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I can see that we all come from similar molds. I have been doing volunteer SAR since 1979 and have held the commander's position three different times. When I started doing SAR we had an average of 30 missions per year and now we average 80-90, with 60% of those rescues being in the mountains. Back then all you had to do was equip a 4-wheel drive vehicle and show up, and it did not cost you more than about $2,000 per year out of pocket to do it. Now I spend no less than $3,000 per year but not usally more than $5,000. Crazy? Yes, but where else can you spend money to help others in need and know for sure that it is not lining someone's pocket. When SAR is paged the public expects a certain level of expertise of those responding and that training/certification level is increasing every year.
We have a limit to the number of members, 45, more because of the costs involved. The organization has held fund raisers over the years, some being successful and others not. Most of our operating costs come from community donations and dues. Each year we hold interviews for new memberships. For the last 3-4 years we have had 30 applicants. The sheriff's department does background checks and weeds them down to about half that number. Then a board interviews them one at a time and after that process we may except 4-6. We don't really look at them unless they are current in basic first aide or an EMT. If they are also a diver, have mountain skills or own water craft, snowmobiles or ATV's, that also helps. Then we put the new members through an extensive one year training program. They have field training 12 times per year and that is on top of the regular 12 field trainings and the regular monthly meetings. At the end of that training they are give a test. If they don't make it they one one more chance to take the test again. By that time we have them well thinned out and the cream of the crop. The new members may rent radios and PEEPs from the organization, but the rest they buy. The sheriff's office supplies us with pagers, a couple of stokes, ropes and replaces must equipment broken or lost.
We do not lack for missions and the membership knows if they want to be deployed they will need to become trained and show up to most of the rescues.
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Volunteer turnover in Utah 
Turnover Rate
(David R. Tate)
