Rankin woman helps with many events
Darrell Greer
Northern News Services
Rankin Inlet (Dec 06/00) - Kathy Towtongie has a simple set of rules when it comes to volunteer work.
Do it often, work hard, share the credit and never, ever, ask to be paid.
Towtongie got involved with music festivals about seven years ago when she lent a hand with the annual Christmas talent show in Rankin Inlet.
Although she enjoyed the experience, she felt the participants could do better with a little guidance.
"Some of the participants were lip syncing and I knew they could do better, so I volunteered for the hamlet committee and asked if I could organize the next year's show," says Towtongie.
Help she did, to the point where the Rankin Inlet Music Festival was born and grew to be a three-day event in both 1998 and '99.
Local youth asked Towtongie to help with their singing and she managed to have Coral Harbour elders come to Rankin and conduct a throat-singing workshop.
Towtongie also took over a program started by Johnny Kusugak and organized a trip to Greenland for four Rankin youth.
"Before my involvement with music, I helped organize a three-day derby in 1985 for dog teams with $30,000 in prizes, including a top prize of $7,000.
"It was funny. We saw those skinny Yellowknife dogs hooked up to a standing sled and thought our big dogs would beat them easily.
"Once those Yellowknife dogs started, we never saw their skinny butts again until they crossed the finish line."
Helping preserve Inuit culture, such as drum dancing and throat singing, is the main reason Towtongie enjoys the music festivals. The '98-'99 concerts produced two CDs featuring the best of the festivals, but she had to take a break in 2000.
"I ran the fishing derby last year and, by the time the summer came, I just found myself feeling really tired, so I decided to stay away from it all this time around. I'll get involved again. I'm proud of the fact I've never asked to be paid for any of this.
"There are too many people today who won't help out unless they're paid. They want to be paid for everything."
