 Elections of executive board for the 2020-2021 academic year closed Wednesday afternoon. Congratulations to those elected to the following positions.
Brenna Hunter was elected President. Hunter is a rising senior from Brunswick, GA. Sheyenne Kirkland was elected Vice President. Kirkland is a rising senior from Hewitt, TX. Josh Reiter was elected Treasurer. Reiter is a rising senior from Allen, TX. The race for Secretary is forced into a runoff since no candidate received a majority of the vote. The runoff election between Caroline Sleeper and Bryce Jones will be open for voting between 8 AM - 5 PM tomorrow on the chapter's Canvas page. The results be announced shortly after. The transition between the current executive board and the new executive board will occur over the next week.  After much discussion between the executive board and University officials, we are announcing that we will no longer be holding the Southeast Severe Storms Symposium at a physical location or virtual platform.
With much sadness, we have determined that it is not feasible to move forward with either option. Out of respect for our speakers, participants, and their time, we will be canceling the symposium. This decision was not made lightly, but due to current events and stresses of life, we felt that this was the best path forward. For those who had previously registered for the conference, you will be receiving an email about registration fees and potential refunds. We thank everyone for their patience during this process and look forward to seeing everyone in Starkville next year.  STATEMENT FROM EAST MISSISSIPPI CHAPTER OF THE NWA AND AMS
The Southeast Severe Storms Symposium will no longer consist of a physical meeting on March 21-22 at Mississippi State University. The executive board determined that it is not feasible to move forward with the current plans in place. We are working with the University to create plans for moving presentations online. We will update within the next few days when plans are in place.  Top (L to R): Ken Graham, Kim Klockow-McClain Bottom (L to R): Janice Dean, Brad Panovich At the chapter meeting held on October 29, President Alex Forbes announced the keynote speakers for the upcoming 18th Annual Southeast Severe Storms Symposium: Ken Graham, Kim Klockow-McClain, Janice Dean, and Brad Panovich.
Ken Graham is the director of the National Hurricane Center and a Mississippi State University graduate. Prior to moving to Miami, Graham was the Meteorologist-in-Charge at the National Weather Service in New Orleans/Baton Rouge. He has also served at Systems Operations Chief at NWS Southern Region Headquarters and Chief of Meteorological Services at NWS Headquarters. Graham received a Bachelor’s of Atmospheric Science Degree at the University of Arizona, and attended Mississippi State University where he earned a Master of Science Degree in Geosciences. Kim Klockow-McClain is a research scientist and the societal applications coordinator for the Cooperative Institute for Mesoscale Meteorological Studies (CIMMS). She additionally serves as the group lead for the newly formed Societal Impacts Group within the National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL). Kim’s research applies behavioral science methods to address pressing issues in the management of weather and climate risk, especially in the communication of forecast uncertainty and response to hazardous weather warnings. In her other roles, Kim coordinates multidisciplinary research projects and works to build new capacity for the conduct and implementation of social scientific research. She completed her Ph.D. in human/hazards geography from the University of Oklahoma (OU) in 2013 and also holds an M.S. in professional meteorology from OU and B.S. degrees in economics and synoptic meteorology from Purdue University. Janice Dean is the senior meteorologist for FOX News Channel. In addition, she is the morning meteorologist for FNC’s FOX & Friends (weekdays 6-9AM/ET). She joined the network in January 2004. During her time at the network, Janice covered a slew of devastating storms including: Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, Sandy, Irene, Igor, Earl and Katrina. In addition to her role at FOX News, Dean is the author of “Freddy the Frogcaster,” a series of children’s books tailored towards teaching the weather. Most recently, Janice donated all of the earnings from her book to Team Rubicon, an organization dedicated to providing disaster relief to those affected by natural disasters. Dean recently published "Mostly Sunny: How I Learned to Keep Smiling Through the Rainest Days." Dean holds degrees from Algonquin College of Applied Arts and Technology and Mississippi State University. Brad Panovich is the chief meteorologist at WCNC-TV in Charlotte, NC. Panovich is known on #wxtwitter as @wxbrad, pioneering new ways to communicate information to the general public. He joined WCNC in 2003 from WWL-TV in New Orleans. Even though he left in 2003, Panovich helped WWL with their coverage of one of the worst hurricanes in United States history, Hurricane Katrina. Shortly after, he also helped with Hurricane Rita. Prior to working in New Orleans, Panovich held jobs in Dayton, OH and Traverse City, MI. He has his bachelor's degree in atmospheric sciences from Ohio State University. The 18th Annual Southeast Severe Storms Symposium is set to be held on March 21-22, at Memorial Hall on the campus of Mississippi State University. Registration will open within the next week.  Sheyenne Kirkland Sheyenne Kirkland was named Symposium Chair for the 18th annual Southeast Severe Storms Symposium, by the executive board, at the general chapter meeting on September 17.
Kirkland is currently a junior at Mississippi State University from Hewitt, TX. Additionally, she is an intern with Nashville Severe Weather and has been a member of the chapter since her freshmen year. By taking on this role, Kirkland also joins the executive board of the chapter through April 2020. The committee heads for the 18th annual Southeast Severe Storms Symposium were also announced Tuesday Afternoon.
President Alex Forbes said at the meeting on Tuesday afternoon, " We had a record number of applicants this year and we feel this line up will make one of the best symposiums yet." He later added, "We have already begun the planning process and hope to have initial details for Symposium shortly." The Southeast Severe Storms Symposium is the southeast's largest weather conference hosted annually in Starkville, Mississippi by the East Mississippi Chapter of the NWA and AMS. |
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