 The National Weather Association announced Thursday afternoon that the East Mississippi Chapter has been awarded the Local Chapter Award for the 2018-2019 academic year.
This marks the second year in a row the East Mississippi Chapter of the NWA and AMS has been recognized by a national organization. The Chapter accepted the Student Chapter of the Year Award from the AMS in January 2019 for the 2017-2018 academic year. The National Weather Association awarded the chapter for providing unique opportunities to career growth and improving the connection between chapter members with the local community and national organizations. The officers for the year awarded were
Alex Forbes, current President said, "I have been involved in the NWA since my high school years and the organization has already had a tremendous impact on my future career. It is an honor to be recognized for the work our entire team did as a whole. This award belongs to everyone who made last year as successful as it was." Forbes is serving as President and has held the roles of secretary from 2018-2019, and Symposium Chair from 2017-2018. He is a junior at Mississippi State from Alpharetta, GA. Lauren Pounds, former President said, “Our goal for the East Mississippi Chapter of the AMS and NWA was to make known the opportunities available, as well as provide our members with the means needed to go after challenging, but rewarding opportunities. The reward of the chapter’s efforts are chapter members shining through during summer internships, graduate school, and new jobs, and we are humbled to receive national NWA recognition.” Pounds served as President between 2018-2019, and as secretary from 2017-2018. She graduated with a B.S. in Geosciences in 2019 from Mississippi State University and is currently in Graduate School at the University of Oklahoma. Student representatives will accept the award from the National Weather Association at their annual meeting located in Huntsville, on September 11, 2019.  L to R: Caroline MacDonald, Kristopher Boone Caroline MacDonald has been announced as the 2019-2020 Graduate Advisor for the East Mississippi Chapter of the NWA and AMS. MacDonald previously served as Vice President for two terms (2016-2018) and has been a member of the organization for the past 5 years. She is currently a graduate student at Mississippi State.
According to the constitution, the President is responsible for selecting and appointed the Graduate Advisor position and that it must be done by the second general meeting of the academic year. MacDonald assumed her role upon her acceptance. Kristopher Boone has filled the role of Vice President for the 2019-2020 academic year, effective immediately. Boone was appointed by the executive board following our previous Vice President's voluntary departure. Boone has been a chapter member for the past 3 years. He is currently a senior broadcast meteorology student at Mississippi State. The only open position remaining is Symposium Chair. The application process for the role will open after August 20 and will be filled next fall. Tonight, the East Mississippi Chapter of the NWA and AMS elected new officers for the 2019-2020 school year. Congratulations to those who won:
The roles of Graduate Advisor and Symposium Chair will be filled by the executive board by this fall. The new officers assumed their roles following the election meeting.  From L to R: Alex Forbes, Secretary; Roger Wakimoto, President of the American Meteorological Society; Lauren Pounds, President; Reggie Roakes, Co-Symposium Chair The East Mississippi Chapter of the NWA and AMS was excited to accept the 2017-2018 Student Chapter of the Year award from the American Meteorological Society at its Annual Meeting in Phoenix, AZ, this week.
President Lauren Pounds, Secretary Alex Forbes, and Co-Symposium Chair Reggie Roakes were at the Annual Meeting to accept the award Tuesday morning. The chapter was awarded for the group’s efforts in creating numerous member opportunities for broadening professional networks and knowledge, as well as strengthening the chapter’s role within the national AMS community. President Lauren Pounds said, "Receiving the award was an incredible honor. The past and current officers have put in so much effort to provide students with opportunities and skills that they aren’t able to receive in the classroom." She continued, "I appreciate of the recognition and hope to continue to grow this organization." The AMS Annual Meeting is the world’s largest yearly gathering for the weather, water, and climate community. It brings together great minds from a diverse set of scientific disciplines – helping attendees make career-long professional contact and life-long friends while learning from the very top people in the atmospheric sciences. AMS is the nation’s premier scientific and professional organization promoting and disseminating information about the atmospheric, oceanic and hydrologic sciences. With more than 13,000 members, AMS includes researchers, educators, students, enthusiasts, broadcasters and other professionals in weather, water and climate. For more, visit www.ametsoc.org.  The East Mississippi Chapter of the NWA and AMS is excited to announce that the Southeast Severe Storms Symposium XVII will be held on March 23-24, 2019, at Memorial Hall on the campus of Mississippi State University.
This year's symposium will feature four keynotes with diverse backgrounds in the field of meteorology. Erik Rasmussen is the current project manager for VORTEX-SE. Rasmussen was the field coordinator of the first of the VORTEX projects in 1994-1995 and a lead principal investigator for VORTEX2 from 2009-2010, as well as involved in other smaller VORTEX offshoots and many field projects. Rasmussen has a B.S. from the University of Oklahoma, a M.S. from Texas Tech University, and a Ph.D. from Colorado State University. Janice Huff is the chief meteorologist at WNBC-TV in New York City. Huff has worked in markets such as Chattanooga, Tennessee, Columbus, Georgia, St. Louis, Missouri, and San Francisco, California. She moved to NBC, in New York, in 1995 and has worked at NBC since. Huff graduated with a B.S from Florida State University. Aubrey Urbanowicz is the chief meteorologist at WHSV-TV in Harrisonburg, VA. Urbanowicz is originally from Connecticut and worked in the corporate world for 12 years before entering the meteorology field. She graduated from Mississippi State's distance program with a B.S. in Geosciences with a concentration in Broadcast Meteorology. Will Simmons is a pilot for the 53d Weather Reconnaissance Squadron out of Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, MS. Commonly referred to as the Hurricane Hunters, his squadron’s primary mission is to intentionally fly into tropical storms and hurricanes to collect data that aid in forecasting. To date, Captain Simmons has 80 hurricane eye penetrations, including 5 passes through Category 5 Hurricane Irma. The Hurricane Hunters also support winter storm reconnaissance as well as research missions that have taken Simmons around the world. Prior to joining the Air Force Reserve in 2012, Simmons graduated from Mississippi State University in 2011 with a B.S. in Geosciences and was part of the 2010-2011 WxChallenge championship team. He then worked for two years at WCBI-TV in Columbus, MS as an on-air meteorologist where he earned the Certified Broadcast Meteorologist designation (#596). Simmons also holds a Master of Business Administration from Louisiana State University. Additionally, we are introducing a poster session to this year's symposium. Abstract submissions for that and a general presentation are now open on eastmsnwaams.com. Abstracts are due March 1. Pre-registration opens today and will be open through March 20. For questions, comments, and concerns, please reach out to the executive board directly at eastmsnwaams@gmail.com. Click here to register and submit abstracts. |
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Alex Forbes, President
Kristopher Boone, Vice President Bryce Jones, Secretary Brenna Hunter, Treasurer TBA, Symposium Chair Caroline MacDonald, Graduate Advisor |
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EAST MISSISSIPPI CHAPTER OF THE NWA AND AMS
P.O. BOX 5448 MISSISSIPPI STATE, MS 39762 |
