXII. The Peterson Post is out of print, but be sure to catch all of next year’s Iditarod action on Iditarod.com.

Awards Section
Humanitarian Award- Rick Swenson
Halfway Award- Martin Buser
Gold Coast Award- Kjetil Backen
Red Lantern-?
Spirit of Alaska Award- Jeff King
Most Inspirational Musher Award- Cim Smyth
First to the Yukon Award- Jeff King
Sportsmanship Award- Cim Smyth
Most Improved Musher Award- Jason Barron
Rookie of the Year Award- Hugh Neff
Fastest from Safety to Nome Award- Ramey Smyth
Golden Harness Award (given to a lead dog) – Tread from Mitch Seavey’s Team
Golden Stethoscope (given to a vet.)- Kirsten Roberts
Golden Clipboard Award (given to a checkpoint)- Shaktoolik

There were a lot of awards to be presented

The Golden Harness Award

Daily Math
Thanks for participating! Answer to Nome #3 Daily Math= 1:22 am Central Standard Time

Daily Trivia
Thanks for participating! Answer Nome #3 Edition of AK Trivia= Prudhoe Bay on Alaska’s North Slope

Mystery Musher
Thanks for participating Answer to Nome #3 Edition Mystery Musher= Kjetil Backen

Weather Update
Saturday was a cold day (10 degrees) in Nome as the wind (15-25 mph) made air temperatures very frigid, however, Sunday temperatures recovered nicely. The winds (5-10 mph) went down on Sunday and made for a “warm” day (30 degrees) in Nome for this time of year.

THANK YOU READERS!