20 Years, 20 Stories – Carine Chalfoun: More Than a Leader, a Superhero

Years Active: 2012-2020 For Carine Chalfoun’s 50th birthday party, attendees were told to dress as superheroes. And despite only one of her friends dressed as Carine, all in attendance thought of her as their favorite superhero. Carine-as-a-superhero describes her and the life she led. Six months after her party, she passed away, leaving an indelible mark on the lives of many and on the many organizations she supported and loved, including TEXSAR. According to Carine’s friends, her commitment to the first responder...

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20 Years, 20 Stories – Penny Goering: 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...

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20 Years, 20 Stories – Laura and Ed Norman: Hard-wired for Service

                Years Active: 2014-2022 “I believe God made us to be servants, not consumers. Our service with TEXSAR is part of that,” said Laura Norman as she discussed the involvement that she and her husband, Edward, had with TEXSAR from 2014 to 2022. As a fireman/paramedic in 2014, Edward worked for Fort Bend County Emergency Management and knew about TEXSAR. He believed it was a match to Laura’s desire to serve others. TEXSAR also met his goals...

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20 Years, 20 Stories – Kevin Dickson: Like a Good Neighbor

Years Active: 2017-2025 Kevin Dickson retired from the insurance industry in 2017. Like his employer’s slogan declares, Kevin felt the need to do what good neighbors do:  Be there…for others. “I worked as an adjuster, so I was accustomed to seeing the outcomes of disasters. Also, the company would encourage employees to volunteer after disasters hit and I helped in that way, too. Finding new ways to help after retiring only made sense to me,” he said.

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20 Years, 20 Stories – Alan Huddleston: A View from the Outset

Years Active: 2004-2022 Alan Huddleston has a special perspective of TEXSAR’s beginnings. He has been there from the outset; he has seen a lot of changes in the organization, and a constant thread that has run throughout its history. Together, change and constancy has created a unique formula for success. He can cite the many steps from the earliest beginnings when the quest to develop a search-and-rescue team led to the formation of an Austin-area chapter...

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20 Years, 20 Stories – Ken Jamilosa: Volunteering Guided Life Choices

“Volunteering with TEXSAR illuminated my feelings about wanting to help others, to do as much as I can for as many as I can,” said long-time volunteer Ken Jamilosa, “and that has affected my career choices and involvement as a volunteer for various organizations.” Ken joined TEXSAR as a member of Central Division about three weeks before the disastrous Memorial Day Wimberley Floods of 2015. “I went on one missing persons mission and shortly after the first...

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20 Years, 20 Stories – Andy Anthony – From Disaster to Service

20 Years, 20 Stories – Andy Anthony – From Disaster to Service Years Active: 2008 – Present Major disasters change lives. The ripples move from those who experienced the disaster to those who witnessed it, to those who heard about it or saw images from the scenes. 9/11 was one of those types of events and for Andy Anthony the events forced him to challenge himself with, “Why am I watching others suffer?”  Andy reflects on his childhood and...

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20 Years, 20 Stories — Allen Robinson: From Stuntman to Rescuer

  Years Active: 2014-Present When you understand stunt work and search-and-rescue (SAR) work, it makes sense that someone who excels in one could excel in another. Allen Robinson, a TEXSAR volunteer since 2014, found work as a stuntman thanks to a newspaper ad in 1985. His sense of adventure and athletic skills found a home in the stunt field. He has appeared in more than 160 movies and television shows and has been the stunt double for many famous...

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20 Years, 20 Stories – Greg Fair: Hunter to Rescuer

Years Active: 2015-Present “In preparation for a backcountry Wyoming elk hunt, I found that I needed to know how to not get lost. I ultimately found my way to TEXSAR,” said TEXSAR volunteer Greg Fair. “The idea of being of service to others while being outside appealed to me. It was the Wimberley Memorial Day flood event of 2015 that had me fall in love with this work.” Greg joined TEXSAR in April 2015 after completing...

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