VSAR members honoured for their service at the annual Family Day event: L-R: Rob Hurtubise, Coralie Nairn, Leigh Pearson, James Viel, Pete Wise and Don Blakely. Also honoured were Geoff Vick and Rob Cross. (photo courtesy of Vernon Search and Rescue / Facebook)

By Liam Verster

Family Day and Awards

Search and rescue members and their families celebrated

May 30, 2024 | 1:15 PM

Vernon Search and Rescue hosted an event to celebrate its members and their families on the weekend.

On Sunday, May 26, VSAR cleared out its garage to host its annual Family Day celebration.

“It’s not just the guys [VSAR members] that are running out, and the women that are running out at dinner time and midnight to help others, it’s the families that sacrifice too to put up with that and make all our rescues possible,” Trevor Honigman, VSAR’s Search Manager, told Vernon Matters.

“So our Family Day was a big barbeque, there was games and stuff, and we just wanted for the community to recognize, or to know that we had that event and we appreciate all the support, throughout the community, that we receive with Vernon Search and Rescue.”

As part of the event, local politicians, including MP Mel Arnold and MLA Harwinder Sandhu, handed out awards to some of the longer-serving members.

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“We had a member that just finished 60 years, Pete Wise, which is actually the longest-serving search and rescue person in Canada. He just retired from our team,” Honigman said.

“We had one with 50 years, James Viel. He just retired. And there’s five others that had 30 [plus years], and those people were recognized in front of our team and in front of the community as well.”

Here is the complete list of VSAR members who were honoured:

Pete Wise – 60 years – Started on May 1, 1964 – Longest serving Search and Rescue member in Canada
James Viel – 50 years – Started on July 30, 1974 – Longest serving Vernon Search and Rescue member
Leigh Pearson – 37 years – Started on Jan. 1, 1987
Don Blakely – 37 years – Started on Jan. 12, 1987
Coralie Nairn – 35 years – Started on Oct. 27, 1989
Robert Hurtubise – 34 years – Started on Feb. 1, 1990
Geoff Vick – 31 years – Started on July 30, 1993
Robert Cross – 28 years – Started on March 1, 1996

VSAR also handed out three awards to members for the Top Rookie of the Year, the Team Leader of the Year, and the Member Who Goes Above and Beyond.

Honigman added the event also served as an important opportunity for the members to get to know each other and their families, saying there’s not a lot of opportunity to do that while out responding to a call.