Last Update 03/21/07
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2002-2003 Activities

The chapter had a late start to the 2002-2003 chapter year. The inaugural Executive Board was not elected until October 2002; after elections, they immediately went to work to plan the chapter's activities for the coming year. The first result was the chapter's Thanksgiving Dinner at The Olive Garden in Tallahassee, which saw about 20 members in attendance. The chapter held monthly meetings in both October and November of 2002, featuring baked goods and chapter business at both meetings.

During this time, the chapter saw its outside membership increase thanks to some unexpected advertising. It turns out that Channel 27, the employer of chapter President Stephanie Abrams, ran a flyer in the Tallahassee Democrat one day featuring a "Did You Know?" section about each of the morning on-air personalities. In Stephanie's section, they noted that she was President of the North Florida Chapter of the AMS. One of the key members of the chapter over the first couple of years, Richie Schwerdt (along with his wife Peggy), was one of those who noticed the ad and got involved with the chapter.

As the chapter moved into 2003, less progress was made. The chapter featured its first speaker, Dr. Scott Goodrich of the Forestry Service, at its late January chapter meeting. Dr. Goodrich's presentation, focusing on fire weather and associated phenomena, was well-received by the membership. After January, however, schedule crunches began to hit the Executive Board. Two members were attempting to graduate, while another was occupied attempting to find a new job.

Without a common meeting time available for more than two out of the four officers, no chapter or officer meetings were held until late March 2003. A bowling social was held in mid-February; unfortunately, by this time, many had lost interest in the chapter and attendance was low. The chapter's webpage, initially developed in November 2002, had not been updated since that time due to server problems with the FSU Dept. of Meteorology's webserver, further hindering efforts.

But, the chapter pressed on and held officer elections in April 2003. Five candidates announced their candidacy for the four open positions, resulting in a new Executive Board for 2003-04. New President Clark Evans took the reins during the April chapter meeting, introducing the new officers and outlining some of his ideas for the forthcoming chapter year. Many of these ideas - scheduled meeting times, increased community involvement, chapter organization, increased summer functions, summer meetings & events and a revamped webpage - were well-received by the small crowd assembled for chapter elections. While the year ended on a down note, some progress had been made to reestablish a local chapter of the American Meteorological Society in the Tallahassee region, progress which would be built upon the following year.