Our Values

Commitment

We give 100% effort to the task at hand and complete it to the best of our ability.

Initiative

We do not wait to be asked and in our decisions and actions we are accountable.

Comradeship

The member is the group and the group is the member.

Humour

We see the humour in all adversity that we may face.

Humility

None of us shall see him or herself above the needs of the group.

Mission Statement

Hamilton SAR Group provides highly competent and operationally focused teams
that are well led, trained and equipped.

Committee Updated

Gin Peck

Acting Chairperson

E ninandnim@xtra.co.nz

Gilbert Southworth

Treasurer

Barry Were

YSAR Liaison

Matt Hassard

Operations Coordinator

E snapperassasin@xtra.co.nz

Russell Lamb

Administrator

Dave Pitchford

Police Rep

Jake Crosby

Newsletter (Non-committee)

Last Months Meeting

• Was at Extreme Edge
• River crossing DVD

This Months Meeting AGM

• Will be at Extreme Edge Rock Climbing on Greenwood street
• The AGM will be held

Meeting Venue New

This months meeting will be held at Extreme Edge indoor rock climbing 90 Greenwood Street (almost oposite KFC). Extreme Edge are offering 10% off for SAR members on the night so head down about 6pm for some fun. It can be cold there so make sure you have some warm clothing.

Monthly Training

This months training will be on the last Thursday of June, the 28th. It will be on the south or east side of Hamilton. More details once they are finalised.

Reminders

Availability

• If you are going away: Contact Gin with the dates you are unavailable.
• If you are unable to attend a training: Contact Matt Hassard.
• If you are unable to attend a meeting: Contact Gin or a committee member.

Pager Test Message

Reminder for all those members with pagers. The first of every month a test message is sent out to ensure your pager is operational, if you do not receive this message you should contact Matt.

Personal Details

Contact Russell if there are any changes to your contact details so the callout list is updated. Change of email address also needs to be passed on to Jake for the newsletter.

Tracking Camp New

Dave McDonald went to the five day tracking camp at OPC recently.

The course is a 5-day annual extension to the TCA 1-3 courses, with participants selected through a 2-day refresher and assessment camp. It covers tactical application of tracking skills and tracking teams in an operational context.

I had a fantastic time on the course and learnt a great deal about the practical application of trackers in SAR operations, while getting to hone my own tracking skills and speed.

For Sale

• Backcountry ration packs – with breakfast, lunch, dinner and extras pack (tea, coffee, chocolate etc.). They are a bargain at $20. Remember – these are sold to our group at this special rate on the understanding that they will only be used during SAREXs or SAR Operations.
• Hamilton SAR cloth badge, $6.00 contact Russell
• Whistles – Bright and Loud, $12 contact Barry

Discounts for Members

• R&R Sport – 25% Ask for Wayne Addison.
• Trek 'n' Travel – 20%
• Bivouac Outdoor – 20%
• Macpac Hamilton – up to 30%
• Torpedo 7 – 10% Email Barry for discount code.
• Kathmandu – Free summit club membership
• Mountain Designs – 25% off Mountain Designs Products, 20% off others

LandSAR Conference 2012 New

Friday 16 – Sunday 18 November at Bayview Wairakei Resort, Taupo

We are pleased to announce the confirmation of two key speakers at this year’s LandSAR conference:

• Allison Mooney – People Interpreter
• Dr Dave Baldwin – NZ’s very own Flying Doctor

These speakers are Kiwis, who have been chosen to cover topics and general interest areas which we think will be enjoyed by everyone attending the conference.

We are currently researching searches/and or rescues which have occurred in the last 2-3 years which we can use as case studies for discussion. We are hoping that in some cases the lost party will also be able to attend, which will enable us all to gain some insight into their perspective of the search experience.

If you have any great ideas for case studies, which you think would appeal to a wide range of SAR practitioners, please e-mail Karen Forsyth, Conference Manager at taupo@landsar.org.nz.

We are also well underway with planning for pre-conference events, which will be held from the Monday to the Thursday before the conference, and will be based in the National Park area, with accommodation available there.

Banff Film Festival New

Once again the Alpine Club is running the Banff Film Festival. I've seen a couple of the films and really recommend you check it out.

Tickets are on sale from Trek N Travel and R&R Sport in Hamilton now. They are $20 (It's best to take cash as it goes direct to NZAC).

See bit.ly/Lfhfs8 for more info.

Note: this is the Saturday night of the TCA and Tracking courses at Te Kauri Lodge.

LandSAR CEO Visit Updated

Since the middle of April LandSAR new Chief Executive Harry Maher has been holding the reins. Maher has come from the Department of Conservation, where he was the national commercial portfolio manager.

During next week he will be visiting a number of SAR groups in the Midland area. The Hamilton meeting will be 20th June at 7:00pm at the Wintec Avalon Campus in building T map.

This will be Harry’s introduction to the Hamilton group, so come along and hear his take on things and facilitate some discussion.

“Harry comes to LandSAR with a very strong track-record in building funding partnerships with leading New Zealand businesses,” LandSAR chairman Phil Melchior said.

“He has a strong empathy with what LandSAR is all about and an incisive grasp of the issues facing the search and rescue sector.

“The Board is confident he will take LandSAR to the next level in our development.”

"There are some great opportunities ahead for LandSAR, and I'm really looking forward to taking on the challenge of realising these." Harry said.

For a Laugh

At a recent computer expo, Bill Gates reportedly compared the computer industry with the auto industry and stated, "If Ford had kept up with technology like the computer industry has, we would all be driving $25 cars that got 1,000 miles to the gallon.

In response to Bill's comments, Ford issued a press release stating:

If Ford had developed technology like Microsoft, we would all be driving cars with the following characteristics:

1. For no reason whatsoever, your car would crash...twice a day.
2. Every time they repainted the lines in the road, you would have to buy a new car.
3. Occasionally your car would die on the freeway for no reason. You would have to pull to the side of the road, close all of the windows, shut off the car, restart it, and reopen the windows before you could continue. For some reason you would simply accept this.
4. Occasionally, executing a manoeuvres such as a left turn would cause your car to shut down and refuse to restart, in which case you would have to reinstall the engine.
5. Macintosh would make a car that was powered by the sun, was reliable, five times as fast and twice as easy to drive - but would run on only five per cent of the roads.
6. The oil, water temperature, and alternator warning lights would all be replaced by a single “This Car Has Performed An Illegal Operation" warning light.
7. The airbag system would ask, “Are you sure?” before deploying.
8. Occasionally, for no reason whatsoever, your car would lock you out and refuse to let you in until you simultaneously lifted the door handle, turned the key and grabbed hold of the radio antenna.
9. Every time a new car was introduced car buyers would have to learn how to drive all over again because none of the controls would operate in the same manner as the old car.
10. You'd have to press the "Start" button to turn the engine off.