NCIM Mid-Year Meeting, Atlanta, GA Jan 2010

Date: January 18, 2010
Time: Noon to 2:00 p.m.
Location: International Ballroom A/B – M2 North Tower, Omni Hotel, Atlanta , GA
(Lunch will be provided)

Preliminary Agenda

▪ President’s Welcome and Self Introductions
▪ Introducing two potential new Associate members
▪ Introduction/announcement of newest NCIM members (Westergard)
▪ Update on status of NCIM secretary (Westergard)
▪ Nominating committee report & discussion (Marsh)
▪ NCIM Schwab Investment Account (Marsh)
▪ NCIM Financial Statement (Wagner)
▪ NCIM sticker availability (Wagner)
▪ Update on the NCIM business cards (Westergard)
▪ Update on EISWG activities (Toohey-Morales)
▪ Progress report on NCIM effort to survey private sector of meteorology (Hoffnagle)
▪ Pre-update on IFMS-GM1 (Fransioli)
▪ NCIM Blog – should it continue? (Westergard/Hall)
▪ Final Report from Ad Hoc committee on improving CCM visibility (Hall/Hanna)
▪ Updaye on NWS Issues (NWS representative)
▪ Update on 2009 Annual Meeting in Norman (Westergard)
▪ Educational outreach initiative as part of the 2010 NCIM Annual Meeting in Albany (Westergard)
▪ Update on activities of the Commission on the Weather and Climate Enterprise (Parker)
▪ Workshop initiative as part of the 2011 AMS Annual Meeting? (Westergard)
▪ Member items

AMS “Summer Student Opportunities”

[The following message is being sent at the request of Donna Sampson, AMS Development & Student Program Manager. You may contact Donna at 617-227-2426, ext. 246 with any questions.]

Dear AMS Corporate Member:

The AMS offers a program that we believe is of great benefit to both students and organizations in the atmospheric, oceanic, or hydrologic sciences. The program is called “Summer Student Opportunities” and through it the AMS tries to serve as a “conduit” for information on employment and summer internship opportunities for students. Organizations are able to list, on the AMS web site, summer opportunities in the atmospheric and related fields at no charge by merely sending an e-mail to dfernand@ametsoc.org. We will be doing a mailing to all student members of the AMS announcing the availability of the listing online. We feel this provides an excellent service to students, but it also should help companies to obtain many well qualified applicants for their summer positions in an easy and very cost effective manner. We are simply trying to obtain information on summer opportunities for the students — the AMS will not be involved in any aspect of the application or selection process. Many companies have taken advantage of the Summer Student Opportunity Program over the last several years, and we hope that many more will participate this year.

The listing on the AMS home page has already been initiated and will continue to be updated as more ads are received. You may view the listing at http://www.ametsoc.org/amsstudentinfo/internships.html We have established a format which we hope will make it easy for you to provide us with your ad. If you wish to list an ad, please go to the above website and complete the sponsor form available in PDF format or send an email to dsampson@ametsoc.org. Please refer to the examples below for guidance.

I hope you will take advantage of this program and make this information available to all those in your organization who might be in a position to hire students this summer. If you have any questions, please feel free to call me at AMS Headquarters, 617-227-2426 ext. 246.

EXAMPLE:

Paid Position

AccuWeather, Inc., State College, PA. Forecast intern positions (2 5) available for summer through fall and possibly spring. Salary: $5/hour to start. Applicants should have completed basic synoptic courses and/or have forecasting experience in “Campus Weather Service”, classes, or forecasting contests. Must be available to work in State College, PA, at least 30 hours per week in summer for training, and at least 5 hours per week in fall. Send a letter of interest or call: Michael A. Steinberg, Sr. Vice President, AccuWeather, Inc., 619 W. College Avenue, State College, PA 16801. Phone: (814) 237 0309. FAX: (814) 231 0621. E-mail: steinberg@accuwx.com.

Unpaid Position

WMBD-TV, Peoria, IL. Period of internship: Interns welcome any semester. Contact: Chuck Collins, Chief Meteorologist, 3131 N. University, Peoria, IL 61604. Phone: (309) 686-9487. Fax: (309) 686-8650. E-mail: chuckc@wmbd.com.

All the best,

–

Donna Sampson Development & Student Program Manager

617-227-2426 x246

4th Annual Wildland Fire Litigation Conference Announcement

NCIM has been advised of an upcoming Wildland Fire Litigation Conference, to be held April 23-25, 2010 at the Silver Legacy in Reno, Nevada.  Details regarding the programs, faculty, registration, accommodations, and continuing education credits may be found at www.wildlandfirelitigation.com.

A copy of the letter of invitation from Kenneth P. Roye, Attorney at Law and Conference Host, may be accessed through the following link:  wildfire_litigation_conf

National Flood Workshop Call for Papers

Jill Hasling has recommended the following information to NCIM members:

The call for papers is out for the National Flood Workshop. The website is: http://www.nationalfloodworkshop.net

NATIONAL FLOOD WORKSHOP
October 24 – 26, 2010
Hotel ZaZa in Houston, Texas

The National Flood Workshop is organized by Weather Research Center (a private, non-profit educational and research center based in Houston, Texas) and its partners. The purpose of this workshop is to bring together various agencies, emergency managers, academia, and professionals from across the nation to encourage dialogue on the various aspects of flooding. This includes the meteorological and hydrological conditions observed before, during, and after flood events, technological advancements being made in remote field data acquisition and flood modeling, and regulations and requirements in flood mitigation and floodplain management. The goal is to establish an annual national workshop to discuss flooding and related topics, provide educational and training courses, and most importantly to help reduce loss of life and property damage from floods.

New AMS Statement on Community Priorities

Received from the AMS on 10/02/2008

With cooperation from many members of our community, CWCE/BEC has collected community input via Town Hall meetings at the AMS Annual Meeting, as well at other CWCE/BEC events. The process culminated in the drafting of an AMS Statement: Enabling National Weather and Climate Priorities, which was approved in its final form in  September by the AMS Council.

You may view and download a copy of this statement via the AMS web site:

http://www.ametsoc.org/policy/2008nationalpriorities_amsstatement.html

AMS urges members of the meteorological community to become familiar with this statement, and to refer to it in conversations with Congress, federal agencies, our user community, students, peers, and anyone else who might be interested. As an official AMS Statement, approved by the AMS Council, this statement represents the official position of the AMS on this topic. Of course, community priorities change over time, and this statement will evolve as the community priorities evolve.

NCIM Affiliate Class Membership Approved

The NCIM membership vote has come in overwhelmingly in favor of establishing the new Affiliate Membership class as proposed in an e-mail ballot after the mid year meeting.   Watch the NCIM web page for details on how to apply.

What do you think about the NCIM blog?

Blogs can be a great communication tool for an organization. However, considering the number of views per day, and the lack of comments on posted notes, the value of NCIM’s blog to the membership is unclear. Please share you opinions about the NCIM blog by responding to this note. Here are some ideas about questions you could answer:

How often to you view the blog?
What type of information are you most interest in reveiwing on the blog?
Do you view the blog as a viable forum for communication and collaboration amongst NCIM members?
Do you find the blog interface to be user-friendly?
Would you like to receive automated notifications via email when new content is added to the blog?

Fair Weather: Effective Partnerships in Weather and Climate Services

Based on the NCIM statement of purpose, it seems that a discussion thread regarding public-private partnership in providing weather services may be of interest to NCIM membership.  While I am certain that many NCIM members are familiar with the book, Fair Weather: Effective Partnerships in Weather and Climate, others may not be.  I have not read this book, nor do I have the ability to put its impact into any sort of context.  If you have an opinion about this book, I encourage you to sound off by posting a comment in response to this blog entry.  The following summary comes from The National Academies Press web site:

“The report examines the roles of the public, private, and academic sectors in providing weather and climate services, the barriers to interaction among the sectors, and the impact of scientific and technological advances on the weather enterprise. The report recommends that the National Weather Service should continue to issue general forecasts and provide unrestricted access to observational data and model results, even though private companies also produce weather forecasts. However, the Weather Service should come up with a new process for deciding whether a particular forecast or weather product should be created by the Weather Service or the private sector.”

Link to book:  http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=10610#description

Posted by:  Tim Hall

Invitation to NWS Partners and Family of Services Meetings

Received from NWS OCWWS May 12, 2009

Dear National Weather Service Partners,

You are invited to attend the National Weather Service (NWS) Partners and Family of Services Meetings in Silver Spring, Maryland, on June 25, 2009.  The Partners meeting will be hosted by the NWS Director, Jack Hayes, and represents a valuable opportunity for you to help define our future.  To register for the meeting, please complete our brief registration form:

https://apps.weather.gov/registration/registration.php?id=57

There is a link to the draft agenda on the registration form and an area for you to comment on the agenda as well.

To stay informed about Partner related topics, please subscribe to the new NWS Partners Email List:

http://infolist.nws.noaa.gov/read/all_forums/subscribe?name=nws_partners

After subscribing, you will receive an email asking you to validate your subscription.

You can also keep current with Partners related information at the NWS Partners Website:

http://apps.weather.gov/partners/index.php

We kindly request that you pass this email along to anyone you know who may also be interested in NWS Partner related events and information.  If you have any questions, please contact me at mike.gerber@noaa.gov or 301-713-0090 x170.  You may also contact John Simensky at john.simensky@noaa.gov or 301-713-0090 x150.

NOAA Reschedules Constituent Budget Briefing

Received April 30,2009 from NOAA

Dear NOAA Constituent, 

Due to a delay in the budget rollout process, the FY 10 President’s Budget will be released two days later than anticipated, on Thursday, May 7^th.  As a result, the Constituent briefing has been rescheduled for Monday, May 11^th at 1:30 p.m. in the Amphitheater in the Ronald Reagan Building.  On behalf of the NOAA Budget Office we apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. 

Once again, the Ronald Reagan building is located at 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC  20004.  The most convenient metro stop is Federal Triangle.  Public parking garages are also available in the building and surrounding blocks.

As always, we appreciate the support that constituents have provided for NOAA and we look forward to your attendance and participation on May 11^th.  If you have any questions, please contact Jodi Dauphin at 202.482.5115.

Original invitation:

April 22, 2009

Dear NOAA Constituent,

On behalf of the new Under Secretary of Commerce and Administrator of NOAA Dr. Jane Lubchenco, you are cordially invited to attend the FY 2010 NOAA Constituent Budget Briefing in Washington, D.C. The briefing will be held Wednesday, May 6^th from 2:30-4:30 pm at the Amphitheater in the Ronald Reagan Building.

During the briefing, Dr. Lubchenco will discuss the President’s FY 2010 budget request for NOAA. Copies of the Budget Summary (Blue Book) and a series of one-page fact sheets will be available for you. For those unable to attend, all of the budget materials will be posted on the NOAA.gov website once the budget is released.

The Ronald Reagan Building is located at 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20004. The most convenient metro stop is Federal Triangle. Public parking garages are also available in the building and surrounding blocks.

We greatly appreciate the support that constituents have provided for NOAA and we look forward to your attendance and participation. We also encourage you to share this invitation with any other colleagues who may have an interest in NOAA’s Budget. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact Jodi Dauphin, NOAA Budget Office, by email Jodi.dauphin@noaa.gov or phone 202-482-5115.

Many thanks and we look forward to seeing you on May 6^th.