2010 SARVAC Awards

Please join me in recognizing the 2010 SARVAC SAR Award winners. Also join me in remembering that these people and counties are the reason that we can say “…. So others may live….”.

Youth SAR Achievement Award - Taylor Houmard - Kitsap County WESAR
Taylor joined WESAR as a team member he progressed to team leader and then to field team leader. He has also put in 250 hours this year in responding to missions and trainings. Additionally he has put in 1,100 hours since he joined the Kitsap WESAR Team.

Adult SAR Achievement Award - Betty Fleck - Kitsap County WESAR
Betty has been a member of the team since 2005 and has donated thousands of hours tracking training. She also puts in hours and hours of time on missions tracking radio transmissions and other needed information on a search.

SAR Leadership Lifetime Achievement - David "Rick" Kincaid - Clark County SAR
Rick has put in thousands of hours training others for SAR missions over the last 30 years. He has trained people in Clark County and the surrounding counties, he has also taught classes at several SAR conferences. At the annual SAR day at Beacon Rock he teaches the public “map and compass” each year.

SAR Meritorious Service Award - John and Kathleen Carlson - Wind River SAR - Skamaina County SAR
John and Kathleen as the write up says are deserving of our thanks and admiration for the hours and hours they provide SAR. They have provided hours and hours of training to teams all along the Columbia gorge and Southwest Washington. They have also saved 100’s of lives in numerous SAR missions.

SAR Deputy/SAR Liaison Award - Jeff King - Klickitat County
Jeff started out as a volunteer with Klickitat County search and rescue. He was also part of the volunteer board for the volunteer team. He became the sheriff’s office SAR coordinator several years ago and has done an outstanding job. He is active with WSSARCA and other statewide organizations in relationship to SAR. He brings a focused professionalism to his position, to his county, and the state of Washington.

SAR County Award - Kitsap County
Kitsap County over the past year has undertaken a new and innovative methods for their volunteers. Kitsap County has been busy working on credentialing and resource typing the counties resources. This includes the SAR resources and teams. The program is modeled after the federal program and is what the future holds.

SARVAC Presidents Award - Kathy Decker, King County and George Ratayczak, Whatcom County
The President’s award is a new award this year, in fact it is the first time it has been awarded. It was given to Kathy and George for their dedication, professionalism, and knowledge of SAR in their counties and the State of Washington. They have been active in WSSARCA and other state organizations related to SAR. They also have consistently given of their time and expertise to other counties and coordinators across the state. They are their when anyone calls for help, and are willing to be their when needed.