Union County honors search-and-rescue volunteers at annual banquet

Union County Search and Rescue and the Union County Sheriff’s Office recognized six long-serving volunteers at the organization's annual banquet on January 14. Sheriff Cody Bowen presented awards honoring individual achievement and years of service, underscoring the sheriff's office partnership with the county's volunteer emergency response network.

Jamie Killgore received the 2025 Oregon State Sheriffs Association Volunteer of the Year award for the region, the banquet program noted. Nick Peckham was named Union County SAR 2025 Member of the Year. Long-term commitments also were marked: Kyle Tucker and Tyson Brooks received 15-year recognition awards, while Owen Davis and Luch Shuette received 10-year recognition awards.

Union County SAR posted a message recognizing the honorees and the wider volunteer corps, writing: “The volunteers listed above have made incredible personal commitments and investments into our team and community, and we hope you join us in thanking them, and all our amazing volunteers, for everything they do for Union County. If it weren’t for the countless hours of training, behind the scenes coordination, maintenance, and mission responses they do, we wouldn’t be the team we are. Thank you!”

The awards ceremony highlighted more than individual accolades; it illustrated the county’s operational reliance on volunteer capacity to meet search-and-rescue needs across rural terrain. In places like Union County, volunteer teams perform critical functions that affect emergency response times, resource availability during incidents, and overall resilience when professional crews are limited by distance or staffing. Recognition can strengthen retention and community visibility, but it also raises questions for local policymakers about sustained support for training, equipment, and coordination with the sheriff’s office and other agencies.

For residents, the banquet is a reminder that daily public safety depends on civic commitment as much as on formal budgets. Elected officials and budget planners face choices about how to balance county spending between paid services and bolstering volunteer programs through grants, training funds, and logistical support. Community leaders can use these moments of recognition to review whether existing investments match operational needs and to explore ways to reduce volunteer burnout.

The ceremony celebrated individuals who have carried search-and-rescue duties for a decade or more and put a spotlight on the broader volunteer workforce that underpins rural emergency response. For Union County residents, that reality means local public safety largely reflects community choices; voters and officials alike will shape how well those volunteer systems are sustained in the years ahead.