Announcing the 2025 New Class of Volunteers

Jackson, Wyo. — Teton County Search & Rescue is excited to introduce the 10 new volunteers who were brought onto the team in 2025. Being a TCSAR volunteer is an enormous commitment, and these 10 volunteers embody the spirit of community service and teamwork that help make TCSAR what it is.

The new volunteers are: Tommy Basore, Gretchen Cherry, Matt Chorney, Doug Cook, Oliver Dev, Thomas Ferguson, Bria Gillespie, Joe Grout, Kaeli McClenahan, Sam Wasserman.

“These new volunteers represent the next generation of TCSAR: strong, humble, and dedicated,” said TCSAR Chief Advisor Cody Lockhart. “Their arrival reminds me that leadership in this organization has always been less about individuals and more about stewardship—passing on knowledge, values, and trust to those who will carry the mission forward.”

The TCSAR Class of 2025: Back row, L to R: Thomas Ferguson, Tommy Basore, Oliver Dev, Joe Grout. Front row, L to R: Matt Chorney, Doug Cook, Bria Gillespie, Gretchen Cherry, Kaeli McLenahan, Sam Wasserman. Photo: Morris Weintraub

Since the team's founding in 1993, TCSAR has had 12 classes of volunteers. The process of building a new class is lengthy, with this one starting last winter from a pool of 180 candidates. After a series of interviews with TCSAR volunteers, these 10 individuals were selected and began their training in June. Since then, they have each completed 200 hours of training, and are now being included in callouts as associate members with the rest of the team.

Please help us welcome them to our TCSAR family. We are very grateful to have them on board.

TCSAR Is Looking For New Volunteers. Apply Before January 31, 2025

Teton County Search & Rescue is excited to announce that it will bring on a new class of volunteers in 2025. With the team currently standing at 38 volunteers, new class members help infuse new energy to the ranks while allowing more seasoned volunteers the chance to pass on their knowledge to ensure a bright future for TCSAR.

If you are looking for the opportunity to become a volunteer and make a positive impact on our community, the team invites you to apply.

Many people often think that you need to be a rockstar in the backcountry in order to be a TCSAR volunteer. While skills in mountain navigation and backcountry medicine are helpful, TCSAR volunteers stress that the most important skill for being on the team is the ability to be a strong teammate. There are no heroes—just good people who work together to get the job done.

““Joining TCSAR has been an amazing journey and I am so grateful for the opportunity to support our community. We all love exploring and recreating in the mountains and inevitably things can go wrong. Being there to support folks on their worst day with the goal of making it a little less awful is incredibly rewarding.””

— Lexie MacPhie, TCSAR Volunteer since 2021

Timing

TCSAR is accepting applications from new recruits until January 31, 2025. 

From there, the team will review applications and conduct several rounds of interviews to narrow the pool of candidates to form a new class this spring/early summer. Once selected, new members will be probationary for a full year. During that first year, they complete at least 200 hours of training and demonstrate their ability to work well as a team.

How to apply

Applications are submitted through an online form. Click the button below to learn more about the process and to access the online application.

Challenge Accepted: TCSAR New Class Reaches Milestone

TCSAR’s new class team members reached a significant milestone on their journey to becoming fully operational volunteers. This week, they received their Challenge pins, signifying that they had each completed at least 200 hours of training since coming on board in May. Like all TCSAR volunteers, they will continue to train and practice avalanche rescue, heli- and snowmobile-assisted rescues, among other winter-related challenges over the next several months. 

Photo: Brook Yeomans

For the last several months, the new class members have taken on all kinds of different trainings, taking on each one with enthusiasm and smiles. It’s a lot of time and work behind the scenes, including by the instructors KC Bess and Anthony Stevens. On November 1, the new class members will be added to page call-outs during rescues, but won’t be considered ‘operational’ until April 2022.

But this moment is worth recognizing, and giving them kudos to a job well done.

Get to know the new class by clicking the link below.