Greetings members old and new

I would like to provide everyone with a unit update. The Northwestern Ontario Air Search and Rescue Association is increasingly becoming active in 2005. I'm pleased to announce that September 2005 will be a new start to an exciting 05/06 SAR season. Communication is important, so I hope that this will be the beginning to increased membership communication.

NOASARA has been fairly active throughout the year. Events included: CASARA unit evaluation, the introduction of a successful air cadet "reserve" contingent of NOASARA, AGM, C-130 Hercules spotter training, May SAREX, several SIMSARs, and several academic training courses.

June 2005 will prove to be one of the busiest months NOASARA has had in a long time. I have provided a link to our calendar of events for your viewing.

http://www.calsnet.net/noasara

I encourage everyone to bookmark the NOASARA website (http://my.tbaytel.net/noasara/) and review the calendar of events regularly.

The level of commitment is up to you. There are two ways to get involved. Find an event on the calendar and show up or give me a call and I'll help you participate in something that you enjoy. Members can be found at the hanger most Thursdays at 1915.

The unit is looking for help in the following capacities (in order of priority):

If you can't help in these capacities, ask your friends and family. You might be surprised. We are looking for a serious commitment to these positions and some of these can be done from home.

Our primary goal is to maintain a professional organization that is SAR ready and has the capability to deploy aircraft and ground personnel to aid and lead in SAR missions. NOASARA stands ready to respond to calls from the Department of National Defence, the OPP and the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources.

Training is at the heart of what we do because there is no room for error in an actual SAR mission. Our training also needs to reflect the changing SAR environment and the increasing diversity of our missions.

Our secondary goal is to have fun and build a community of likeminded people interested in air and ground search & rescue.

I would like to leave off by thanking those who have stepped up in the last year to help the unit. Those included Lori Luck (Our courageous Unit Director and provider of money), Clark Blumberg (Don't worry Clark, you'll be a CASARA pilot someday), Marilyn Seitz (Generously accepted being an administrative assistant), Chris Chadwick (ELT Man), John Bouley (Welcome Back), the many cadets who participated in the program (Outstanding job!), and to the current active members (Thank-you).

Jason Hughes

NOASARA Training Officer

623-1219