Dear MRA Members,It is an honor to write to you for the first time as President of the Mountain Rescue Association. I want to start by thanking you for the trust you’ve placed in me, and by thanking Mark Miraglia for his dedicated service over the past two years during his term as President. Mark’s leadership strengthened this organization, particularly in updating and modernizing the MRA policies, and I’m grateful for the foundation he’s left us to build on.
I also want to extend our sincere thanks to Juneau Mountain Rescue and the Alaska Mountain Rescue Group for hosting a fantastic Spring Conference last month. Hosting a Spring Conference is no small task, and their efforts on behalf of the membership were deeply appreciated by everyone who attended. We have heard feedback from the Membership, past host teams, and our sponsors about how the burden of the Spring Conference falls almost entirely on the shoulders of the volunteers of the host teams and they often feel like they are reinventing the process for hosting the conference every year. To help address this, the Board has approved hiring a professional event planner to support host teams with Spring Conferences in the future. This has been a topic of discussion for some time, and I’m excited to see it move forward. Our host teams pour tremendous volunteer effort into these events, and bringing more consistency to the planning and registration process will lighten that load while improving the experience for everyone who attends.
The MRA is growing and I’m thrilled to share that the MRA approved its first team in Hawaii: O’ahu Search & Rescue. This is a significant milestone for our organization, and it reflects the continued growth and relevance of the MRA nationwide. Please join me in welcoming O’ahu SAR to the MRA family.
Looking Ahead
As I step into this role, I do so with real appreciation for the path that brought me here — from organizing the 2021 Spring Conference, to a year as the MRA Secretary/Treasurer, to the past two years as Vice President working alongside Mark. Those experiences have shown me both the strength of this organization and where we have room to grow. In the months ahead, I’ll be focused on two things: making sure our internal processes serve our member teams well, and making sure the MRA’s voice is heard clearly by the partners and agencies we work alongside. That means continuing to improve remote participation in our Spring and Winter meetings, making the National Evaluator pathway clearer and more consistent, and ensuring that Board-approved initiatives translate into real value for teams in the field. It also means renewing our relationships with ex-officio partners and government agencies, supporting Regions that are working to grow, and working with State SAR Coordinators to open up opportunities for members who are able to respond to large-scale incidents outside of their home region.
As I step into this role, I do so with real appreciation for the path that brought me here — from organizing the 2021 Spring Conference, to a year as the MRA Secretary/Treasurer, to the past two years as Vice President working alongside Mark. Those experiences have shown me both the strength of this organization and where we have room to grow. In the months ahead, I’ll be focused on two things: making sure our internal processes serve our member teams well, and making sure the MRA’s voice is heard clearly by the partners and agencies we work alongside. That means continuing to improve remote participation in our Spring and Winter meetings, making the National Evaluator pathway clearer and more consistent, and ensuring that Board-approved initiatives translate into real value for teams in the field. It also means renewing our relationships with ex-officio partners and government agencies, supporting Regions that are working to grow, and working with State SAR Coordinators to open up opportunities for members who are able to respond to large-scale incidents outside of their home region.
None of this happens without you. My door is open — if there’s something your team or Region needs from MRA leadership, I want to hear about it.
I’m honored to serve as your President, and I look forward to working with all of you in the year ahead.
Chris Ruch
President, Mountain Rescue Association
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