Todd Mitchell Palin was born this day in 1964. He was Sarah Heath’s high school sweetheart and on August 29, 1988, they married. Since then, Todd has been Gov. Palin’s rock of support as she has said so many times. When she served as Alaska’s governor, Todd was known as the “First Dude.”
He was a contestant on Stars Earn Stripes and has won four stripes worth $10,000 each for Armed Services YMCA Alaska.
Photo courtesy of and Copyright © 2012 Justin Marley Alaska SnowRider Magazine. H/T Katie DeFrancesco, Sarah Palin News (SPN) for photo lead. Gov. Palin and her husband Todd prepare to hug moments after his 5th place 2012 Iron Dog win.
He is a four-time Iron Dog Champion and an eight-time winner. The first five places in the Iron Dog are considered winners and first place is champion. He has been racing for over 20 years, which means 12 out of the 20 or 75% of them were wins.
He worked on Alaska’s North Slope a week on and a week off for much of his life. Gov. Palin too traveled frequently in the course of her work, making raising the family and maintaining their marriage a challenge – one that many couples under those circumstances fail at.
Though Todd races snow machines at speeds reaching 120 mph in pitch black darkness, or hunts moose with his .338 (Winchester?), he was never too macho to change diapers, clean the house, cook and do whatever else it took to ensure his family was cared for. When Kevin Scholla, SarahNET Radio asked Todd about “wearing the mom hat” during an interview, he said,
“Kevin, there is no question. That is the toughest job in the world: be a mom, and you know, I was blessed to have opportunity to on-the-job train on the North Slope. My job was week on – week off for many, many years – close to 20 years, and when I came home, I made sure I was taking care of everything, because when I was gone, Sarah had to be the mom and the dad and take care of the house, but it provided for my family for many years, while allowing us to continue to live the Alaska lifestyle that we enjoy. You know, commercial fishing in the summer time, Iron Dog in the winter time, and kids activities throughout the years. But, being a mom is the toughest job in the world and when you get to put the mom hat on and have dad kid time, it’s pretty special.”
The staff of US for Palin wish Todd a happy birthday and many more.
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