Last Update 03/15/07
Copyright © 2007

November 28, 2006 -- Panel Discussion on Outreach Activities

On Tuesday, November 28^th, 2006, the North Florida Chapter held its November meeting. Jessica Fieux, president, opened the meeting. The North Florida AMS T-shirts were discussed followed by Officer Reports. Charlie Woodrum, treasurer, reported that the Chapter currently has $1,483.91 in its account and made $45.31 at its most recent bake sale. Charlie also mentioned that at his most recent membership committee meeting, the idea of a miniature-golf tournament in the spring arose. Vice President, Clark Evans, discussed the canned food drive, which will end December 8^th. He also mentioned the Chapter’s Holiday Event: The Tallahassee Winter Festival on Saturday, December 2^nd. The 3 kilometer Jingle Bell Run opened the celebration and was followed by a parade.  Lighting of downtown Tallahassee was included in the festival. Secretary Katie Walls followed Clark by talking about The Relay for Life that will be March 16-17, 2007. The event’s proceeds benefit cancer research, a topic that is important to many. Katie then took a vote regarding the Chapter’s paying the registration fees; the motion was passed to pay the registration fee of $100.

Michael Porter, Science and Education Chair, opened the Chapter’s feature presentation: A Panel Discussion on Outreach Activities. Local Broadcast Meteorologist, Ray Hawthorne, Meteorology Professor, Dr. Paul Ruscher, and graduate student, Jessica Donnelly, participated in the panel, as well as our own Michael Porter. Dr. Ruscher focused on how Outreach Activities help broaden students’ horizons beyond weather topics. Outreach’s goal is to build better material for earth science teachers in the community. Dr. Ruscher also emphasized the importance of going into the community and proclaiming a love for all sciences, not just meteorology. Jessica learned about Outreach through Dr. Ruscher. She worked in Dr. Ruscher’s Globe Program, which is used to broaden the geo-science realm. She said that informal educational techniques in museums and 4-H are the best way to promote our love for science. Kids love those who are passionate about what they do; they do not mind whether or not the speaker is the smartest person in the meteorology world. Our goal is to encourage kids’ love for science and in turn education in its entirety. Agreeing with this statement was Ray Hawthorne, who has been a broadcast meteorologist for Tallahassee’s WCTV channel for over two years. He has participated in school visits through his job and says that kids enjoy “cool” images, goodies, and fun facts.  He also emphasized that teachers appreciate new knowledge as well!

In years past, the North Florida AMS chapter has been involved in local science fairs, the Science Olympiad, and Springtime Tallahassee.  We plan to continue and embellish on these Outreach events.

For more information: Jessica Fieux, northflams@gmail.com. Report submitted by Katie Walls, Secretary.