Norman Vaughan Serum Run

I was born and raised in Louisiana leaving the Deep South only to attend a semester of college at the University of London, England and again when I enlisted in the Navy in 1997 after graduating from Louisiana College with a degree in Nursing. Yes, I chose to enlist AFTER college, it’s a long story… I spent the next few years as a Hospital Corpsman patching up the Marines of 3/8 K Co. Weapons Platoon until my student loan deferment ran out and I had to quit working for a living.

So, with my bachelor’s degree in hand, I was commissioned in the US Navy Nurse Corps. As a newly commissioned officer I traveled plenty and spent some time in Rhode Island, North Carolina, San Diego, and Florida, and oh yeah...Iraq. I proudly and honorably served in a few exciting areas of operations (Kosovo, Kuwait, Iraq) during my few years in the Navy and deeply cherish the lessons and experiences I gained.

However, I wasn’t interested in dragging the family to Okinawa so I found a great opportunity with the US Public Health Service to pay off those lingering student loans and move to Alaska. So here I’ve been since May of 2004 and don’t plan on leaving any time soon.

I am so fortunate to have convinced a very tolerant woman to marry me, follow me all over the world, and along with our three children enjoy as much of this unbelievable state as we can. I was working in the Critical Care Unit at the Alaska Native Medical Center when I met Kent Kantowski and was introduced to the world of snow machining and dog sledding. After accompanying him on the Knik 200 last year, another long story, my interest was piqued. So, when I was approached and asked to be the Medical Mission Coordinator, the answer was a resounding “Yes.”

I am honored to have the opportunity to volunteer as this year’s Serum Run “25” Medical Mission Coordinator. I truly believe in the mission and know we will have a measurable effect in the villages we visit. Falls are the leading cause of non-fatal injury and hospitalization in Alaska and the only way to combat this issue is through prevention and education. We are going to be in areas that do not have an injury prevention program in place so our outreach is extremely valuable.

Combined with the excitement of adventure, making new friends & long stories, I look forward to implementing the Serum Run Medical Mission and Col. Vaughn’s vision. Laissez les bons temps rouler!

INFORMATION

2007 HONORARY
MUSHERS
Howard Lincoln from White Mountain, Alaska

SOURDOUGH
PETE - AUDIO TRAIL STORIES