Haines graduate Chandler Kemp won the 8th annual San Jose 408k “Race to the Row” on Feb. 3. The 8k (4.97 mile) race starts in downtown San Jose and finishes at Santana Row. He beat out over 2,700 finishing runners with a time of 24:49. Chandler is sponsored by Strava social fitness network. He qualifies as an “elite” runner so he sometimes gets transportation and lodging paid to attend races. He also gets to start his races in the front with the other “elite” runners. Chandler has been the Haines High School cross country coach for the last two seasons.
Savannah Maidy competed in her eighth Juneau Wearable Arts Show earlier this month. This was her fourth time making a dress from saran wrap. “I also used recycled copper that I collected from houses and my piece this year was based on rainstorms,” said Savannah. The piece was titled “Dea Pluviam,” or goddess of rain. The song Thunder by the band Imagine Dragons played as Savannah’s model showed the dress on the catwalk. “The show itself was a lot of fun and gets better every year,” Savannah added.
Saturday’s third annual Kat to Koot Adventure Race was the best one yet, organizers said. Sunny weather and good snow conditions were highlights for the beautiful trek up and over Mount Ripinsky. “We had 68 participants this year and it started as a way to bring mountain communities together for fun and competition, to grow local participation and camaraderie in winter mountain sports,” said coordinator Lindsay Johnson.
Veronica Stagg traveled from Sonora, Calif. last week to visit friend Liz Segars. In tow, she also brought Liz and Jesse McGraw’s new puppy Gunner. “She was here to visit for a week and Gunner is the perfect companion for our other dog Scout,” said Liz.
Evangeline Willard remembers attending her grandmother Dr. Mildred Sparks honorary doctorate ceremony at the University of Alaska Southeast at the Chapel by the Lake in Juneau when she was just a teenager. “She was an amazing woman who stood for what she believed in and let you know so! Not afraid to stand for her Republican Party, from her friendship with Elizabeth Peratrovich, to meeting with officials in Washington. She was a tough grandma at heart, who helped mold who I am today,” said Evangeline. In honor of Elizabeth Peratrovich Day, UAS has recently released the history of its doctoral candidates and Mildred was the first to receive the honor in 1981.
Jess Giddings, daughter of Al and Lori Giddings, held a presentation Sunday at the Presbyterian Church depicting non-profit volunteer work she will be doing in Hong Kong and greater East Asia. “This year we will be launching a global discipleship school out of Hong Kong, hosting a huge training conference, and taking a team to Senegal to participate in the Great Green Wall initiative, alongside the local initiatives we have with immigrant communities in our area,” Jess said.
The Haines middle school CYD basketball teams traveled to Skagway last weekend to participate in the Boyd Worley Basketball Tournament. Fran Daly, who coached the girls, said it was a great opportunity to gain experience. The girls A team won all three of their games and the girls B team won two out of three. Chris Dixon and Kyle Fossman, who coached the boys, said they were impressed with the different skill levels of kids and getting everyone play time. Both boys’ teams won three of their five games. “We had 21 boys between the two teams and it was great playing experience for all the players,” said coach Fossman.