A framed print highlighting the Tetons, taken by two-time Jackson mayor and local businessman Abi Garaman was presented to Perrino as the Old Stager Award.

"We like to present the musher with a photograph to remind them of Wyoming," says Phil Newcomb, the bank's senior vice president.

Perrino—who began racing competitively at the age of 14—has seen a lot of the Canadian and U.S. countryside by sled. He lives in Yellowknife, where temperatures can easily drop to -40 degrees and says, "We have been looking forward to racing in the warmth of Wyoming." He has run in the Iditarod, Yukon Quest and Atta Boy 300.

The Bank of Jackson Hole is a locally owned and managed independent bank headquartered in Jackson, with branches in Dubois, Alpine and Pinedale, Wyo. Founded in 1985, the Bank of Jackson Hole serves communities in and around the Jackson Hole Valley. It has been an IPSSSDR sponsor since the race’s beginning in 1996.

The 2008 IPSSSDR takes place from January 25 - February 2. With its unique "stage stop" racing format, the IPSSSDR stops in a different community each night, allowing host towns to show their hospitality. The International Pedigree Stage Stop Sled Dog Race was founded in 1996 by Frank Teasley to make sled dog racing more accessible to the public. For more information, visit the race at www.wyomingstagestop.org, contact the race via e-mail at bark@wyomingstagestop.org, or telephone at (307) 734-1163.