St. Luke’s McCall Community Board member Gary Thompson brings passion and commitment to everything he does.
And when a potentially life-or-death moment came about earlier this year, Thompson’s skills were key in preventing a disaster.
In January, two neighbor children were inadvertently buried by a snowplow in a snow cave they had built.
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Last Updated March 31, 2025
Gary Thompson participates in avalanche rescue training.
When the parents couldn’t locate the kids and realized they were likely trapped in the snow, they reached out to Thompson to help. Thompson’s day job is at the University of Idaho McCall Outdoor Science School, known as MOSS, as the public relations and leadership specialist.
He is also a backcountry ski guide and is trained in avalanche rescue. Thompson put his training to work and began digging, with the help of his own kids and others, to locate the kids until McCall first responders arrived.
After the kids were safe and evaluated by the EMS team, Thompson realized that while the kids were OK physically, the event itself was likely emotionally traumatic. His training with the Community Resilience Model kicked in.
He shared this with the parents and connected them with Ignite Idaho Family Resource Center, a local nonprofit that offers crisis counseling support. The family was able to talk with professionals about their experience the day following event, according to the McCall Star-News, which first reported the story.
St. Luke’s supports Ignite Idaho with community health resources and Community Health Improvement Fund grants.
In his role as a leadership specialist, Thompson works closely with University of Idaho MOSS graduate students as they “explore the topic of leadership and how to create change in their organization and the world.”
Neighborhood kids now are putting up "Caution: Kids at Play" signs in snowbanks
And as a leader and someone with extensive outdoor experience, he was drawn to Community Resilience Model three years ago when he learned of an education session put on by St. Luke’s McCall.
The program educates individuals about the biology and neurophysiology of stress, learning biological-based wellness skills help reset and stabilize the nervous system. The programing was made possible by the St. Luke’s McCall Foundation through an Idaho Department of Health and Welfare grant.
Thompson believed the training would be a valuable addition to work with the University of Idaho MOSS graduate students. He was also aware of the limited mental and behavioral health resources available in Idaho and saw the value of the training community members in Community Resilience Model to be a type of mental health first responder and help connect families with counseling services. St. Luke’s supported his participation in CRM’s training to become a facilitator of the program.
It certainly paid off in the difference he made for his neighbors.
Thompson shared his experience at a recent St. Luke’s McCall Community Board meeting to demonstrate the role volunteer board members play in helping guide St. Luke’s efforts and the impact it can have on improving community health.
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