Keeping you up to date on the latest news and events in the world of Saskatoon Search and Rescue

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Saskatoon Search & Rescue

December 2015

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Reflections . . .

SARscene Conference in PEI

The annual SARscene conference was held October 21 - 26 in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. It is always a great learning experience and an opportunity to meet other SAR volunteers from across Canada. SSAR members Tracy VanBrabant, Diane VanBrabant and Scott Wright (SARVAC President) attended this years' conference and Tracy was one of several candidates who successfully completed in AdventureSmart Train-The-Trainer course.

Thanks to Tracy for writing about her experiences!

Reflections . . .

SARVAC Workshop in Saskatoon

Twenty members of Saskatoon Search and Rescue attended the SARVAC workshop that was held November 6 - 8 in Saskatoon. Thank you so much to SARVAC, the SARSAV board, the presenters and all the participants who made this event possible. It was a great opportunity for all of us! A special thanks to the following SSAR members:

Sherry Buller for being the local liaison with SARVAC and for keeping us updated as information came in;
Scott Wright for his presentation on the new CSA standards for SAR; (Scott was also instrumental in the NIF grant application that provided funding for the workshop to be held.)
Dale Johnstone for his presentation on designing and developing chapter-level training programs; and
Dale Liebrecht for writing a blog post about his experiences at the conference.

The SSAR contingent at the SARVAC workshop.
L-R back row: Sean Taylor, Rebecca Basset, Lavonne Cloke, Sherry Buller, Mark Wells;
Middle row: Aaron Anton, Don Brophy, Jaime Storch, Louis Bossaer, Kevin Blezy, Kent Orosz, Dale Liebrecht, Diane VanBrabant.
Front row: Rick Barsky, Henry Eng, Shawn Bursey, Dale Johnstone.
Missing from photo: Paul Nutter, Scott Wright, Tracy VanBrabant.

What's Happening

At SSAR

As noted above, it's been a busy couple of months. In addition to the conference and workshop, we also had to keep on track with our regular training schedule. Thanks so much to Rebecca Basset and Sean Taylor who planned and organized the November training days. Thanks to Dale Liebrecht, who has access to a FLIR, the team was able to try out this technology during the night search exercise. Dale, who is still going through the Basic Searcher Training, has started a blog to document his SAR experiences. You can find his writeup about the November training here.

After our December training days, which will include final Basic Searcher evaluations, we will have some official new members to announce!

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 in the classroom at the Fire Training Centre, 116 Ave W S, unless otherwise specified. Field days are generally held the following Saturday.

Thursday, December 3, 7 pm - All Members - Presentation by Tracy and Diane VanBrabant on their experiences at the SARscene conference in Prince Edward Island. Preparation for Saturday field day. Basic Searchers - Final theory topics and field day preparation.
Saturday, December 5 - Basic Searchers - 9 am, final skills assessment. All Members - 1 pm to 7 pm for winter exercise. Objectives are to test two operational periods and change of Search Managers, Team Leader task briefings and basic search skills. Location and further details will be provided at Dec. 3 training.

Executive and Directors Meeting

The next SSAR Executive and Directors meeting will be held on Thursday, January 28, at 7 pm. (Note: There will be no Executive Meeting in December.) 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.

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.

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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