20 Years, 20 Stories – Helping Comes Naturally
Years Active: 2014-Current
“I’ve always been one to volunteer. Following my family’s example of community service, I had volunteered with church, scouts, and other local activities. My son, Brandon, was one of the founding members of TEXSAR and often told me of their service to Texas,” said long-time volunteer Penny Goering. Her son was involved in the well-publicized search and rescue of Cathy Frye in Big Bend State Park in 2013. “Though we were visiting family, Brandon was on the computer relaying topographic and probability information, helping to find Cathy – which they did!” Penny said. “The feeling of making a difference is a strong call; upon retirement in 2014, I immediately joined TEXSAR.”
TEXSAR was still in the early stages of development and the few members were doing everything. Being past the point to physically participate in searches, Penny stepped into an administrative role involving membership, attendance and other record keeping, and Command Post support. Her assistance in that realm allowed others to concentrate on ”boots on the ground” for searching.
Wanting to understand what teammates were facing in the field, Penny also certified in the basic SAR requirement courses. As TEXSAR’s range grew, and wanting to keep up, Penny continued with higher Command courses, lost person behavior, and mantracking.
For the better part of 10 years, Penny was the Membership Manager. “I really enjoyed getting to know each person as they came on board and welcoming them to the team,” she said. Following the 2015 Memorial Day flood in Wimberley, TEXSAR membership began to grow rapidly; management of the influx grew to include each Division’s acclimation of their new members. A great strength of TEXSAR is that it can adjust to new demands and keep on keeping on.
During Hurricane Harvey in 2017, Penny answered the TEXSAR lines to assist requesting agencies, media, TEXSAR members, family of those affected, and even those in the direct path of Harvey. “I remember speaking with a person who was scared and desperate as flood waters were rising. I listened and encouraged her to move her family to a high point in her home and wave a white towel from her window to get the attention of rescuers. That simple instruction calmed the caller and I could hear the relief in her ‘Thank you’. At that point, I was the voice of TEXSAR. I spoke with many people who did not know where to turn; it was educational, emotional, and draining,” Penny recalls. This experience prompted Penny to take one more class – a public information course.
“I’m naturally a perfectionist, but in emergency response work you have to do the best you can with what you have; the end result is more important than how you get there. Experience is a great teacher, and all the volunteers learn from each other. That is a very important part of why TEXSAR teams work so well together.”
Penny sums up: “I am so proud of all of the team members and all they do. TEXSAR people are prepared with gear, training, and willingness to serve. I also have emergency gear in my vehicle – which I may or may not be able to use due to physical limitations on any given day, but I have it available! I love being part of the TEXSAR family.”
(In June 2024, TEXSAR launched BeforeDuringAfter.com to help provide information and resources to small businesses in times of emergency. Learn more here.)
Learn more about TEXSAR at www.TEXSAR.org. TEXSAR: 20 Years, 20 Stories, is a series of people-centric stories that celebrate the history of TEXSAR’s heroics and humanity as its volunteers continue their mission of ‘Texans helping Texans’ with Service above Self. The sequence of stories and profiles come together in 2024, the nonprofit’s 20th anniversary year.
