VICKIE KING

Vickie King has served the community through her search work for the last 20 years. Her focus is on educating the public, especially the children, in wilderness safety. According to documentation, she has participated in over 370 demonstrations reaching in excess of 30,000 people. She loves to speak to elementary and teenage groups and always entertains while educating.

Her dedication to the community is obvious in the many unpaid hours she volunteers in search work. First a member of Rocky Mountain Rescue Dogs, and currently a member of American Search Dogs she is on call 24 hours a day. When she found her professional job getting in the way of search work, she became self employed–at a considerable financial loss.

Vickie always puts the victim first.

King has been on 250 searches and has traveled over 52,00 miles for searches, training and demonstrations. One search King served on took an estimated 6500 man-hours. She is deathly afraid of flying, but has logged over 189 air hours when the situation was life or death. Search work has been part of her life since 1981 and continues to dominate her time as she devotes countless hours to training others. She has trained teams in Utah, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Nevada, and Arizona. Vickie works as a mentor, as well as a leader, in the search dog organization.

Anyone who knows King understands her strong desire to support the victim and their family. She often forms bonds with those family members who need her services and helps them cope with the aftermath of the search. Phone calls, letters, and visits with family member all show her unselfish dedication to her fellow man. An average week will find her doing two to three educational demonstrations in schools; training with newer members of the group; and working her own dog, Jamie.