Idaho Search and Rescue needs your support to keep up their good work
Search and Rescue commander Paul Bruno volunteers his time to help others stay safe. As a nonprofit, Search and Rescue relies heavily on fundraising. Their annual fundraising dinner will take place March 1 at the Wildwood Room in Victor. Citizen photo/Dana Drugmand
If you ever wind up getting stuck in the backcountry, take comfort in knowing that there is a team of dedicated volunteers ready to come rescue you.
As head of Teton County Idaho Search and Rescue, Paul Bruno is in charge of making sure the team has the resources it needs to perform search and rescue missions for individuals who are lost, stuck or stranded. Sometimes, if the case calls for it, Bruno himself will go out with the team on a recovery mission. Otherwise, he’ll be back at headquarters directing and monitoring the mission.
A New Hampshire native, Bruno graduated from UNH with a degree in business and moved to Teton Valley in 2001. He had some friends on the search and rescue team who coaxed him into joining, and he said he applied his business background to the administrative side of the group, which led him to become commander, a post he has held for the past four years.
As commander, he oversees the nonprofit and its 28 volunteer team members that interact with the sheriff and county officials. When he’s not overseeing operations for search and rescue, Bruno works over in Jackson as proprietor of Frontier Spa & Pool.
Bruno and other team members put in about 400 to 500 volunteer hours a year, but this commander doesn’t mind donating his time to serve others in desperate need of help.
“It’s a good organization to be with,” he said. “When people need help, they need help.”
As a nonprofit, search and rescue relies heavily on fundraising and donations. They also apply for lots of grants.
“We get quite a bit of money from grants,” said Bruno.
Search and rescue’s annual fundraising dinner is coming up on Saturday, March 1. The event features a catered dinner, live music, silent auction, raffle, and a guest lecturer. Dr. Luanne Freer, founder of the world’s highest medical clinic at the base of Mt. Everest, will be the featured speaker.
“The fundraiser has been so successful over the years that we’ve stepped it up this year with the guest lecturer,” said Bruno.
Tickets are $35 and are available at Peaked Sports and Fitzgerald’s Bicycles as well as at the door. According to Bruno, the event is very popular and usually sells out. The event will be held at the Wildwood Room in Victor. Doors open at 6 p.m., and the dinner starts at 7 p.m. As Bruno explained, this is an important fundraiser for his organization.
“This provides half our fundraising for the year,” he said.
A lot of the money they raise goes toward purchasing equipment such as snowmobiles, four-wheelers and dirt bikes.
“We require a lot of expensive gear, that’s why we fundraise so much money,” Bruno explained. “And we still only have half of what we really need.”
Although the day-to-day missions can be challenging, the reward is helping people in need.
“The big reward is being able to save somebody when they need it the most,” said Bruno.
He added that Search and Rescue gives back to the community by assisting with events, such as the Fourth of July parade and the Tin Cup Challenge, and emphasized that the community, in turn, can support them by making a donation or participating in their fundraisers.
“We’re a nonprofit and we have to raise all our money, that we invest right back into the community,” Bruno said.
Donations can be made through the search and rescue website at tcisar.org. Bruno also encourages people to follow the team on Facebook through the Teton County Idaho Search and Rescue page.