National Weather Service United States Department of Commerce
Cooperative Observer Program
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Cooperative observers are very much a part of the National Weather Service...collecting much needed weather data. To read more about the observers, look below.  
 
Cooperative Observer Information
 

Cooperative observers have been trained by the National Weather Service (NWS) to provide temperature (air and soil), precipitation, and river data on a daily basis. Some individuals have made the commitment to observe for a number of years, and have been rewarded for their efforts.

 

 

The Thomas Jefferson Award The Jefferson Award is the highest honor given to cooperative observers. This prestigious award is named after our third President who kept an almost unbroken series of weather records from 1776 to 1816.

 

Only a handful of observers across the country are given this award annually for outstanding and distinctive achievements. In the Little Rock County Warning Area, three people have received the award (and previously earned John Campanius Holm Awards for exceptional service).

 

The award was bestowed on Mr. Owen B. Hendrix of Antoine, Arkansas on February 28, 2006. Participants at the award ceremony for Owen B. Hendrix.
In the picture: Owen B. Hendrix (back row/fifth from right) was joined by friends, family, and staff members of the National Weather Service in Little Rock. Click to enlarge.

 

Participants at the award ceremony for Brother Anselm Allen. Brother Anselm Allen, a monk at the Benedictine Abbey in Subiaco, Arkansas... was presented the award on March 25, 2009.
In the picture: The award was presented to Brother Anselm Allen (second from left) by Steven Cooper (left), the Deputy Directory of the National Weather Service Southern Region Headquarters in Fort Worth, TX. Also participating in the ceremony was Kathryn Gough (second from right) from U.S. Congressman John Boozman's office, and Abbot Jerome Kodell (right) of the Benedictine Abbey in Subiaco (Logan County). Click to enlarge.

 

On September 17, 2009...the award went to William E. Black of Mount Ida (Montgomery County).  Steven Cooper (front right)...Deputy Director of the National Weather Service (NWS) Southern Region Headquarters in Fort Worth, TX...presented the Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin Awards to Montgomery County Judge Alvin Black (front left).
In the picture: Steven Cooper (front right)...Deputy Director of the National Weather Service (NWS) Southern Region Headquarters in Fort Worth, TX...presented the Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin Awards to Montgomery County Judge Alvin Black (front left). Mr. Black accepted the awards for his father, William E. Black. Witnessing the presentation was Jimmy Russell (back left), the Observations Program Leader at the NWS in Little Rock. Click to enlarge.

 

Other Notable Awards
Award Recipient/Year
John Campanius Holm(!) Adam C. Melton, Searcy (White Co)/1997
Bernard M. Walther, 4 SW Cabot (Lonoke Co)
Benjamin Franklin(!!) William E. Black, Mount Ida (Montgomery Co)/2009
The Moudy Family, Danville (Yell Co)/2009
Edward H. Stoll(!!!) Bernard M. Walther, 4 SW Cabot (Lonoke Co)/1999
Louise Yates, Bismarck (Hot Spring Co)/2015
50 Year Institutional Blakely Mountain Dam (Garland Co)/2001
KTLO Radio, Mountain Home (Baxter Co)/2008
Narrows Dam (Pike Co)/2001
50 Year Length of Service Alta F. Garner, Amity (Clark Co)/1998
Dick Hagemeyer(!!!!) Brother Anselm Allen, Subiaco (Logan Co)/2010
Owen B. Hendrix, Antoine (Pike Co)/2006
Louise Yates, Bismarck (Hot Spring Co)/2010
35 Year Length of Service Sallye Hayes Borchert, Stuttgart (Arkansas Co)/2000
30 Year Length of Service Russell Carter, Evening Shade (Sharp Co)/2007
Ray R. Hutto, 2 NE Damascus (Van Buren Co)/1999
Douglas Zahn, Crystal Valley (Pulaski Co)/2011
(!) - for exceptional service (roughly 25 awards given annually nationwide)
(!!) - for 55 or more years of service
(!!!) - for 50 years of continuous service
(!!!!) - for 45 years of continuous service