Editors' Note: Book Reviews and Professional Development

Lots of us read professional periodicals and books, and many offices maintain a professional development library. WFO Paducah Kentucky recently added several items for the office's Professional Development Library including the following: How to Juggle Multiple Priorities (audio tape series) as well as three books titled Best Ideas in Time Management, 252 Ways to Communicate Better, Work Smarter and Get Ahead, and Conquer the Chaos. "We place a lot of importance on developing "people skills," said Paducah MIC Bev Poole. "Customer Service is at the forefront of our mission. Books and tapes such as these help us to better our people skills and move forward with our mission in a more efficient and professional manner." If you have a professional development book or tape to recommend, or if you have read a new book that has relevance to the NWS workplace, consider writing a brief book review and submitting it to NOAA's NWS Focus.

On a related topic, read NWS Director Jack Kelly's opening remarks at the MIC-HIC conference last week. (You will find the web link in the MIC-HIC article below.) The subject is leadership, but within that topic he touches on customer service, expectations of the new President and administration, challenges for our organization, and his thoughts on what the NWS needs to do meet these challenges.

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Ladies and Gentlemen, Elvis Has Left the MIC-HIC Conference

The MIC-HIC Workshop was held in Portland, OR, from April 29 to May 4, 2001. During the workshop, MICs/HICs from forecast offices across the country shared information on best practices of their local offices and participated in training seminars on leadership, decision-making, culture change, and diversity. In addition to NWS Director Jack Kelly, featured speakers included Warren Blank, President of The Leadership Group, R. Roosevelt Thomas, Jr., founder of the American Institute for Managing Diversity, and Katie Jorgensen-David of the Ritz-Carlton Learning Institute. Presentations were also given on the public-private partnership, new NWS services, and the future forecast process.

During the course of the week, some hidden talents and accomplishments of NWS managers were uncovered. Did you know that among our leadership there are an Elvis impersonator, a grandfather of 12, a former shepherd, many musicians and singers, and someone who was initially hired by NWS because of a computer error? Who is who? We certainly aren't telling.

It has been six years since a meeting of this kind was held. "The general consensus is that meetings of this kind are useful, and that we should have them more often," said Don Wernly, who coordinated the meeting for the Office of Climate, Water, and Weather Services. A selection of photographs from the meeting can be seen at http://www.nws.noaa.gov/com/micwshop.htm. Read the workshop opening remarks made by NWS Director Jack Kelly at http://www.nws.noaa.gov/com/micopen.htm.

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On April 23, 2001, the Office of Management and Budget provided additional guidance regarding hiring controls. In light of this guidance, and effective immediately, the Commerce Department Chief of Staff has authorized automatic exceptions to the hiring controls for filling all non-supervisory/managerial positions below GS-13 or equivalent, regardless of the type of staffing action, and details of up to 120 days for all non-Senior Executive Service positions.

As bureau heads are confirmed and appointed, full hiring authority will be re-delegated, so the bureau head can align human resources decisions with policy and program priorities laid out in the President's FY 2002 budget.

Mark Brown, NWS Deputy Chief Financial Officer/Chief Administrative Officer, outlined the following DOC/NOAA-approved interpretations of the above guidance:

"Positions advertised as career ladder GS-12/13 may be filled at the GS-12 level without an approved waiver," said Brown. "Career ladder promotion to GS-13 in this situation would require an approved waiver under the current hiring controls. Use of contractor support to accomplish work equivalent to GS-12 duties or below is permissible."

"Below GS-13 or equivalent" means that non-supervisory and non-managerial positions up to and including GS-12 and Pay Band III under the Demonstration Project are exempt from the current DOC hiring controls.

"Regardless of the type of staffing action" includes both internal and external selections; reassignment at the same grade level; change to lower grade; permanent, temporary and term promotions; permanent, temporary, and term appointments; and extensions of the foregoing as applicable.

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From May 6-11, 2001, the NWS's Tropical Prediction Center Director Max Mayfield, Hurricane Specialist Stacy Stewart and Public Affairs Officer Frank Lepore visited emergency managers, media and students in five East Coast cities to increase awareness and preparation for the upcoming hurricane season. NOAA's WP-3 "Orion" aircraft was used as a tool to brief state emergency managers and the media on hurricane preparedness, and to reach out to local students and the public in storm-vulnerable Portsmouth, NH, Dover (DE) Air Force Base, Washington, DC, Florence, SC, and Opalocka, FL. NOAA's hurricane awareness team reflects the agency's involvement in the science behind the storms - from research to forecasting and warning. Joining NOAA personnel and aircraft were men and women from the U.S. Air Force Reserve who also fly into the storms to measure a hurricane's vital signs.

On May 21, 2001, NOAA, the NWS, and the U.S. Air Force hold a joint national news conference at Ronald Reagan National Airport to kick off Hurricane Awareness Week with the release of the 2001 Atlantic Hurricane Season Outlook. The news conference will be held at a hangar displaying NOAA's WP-3 Orion and Gulfstream IV, and a U.S. Air Force C-130H "hurricane hunter."

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WFO Cheyenne Hosts Third Annual Women in Science Forum

On April 27, 2001, WFO Cheyenne hosted its third annual Women in Science Forum, an event that, according to MIC Bill Parker, "has grown significantly since its inception in 1999."

Women in Science is an outgrowth of an adopt-a-school project that attracted the interest of NWS Cheyenne staff members in 1999, according to Parker who noted that the 2001 Women in Science forum drew approximately 400 participants to Carey Junior High School. Parker said the original forum drew 85 female science students, mostly from Cheyenne. In 2000, the forum drew 110 participants, including several from Nebraska.

Michelle Schmidt, WFO Hydrology Program Manager at NWS Western Region Headquarters, was among eight women presenters,. To view Schmidt's presentation, link to: ftp.wrh.noaa.gov/pub/incoming/chey

This successful program has the attention of NOAA Acting Administrator Scott Gudes who invited three of the young women participants to visit Washington, DC, and Silver Spring, MD, to see how female scientists contribute to NOAA and the Weather Service. Amy Lennell, Amanda Roseanne Martin, and Eddy Miller and their sponsor, science teacher Paul M. Crips, will be NOAA guests for the June trip.

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Storm Prediction Center Hosts Web Chat with GLOBE Students
On May 4, 2001, Joe Schaefer, director of the NWS's Storm Prediction Center (SPC) hosted an hour-long web chat on severe weather with Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) students. Schaefer, accompanied by SPC meteorologists Russ Schneider, David Imy, Daniel McCarthy, and Robert Johns, answered approximately 75 questions from students in grades K-12. According to Schaefer, "the students asked a lot of good questions and we found this web chat to be a good way to encourage and enlighten these students. It was a win-win situation for everybody involved," he said. GLOBE is a program where thousands of students across the country collect data about atmosphere, hydrology and soils. Students collect this data under the guidance of trained teachers and scientists use the data, posted by the students on the Internet, for a variety of studies (for example, the validation of satellite images used to track seasonal and long-term changes in land cover and the identification of microclimates that experience small-scale variations in temperature and precipitation). GLOBE is an interagency program of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the National Science Foundation, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Departments of Education and State.

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NWS To Present NOAA Weather Radio/Mark Trail Public Service Awards at Capitol Hill Luncheon

NOAA Acting Administrator Scott Gudes and NWS Director Jack Kelly will present awards in Washington, DC on May 23, 2001, to individuals and organizations that have made significant contributions to improving the reach and effectiveness of all-hazard warnings through expansion of the NOAA Weather Radio network. According to John Sokich of the Strategic Planning & Policy office, "the efforts of these individuals ensure that the important information reaches more people and potentially saves more lives." The awards are named for the nationally-syndicated cartoon character Mark Trail, which serves as the campaign symbol for the NOAA Weather Radio program. Since 1995, Jack Elrod, writer and illustrator of Mark Trail, and the King Features Syndicate have been strong advocates for publicizing severe weather safety and the value of NOAA Weather Radio. Elrod will attend the luncheon, and senators and representatives from the awardees' districts are also invited.

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NOAA, NWS, and NDBC Promote Science in "Bring A Child To Work Day" Programs

On April 26, 2001, NOAA offices across the country participated in "Bring A Child To Work Day." Five hundred students visited the NOAA/NWS Silver Spring, MD, complex to participate in the annual program. Acting NOAA Administrator Scott Gudes and WUSA-9 Chief Meteorologist Topper Shutt were the special guest speakers who kicked-off the morning program. The NWS hosted 73 students for the "It's Raining Cats and Dogs Program." "The program was a big success and the children found it both educational and entertaining," said Ron Gird of the NWS Office of Services.

The NWS sessions in Silver Spring taught students (ages 7 - 16) about thunderstorm preparedness, surviving a tornado, the power of flash floods, and hurricane tracking and awareness. They also toured a forecast office with a weather woodle (a cartoon character) and visited the Office of Services Met Watch Office. The students were given information packets with materials provided by the NWS Cooperative Observing Program, the Weather Channel, and Automated Weather Source. NWS finished it's program with an ice cream social by the NOAA Wave Pool featuring the NOAA/NWS Senior Staff members as the ice cream scoopers. To view highlights from the NOAA activities go to http://www.education.noaa.gov/kids2001/index.htm.

At the National Data Buoy Center (NDBC) at Stennis Space Center in Mississippi, 32 children participated in an all-day program. The students at Stennis took part in weather and ocean-related science experiments, watched a buoy be launched, and attended a college fair and robotics demonstration. They also met with NDBC's Director Paul Moersdorf and Science Applications International Inc.'s (SAIC) Program Manager Don Williams (who was once a NASA astronaut). To view highlights from the NDBC "Bring A Child To Work Day" program click here.

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