The Verde Search and Rescue Posse has presented Cindy De Sa Valente with its 2024 Ironwoman of the Year award, which she received for responding to over half of the 83 calls for assistance the auxiliary force received.

“There are so many people in this small group that we are, that in my opinion work harder and more than I do, so I was actually surprised,” Valente said.

VSAR assists the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office with search and rescue operations and evidence searches across the county, using teams that utilize 4×4 vehicles, mountain bikes, horses, drones and dogs.

Volunteers accumulate points toward the award during the year, receiving nine points for responding to a call, five for attending a training session, three for setting up a training session, two for attending a community event, two for conducting a candidate evaluation and one for attending a meeting. No VSAR member is eligible to win the award in two consecutive years.

“I was a water quality scientist for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, and for many of the 20 years I spent working there I was a field biolo­gist,” Valente said. “I spent a lot of my time working in the eastern Sierra Nevada mountains between Lone Pine and Mammoth where a portion of the water that supplies drinking water for L.A. comes from. It’s a significant part of the history of my love of the outdoors.”

“The [calls] that are multi-day, it’s not that they’re taxing. As the days go on, it’s not that you lose hope, but it’s difficult worrying about someone being cold or hot or suffering,” Valente said. “If there’s anything that’s taxing about it, it’s that idea that somebody is out there suffering. I don’t think anybody’s comfortable with that idea. So it’s always good motivation to keep going and to try to end that suffering for them.”

Valente took part in 48 responses during 2024. In addition to her roles as the orientation hike sergeant for new volunteers, she is involved with the posse’s technical ropes team and “earned her certificates in operator and technician [with the] 4×4 team,” according to VSAR meeting notes.

Eight of VSAR’s responses in 2024 were to Devil’s Bridge, and one-third of all calls occurred at night. Valente said one of those calls that took place during April was her most memorable of 2024.

“They’re usually a pretty standard lost hiker type call out and require a 4×4 drive up FR152,” Valente said. “What made this call out different was that it involved a fairly complicated carryout with a Stokes basket. The call was being handled by Sedona Fire District and we ended up there to assist them carry the subject out. It was late in the evening and the fire had a rope system set up to belay the subject down the steep twists and turns from the bridge.

“As it happens, three of the seven VSAR that responded were on the ropes team and our most senior ropes person, Dondi West, operated the system for [SFD] and the rest of our team helped the firefighters to cater­pillar the basket down to the flat area and then we hauled equipment and supported [SFD] back to a vehicle they had waiting. It was a long, intense evening, and it was rewarding being able to apply the skills we all work so hard to learn and maintain.”

As the orientation hike sergeant, Valente introduces new volunteers to the legwork required for responses and leads monthly hikes that famil­iarize VSAR members with the local trail systems while preparing the team for various scenarios.

Valente married her husband Cree Horner in 2007 after the couple first met at work. The two relocated to Sedona three years ago and first joined VSAR for a sense of community.

“[Valente] is one of the best team­mates I’ve seen in a long time,” West said. “She’s there for all of our people. She’s working with the new people who are interested, and she’s leading our training hikes … and she’s a joy to work with.”

“The people in this group all work so hard and give so much that it inspires me to want to do more and to be better,” Valente said. “Their dedi­cation is what motivates me.”

VSAR meetings are held from January through November on the second Monday of each month at 6:30 p.m. at SFD Station 3 at 125 Slide Rock Road in the Village of Oak Creek. For more information, visit verdesar.org or contact verdesar­posse@gmail.com (928) 771-3281.