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Last Update 03/15/07 |
July 7, 2006 -- Thomasville, GA WCTV Hurricane Town Meeting On Friday, July 7th, our North Florida Chapter of the AMS drove to Thomasville, Georgia and spoke to the community as part of the third of WCTV's four Hurricane Town Meetings. Trekking north for forty-five minutes, Mike Porter, Alec Bogdanoff, and Bill Cottrill spent the evening with our Georgian neighbors learning about hurricane preparedness, disaster response, and the science of meteorology. The Meteorologists at WCTV opened the evening, with Mike McCall and Rob Nucatola talking about weather forecasting and their role as media - keeping the public informed. WCTV's Ray Hawthorne explained some of the technical side then Michael Koolick spoke about their partnerships with the NWS, FSU, and the local AMS. Mike Porter shared some background on the chapter and it's role in the community while Alec Bogdanoff lectured about basic hurricane science and climatology. Bill Cottrill spoke about the academic side of hurricane science, with some words about FSU Meteorolgy, and some pictures of the recent TCSP Costa Rica field campaign. Paul Duval from the NWS captivated the audience with an exciting presentation about hurricanes, followed by Chris Floyd's interesting talk on preparedness and the Red Cross. Then, Mayor David Lewis and City Manager Steve Sykes introduced local emergency management officials: Police Chief David Huckstep, Fire Chief Bryan Croft, and representatives of Thomas County's emergency staff. The local officials really brought the message of hurricane preparedness home by talking to their community as a member. Finally, a local insurance agent from the audience shared some important information about hurricane coverage, and some heart-wrenching stories about his time volunteering for Katrina relief. While the turnout was not as large as the post-Alberto Perry meeting, there were at least 60 people in attendance. Furthermore, the audience was quite interested in the presentations, and asked many questions of the speakers. There was nary a grumble in the gathering when the scheduled hour-long meeting stretched to two and a half hours. At the end, door prizes from WCTV, the red cross, and local businesses were raffled off. The chapter's commitment to service was visible even then, as the 'grand prize' disaster backpack was won by a chapter member and then donated back to be raffled again for a local resident. For more information: Jessica Fieux, northflams@gmail.com. Report submitted by Michael Porter, Science & Education Committee Chair. |
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