News From SARQuest

Ellington Safety Standdown
Thu, 05 Jan 2012 08:00 CST
Ellington Field, Houston, TX - SARQuest had a booth at the Ellington Field Safety Standdown Day at the NASA Hanger at Ellington Field. We had several team members and team dogs at the booth to inform the public about our team and to try to recruit new members. Team members present were: Bill, Kristin, Doug, Lynley, and Nick along with the team canines: Rocket, Phoenix, and Mojo. It was a great experience and we met many interested people! We also got to watch a demonstration from fellow working dog, Buddy the Arson dog and his handler Greg from the Pearland Fire Department.
Special K-9 HRD Seminar
Wed, 2 Nov 2011 07:00 CST
Lake Houston Park, TX - SARQuest team members Doug, Nick, and Kristin attended a cadaver dog seminar hosted by Special K-9s, a Human Remains Detection (HRD) team based in the Woodlands. Canines Rocket and Mojo attended and the entire team gained a lot of knowledge and insight on how to better train the SARQuest HRD dogs. It was a great weekend and SARQuest members plan to keep in touch with the Special K-9 team members.
Ellington Field Safety Day
Thu, 13 Oct 2011 13:00 CST
SARQuest had a booth at the Ellington Field Day at the NASA Hanger at Ellington Field. We had several team members and team dogs at the booth to inform the public about our team and to try to recruit new members. Team members present were: Jesse, Kristin, Doug and Lynley along with their canines: Halle, Rocket, Phoenix, and Mojo. Rocket and Mojo were on hand to conduct demonstrations. It was a great experience and interesting to see how calm the dogs were in the noisy and seemingly chaotic environment with airplanes constantly taking off or landing.
NASA Safety Day
Wed, 12 Oct 2011 10:00 CST
SARQuest had a booth at the annual NASA Safety and Stand-down Day at the NASA/Johnson Space Center. We had several team members and team dogs at the booth to inform the public about our team and to try to recruit new members. Team members present were: Alicia, Nick, Jesse, Kristin, Doug and Lynley along with their canines: Ranger, Rocket, Halle, Phoenix, and Mojo. This was the first PR event for canines Ranger and Halle and they were excited to be a part of it. Rocket and Mojo also conducted a few demonstrations.
Reliant World Series of Dog Shows
Sun, 25 Jul 2011 00:00 CST
Houston, TX - SARQuest had a booth at the Reliant World Series of Dog Shows on July 23 and July 24. We talked to many people about our organization and signed up some for our new member orientation. Ft. Bend Kennel Club also represented SARQuest with the AKC CAR grant check.
Josephine's Day Spa Anniversary Party and SARQuest
Thu, 30 Jun 2011 20:00 CST
Pearland, TX - Josephine's Day Spa in Pearland invited SARQuest to be the charity for their 2nd Anniversary Party. SARQuest members Lynley Todd, Nick Blackman, Kristin Smaltz, and Cheryl Pullin all attended along with canines Rocket and Apache. SARQuest was well received and raised some money with the help of the Josephine's staff. The Texan's cheerleaders were also there and Rocket got his picture taken with them!
SARQuest Supports Texas Fallen Heros Event and Performs Demonstrations
Sat, 25 Jun 2011 15:00 CST
Galveston County Fairgrounds, TX - SARQuest members Lynley Todd, Jesse Bazley, Cheryl Pullin, Kristin Smaltz and Nick Blackman support SARQuest's booth at the event. Canines Rocket, Phoenix, and Apache were also present. Rocket conducted a HRD demonstration and Phoenix conducted a Trailing demonstration for the public and emergency personnel. The demonstrations were conducted in coordination with the Pearland and Pasadena Arson Dog demonstrations.
SARQuest awarded AKC CAR Canine and Relief Fund
Tue, 7 Jun 2011 20:00 CST
Sugarland, TX - Ft. Bend Kennel Club handed SARQuest thier award for the AKC CAR Canine and Relief Fund. Special thanks to Lisa Neely Davis, Exec. Admin. Frant Admin. of AKC CAR, for awarding us the grant and Kathy Bieltz, President of Ft. Bend Kennel club, for presenting the award during thier monthly meeting.
NASAR Conference
Sun, 05 Jun 2011 21:00 CST
Reno, NV - Team members Nick Blackman, Jesse Bazley, Kristin Smaltz and Lynley Todd attended the annual conference held by the National Association of Search and Rescue.
NASA Safety Day
Wed, 27 Apr 2011 08:00 CST
SARQuest had a booth at the bi-annual Spring Health, Safety, and Environmental Fair at the NASA/Johnson Space Center. We had several team members and team dogs at the booth to inform the public about our team.
Mock Search
Sat, 5 Feb 2011 15:00 CST
SARQuest held their first Mock Search for members only. It was a great learning tool for new and old members alike. We plan to hold one every quarter and would eventually like to invite other teams, law enforcement, etc.
ICS 300 and ICS 400
Sun, 23 Jan 2011 16:00 CST
On the weekends of Jan. 15-16 and Jan. 22-23 several SARQuest members increased their knowledge of the Incident Comamnd System. These classes are required by federal law for anyone responding to a diaster.
2009 NASAR Conference
Thu, 28 May 2009 08:00 CST
Little Rock, AR - SARQuest members Lynley Todd and Alicia Simpson attended the conference on behalf of the group. They met many other SAR teams from all over the world and renewed friendships made at previous conferences. They attended classes such as Georeferencing and Catastrophic Incident Search and Rescue; Canine Disaster Response in the US; and Field Work/Problem Solving with dogs.
SARQuest Members participate in Earth Day at Armand Bayou Nature Center
Sat, 19 Apr 2008 12:00 CST
Webster, TX - SARQuest presented information about how to keep from getting lost and what to do if you do at the Earth Day celebration today. The Team also presented a Compass course to teach the public how to use a compass to navigate in the field. SARQuest also presented information on disaster preparedness for families and their pets.
SARQuest hosted a FUNSAR class
Fri, 17 Apr 2009 07:00 CST
Alvin, TX - SARQuest members hosted another local CERT team doing navigation, knots, man tracking, making camp with minimal supplies, etc. The SARQuest members and CERT team completed the FUNSAR course. FUNSAR is the Fundamentals of Search and Rescue under NASAR.
SARQuest Members participate in Pearland Paws in the Park
Sat, 28 Mar 2009 12:00 CST
Pearland, TX - SARQuest had a booth to let people know just what SARQuest does. Apache, Abby, Georgia, Rocket and Phoenix were the K-9's that were present. Team members and Apache did a demonstration of what a trailing dog does.
SARQuest Members to present at national conference
Thu, 6 Mar 2008 10:00 CST
Alvin, TX - Two SARQuest Team Members will be presenting a workshop to member of search and rescue teams from around the country at the annual conference of the National Association for Search and Rescue. The workshop will focus on strategic and tactical management of searches in an urban-wilderness interface. "It is very important to work with search managers from around the country to share management skills and techniques that may lead to saving lives", said Alicia Simpson, one of the instructors. "We can learn from each other and share best practices that may make the difference between life and death for a missing person". The conference is in Colorado Springs Co. from 28 MAY 08 to 31 MAY 08.
SARQuest Search Specialists work with local communities to train citizen volunteers
Fri, 1 Feb 2008 09:00 CST
Angleton, TX - Members of SARQuest Search Specialists, in cooperation with Homeland Preparedness Project, Brazoria County Citizen Corps Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT), and Angleton ISD participated in the Angleton ISD Community Disaster Exercise at Angleton Middle School. SARQuest members provided moulage, simulated injuries, to enhance the realism of the exercise. CERT members are trained to respond to emergencies in their neighborhoods to save lives until the professional responders can arrive. SARQuest members also acted as evaluators, providing important feedback to improve responder skills and procedures. SARQuest Members are trained to respond to emergencies in the community and search for missing people. "SARQuest provides a lot of insight when we are evaluating our CERT Teams. The moulage they do adds to the sense of chaos and ratchets up the stress for the responders, resulting in a more realistic response" ,said Bill Ray, Executive Director of Homeland Preparedness Project.