If elected to the AMS Council, I will work to strengthen and reinvigorate the AMS and to represent the views of all members of the Society.  As described in my biography and highlighted in the May 2023 issue of BAMS (Meet the AMS), I have long and deep involvement as a volunteer within the AMS.  These efforts include serving as the Secretary-Treasurer for the past 3½ years, service as STAC Commissioner, and multiple years chairing boards and committees.  If elected, I will use this substantial experience on day-one to deal with challenges, both major and minor.  I will seek out your views and ensure that they are represented in critical decisions and will work cooperatively with the AMS staff to advance the best interests of the Society and all members.

As the governing body of the Society, the Council needs to reflect the priorities of AMS members.  I will ensure that the Council makes decisions regarding the budget, costs for conference registration, policy statements of the Society, and ongoing efforts to enhance diversity that reflect membership preferences and needs.  All members should have an equal opportunity to succeed, regardless of their background or culture.

I will support a greater degree of direct democracy in the AMS, with involvement of all members in key decisions.  For example, I will propose that major decisions are brought to a vote of the entire membership.  I will also seek a review of the policy of setting membership dues based upon income, an issue about which many members have complained.  Additionally, I will advocate for a review of the method of selection for the fifth Councilor.  Whether that selection should be returned to a vote of the entire membership instead of filling the position by a vote of the Council is a matter I will advocate for discussion.  If elected, I will carry out the duties with a sense of purpose and humility and always strive to represent the views of all members.

Bruce Telfeyan is a retired Air Force Meteorologist with 48 years of service and an AMS member since 1970.  He completed his M.S. at Cornell University in 1972 with his thesis on Urban Heat Island research.   In the Air Force, he wrote terminal forecasts for over one-hundred worldwide locations, issuing over 30,000 individual weather predictions.  Later, he commanded the Weather Detachment at Plattsburgh AFB for three years.  In August 1990, he reported to Izmir, Turkey as the Director of Meteorology and Oceanography for NATO's Sixth Allied Tactical Air Force.  He directed weather support to the Allied Command Europe Mobile Force deployment of Italian, Belgian, and German fighter squadrons into Turkey for defensive purposes.  He completed active-duty at Wright-Patterson AFB where he oversaw atmospheric science research at four Air Force Laboratories.  Subsequently, he began a 27-year career as an Air Force civil servant.  He was the Technology Exploitation Branch Chief mentoring twenty students on their thesis research.  He retired in Dec 2020 as the chief requirements meteorologist for the 557th Weather Wing.  Separately from his government work, he was an operational meteorologist for Steve Fossett's and Kevin Uliassi’s around-the-world balloon attempts.

Within the AMS, Bruce has been active in local chapters in Omaha (serving as president for two years), Dayton, and St. Louis.  He chaired the AMS Weather Analysis and Forecast Committee from 2012 - 2014, chaired the AMS Board for Operational Government Meteorologists, and was a member of the AMS Local Chapter Affairs Committee and the AMS Board for Enterprise Planning.  He served on the NWA Awards Membership and Marketing Committees.  In October 2014, the AMS Council selected him to serve as commissioner for the Scientific and Technological Activities Commission (STAC), with duties assisting and overseeing the Commissions 36 boards and committees.  Following six years as STAC Commissioner, the Council of the AMS unanimously elected him to a four-year term as the Secretary-Treasurer of the AMS.