The Search and Rescue Volunteer Association of Canada (SARVAC) is proud to announce the recruitment of a Communications Officer under the SAR New Initiatives Fund (SAR NIF).
As a registered not-for-profit and educational organization, the individual will help support, coordinate, develop, inform, promote and implement search, rescue and emergency response and prevention with the underlying principle of saving lives.
The SAR New Initiatives Fund (SAR NIF):
This Initiatives funding program was established by the federal government in 1988, managed by Public Safety Canada (PS), in partnership with other federal, provincial and territorial SAR organizations. SARVAC will dedicate the allocated funding towards projects that will improve the national search and rescue program with to achieve the main objective of enhancing the delivery of the AdventureSmart program by:
- Strengthening the National Coordination of Search and Rescue
- Emphasizing and Effectively Coordinate SAR Prevention Efforts
- Creating SAR prevention awareness in Indigenous Communities
With the development of these new initiatives and a focus on expanding outreach within Canada, hiring a bilingual communication person will ensure that we are able to deliver a current, consistent, timely, and targeted communication strategy through the AdventureSmart website and social media pages. This will expand our current following through communication channels, while delivering important SAR prevention messaging to a greater audience. Our goal is for AdventureSmart to become a one-stop-shop of information for the public surrounding outdoor activities and to ensure they follow the 3Ts (Trip Planning, Training and Taking Essentials).
The Search and Rescue Volunteers Association of Canada is proud to move forward with a three year AdventureSmart Delivery and Communication Enhancement Project that will incorporate new development, production, distribution and delivery of national SAR prevention messaging while focusing on communication, engagement and outreach to achieve our objective of prevention.
Scott Yan
SARVAC Communications Officer
Originally an Ottawa transplant, I grew up ski racing out of Québec before coaching that has led to a wide variety of experiences in the outdoor industry with private resort operators, BC Parks and Arc’teryx (as a Business-to-Special Consumer Rep. for SAR members across Canada). Eventually that led me to finding the BC AdventureSmart program as an Outreach Team Member on both BC Interior and Coastal Teams since 2019, where I discovered what it means to work directly with our Search and Rescue volunteers and more insight into who they are and the overall selflessness that those as volunteers have to offer.
Now grateful to reside on the beautiful traditional territory of the Coast Salish, in the unceded and ancestral lands of the sḵwx̱wú7mesh speaking people in Squamish, BC I spend my spare time mountain biking, ski touring across parts of the South Coast and Sea to Sky mountain range, or giving back to my local community as an active volunteer trail-builder and food rescue member at the local food bank.
I graduated from the University of Concordia in Montréal where I studied Video & Film Media and I look forward to sharing my value for connecting communities, through new media as a pairing with a compelling social media, and digital marketing strategy on a national level as the Communications Officer for SARVAC to reduce the number, severity and duration of Search and Rescue calls.
I look forward to my new role and find creative ways to help support our Search and Rescue Volunteers across Canada.
If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me.
All the best,
Scott Yan