Jackson, WY—Teton County Search & Rescue Foundation is pleased to announce new appointments to its Board of Directors. Jesse Stover has been named President, succeeding Ned Jannotta, who held the position for the last two years. Jannotta remains on the Board as its last original member. Hugh O'Halloran is the new Board Vice President; Don Watkins is Board Treasurer; Dave Landes is Secretary; Leslie Mattson is Board Member at Large. Clay Geittmann is departing the Board after serving two three-year terms. Meanwhile, the Foundation welcomes Fio Lazarte Beal as the Board’s newest member. As Board members, they oversee the TCSAR Foundation, a nonprofit that actively supports TCSAR team members through direct volunteer support, community education, and advocacy of backcountry safety.
Jesse Stover’s first experience with TCSAR was in June of 2011. After an 1,800-foot fall down the east face of Teewinot in Grand Teton National Park, TCSAR performed a life-saving helicopter short haul rescue in coordination with the Jenny Lake Climbing Rangers. Eternally grateful, Jesse joined the Foundation board in 2017 to help continue the mission of TCSAR and support the dedicated volunteer team. Jesse lives in Jackson with his wife and two dogs and works as a construction manager. He considers himself lucky to live in this amazing environment, and thanks to TCSAR, still gets to ski, bike, hunt, fish and wander.
Fio Lazarte Beal has been a Jackson resident for 14 years. During this time, Fio found her love for the mountains and teaching. This part of the journey began when she became a volunteer tutor and a Spanish language teacher for adults. Following this, she joined Teton Literacy Center, as part of a new team to create an early literacy program. In this position, she has had the opportunity to help create a literacy-preschool program that serves children from low-income families. Later on, she became Family Literacy Manager at TLC focusing on the family as a whole. She has also served as a volunteer advocate for the Community Safety Network, and served as a board member for the Doug Coombs Foundation in the early stages of the organization. Currently, she is a 3rd, 4th, and 5th-grade Spanish teacher for the Dual Immersion school, Munger Mountain Elementary.