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<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center" align=center><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%"><FONT face=Calibri>Message from the Vice President<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%"><FONT face=Calibri>Good day to all SAR providers:<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%"><FONT face=Calibri>First of all a little history. I became involved in search and rescue about five years ago when my wife was tasked to a search in the Rocky Mountain House area. She was not comfortable driving by herself in the foothills and in unfamiliar territory so I volunteered to drive her. Once we arrived at the scene she did what all searchers did and at the time the whole process baffled me. The RCMP took little time in putting me to work at the command post doing various tasks. On the ride home the conversation was all SAR. My wife had been involved with SAR for about two years previously so I had herd bits and pieces of the goings on. The die had been cast and the rest is history so to speak. I am now in my third term as president of Brazeau Regional SAR located in and serving <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Drayton</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Valley</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> and surrounding areas, and currently one of the group’s three search managers.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%"><FONT face=Calibri>In April 2009 at the AGM of Search and Rescue <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:State w:st="on">Alberta</st1:State></st1:place> I accepted the nomination for Vice President. My goal as VP is to assist the board in a consolidated effort to work with AEMA to strengthen the position of the volunteer SAR worker in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:State w:st="on">Alberta</st1:State></st1:place>. In light of the recent events that have taken place in Golden our focus has shifted slightly in that the priority has changed to ensure the protection of our volunteers. With the focus of SAR Alberta on the protection of our grass roots people we need unwavering support from all of our teams throughout the province so we can lobby the government with the confidence of a unified voice. The support of all the teams is necessary to accomplish the tasks that we have set for ourselves and as the VP I am committed and focused on the resolution of some of the past problems. The road has been a little tough to navigate with AEMA and we are gaining a better understanding in how they work and how they think we work. We will educate them on how we work in an effort to give them a better understanding of who we are and what we do and the kind of support that we require from them as our lead agency. Monica and I have meetings set up this week with the Minister of Municipal Affairs and top officials at AEMA and we will focus on cutting through red tape in an effort to make progress. In an effort to be a transparent and accountable board we will make as much information as possible available to the general membership as it becomes available. <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%"><FONT face=Calibri>With that being said we as the executive and regional board members need to be kept in the loop about all the issues that pop up that ultimately affect the health and wellbeing of Search and Rescue <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:State w:st="on">Alberta</st1:State></st1:place> and all the teams under our umbrella. With that information we can lobby the government to make changes or to provide assistance in a clear and informed manner.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%"><FONT face=Calibri>I have met with Cindy Heselton, the chair of the standards committee and will be working closely with the committee in a support role to provide the necessary backing that they need to do the job at hand in a timely manner. I believe that we as the executive have made it clear that we support each other and will forge ahead to accelerate the process and realize timely results. <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%"><FONT face=Calibri>Lastly I would like thank the teams that have dropped us a line expressing their support. This is important to us at SAR Alberta to know that we have your support and that we are moving in the direction that benefits the volunteers that we represent.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%"><o:p><FONT face=Calibri> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%"><FONT face=Calibri>Thank you<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%"><FONT face=Calibri>On behalf of Search and Rescue <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:State w:st="on">Alberta</st1:State></st1:place> <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%"><o:p><FONT face=Calibri> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%"><FONT face=Calibri>Don Drebert<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%"><FONT face=Calibri>Vice President<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%"><FONT face=Calibri>Search and Rescue <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:State w:st="on">Alberta</st1:State></st1:place><o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%"><FONT face=Calibri>780-542-2817(h)<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt"><A href="mailto:ddrebert@telus.net"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%"><FONT face="Times New Roman">ddrebert@telus.net</FONT></SPAN></A><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%"><FONT face=Calibri> <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%"><o:p><FONT face=Calibri> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P></TD></TR>
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