Bennie provides look into Search & Rescue programs

Our program at the April 6 meeting of the Rotary Club of Three Creeks provided an inside look from a volunteer who spent years working as a Search and Rescue (SAR) volunteer in Clark County.

David Bennie's presentation about what SAR is, and who has what responsibilities each has was interesting and well-received.

For example: Did you know that the County Sheriff is the lead official for most search & rescue operations? Did you know that there are 19 different SAR teams in Clark County? How about that all SAR organizations are volunteer labor, dollars and time.

Well those points are all true.

Bennie shared that of the 19 organizations, Silver Star Search & Rescue in east Clark County and the Clark County Sheriff's Office are the two largest in our area.

The future of SAR, he said, looks to be drones. He shared a visual of a quad-copter drone that actually seats one person and is currently being used for SAR in China. Bennie said that this technology is already on the minds of SAR teams in the U.S., which would dramatically reduce the costs of aerial searches.

Also at our April 6 meeting, President Susanne thanked the members of the Charter Night Planning Committee (Shirley Gross, Lisa Abrahamsson, Jolene Nelson, Tina Vlachos and Kelley Campbell) for their work in putting on such an outstanding event. Susanne also presented Shirley with the Rotarian of the Month award for chairing the committee and handling so many fine details with the Summit Grove Lodge.

During our club announcements, Norb Murray and his wife Leah from the Rotary Club of Tualatin presented our new club with a banner to display Rotary Trading banners as a gift from their club. The banner included a trading banner from the Tualatin club, which is much appreciated. We will add the two we already have from other clubs to the banner and display it proudly. Many thanks to our friends at the Rotary Club of Tualatin.

Finally, we had a number of guests at our meeting Thursday, and we would like to thank visiting Rotarians Jim West (Rotary Club of Greater Clark County), and Norb and Leah Murray (Rotary Club of Tualatin). Special thanks also go to guests Sue and Tom Simon as well as Ross Smith (who is looking for a new Rotary home after moving here from Salinas, Calif.).