Tonichelle

Photo by Jeff Schultz and featured in Faces of Iditarod.

Toni Reitter was born and raised in South Central Alaska. Growing up in the 80's and 90's, Toni idolized the men and women that "made Alaska great". Women like Susan Butcher and Libby Riddles (the two women to have ever won the Iditarod) were her heroes and her love and passion for all things Alaska shaped her worldview.

For her seventh birthday, Toni received a small camera to begin documenting her world. She honed her skill and is now a freelance photographer who has had her photos used in international publications, national news broadcasts, and local promotions.

College was not the be all end all for Toni, and while she did not finish her degree in public communications, she does take what she learned and applies it to her business, her work, and her online presence (not always very well). To pay for her hobbies and gas during school she worked for an Iditarod champion kennel running the sound system for their summer show in Anchorage. After moving back home to Kenai, she took another position with the same kennel running their social media/website and reservations system during the busy winter months.

Iditarod is a family affair for Toni, her grandparents volunteered in the early days of the race all the way up to 2012 when her grandmother passed due to complications from a stroke and cancer. Toni now runs the family spot on the Ceremonial Trail every year in Anchorage.

In 2020, Toni was asked to be a guest host of Mushing Radio's Iditarod coverage, she became a co-host in 2021, and in 2022 Mushing Radio expanded to a yearlong podcast following mushing news in addition to the daily Iditarod coverage. 

When not gushing about the sport of mushing, Toni can be found photographing the world around her, spoiling her pug dog Stitch, and traveling to Disney. She has an insane collection of Disney films and memorabilia (a lot of mushing memorabilia, too), and her walls are full of friends and family.

Toni resides in her hometown of Kenai, Alaska.