Board of Directors meeting called
to order at 1035 by President Martha Ackroyd.
Board members present included:
President Martha Ackroyd, Vice President John Miller, Secretary Peter McCabe,
Treasurer Andy Appel, Keith Conover, Jim Howley, and Roy Keiser. Directors not
present were Tom Hirchak, and Jay Cooke. Issues presented to the Board of
Directors included:
Discussion of Survey results
scheduled to be discussed during Quarterly Membership Meeting. There were no
questions raised at the Board meeting except how the Surveys were distributed.
There was general discussion of
some internal problems in crediting payment of annual dues. Discussion of a
proposed new billing and payment processing system that will be put into place
for 1998.
The suggestion of dividing the
PSARC northern region in to 2 regions; northeast region and northwest region
concluded with the understanding this would require a By-Laws change. Proposal
was referred to the By-Laws Committee.
The PSARC is a member of the
Volunteer Organizations Assisting in Disaster (VOAD) program coordinated
through PEMA. All states have VOAD programs. The basic premise of the VOAD
program is to provide logistical support services, along with other volunteer
emergency services programs. In a large scale disaster in Pennsylvania, PSARC
might be requested to provide support services. Additional information
regarding the VOAD will be developed and distributed to member teams in the
PSARC.
The Department of Conservation and
Natural Resources (DCNR) has developed ground search and rescue standards for
Field Team Member and Field Team Leader positions. These standards will be
submitted for approval by DCNR in Harrisburg. [Standards were approved in
January 1998 by DCNR/Harrisburg.] DCNR plans to develop standards for Incident
Staff and Dog Handlers. The standards were developed from existing PSARC
standards and Appalachian Search & Rescue Conference (ASRC) standards.
On a related issue earlier reported
in the PSARC SAR_Net, DCNR has developed a written and practical FTM test. An
FTL test is in development. Beginning sometime in 1998, ground SAR teams can
arrange with
DCNR rangers in their area for
members of their team to take the DCNR written and practical FTM test.
DCNR will provide the PSARC with
information on the counties in Pennsylvania where trained DCNR SAR personnel
are located. DCNR also plans to have one of their SAR trained rangers from each
DCNR region meet annually with PSARC representatives from the Council's four regions.
The DCNR SAR program has chosen the
PSARC as the conduit to relate with voluntary SAR teams in Pennsylvania.
However, non-PSARC teams have the ability to relate directly with DCNR if they
wish.
By motion with unanimous consent,
the following dates and meeting places were established:
February 21 at State College
May 15-16 at site TBD for possible
SAR exercise in eastern region of state
August 15 at State College
November 21 at State College or
during possible SAR exercise in western region
The Board of Directors meeting
adjourned at 1127 hours Respectfully submitted:
Peter McCabe, Secretary
The general PSARC quarterly meeting
was called to order at 1150 hours by Council President Martha Ackroyd.
The first order of business was to
distribute an election ballot to two PSARC member team delegates who had not
received their ballots through the mail. After their ballot decisions were
completed received and received, a ballot teller committee left to count and
tally the election ballots.
The PSARC Minutes from the
September 1997 PSARC quarterly meeting were accepted as presented.
The Treasurer's Report by retiring
Treasurer Andy Appel was accepted as presented. Incoming Treasurer Carol Manual
(Delaware Valley SAR) was introduced. The President directed that an internal
audit be completed as fiscal responsibilities are transferred to a new
Treasurer. Election Results:
The ballot teller committee
announced the following election results. Officers elected for two-year terms
were: President John Miller.
Mid-Atlantic Regional SAR
Vice President Joe Thrash, Somerset SAR
Secretary Peter McCabe, Maryland SAR Group
Treasurer Carol Manual Delaware Valley SAR
Directors elected for four year
terms were Andy Appel, Roy Keiser, and Jim Norris
Note: John Miller, newly elected President assumed leadership of the
meeting at 1215.
Training Coordinator Ron Sadd
announced that during the September SARExpo 270 people participated. There will
be a SARExpo in the eastern Council region (off PA Turnpike at exit 20)
beginning Friday morning, May 15, and running thru Saturday, May 16. Further
information will be provided as the program is developed.
Newly elected Council President
John Miller presented results of the recent Survey of PSARC member teams. A
summary of the results are:
·
Training has the highest priority.
·
Changes are recommended to better SAR programs. Briefly, people
need to stop arguing and get something done.
·
In the DCNR SAR Task Force, 95% of the ranger members were not
aware of the PSARC.
DCNR will advise PSARC officers
when they are ready to begin the testing program. The PSARC now has a list of
DCNR ranger managers on a county by county basis who can serve as a liaison
with ground SAR teams.
DCNR search managers are allowed to
participate in ground SAR missions outside of their official responsibilities
(parks and forests), but they are not routinely paid for these services. DCNR
personnel can participate for one work shift, or complete their work shift, but
for further participation in ground SAR on private lands, DCNR will make
decisions on a case by case basis regarding further participation of DCNR
personnel. The formal language of the DCNR policy is, "For SAR operations
originating on private lands and not involving public lands, the Bureau(s) may
approve involvement in the search. Employees can be granted civil leave by
their, supervisor for up to one full shift per day. Any time spent on the
search over and above a full shift will not be paid by the Bureau(s), although
Bureau equipment can continue to be used by searchers."
It was emphasized that DCNR needs
to relate with the PSARC through one voice. PSARC needs to determine who that
voice will be. Mike Norris
is the DCNR liaison with the PSARC.
As preparation was made to make the
second reading of the proposed By-Laws changes, a motion was made (A Appel) and
seconded (K Conover) to waive the second reading. A recommendation was made to
provide a short verbal summary of the proposed changes. The vote to waive was
unanimous. A short summary of proposed changes was made.
A motion was made (R Keiser) and
seconded (Eric Gustkey) to accept the proposed changes to the By-Laws as read
at the Council meeting in September, and printed and distributed to PSARC
members with the December meeting notice. The motion was approved unanimously
with 10 delegates present. The voting requirement is for a 213 plurality.
Ron Wisbith (Rescue 40) presented a
proposal for development of state legislation regarding ground search and
rescue services in Pennsylvania. He discussed the legislative process and the
importance for having ground SAR programs recognized as a state asset. .
Council President John Miller asked
Vice President Joe Thrash to develop a Council WEB site with mailboxes for
officers, directors, and training and activity schedules.
It was also proposed that PSARC
develop an e-mail closed list server capability.
Jim Howley, retiring Director on
the Board of Directors was thanked for many years of service to the Council. A
standing round of applause accompanied the thanks from the Council.
The meeting was adjourned at 1320
hours. Respectfully submitted:
Peter McCabe, Secretary
A second Board of Directors meeting
was called at 1330 to conduct necessary business by the new Board leadership.
President Miller indicated that it
is important the Board establish goals and objectives for the next two years.
Board members with input should contact him at first opportunity.
The February 1998 Board meeting
will begin at 0930 with the Quarterly Council meeting beginning at 1100.
It was suggested that a Board
retreat be scheduled sometime this spring. All officers and directors were
asked to bring their calendars to the February meeting. The meeting adjourned
at 1355.
Respectfully submitted:
Peter McCabe, Secretary