February 19, 2015 Meeting

The fifth meeting of the 2014-2015 year took place at the National Weather Service office. Our guest speaker was Bruce Thomas of Midland Radio.

Meeting Minutes

Call to Order
The fifth NWA/AMS meeting of the 2014-2015 year took place on Thursday, February 14th at the NWS WFO in Jackson, MS. The meeting was called to order at 7:05 pm.

Rolls
Roll was taken by Corresponding Secretary, Daniel Lamb. There were ten people in attendance.

Minutes Approval
Recording Secretary, Eric Carpenter, read minutes from the January meeting. The minutes were previously approved and emailed.

New Business
Treasurer, David Cox, reported that we had $310 in the chapters’ treasury as of this meeting.

We recognized Dr. Ashton Robinson Cook, former JSU graduate and local chapter member, who became the first African-American male to earn a PhD in meteorology from Oklahoma University. Ashton was interviewed by TWC in their segment on Black History Month, and this interview aired on the same day. We followed this up with discussion on upcoming Women’s History Month and the retirement of Renee Fair, former MIC of NWS Little Rock, who was one of the original founders of the NWA.

AMS President, Alan Gerard, recruited help for reviewing of AMS minority scholarships.

NWA Chapter President, Joanne Culin, followed by introducing Bruce Thomas, our special guest presenter. Mr. Thomas is the national spokesman and chief meteorologist for Midland Radio Corportation, and past president of the NWA, and he is originally from Jackson, MS. He has a background working in multiple sectors of meteorology, including as a television meteorologist. The primary topic of his presentation was focused on the improvement of communication. Bruce discussed the history of weather warning systems in the United States leading up to the present day. He also discussed the future of warning communications.

Adjournment
The meeting concluded at approximately 9:00 pm, and it was adjourned.

Minutes submitted by Eric Carpenter, Recording Secretary.