Ottawa Outdoors story, February, 2013

Ottawa Citizen story, December 28, 2012

 

 

October 14, 2011

Founder of SAR Global 1 nominated for Prime Minister’s Award

Ottawa – Beverly Pick, the founder of Search and Rescue Global 1, was recently nominated for the Prime Minister’s Volunteer Award. The specific regional award for which Beverly Pick was nominated recognizes individuals who have provided an exceptional contribution to their community that improves the well-being of individuals and families.

As part of the nomination process the story of SAR Global 1 was told. “Beverley Pick was the driving force behind the creation and early history of Search and Rescue Global 1 as a federally incorporated, volunteer, charitable organization providing ground search and rescue (SAR) services to police agencies in Western Quebec and Eastern Ontario.

SAR Global 1’s history began with two tragedies.

The second tragedy began on November 11, 1995 when Christopher Brown, a 26 year old hunter from Wakefield went missing near Otter Lake in the Pontiac area of Quebec. A week-long search was organized by the Sûreté de Québec, during which 150 well-intention but untrained volunteers participated. Unfortunately, no trace was found until October 11, 1997 when human remains, a gun and identification were found approximately ten kilometres from the location of the site where Chris was last seen.

The first tragedy involved another young man. Twenty-two year old Rick Grey, the son of Beverley Pick, disappeared near Gold River on Vancouver Island in British Columbia in 1994. Beverley left her home in Western Quebec to continue the search for her son and worked as General Manager for a private SAR group in British Columbia for a year and a half. Unfortunately, Rick, her son, was never found.

In 1995, Bev had recently returned to Masham near Wakefield from British Columbia and was one the people who responded to the request for volunteers to search for Christopher Brown. Bev and a number of the others immediately recognized the need for trained volunteers to assist local police services.”

As part of the nomination process, letters of reference were provided. A few paragraphs from those letters are provided below:

“In the face of tragedy, there is the choice to turn within oneself or to reach out to your community. It is this choice that Bev has made, and continues to make each and every day that warrants recognition from her team, from her community, and from the Prime Minister. She serves as an example for others and exemplifies the resilience of Canada, Canadians, and the Canadian community.”

“Without Beverley Pick, SAR Global 1, would not exist. Many lost people may not have been found as quickly as they were. Some families would still not know what happened to their family members. Hundreds of children and adults would not have had the training to react correctly in emergency situations. It is as simple as that.”

In responding to her nomination, Beverly Pick was humbled by the gesture and very thankful to those that nominated her.