View ArchivesTHE GLEN THOMPSON MEMORIAL 9/11 SPONSORSHIP
In memory of Glen Thompson and all who lost their lives in the attack on the United States on September 11, 2001, and to commemorate the tenth anniversary of that attack, Kai Hernandez has elected to award all of the finalists. Handler Roy Ferguson will receive $1,000. Handlers Monica McFadden, Kathy Roeder and Kevin Huggett will receive $500 each.
Roy Ferguson
Roy Ferguson & K-9 ApacheRoy Ferguson of Sevierville, Tennessee, is a member of the Blount County Rescue Squad and Tennessee Special Response Team-A. He has been involved in K-9 search and rescue for nine years and involved in helping train canines for fifteen years. He has worked disaster, area search, land and water HRD.
Roy is very active in his community of Sevierville, Tennessee, and has owned and operated 20/20 Optical for 30 years. He develops and administers Licensing Exams for opticians in several states.
As a member of the Sevierville Lions Club, he has held various offices and is a Melvin Jones Fellow awarded through Lions International for humanitarian service.
Roy has a pilot's license and flew helicopters in the Army. He received an honorable discharge with a rank of Captain. He graduated from Tusculum College with a Bachelor of Science in Management and a Master of Arts. He received his doctorate in Management from Walden University.
Kevin Huggett
Kevin Huggett of Snoqualmie Pass, Washington, is the Operations Group Leader for the Kittitas County Search and Rescue K9 Group in Washington State. He is also the President of Alpental BARK (Backcountry Avalanche Rescue K-9s). Kevin is a Volunteer Firefighter and EMT with Snoqualmie Pass Fire/Rescue. He works on the Professional Ski Patrol at Alpental as an Avalanche Forecaster, Avalanche Control Specialist, Avalanche K-9 Handler and provides aid and rescue to injured winter recreationalists. Kevin is an NSDA Evaluator for Avalanche Dog Teams. He teaches seminars and has presented at several SAR venues.
Kevin Huggett with K-9 Bazuka and Monica McFadden with puppy Dingle at Washington Dogmeet on Sunday, September 11, 2011.Kevin has been involved in Search and Rescue since 1999 when he started Avy and SAR training with his first partner, Porter, a black lab, who passed in June. Bazuka, another black lab, joined the team in 2003. The dogs worked in multiple disciplines-avalanche, trailing, air scent and HRD. Kevin and his dogs hold BARK & NSDA Avalanche certification as well as AKC CGC, TD and TDX titles. Kevin and Bazuka received the Red Cross Animal Hero Award from Kittitas County in 2010 for finding a lost huckleberry picker.
Kevin is currently working with his breeder to acquire a new puppy to learn and back-up Bazuka.
Monica McFadden
Monica McFadden's K-9 career began in 2005, with her current partner, Mara, a field bred Golden Retriever. Mara is certified in air scent and HRD with numerous missions and finds. Monica serves with Josephine County Sheriff's Search and Rescue in Oregon.
Besides her K-9 work, Monica also serves with her SAR Unit's Overhead Team, for Operations and Planning, and on the Training Committee. Their SAR Unit is part of CORSAR, California/Oregon Regional Search and Rescue, a mutual aid system for eight counties created in the aftermath of the Kim Family search in Josephine County. Through CORSAR, she assists as a K-9 Handler and an Overhead Team member throughout the eight county area. Her "other" career is as an attorney with a private practice in Jacksonville, Oregon.
Kathy Roeder
Kathy Roeder & K-9 CooperKathy Roeder is from Barnhart, Missouri, and has been involved in search work since 1998. Her first dog was a German shepherd named Kody who is fourteen now and has been retired for five years. She is currently working Cooper, an Aussie who is certified in area wilderness, HRD, and disaster. Their last large search was working HRD in the aftermath of the catastrophic tornado in Joplin, Missouri. Cooper is now eight years old and she will use the scholarship to purchase a new pup.
Kathy is one of the founders of Gateway Search Dogs out of the St. Louis, Missouri, area. She is President of the group.
