Teen turning dollars sense into mushing

GAIL RICHARDS

December 04, 2008 at 10:00AM AKST

Driven and determined. 

Those are the two words that come to mind when a person spends much time with 17-year-old musher Travis Beals.

These strong characteristics are precisely what local grant writer Madelyn Walker saw in Beals when she offered to coach him in the art of fundraising so he could afford to compete in the 2009 Junior Iditarod and Junior Yukon Quest races.

“He’s a hard worker,” Walker says, “and he’s so nice – very appreciative – a combination you don’t often find in young people these days.” 

Walker is an avid skijor and has worked with dogs for years. She has helped sponsor other racers in the past and knows what it takes to fund such a sport. She and Beals have estimated that overall costs for his races this year will run about $10,700. That includes everything from dog food to gas for commuting to training and race areas.

“And Travis is paying for three quarters of that himself,” Walker says.  “That’s how much he loves racing.”

“I’ve worked the past three summers for Seavey’s Iditaride Sled Dog Tours to help pay for my racing,” Beals says of a business owned by 2004 Iditarod winner Mitch Seavey.  “I’ve worked all summer for 12 to 14 hours a day, six days a week, and saved everything that I’ve earned.” 

Except for money spent on a few more race dogs, he admits.

When Walker approached Beals about instructing him on how to get sponsors, that’s exactly what she meant. 

“I said I’d help him get organized — not do it for him,” she says of their contact earlier in the year.  

“Travis called me in September to say he was ready to go to work on raising sponsorships. We started meeting once every week or two to come up with a budget, draft a letter, pull together a list, and do a mailing.  It’s tough to do with school and training dogs, but he comes each week with his assignments done,” Walker says.  “The work is all Travis — I just provide a little guidance and a nudge now and then.”

Walker says that preparations for races and fundraising are efforts well received by the staff at Seward High, where Beals was on the honor roll during the first semester this year. 

“Travis is building budgets, timing runs, computing feed, composing letters and doing a lot of communicating right now,” she says. “He uses lots of math and science in building his team and getting ready for races. He’s received support from teachers and staff in his writing and even used some for assignments.”

Beals, who grew up around dog sledding in Seward, has been trained the past few years by Moose Pass racer Rick Tarpey.

“This year Rick is teaching me the ways of mid distance mushing. This is not an easy task by any means,” Beals says of his grueling schedule. “After all, I am a teenager.”

Gail L. Richards is a Seward freelance writer and artist. Contact her at 224-2426 or gail@gailrichardsart.com.

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