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Search team selects leaders
Lots of work left after organization's first general meeting

Shawn Giilck
Northern News Services
Published Thursday, May 15, 2014

INUVIK
The Inuvik Ground Search and Rescue Team now has a leadership structure in place, but the work is just beginning.

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Nelson Perry, the new logistics director for the Inuvik Ground Search and Rescue Team, was elected May 1, along with new president Frances Gertsch, during the organization's first annual general meeting at the Inuvik Fire Hall. - Shawn Giilck/NNSL photo

Frances Gertsch, the acting superintendent of Parks Canada's office in Inuvik, was elected the president of the organization during its first annual general meeting May 1 at the Inuvik Fire Hall. She had an extensive history with search and rescue operations in Prince Edward Island before moving to Inuvik two months ago.

She had been serving on an informal three-person board working to get the organization off the ground along with Jerry McKenna of the Inuvik RCMP detachment and Vince Sharpe, a town councillor and businessman. She said McKenna had recruited her to help with the team when she arrived in town.

McKenna, who has worked with ground search and rescue (GSAR) units for more than 25 years, has been the driving force behind forming the organization for the last year, along with town councillor Alana Mero.

Last month, McKenna said he strongly felt any GSAR team needed to be led and operated by civilians in order to encourage more people to participate, as opposed to a police and government-heavy entity that would not appeal to the general public.

The vice-president of the board is Lorne Browne, an Inuvik resident for about nine years.

The board is rounded out by vice-president Nelson Perry of Parks Canada, secretary Jenny Costa, another Parks Canada employee, Ryan Brooks, Gary McBride, the finance officer for the Town of Inuvik and John Hicks.

The GSAR team has accepted nearly 60 members so far, Gertsch said, adding she was "very impressed and excited" by the quality of the applicants.

"It's going to be a lot of fun to get everyone up to speed," she said.

"I've told people with other search and rescue teams that we have that many applicants and they just can't believe it," Gertsch told the audience, which numbered about 30 people.

Part of that is due to her "encouraging" other Parks Canada staff to volunteer for the team, Gertsch said.

"I think I recruited half my staff to come here," she said.

The remainder is due to the high interest in the organization by the general public, particularly relatively new arrivals to town.

At the first meeting of the group in April, Sharpe noted most of the people in attendance had been living in Inuvik for "only a year or two." He suggested that might be a good thing, as it would make it easier to train people who had no preconceptions of the area.

However, there's still a considerable amount of work to be done, Gertsch said in her introductory remarks.

She handed out a first draft of the team manual and outlined the next steps for prospective members to follow.

Those steps included the completion of a comprehensive criminal records check, including a section on sexual assault offences, serving a one-year probationary period with the team and adhering to a code of conduct.

Depending on individual circumstances, there was some discussion the criminal records check might also include fingerprints. That's on top of a detailed application process for prospective members, who were asked to provide resumes, job descriptions and three references.

The proposed code of conduct, when finished, will offer instructions on how to behave on social media as well, since the members will be representing the organization at all times, Gertsch said.

The training for the team members will be equally extensive, with up to 90 courses being offered, along with many training opportunities and social get-togethers.

The team, when it is ready to go into the field, will be called in for search and rescue work at the discretion of the RCMP and Parks Canada.

McKenna will act as the liaison between the RCMP and the team. The RCMP – and other police organizations – retain authority over all ground search and rescue operations outside of national parks, where Parks Canada has domain.

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