The MRA community, and the larger search and rescue community, is a special place and we are lucky that so many people work so hard at making it safe, welcoming and supportive. I see this locally when I get to work with other teams in California, and nationally when I get to reach out to teams around the country for stories and information for the Meridian each quarter. It’s the best part of my job – getting to talk to people in Maine, Utah, Washington or Colorado who might have different environments or team structures or types of calls, but there is so much community and support and a real desire to share information. The culture of service and selflessness is evident in every person I talk with and I count myself lucky to get to be a part of the community, and contribute to it in some small way.
I have thought about community a lot these past months as this winter has certainly seen quite a lot of activity and tragic incidents. The death of nine backcountry skiers in the Lake Tahoe area was perhaps the most high profile, but many teams across the country saw increased calls and participated in valiant rescues and recoveries. I wanted to take a moment in this issue to acknowledge again the incredible, selfless work that all SAR volunteers do, risking their own lives to save strangers. More importantly, I want to highlight the importance of taking care of everyone’s mental and emotional health in these busy times. See the article in this edition on the different ways that teams are training in emotional resilience and are supporting their teammates after difficult calls. So many teams are prioritizing this part of the work and doing important things to keep members healthy and able to respond.
This issue also includes several articles that were submitted to me, or written by other folks, so yay! Keep reaching out with ideas and send me your submissions. I am happy to receive them. Having art or photos to include as well is also helpful. We publish every three months, so the next issue will be July 1, with submissions due in late June. Please contact me with any questions or ideas.