CSAR basic pio class

Presented By
The Colorado Search and Rescue Association

CSAR basic pio class 2023

A customized, hybrid course for current and aspiring BSAR team PIOs. The 2023 course ran from September to November and concluded on November 18th.  The 2024 series will run on a similar schedule and dates will be announced in June of 2024. Registration fees: Virtual sessions are $50 each, and the final in-person session is $100. Discounted rate available to those that sign up for the full series.


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Course Description


The role of a backcountry SAR team PIO is critical to helping teams fundraise, recruit new members, educate the public to decrease the team’s mission load, and create general public awareness of what we do. They also help us advance our state-wide legislative agenda.  While there are good courses available for emergency services PIOs from DHSEM and FEMA, they address a world quite different from ours.  Fire, EMS and law enforcement PIOs focus most of their time on preventative activities rather than incident response, and when they do have an incident it tends to be large-scale rather than small-scale.  Their world is also different because they are generally paid professionals, while most of us are volunteers juggling PIO duties with our rescue roles, day jobs and family responsibilities.  These differences led CSAR’s Public Information and Education (PIE) committee to create our own customized, hybrid course for current and aspiring BSAR team PIOs. 

You may sign up for one, several or all of these classes.  Those who sign up for all of them will receive a discounted rate of $200 for the series and a certificate of completion from CSAR.  You will have two years in which to complete the series, which we intend to offer again in 2024 on a similar schedule to this one.   If you can commit to attending all 5 PIO sessions, the link above is the opportunity to sign up once, for the entire seminar (virtual and in-person), instead of each individual session.  The links below are for signing up for an individual session(s).

All virtual sessions begin at 6:00 pm and end no later than 9:00 pm. The in-person final session will be a full-day workshop.



Virtual Session 1: September 7th, 2023, 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm - "So, I'm the PIO...Now What?"
This introductory session will be facilitated by Dave Arnett of DCSAR and Anna DeBattiste of CSAR/SCRG 


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Virtual Session 2: September 26, 2023, 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm - Strategic Communications Planning 
Facilitated by Micki Trost of DHSEM and Anna DeBattiste


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Virtual Session 3: October 16, 2023, 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm - Working with the Media 
Facilitated by Drew Hildner of CSAR/RMRG and Anna DeBattiste


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Virtual Session 4: November 2, 2023, 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm - Social Media 
Facilitated by Jay Christianson of CSAR/EPCSAR and Anna DeBattiste


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Full Day, In-Person Final Session: November 18, 2023, 9:00 am - 5:00 pmWriting workshop, on-camera workshop and joint information center (JIC) training
Location TBD based on class enrollment. Facilitated by several PIOs from the PIE committee and Micki Trost to lead the JIC training.  We will announce the location no later than October 12, 2022.


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Registration fees: Virtual sessions are $50 each, and the final in-person session is $100. Those who sign up for the full series will receive a discounted rate of $200 and have two years in which to finish the series.

We will announce the location of the final in-person session no later than September 26th.

We ask that no more than three people from one organization sign up for each session; however, we will consider requests for more than three if a class does not fill.

Questions?