Photo: Woods & WaterMISSISSIPPI — Woods & Water Search and Recovery met Wednesday with representatives from American Airboat Rescue to discuss future collaboration between the two volunteer emergency-response groups.
We chose them for Stepping Up To Serve because if you’ve ever worked search and rescue, you understand there’s a special kind of person who volunteers to do it. Both Woods & Water and American Airboat Rescue are 501(c)(3) nonprofits, and their work is invaluable.
Leaders from both organizations described the meeting as the beginning of a partnership that will strengthen search, rescue and recovery operations across the region. Woods & Water organizers said they are “excited about the opportunity” to work alongside American Airboat Rescue, calling the collaboration an important step in expanding its ability to serve communities.
American Airboat Rescue provides airboat-based search, rescue and disaster relief services nationwide, said in a Facebook post that it was an honor to meet with Woods & Water team members Jessica and Justin Pennington and teammate Chris Sessums during Wednesday’s visit.
“We are looking forward to working with them in the future,” the organization said, adding that the Woods & Water team includes divers and handlers of human remains detection dogs. “We’ve already learned a lot from them in our first get-together.”
Woods & Water Search and Recovery supports local and state agencies by assisting in searches for missing people on land and water and helping with disaster recoveries. The group frequently trains its members, including recent advanced human remains detection training completed by team member Jessica Pennington with K-9 partners Skye and Lakota.
American Airboat Rescue’s airboat team specializes in reaching remote or shallow-water areas during missing persons searches, rescues and natural disaster responses. The organization provides its services at no cost to communities.
Both groups said they anticipate additional joint training and operations in the future.
