Fellows

AMRG awards Fellow status on select team members in recognition of a combination of:

• Length of service as and AMRG member
• Service to AMRG in internal leadership roles, service in the ASRC or MRA, and in relation to affiliated organizations (state SAR councils, NCRC, or other regional public safety groups).

Fellows are nominated by a member of the team. The nomination is then reviewed and endorsed by the Board of Directors. Fellowships are awarded by a vote of the full membership. AMRG thanks the dedication and long years of volunteer service of all our AMRG Fellows. 

AMRG Fellows:

Dr. Keith Conover — Founding member of AMRG in 1985 and an active member with 30 years of continuous service, including currently serving as AMRG’s Medical Director.  Dr. Conover was also instrumental in the founding of the ASRC, SMRG, BRMRG, the Pennsylvania Search and Rescue Council, and the Appalachian Region of the MRA. Dr. Conover has received lifetime achievement awards from both ASRC and MRA. 

Bru Randall — Founding member of AMRG in 1985 and was an active member with 30 years of continuous service with AMRG.  Mr. Randall has more than 40 years of continuous service to the ASRC and NCRC.

Don Scelza — More than 25 years of active service with AMRG and a recognized expert with search management and wilderness medicine. Mr. Scelza has served as President of the Pennsylvania Search and Rescue Council and is currently the Chair of ASRC and President of the AMRG Board of Directors, and is a National Evaluator for the MRA. 

Chris Ruch — More than 20 years of active service with AMRG in various leadership positions, including serving as AMRG’s Commander/Chief twice (2004-2007, and 2010-present). Mr. Ruch has served as the Conference Training Officer for the ASRC and the Chair of the Appalachian Region of the MRA, and is currently a NASAR instructor/evaluator and National Evaluator for the MRA. 

Scott Jackson — More than 17 years of active service with AMRG in various leadership positions, including serving as AMRG’s Treasurer, Board of Directors, and leading AMRG’s Hub-A-Tree and preventative SAR program. 

Lucy Klimko — First trained with Allegheny Mountain Rescue Group (AMRG) in the 1990s, returning in 2016 after raising a family to become one of its most active members and leaders. She served for many years as AMRG’s Assistant Canine Officer, led the HRD program, and, together with her canine partner Mellow, has been a consistently reliable team in responding to searches, contributing to multiple successful air-scent and HRD finds and playing key roles in lost person searches and law-enforcement search warrant operations. Beyond mission response, Lucy has represented AMRG at public outreach events and has been deeply involved in fundraising, helping secure important donations for the group and especially the canine team. Her dedication, availability at all hours, and commitment to volunteer service make her a model AMRG member and leader, and these ongoing contributions form the basis for her nomination as an AMRG Fellow.

David Stager — An active member and leader of Allegheny Mountain Rescue Group (AMRG) since 2016 in his second stint with the team, having previously served in the early 2000s as a Field Team Leader and participating in numerous searches and successful MRA reaccreditations. He is currently AMRG’s Canine Officer, an experienced Search Manager, and a Board member, and under his leadership the canine team has grown into the largest and most capable group of certified dogs in AMRG’s history, with David and his dogs Tasha and Xena among the region’s most successful teams. In addition to training every weekend, he spends countless hours organizing those trainings and mentoring other handlers, and his decades of hard work, passion, and volunteer service are the foundation for his nomination as an AMRG Fellow.