Double-Block is done; we are waiting for the Awards Ceremony at 8:00PM tonight. Two days from now is the beginning of the single block competition of the World Ice Carving Championship. So, the woods were very quiet and peaceful today as I walked through the competition area, just a few squirrels scampering about. I started thinking about Ice Alaska and about the many people who make this event happen every year. The ice carving championships have been an annual event in Fairbanks since 1990 and there are many people involved who have been here from the beginning. Sculptor Support is one of many committees, made up entirely of volunteers, that help make this a worldwide winter favorite for artists and carvers and for visitors who come to watch them carve. It is to this committee that all sculptures submit their applications to compete. Joan Foote has been volunteering here since 1998 and is head of Sculptor Support. She wears many hats. She preps the sites in the Fall so they are clean of debris before the first snowfall. She evaluates the sites according to number of sites needed each year. She is in charge of all equipment for the sites, including lights. She gets the medals ready after each competition. She is in charge of getting judges to come for all events. She also assembles all data after the competition is over. Joan is a hardworking, tireless volunteer who is held in high esteem by everyone who knows her. 

Thank you, Joan. You are loved and appreciated. And so are the other volunteers who come from all over the world to help present this wonderful tribute to the amazing, breathtaking art of ice carving.