Kūaotunu Search and Rescue - Chairman steps down after 19 years of service.

By Fiona Murphy.

KSAR held its AGM last Tuesday night with Steve Hart officially standing as Chairman and welcoming our new Chairman Dean Albiston.

Through the years, Steve’s knowledge and efforts have been inspiring to our volunteer organisation. Steve has been a driving force behind KSAR for 19 years. While Steve is stepping down as Chairman, he will be staying on the committee to share his wealth of knowledge by both training and mentoring the newer members, particularly the Incident Management Team and the Wandersearch (WandaTrak) programme, to support our mentally disabled community.

Steve has recently been committed to driving forward some new and important National LandSAR initiatives that will improve our search abilities and support within all communities Nationwide. His years of service are a true testimony to his dedication to LandSAR and he is truly valued for his contributions.

Dean was appointed as Deputy Chairman earlier in the year giving him an understanding of what the role entails and provide lead in time to becoming Chairman of KSAR.

Dean is relatively new to the area but comes from a background with the Waikato Police SAR Squad and Police Boat Team.

At the conclusion of the AGM Steve was awarded with a gift from KSAR and recognition plaques from the NZ Police and NZ LandSAR for his 19 years as Chairman and his support and achievements to Waikato Search and Rescue.

Within KSAR we all look forward to continuing to work with Steve in his new role and thank him for his years of dedication.

Caption: Steve Hart doing the honours with his milestone cake.