I also do not agree with this statement, based on more than 35 years experience with the Southern Arizona Rescue Association (SARA), a volunteer SAR group in Tucson, AZ. I moved to SoCal in 1985 and I am not completely current, but they have recently erected a $750,000 permanent facility for equipment and training, and respond to over 100 operations a year, so I suspect they are doing just fine.

We work at our wage jobs for money, but also for satisfaction and good social vibes. Volunteering can only provide job satisfaction and social vibes, but this can be a very powerful motivator. In my opinion, it means creating an organization that acknowledges an individual's accomplishments, creates a positive environment, and operates through true teamwork.

Situations like this are hard to find, paid or unpaid.

SAR in Pima County operated under the Sheriff, who had two deputies assigned full time to that function (when I was current). They could call on volunteers to staff operations, and could also call on military and the state for helo support. In my experience, it was a very good hybrid combination.

SARA started out from very inept, humble beginnings and developed competence as it slowly accumulated a core of trained, motivated volunteers. Hand in hand there was a growing need for the group's services, as young baby boomers hit the trail and the population of Tucson increased.

One common volunteer was the college age individual, young and active, with a flexible schedule. Many of these people moved away after graduation, but some stayed. We trained a lot of people, many of whom never participated meaningfully in subsequent operations. Maybe one in ten trainees "repaid" their training investment.

Many, but of course not all, employers granted volunteers the flexibility to participate. I actually found an obscure clause in the HR regs for the Department of Interior that allowed up to 40 hours administrative leave for DOI employees to participate in SAR and similar volunteer organizations. I was also able to change my schedule, when in the office, to four 10 hour days, Tuesday through Friday, leaving the weekends and the following Monday free for SAR. This usually covered most of our operations.

One strength of a volunteer organization is the variety of professional backgrounds that individuals bring to the table. We had working civil engineers, who also rock climbed. As sophisticated search models came into use in the 1980s, we had a mathematics professor who was able to apply, modify, and develop them to our them to our situations. I, an archaeologist, did a lot of field work with a dendrochronologist (tree rings) and a biochemist. And of course, we also had a smattering of physicians, RNs, and EMTs.

Unpaid does not mean untrained or inexpert.

I saw a lot of groups who did not enjoy the advantages we experienced. Political infighting and glory hounding are the death of good volunteerism.

Above all, some one in the organization has to dedicate a lot of time and effort to move and develop the group. It doesn't always happen, but when it does, your group has a true saint.