Thanks to everyone who attended our final NWA chapter meeting of 2008. The meeting minutes can be found at the link on the left side of this page. The Central Alabama chapter kicked off the year in March with a special event at the the Samford University Planetarium. The next meeting was held in May at the NWS office in Calera. Brian Peters presented some amazing pictures of tornado damage across north Alabama from the Super Tuesday outbreak. It was at this meeting that it was announced that a committee had been formed to look into bidding on the 2011 NWA Convention. The third meeting was held in July in Prattville, Alabama. Kevin Pence gave a presentation on a Downburst event that occurred in Montgomery in May 2008. The final meeting was held in October in Birmingham. Dr. David Brommer gave a presentation on how different types of weather forecasts impact coastal evacuations. Insights from the NWA convention in Louisville, Kentucky, were also presented.

The NWA convention in Louisville, Kentucky, was a big success. There was a record number of attendees and it made the bid committee even more energized about having Birmingham host the convention in 2011. I would strongly encourage anyone who wants to network with other meteorologists and learn about a wide range of weather topics to attend one of these annual meetings.

Nominations for 2009 chapter officers is open until the end of November. Feel free to nominate yourself or someone else active in the chapter. The officer positions are President, Vice-president, and Secretary. The individual must be a member of the National organization to be an officer at the local chapter.

One of the main goals for next year is to increase membership. The executive director of the NWA will be visiting Birmingham in the spring of 2009. During his visit, the bid committee will be making its case as to why Birmingham should be the host city. One of the key elements will be having a healthy and active local chapter. The membership dues are only ten dollars. Please consider joining the chapter when the membership drive opens early next year.

Mark Rose
President

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