Ballots for the election of members to join the NWA Council for 2005 were mailed to all NWA regular and student voting members at the end of November 2004. Short biographies of the candidates and annual dues renewal invoices were enclosed with that mailing. Here are expanded biography sketches with photos of the candidates that were available. Ballots need to be sent to the NWA office (postmarked not later than 31 December 2004) to be counted in this election.

Candidates for President-Elect - vote for one:

DAVID I. KNAPP is a candidate for President-Elect. He is a civilian meteorologist at the U.S. Army Research Laboratory (ARL), White Sands Missile Range, NM, and Liaison to the U.S. Air Force Weather Agency (AFWA). Dave returned to ARL in 2003 after three years as Aviation Support Branch Chief at the NOAA/NWS/NCEP/Aviation Weather Center in Kansas City, MO. He started his career in meteorology spending three years (1977-1980) at North Carolina State University, followed by one year to complete his degree in meteorology at the University of Utah. Dave then joined the U.S. Air Force as a weather officer with an assignment to Castle AFB, CA, followed by assignments to Stuttgart (1983) and Ramstein AB, Germany (1984). He returned to North Carolina State University in 1986 and completed a M.S. degree in meteorology in 1988. He then was assigned to Air Force Global Weather Central (now AFWA) at Offutt AFB, Nebraska where he was responsible for technology improvement, aviation and severe weather forecast technique development, research technology transfer, and verification of forecast techniques. In 1992, Dave was assigned to ARL to establish an Air Force weather liaison office where he became Officer-In-Charge of Army/Air Force Battlefield Weather Programs. After three years in that position, he separated from active duty, but stayed at ARL pursuing research in the areas of forecast technique development and improvement, and mesoscale model verification and validation tailored to meet the U.S. Army's battlefield weather needs. Dave remained active in the Air Force Reserves until February 2003 when he retired after more than 21 years of military service. He was recognized as the Air Force Weather Spengler Award winner in 1999 as the year's outstanding weather reservist. He has authored or co-authored more than 30 scientific papers, conference preprints, technical reports, and training aids related to his aviation, severe weather, and mesoscale forecasting and research work. Dave has been a member of the AMS since 1979, and served in local chapter leadership positions from 1997-1999. As a member of the NWA since 1988, Dave served on the Membership Committee (1989-1991) and the Aviation Meteorology Committee (1991-1998; committee chair from 1993-1996). He was elected a Councilor (1997-1998), and has just completed four years of service on the NWA Council as Commissioner of Committees.

ALAN SEALLS is a candidate for President-Elect. He is the Chief Meteorologist at WKRG-TV in Mobile, Alabama. He holds a B.S. (1985) from Cornell University and a M.S. (1987) from Florida State University, both in meteorology. He has been a NWA member since 1986 and a NWA TV Weathercaster Seal of Approval holder since 1987. Alan has served the NWA on the Broadcast Meteorology Committee as a Broadcaster Seal of Approval tape panelist/evaluator from 1998-2000 and the Broadcaster Seal of Approval Committee Chair from 2000-2002. He was elected a NWA Councilor for the term 2002-2004. He is also an AMS member and a past president of the Chicago Chapter (1998-1999). Alan has been an AMS TV Seal of Approval holder since 1988. His broadcast career started in Albany, Georgia, at WALB-TV in 1987. From 1988-1992, Alan was a meteorologist at WTMJ-TV & Radio, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. From 1992-1997, he was a meteorologist at Chicago superstation WGN-TV. While there he wrote a weather column for StreetWise Newspaper and was a meteorology professor at Columbia College in Chicago. From 1997-1998, Alan was a meteorologist at WMAQ-TV in Chicago where he won an Emmy for his work in a tornado preparedness program. Alan has also written and produced weather programs for television, and more than a dozen weather and water-resource video programs for schools, distributed nationwide. He further promotes meteorology in a Time-Life science book, CD-ROMs for teachers, and in a PBS program of Newton's Apple. In his 17 years as a broadcaster, Alan has spoken to tens of thousands of kids in hundreds of schools on weather, science, and the value of education. He often serves as a panelist or presenter for NWA Annual Meetings and other national conventions. Occasionally, Alan writes articles on weather, which have been published nationally. One of his articles was used in the curriculum at the University of Washington. For the last four years at WKRG-TV, he has also taught weather broadcasting courses at the University of South Alabama. He won an "Award for Excellence" from the Mobile Press Club in 2000 and 2001, "Best Weather Anchor" from the Alabama Associated Press Broadcasters Association for 2001 and 2003, and was a nominee for an Emmy in 2003.

Candidates for Vice President - vote for one:

GAIL HARTFIELD is a candidate for Vice President. She is a Senior Forecaster at the NWS Forecast Office in Raleigh, NC. Gail began her operational meteorology career at an NWS office in 1990 while a student at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. She graduated in 1992 with a B.S. in Meteorology and transferred to NWS Raleigh later that year. Gail has been an office leader in the science and applied research programs, creating training materials for topics such as mesoscale convective systems and potential vorticity, and she led the training program for the implementation of the Graphical Forecast Editor (GFE) into forecast operations. Gail has conducted extensive studies of Appalachian cold air damming and authored several informal case studies and a NWS Training Module, coauthored two conference preprints, and advised on a COMET cold air damming training module. She has been a core member of the Collaborative Science, Technology, and Applied Research (CSTAR) program with North Carolina State University research group since 2000, and is a member of the NWS Eastern Region Event Review Resource Team. Also this year, Gail led a heat danger awareness campaign that included developing safety rules and creating a heat danger poster and pamphlets, and mailing them to the athletic departments of every high school in central North Carolina. Gail is an AMS member and served as local chapter Secretary in 1993-94 and Vice President in 1995-96. She is a member of the AMS Board for Operational Government Meteorologists. She has been an active member of the NWA since 1993. She was a member of the NWA Training Committee and Education Committee for several years, and was Chairperson of the Training Committee/Professional Development Committee from 1997 until 2003, during which time she created and maintained the committee's Web page including developing an extensive set of meteorological training links. Gail was a Program Committee member for the 1993 Annual Meeting in Raleigh, and the Program Chairperson for the 2000 (25th Anniversary) Annual Meeting in Gaithersburg, MD. She has been a session chair and has given presentations at Annual Meetings in 1993, 1995-98, 2001-02 and 2004. She was an elected Councilor for the 2001-2002 term.

MICHAEL D. VESCIO is a candidate for Vice President. He is currently the Meteorologist in Charge of the National Weather Service Forecast Office In Pendleton, OR where he has served since March of 2003. He began his career as a Meteorologist Intern in Columbia, SC in 1990. In 1992, he was promoted to Journeyman Forecaster at Raleigh, NC. In 1994 Mike became a Mesoscale Meteorologist in the Severe Local Storms Unit (SELS) at the National Severe Storms Forecast Center in Kansas City. In 1995 Mike was promoted to Lead Forecaster at SELS, fulfilling a life-long ambition. In 1997 he transferred to Norman, OK when SELS became the Storm Prediction Center. Mike was the Lead Forecaster on duty for several notable severe weather episodes including the May 3rd, 1999 Tornado Outbreak across the Southern Plains, and the Spencer South Dakota Outbreak. In the fall of 2000, Mike took a Position as Science and Operations Officer at the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Fort Worth, TX, where he served until joining the Western Region team. He earned a degree in Meteorology from SUNY Oswego (B.S. 1988) and a degree in Atmospheric Science from Colorado State University (M.S. 1990). Mike has been a member of the NWA and AMS since 1990. He served as Program Chairman for highly successful NWA Annual Meetings in Raleigh (1993), Oklahoma City (1998), Fort Worth (2002), and he was the Program Co-chair for the Portland Annual Meeting in 2004. Mike also served on the NWA Council in 1999 and 2000, and he has been a frequent reviewer of manuscripts submitted for publication to the National Weather Digest and Weather and Forecasting. He has been the author of over 30 scientific papers including NWA Digest and AMS journal articles, conference preprints, and NOAA Technical Memoranda. Mike has also served on many regional and national teams including NWS Service Assessment Teams for the La Plata Tornado, the Veterans Tornado Outbreak, and the Southern California Firestorms of 2003.

Candidates for Treasurer (2-yr term; 2005-2006) - vote for one:

RICHARD J. OKULSKI is a candidate for Treasurer. He is the National Severe Weather Program Leader at NOAA/NWS Office of Climate, Water and Weather Services (OCWWS) in Silver Spring, MD. Previously, Rich was a Lead Forecaster at the Tucson NWS Forecast Office from 1997 to 2001, General Forecaster at the Medford NWS Forecast Office in 1995 and 1996, and Meteorological Intern at the Phoenix NWS Forecast Office in 1993 and 1994. Prior to being hired by NOAA/NWS, Rich served as a U.S. Army officer in Germany and the Persian Gulf. He led a platoon in close combat during Operation DESERT STORM. Rich also worked for a private weather company named Compu-Weather Incorporated in 1989. He earned a degree in atmospheric science (B.S. 1989) from Rutgers University. As a national service program leader in OCWWS, Rich converted Weather Service Operations Manual C-40 into three national directives in 2002. He has also streamlined and modernized the NWS' Severe Weather Concept of Operations and associated suite of text products. Rich is the OCWWS liaison to the NOAA/NWS/NCEP Storm Prediction Center and is responsible for policy changes, product quality control, and service requirements in the NWS Severe Weather Program. At the Tucson Weather Forecast Office, Rich led the modernization of the local fire weather program and transfer of operational responsibility from an existing office. The Tucson Weather Forecast Office received a NOAA Bronze Medal in 1999 for their efforts. At the Medford Weather Forecast Office, Rich led the "spin up" of aviation weather operations in 1995 and 1996. Rich currently serves on several national and international teams, including the U.S.-China bilateral activities, new WSR-88D site criteria, and sub-county warning methodology. He makes annual presentations on national severe weather program issues at AMS, NWA, and NWS meetings. Rich's military awards and decorations include the Bronze Star Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Kuwaiti Liberation Medal, Valorous Unit Award, and Southwest Asian Service Medal.

STEVEN M. ZUBRICK is a candidate for Treasurer. Since 1991, he has served as the Science and Operations Officer (SOO) at the NWS Forecast Office in Sterling, VA. Previously, he was the science focal point within the (then) NWS Headquarters Office of Meteorology in Silver Spring, MD from 1986 until 1991. Prior to joining the federal service, Steve worked as an Environmental Scientist with Radian Corporation in Austin, TX from 1981 until 1986. He earned his B.S. degree in physics (minor in geology) from the University of Dayton (1978) and a M.S. degree in atmospheric and earth sciences from Old Dominion University (1981). Steve has been an active member of the NWA since 1985. He served as NWA Treasurer from 1994-1995 and NWA Secretary from 1996-1997. He was on the planning committee for the NWA's 25th Annual Meeting. Over the past two decades, Steve has published or presented over 60 papers, preprints, and other technical publications. He has presented several papers and given workshops at NWA national meetings. He has also been involved with the AMS including, most recently, serving on the program and planning committee for the AMS 22nd Severe Local Storms Conference held this past October. He also served on the AMS planning committee in 2003-2004 for the AMS Symposium on Planning, Nowcasting, and Forecasting in the Urban Zone held at the AMS Annual Meeting 2004. Steve has also served on a number of AMS national committees including the radar committee (1998-2001), the committee on mesoscale processes (1997-2000), and the AMS Science and Technical Advisory Committee (STAC) on artificial intelligence (AI) (1992-1995). He serves as a frequent reviewer for manuscripts submitted to both the NWA and AMS publications. Steve is a member Sigma Xi - the Scientific Research Society and Sigma Pi Sigma - the National Physics Honor Society. Steve represented the NOAA/NWS on the U.S. Weather Research Program (USWRP) Science Steering Committee from 1999-2002. In 1998 he served on the USWRP's 10th Prospectus Development Team charged with identifying research needs and opportunities related to short-term prediction of weather and air quality in the urban zone. He was a member of the COMET Advisory Panel from 1992 to 1997. During his tenure, the Sterling office has been recognized with many awards, including Department of Commerce gold (3) and bronze (3) medals - totaling 6 medals in 8 years, numerous local and state awards, and NOAA Unit Citations. In 1995, Steve received a NOAA Administrator Award for his work as a SOO.

Candidates for Councilor (3-yr term; 2005-2007) - vote for not more than four:

RICHARD APUZZO is a candidate for Councilor. He is currently the chief meteorologist at WXIX-TV (FOX 19) in Cincinnati, Ohio where he has been for over 11 years. Rich is part of a team that started FOX news in Cincinnati, a newscast that has grown from anonymity to number 2 in the market, and is recognized as one of the top 10 primetime newscasts nationally. Before moving to Cincinnati, Rich did what many aspiring broadcasters do?he worked in a number of different cities. After college Rich started in Fort Wayne, Indiana at WKJG-TV. In 1986, he moved to beautiful Austin, Texas and worked for KXAN-TV until 1990. In early 1990, Rich's career path took a brief turn to weather consulting at Central Weather Service in Wheeling, Illinois. After 9 months there and a strong desire to return to broadcasting he moved to a FOX start-up in Johnstown, Pennsylvania in December of 1990. Within two years he learned about another FOX start-up in Cincinnati, got the job as chief meteorologist, and moved there in 1993. Rich has also provided weather forecasts for radio stations in each city, and currently serves four radio stations in the Cincinnati area. In a move beyond broadcasting, Rich recently started a weekly weather column in a local newspaper and is working on expanding that column to the largest weekly newspaper in the Cincinnati tri-state area. He and his wife Ruthie started Skyeye Weather and ApuzzoWeather.com last year in order to devote a local Web page to weather education, consulting and career development. Rich earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Geography from Valparaiso University in 1984, but his weather education started at 7 years old when he witnessed his first funnel cloud, and it continues to this day with a high priority being one week each year devoted to the NWA Annual Meeting. Rich has been a member of the National Weather Association since 1988. He was awarded the Seal of Approval in 1990 and with only one exception, has attended every annual meeting since 1994. In 1998, Rich was invited to serve on an evaluation panel for the NWA Seal, a post he held until the end of 2001. It was also in 2001 that Rich accepted the position of Broadcast Meteorology Committee Chair; his term expires at the end of 2005. During his time as committee chairman Rich worked with a talented Broadcast Committee to update the qualifications and procedures for the NWA Seal as well as implement a new NWA Seal test, which seal candidates will start taking in early 2005. Rich also added a new twist to the Broadcast Committee Report that you can read each month in the NWA Newsletter. For the past four years, Rich has written articles on broadcasting trends, forecasting skills and the NWA, of course. Rich's passion for weather started at a very young age and for the past 18 years as a broadcaster Rich has shared his love for weather with literally thousands of schoolchildren at hundreds of schools. Rich is developing digital weather materials on CD and DVD for schools and he will be teaching his first weather class for adults next spring. Rich has also worked with his local National Weather Service Forecast Office in Wilmington, Ohio to help train severe weather storm spotters and he has provided additional training to members of the local WARN (Weather Amateur Radio Network) organization. Rich is a big fan of weather education for all ages and will continue to pursue many different avenues through which he can learn, experience and teach others about the ever-changing world of weather.

ROBERT G. BORCHERS, Ph.D., is a candidate for Councilor. For the past five years, he has been a senior scientist and program manager for Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) at their Cape Canaveral, FL office. In the past year, Bob has worked nearly six months in Athens, Greece as SAIC's technical lead for the Greek National Weather Service Enhancements to the 2004 Olympic Games. Prior to his move to Florida, Bob was SAIC's lead meteorologist and Site Manager at the Air Force Weather Agency (AFWA) at Offutt AFB, NE from 1991 to 1999. At AFWA, he managed the SAIC work force of 35 personnel that supported AFWA's worldwide mission. In January 1991, Bob completed a 30-year career in Air Force Weather where he began as a weather observer and progressed to operational forecaster and then to weather station commander at several locations in the U.S. and overseas. He completed his Air Force Weather career commanding the unit supporting the Secretary of the Air Force for Space Systems at the Pentagon. Bob earned his degrees in meteorology from Texas A&M University (B.S. 1970), the University of Michigan (M.S. 1973), and Texas A&M University (Ph.D. 1981). Bob has been a member of the NWA since 1992. From 2002 - current time, he has been a member of the Aviation Weather Committee. Bob has been integral to SAIC's corporate membership and participation in NWA Annual Meetings both in the exhibit hall and through sponsorship of NWA activities. Bob was active in the Omaha-Offutt AFB Chapter of the NWA from it's forming until 1999, when he moved to Florida.

GREGORY P. BYRD, Ph.D., is a candidate for Councilor. He is currently meteorology group leader and manager of scientific content development for the UCAR/Cooperative Program for Operational Meteorology, Education and Training (COMET®) in Boulder, Colorado. In addition to his supervisory duties, Dr. Byrd has oversight responsibility for the content development of science-based training materials delivered to operational forecasters through residence classes, teletraining, and Web-based modules. He served as coordinator of the COMET residence program (1996-2003), and was twice the academic lead instructor for the COMET Mesoscale Analysis and Prediction Course (1995) that is taught to NWS Science and Operations Officers. Previously, Dr. Byrd was lecturer (1986-87), assistant professor (1987-93), and associate professor (1993-94) at the State University of New York (SUNY) College at Brockport, where he taught courses in climatology, synoptic, and mesoscale meteorology, was Director of the College Weather Center, and conducted an active research program studying lake-effect snowstorms. He began his professional career as a lecturer of meteorology at SUNY College at Oneonta (1980-82). Since 1978, Dr. Byrd has been involved in various aspects of planning, execution and forecasting support for seven field projects studying a wide range of phenomena, including lake-effect snowstorms, mountain valley winds, and severe thunderstorms. He holds a B.S. (1978) in meteorology from The Pennsylvania State University, a M.S. (1980) in atmospheric science from Colorado State University, and a Ph.D. (1987) in meteorology from the University of Oklahoma. Dr. Byrd has been a member of the NWA since 1996, has served on the NWA Training (now Professional Development) Committee since 1997, and has made several training-related presentations at Annual Meetings. He is also a member of Sigma Xi, AGU, and the AMS, where he has served on the Weather Analysis and Forecasting Committee, Board of Continuing Education, Committee of Judges for Undergraduate Awards, Board of Higher Education and the Education Advisory Committee. Dr. Byrd has been an editor for the journal Weather and Forecasting, and has published papers in several journals including Weather and Forecasting, Monthly Weather Review, and Journal of Climate and Applied Meteorology. He was a NASA/ASEE Summer Faculty Fellow at NASA Goddard Spaceflight Center (1981, 1982) and at NASA Langley Research Center (1988, 1989). Dr. Byrd participated in the 2003 UCAR Leadership Academy, and was part of the COMET classroom team nominated for the 2003 UCAR Distinguished Achievement Award.

ALAN E. GERARD is a candidate for Councilor. He is the Meteorologist-in-Charge at the National Weather Service (NWS) Forecast Office in Jackson, MS. Prior to this position, he was the Science and Operations Officer (1998-2002) and a Senior Forecaster at Jackson (1996-1998), and a Forecaster at the NWS Forecast Office in Cleveland, OH from 1993 to 1996. He started his NWS career at the NWS office in Columbus, OH in 1990. Before working for the NWS, he worked in the weather department at KTVI-TV in St. Louis, MO, from 1989 to 1990. Alan holds an Honors Bachelor of Science degree in meteorology from St. Louis University. He is currently the Treasurer of the National Weather Association, a position he has held since 2001. He is also a member of the NWA Weather Analysis and Forecast Committee, a committee he chaired from 1997 to 2003, and a member of the Strategic Planning Committee. He is the co-editor of the National Weather Association Electronic Journal of Operational Meteorology, a NWA publication started by the WAF committee in 1999 under his leadership. Alan has authored or co-authored over 30 operational meteorological and hydrologic papers and conference presentations during his career, including papers in the journals National Weather Digest, NWA Electronic Journal of Operational Meteorology, and Weather and Forecasting. He has won a number of awards during his NWS career, including an National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Special Award for his role in the issuing of a life-saving tornado warning while a forecaster in Cleveland, and a U.S. Department of Commerce Silver Medal for his work with the meteorology program at Jackson State University.

JOHN D. GORDON is a candidate for Councilor. John has been the Meteorologist-in-Charge (MIC) of the Huntsville, AL, NWS Forecast Office since 2002 and has just been selected to be the MIC of the NWS Forecast Office in Louisville, KY. Previously, he spent 4 years in Nashville, TN where he worked as a NWS senior forecaster. John received a BS in Meteorology from Parks College of Saint Louis University in 1986 and a Masters in Teaching in Geoscience from Mississippi State University in 2002. John spent six years in the U.S. Air Force where he served as a AWACS wing weather officer at Tinker AFB in Oklahoma City from 1987 to 1990. He then became a Team Chief at the European Forecast Unit in Traben-Trarbach, Germany from 1990 to 1992, which included supporting Operations DESERT SHIELD and DESERT STORM. In 1993, John began his NWS career in Jackson, MS as a meteorologist intern. From 1994 to 1998 he worked as a general forecaster in Springfield, MO before moving to the Nashville office as a senior forecaster. John is also a flight meteorologist for the US Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunters based in Biloxi, MS. John has been a member of the Hurricane Hunters since 1993, and flew 6 missions into Hurricane FRANCES and IVAN this past storm season. He has conducted applied research throughout his career in a number of areas, including authoring several papers on forecasting techniques and checklists. In addition, John wrote a lengthy reference guide for operational papers which can be found at http://www.nwas.org/ej/gordon/guide.htm . John has been a member of the NWA since 1999 and made presentations at the 1999 and 2003 NWA annual meetings, as well as many regional NWA sponsored conferences.

HECTOR R. GUERRERO is a candidate for Councilor. He is currently the Warning and Coordination Meteorologist (WCM) at the NWS in San Angelo (2002-present). Hector served as WCM in Brownsville, Texas (2000-2002); WCM in Aberdeen, South Dakota (1994-1999); Lead Forecaster in Aberdeen, SD (1999-2000); Journeyman Forecaster in Houston, Texas (1992-1994); and Intern in Brownsville, Texas (1988-1991). He earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Engineering Science with an Atmospheric Science Option from the University of Texas at Austin in 1985. Hector has been a member of the NWA since 2003. Hector was a catalyst for the newly developed Turn Around Don't Drown ® (TADD) campaign. He teamed up with a very talented team from NWS Southern Region and the Federal Alliance for Safe Homes (FLASH) to launch TADD in May of 2003. Hector and the NWS Southern Region's Turn Around Don't Drown ® team were awarded NOAA's highest honor for the Turn Around Don't Drown ® campaign-the NOAA's Administrator Award this past summer. Hector also presented the Turn Around Don't Drown ® campaign at the NWA annual meeting in Jacksonville, FL, in 2003. On his behalf, a NWS colleague presented TADD to the AMS Severe Local Storms Conference in Hyannis, MA in 2004. As a Warning and Coordination Meteorologist (WCM), Hector has received praise from his partners, and has been awarded the Southern Region Director's Award several times for his dedication to the NWS mission, team work and customer service. Meanwhile, the NWS San Angelo team, including Hector, received the Department of Commerce Bronze Medal for excellence during an above average tornado season in 2000 that included the very large and dangerous Throckmorton, TX, tornado event. Hector has also authored and co-authored several papers and has given several poster and oral presentations at the Severe Local Storms conferences of the AMS. Most notably is the study He and his co-authors completed that brought focus to unusual tornado development north of surface lows in the northern plains. Later, Bob Johns, Hector, and others expanded and verified the work. He has given numerous talks. He was selected for the first Building Leaders' for a Solid Tomorrow (BLAST) class by Southern Region. Upon returning from the National Hurricane Center where he handled inquiries from the National and International media in both Spanish and English for Hurricanes Ivan and Jeanne, he and his co-worker shared information on hurricanes with respect to the NHC with the local NWS/NWA chapter.

ANDREW H. HORVITZ is a candidate for Councilor. Andy is currently a meteorologist supporting the Digital Services program at the NWS, Office Of Climate, Water, and Weather Services, Silver Spring, MD. Previously, he was National Program Manager for the National Weather Service Cooperative Observer Program, 2000-2004; the Surface Observing Manager in the NWS Office of Meteorology, 1996-2000; and NWS lead representing NOAA's Environmental Systems Data and Information Management (ESDIM) Program, 1992-96. Andy was a physical scientist for NOAA/NESDIS in the Office of Satellite Data Processing and Distribution and the National Climatic Data Center from 1982-1992. His prior experience included working for the Management and Technical Services Company as supporting staff to NOAA/NESDIS, 1978-1982. Andy began his professional career at AccuWeather, Inc., 1976-78. He holds a BA (1976) in Geography and Meteorology from the University of Rhode Island. Andy has served as the Chairperson, NWA Awards Committee, 1988-2003, and has been an active member of the NWA since 1985. He has authored or co-authored many studies for presentation at AMS and NWA meetings and publication in the National Weather Digest. In 2003, Andy was selected for the NWA Member of the Year Award for, "exemplary leadership of the NWA Awards Committee". Andy successfully completed NOAA's Leadership Seminar in 2004, NOAA's Executive Leadership Training in 2003 and has served on the panel for the selection of Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers. Andy is also a member of the American Meteorological Society and associate member of the American Association of State Climatologists.

KRISTINE KAHANEK is a candidate for Councilor. Kristine is the chief meteorologist for KTVT-TV the CBS owned and operated affiliate in Dallas/Ft.Worth, Texas. She is a graduate of Texas A&M University and holds a B.S. in Atmospheric Science. While at Texas A&M, she was a very active member of the student chapter of the American Meteorological Society and served as president of the organization her junior and senior year. Also during her senior year, Kristine was employed by the Texas State Climatologist to help research years of weather data important to a project involving a West Texas nuclear waste dump. Her findings were vital in the conclusions written in the final report. Upon graduation Kristine worked briefly for the National Weather Service in Austin, Texas (Jan 1990 to Oct 1990), then began her TV career as the weekend meteorologist at the ABC affiliate KXXV-TV in Waco, Texas. After 3 years of dedicated service to the station, in the spring of 1993, she was promoted to chief meteorologist. Six months later, she returned to Austin becoming the weekday morning meteorologist for KVUE-TV also an ABC affiliate, and helped the morning show quickly become the most watched morning news program in the Austin market. Kristine moved to Dallas/Ft. Worth in Dec of 1997 to become the morning meteorologist for WFAA-TV, at the time the number one TV news station in the market. After four and a half successful years Kristine took some time off to have her second child and returned to television in September of 2002 as chief meteorologist for KTVT-TV, one of a select few female chiefs in a top 10 market. Kristine has been an active member of the AMS since 1985 and an active member of the NWA since 1997. Kristine holds both the AMS and NWA television seals and has served on the broadcast seal panel of judges. She regularly participates in annual meetings and workshops bringing operational knowledge back to share with her team. Kristine has also presented at the annual meetings on severe weather and broadcast related topics. Public speaking is a very important part of Kristine's job. She will go from talking to kids as young as 6 about clouds and rainbows to hosting one of Dallas' biggest fundraising luncheons entertaining a thousand people. Kristine is also dedicated to fostering a new generation of forecasters. Each year she provides, at least, one internship to an aspiring meteorology student, dedicating a lot of time and energy training and teaching them the fine art of forecasting, graphics preparation and on-air skills. Because of her reputation in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area, Kristine has also been hired by several local law firms to serve as a forensic meteorologist in civil lawsuits that involve weather.

WILLIAM P. ROEDER is a candidate for Councilor. He is Chief Staff Meteorologist at the U.S. Air Force 45th Weather Squadron at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Previously, William was Chief of Standardization and Training, and Chief of Training at 45th Weather Squadron since retiring from active duty in the Air Force in 1995. While in the Air Force, William was the 45th Weather Squadron's Commander of the Systems Requirements and Plans Flight from 1994-1995. At the Air Force Global Weather Central (now Air Force Weather Agency) from 1989-1991, he served as point analysis programmer, assistant commander of the numerical models flight, assistant commander of the special projects flight, and global models programmer. He was an Air Force Institute of Technology student at the University of Arizona from 1984-1989 where he obtained his M.S. degree in atmospheric sciences. William was a Wing Weather Officer and forecaster at Beale AFB, CA from 1981-1984 where he supported various types of aircraft including the SR-71 and U-2. He was an Air Force Institute of Technology student at The Pennsylvania State University from 1980-1981 where he obtained his B.S. in Meteorology. William also obtained a B.S. in physics from the University of Pittsburgh in 1980. William has been a member of NWA for many years. He is currently serving his second consecutive tour on the NWA Weather Analysis and Forecasting Committee (2000-2005). He organized and participated in the short course on applied statistics at the NWA 25th Annual Meeting, the special session on downburst prediction at the 26th Annual Meeting, and the special session on lightning at the 27th Annual Meeting. He is a frequent speaker at NWA annual meetings. He was the main author on the NWA policy statement on lightning safety in 2003. He also served on the AMS Applied Climatology Committee from (2001-2004) where he served on the program committee for the 14th Applied Climatology Conference, co-designed the short course on applied statistics, co-wrote the AMS policy statement of drought, and was main author of the AMS policy statement on lightning safety in 2002. He has published 82 conference and journal articles. William has been very active in lighting safety education, especially working with broadcast meteorologists. His lightning safety work won the Air Force Space Command Safety Awards in 2003 and 2000, and the NWA Public Education Award in 1999, among others. Some of his forecast improvement and applied climatology awards include the NASA Quality and Safety Award in 2001, the Air Force Weather Merewether Award in 1995, and the Air Force Zimmerman Awards in 2000 and 1998, respectively. One of his downburst prediction techniques is being used as a GOES Sounder product. William also consulted on the development of the Damaging Downburst Prediction Detection Algorithm, currently available on the NSSL Warning Decision Support System-II. He was guest instructor to both of NWS Pulse Storm Downburst Prediction Workshops in 1998. William is on the Industrial Advisory Committee of the Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, helping them design their weather programs to meet the needs of the operational meteorology community. He is also on the board of advisors to Struck By Lightning.Org, promoting lightning safety education and is also an advisor to the NWS Lightning Safety Awareness Week program.

ROBERT A. WEISMAN, Ph.D., is a candidate for Councilor. He is a Meteorology Professor in the Earth and Atmospheric Sciences Department at Saint Cloud State University in Saint Cloud, MN. He is in his 17th year of teaching at SCSU. Previously, Bob was a radio forecaster for various radio stations in eastern New York State (1983-1987) through the State University of New York at Albany forecasting group. Bob has also worked as a consultant/meteorologist at WSI Corporation (1980-1982). He earned his B.S. in Meteorology from University of Lowell (now University of Massachusetts-Lowell) in 1982, and his M.S. (1984) and Ph.D (1988) in Atmospheric Science from State University of New York at Albany. Bob has been a member of the NWA since 1995 and a member of the AMS since 1983. He served on the AMS Severe Local Storms Planning Committee in 1998. He has also served as a reviewer for several papers in Weather and Forecasting, the Journal of Applied Meteorology, and the International Journal of Climatology. He is the Webmaster for the Earth and Atmospheric Sciences Web Page, found at: http://web.stcloudstate.edu/raweisman/easdept/ . Bob developed the SCSU forecasting contest in 1988, which is now on-line at: http://www1.stcloudstate.edu/forecast/default.asp . As an offshoot of his teaching responsibility, Bob has provided a local forecast and discussion for the past 16 years, specialized forecasts for local schools and community activities, a monthly climate report for the past 10 years, and has established an extensive Web page on local climatology, found at: http://web.stcloudstate.edu/raweisman/ . He has also been active in regional weather safety preparedness through Project Impact. He is frequently quoted by local and regional media on central Minnesota weather and climatology. Bob is also a well-known researcher, specializing on forecasting problems in the Northern Plains. He has presented several training seminars on precipitation regimes during cold-season inverted troughs in the Central US, frontogenesis in major Northern Plains blizzards, convective climatology of Southern Appalachian lee troughs, nocturnal development and progression of thunderstorms, and severe thunderstorms in the Northern Plains. Much of this research has been done in collaboration with National Weather Service forecasters throughout Minnesota and the Dakotas. Bob is an author of more than 50 papers, conference preprints, and conference presentations on these topics. He has also supervised more than 50 student senior research projects on many aspects of Minnesota and Northern Plains weather and climatology, leading to several conference presentations. Through being a single parent of a 12-year-old hard-of-hearing daughter, Shirley, Bob has advocated for increased access to weather warning and other emergency information since 1998. He has co-authored a paper documenting this problem with Vincent Wood (NOAA/National Severe Storms Laboratory) and has served on a Minnesota State Task Force in the Department of Emergency Management for the past 7 years.

Previously Elected Members that will be staying on the Council for 2005:

President: Steven J. Weiss NOAA/NWS Storm Prediction Center, Norman, OK
President-Elect
Vice President
Treasurer
Secretary: Ruth Aiken NOAA/NWS Forecast Office, Raleigh, NC

Councilors:

Jeffrey P. Craven	NOAA/NWS Forecast Office, Jackson, MS
Betsy Kling	WKYC-TV, Cleveland, OH
John A. Lasley, Jr	SAIC, McLean, VA
Daniel W. McCarthy	NOAA/NWS Storm Prediction Center, Norman, OK
Elizabeth M. Page	UCAR-COMET, Greensboro, NC
Dr. John R. Scala	Millersville University, Millersville, PA
Cecilia Sinclair	KRIV-TV FOX26, Houston, TX
Nick Walker	The Weather Channel, Atlanta, GA
Dr. Paul J. Croft	Kean University, Union, NJ - Immediate past president

Four new councilors to be elected