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What's Happening
At SSAR
Season's Greetings! We hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season filled with family, friends and fun times.
Our Communications Director has been away on holiday so this edition of SSAR News will encompass happenings for the past two very busy months.
First, a big WELCOME to our new Basic Searchers. Aaron Anton, Don Brophy, Shawn Bursey, Stefanie Longueil, Paul Nutter, Shelly Ottley, Zhigang Qu, Jeff Rock, Jaime Storch and Jess Vandenhuvel completed their training the beginning of November. (Check out Aaron's re-cap of the training below.) A few other candidates have yet to finish their final assessment so there will be more new names to add to the list in the near future. It's so exciting to see people learn and become more comfortable and confident as they move through the training process. That learning continues with every one of us as we gain more experience.
 It's good to see that many of these new members have already completed the ICS (Incident Command Systems) Level 100 course. Further courses are available through Saskatoon EMO and most are offered free of charge to active SSAR members.
Congrats and belated Happy Birthday to Ashley Buller. Ashley has been training with SSAR and took her Basic Searcher training last spring at 17 years of age. Her 18th birthday in November was the turning point to officially become a SSAR member and eligible for activations.
We keep getting closer to our fundraising goal and making our Emergency Communications Project a reality. With the funds raised to date we have started making some purchases and are very excited to see this project coming together. Many thanks to our two newest sponsors and all of our sponsors.
With all this training and fundraising, there are many people to thank!
Of course, the reason we do all this is for activations and helping our community.
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Emergency Communications Project
Newest Sponsors
We are very pleased to announce two new sponsors for our Emergency Communications Project.
Thank you so much to the Kinsmen Club of Saskatoon and the Riverside Rotary Club for your support! Because of organizations that recognize the tremendous value search and rescue services bring to the community, we are that much closer to our goal!
We are actively seeking organizations or individuals who may be interested in supporting this project. Please contact us at saskaoonsearchandrescue@gmail.com
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Activations
For the Past Months
2014 is shaping up to be our busiest year ever with two more activations and a standby in the past couple of months. We've been working hard to develop good relationships and generate support from our agencies of jurisdiction and the joint training is paying off. Thank you so much to the Saskatoon Police Service, RCMP, Saskatoon Fire Department and Saskatoon EMO for your support!
On October 10 we were activated by the Saskatoon Police Service to search for an 83-year-old-male with dementia who had gone missing from one of the hospitals. We had seven members just arriving at scene when he was located.
On October 19 the Saskatoon Police Service put us on standby in relation to a missing 9-year-old boy. The boy was quickly located and activation was not required.
 On November 22 six SSAR team members, along with SARSAV teams from Porcupine Plain and Wadena, as well as many other organizations, were activated by RCMP to search for a hunter who went missing in the Porcupine Forest near Lintlaw, SK. Fortunately, the hunter was well prepared for the winter conditions and was located safe and healthy.
Photo: New SSAR member Don Brophy on his first activation! Photo by Sherry Buller
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Basic Searcher
Training Recap
Thanks to new member Aaron Anton for sharing his experiences.
Over the past four months, our group of new recruits, including myself, has been in basic searcher training, the first step in becoming an active member of Saskatoon Search and Rescue. Between the classroom and field exercises there was a ton of information to absorb . . . (Read more.)
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Training and Events
Monthly Training Meetings
Training sessions are generally held the first Thursday and Saturday of the month. All Thursday evening sessions are held at the Fire Training Centre, 116 Ave W S, unless otherwise specified. Field days are generally held the following Saturday.
December 11 - 7 pm – Presentation of certificates to new Basic Searchers, committee discussions, review of recent activations and work on table-top scenarios.
December 13 - Christmas Party!!! A afternoon of family fun and evening social. Full details, times, locations, etc. sent to members via e-mail.
January 15 - 7 pm - Review of cold-weather issues and preparation for annual winter overnight training.
January 17-18 - Time and location TBD. Winter overnight with SAR exercise.
Executive and Directors Meeting
Note: There will be no Executive Meeting in December.
The next SSAR Executive and Directors meeting will be held on Thursday, January 29, at 7 pm. These are business-style meetings of our chapter and are held the last Thursday of each month. All members are welcome to attend. If you would like to speak to an issue concerning SSAR, please notify the President prior to the meeting so time can be allotted on the agenda. If you would like a copy of the minutes from any past meetings, please email us.
And More . . .
Check our website calendar for more events and training information.
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Thank You
To Our Members
We certainly couldn't do all the training we have on the go without dedicated members who are willing to share their experiences with others. Not to mention that teaching and helping others is a great way to build experience level and confidence in what you've learned.
 Thanks so very much to Rebecca Basset who took the lead on the Basic Searcher course, putting in many hours of planning and organizing. It all came together with additional help from Shelley Ballard-McKinlay, Jeff Baxter, Sherry Buller, Henry Eng, Jarrett Erker, Jarod Harvey, Dale Johnstone, Rod Miskolczi, Kent Orosz, Sean Taylor and Mark Wells. We are growing into a very strong organization with so many talented people!
Just because we have new members going through the Basic Searcher Course doesn't mean training stops for everyone else! Thanks to Rebecca Basset, Jeff Baxter, Dale Johnstone, Kent Orosz and Sean Taylor for organizing and instructing various other aspects of our training.
Thanks to the Saskatoon Police Service for hosting and accommodating three of our members, Rebecca Basset, Shelly Ottley and Sean Taylor, to attend a Scribe Training Course. They will be tasked with instructing more of our members in this important task.
Thanks to the Saskatoon Fire Department for hosting a Small Vessel Operator Proficiency Course as part of a NIF (New Initiatives Fund) grant they received. This was attended by Jeff Baxter.
Thanks to our resident First Aid Instructor, Rebecca Basset, for hosting a First Aid Course. Twelve members took advantage of the training to certify or re-certify.
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Thank You
For Your Support
Thank you so much to these community-minded organizations who support the work of Saskatoon Search and Rescue and have helped to fund our Emergency Communications Project. We are getting closer to our goal!
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What else would you like to see in the SSAR newsletter? Do you have something that should be included next month? Please email the Communications Director with your ideas, comments and feedback. Thanks!
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