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Justen Noakes’ career that kept him primarily behind a computer where he blended his education in social science and industrial engineering had him often asking if/then questions related to emergency management. If such and such happens, then this is the response. Over and over the scenarios are examined. A firm believer in continual learning and training, he attended an emergency management course in Houston and learned about TEXSAR from Greg Pyles, CEO of TEXSAR at that time.. The...
“I am just a country boy. I love the outdoors. I’ve worked hard all my life. I began working at 8 and began paying taxes at 10,” said Shawn Hohnstreiter, one of the most influential and long-standing influences in the 20-year history of TEXSAR. He is a builder of many things. Shawn is quick to not take credit for what has been the result of many people’s efforts to create, expand and develop TEXSAR to what it is today, but that...
Patrick is a retired homicide detective with 38 years of law-enforcement experience. He has worked investigations for two different central Texas law enforcement agencies, the state of Texas and as a civilian investigator for the US Army in Afghanistan. Patrick has extensive experience in homicide investigations; and has been featured on the Discovery Channel for his work on a cold case homicide that resulted in five lengthy prison sentences. He was a member of the SWAT team...
For Hector Padilla, a lot of dominoes lined up perfectly that led to career and volunteer decisions that have formed the pattern of his life. He graduated from the University of Texas at Austin (UT) in 1998 with a degree in physical geography. A few months later, the Honduran native was monitoring aid and relief efforts in the news after Category 5 Hurricane Mitch had torn through Central America. “I realized then that I knew what I...
Years Active: 2013 – Present “If ordinary people like me can learn skills and become helpful, anyone can,” said TEXSAR volunteer and Division Lead for North Texas, Meg Hinkley. It helps to have a heart to serve, which she says she sees in her fellow TEXSAR volunteers. Meg joined TEXSAR in 2014 and became Division Lead in January 2024. Her leadership was integral to TEXSAR’s response to the Panhandle Wildfires in March 2024. It has been quite a...
Years Active: 2013-Present “We prefer to stay under the radar,” TEXSAR (Texas Search and Rescue) volunteer Joe Huston said. “We don’t see ourselves as heroes, though there are, truthfully, a lot of heroics in the work that all the team members do. Without a doubt.” Huston has been involved in the search-and-rescue arena for more than 25 years. He joined TEXSAR in 2013. “I first got involved in this work when I lived in The Woodlands...
