WunderBlog

Thanks everyone but many deserve the credit. I approach Disaster response and preparedness with a simple philosophy. "I can do a litte but WE can do a lot"

Wow someone had to look for me I was buried in the past.lol

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Sat through the debris management workshop yesterday and the special medical needs evacuation planning. Glad to see the special medical needs getting more attention.

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The award was presented by Dr. Bill Reed and Brock Long the Director of Alabama EMA

The award was presented by Bill Reed director of the National Hurricane Center and Brock Long the Director of Alabama Emergency Management. I sat with Dr. Steve Lyons at the luncheon and had a great conversation with him as well. I also chatted with Jim Cantore and told him he could only visit the MS Coast if he was on vacation.lol

Back home I forgot how long of a drive it was. Glad to be home. Bob Berkins is going to send me the pictures that he took soon will post them when I get em. Thanks for all the good wishes I felt them all.

Oh and I was able to spend a littele time with storm I really enjoyed sharing the time and to finally meet him in person.

Ok this i my take so please dont hold me responsible. lol


Ok my friends I am going to try to summarize the NHC Conference in a nutshell. Basically it was the same as always with the many Rap Sessions being of the basic same topics and as whole power point presentations that had different pictures but the same words. The information that was probably best given I will list below and I will not do the HTTP//WWW in front of each. The sad part is that most that post on here are already aware so this sort of tells you what EMA is fed at these conferences and sadly most of them don%u2019t already know to start with. I attended all the metrological rap sessions and instead of we the USA launching another %u201CQuick-scat%u201D type of bird we are paying India so that we might use theirs. The next adventure in this is not scheduled until 2015 which is what and why Proenzia was dismissed for telling the truth! The 2015 launch is suppose to be from Japan so are we trying to do better Tech.? Ok you decide. As you might be able to tell it has miffed me a bit. Ok well I am setteling down now.lol
!. Special Medical Needs Evacuation and Care; This strated as promising and ended in the samo old jargon that has been spewed at the mouth since the topic was ever broached and ended in several agencies not agreeing with each other and never settled the issues at all. (Total waste of time) Common sense does not work in Higher Government!
Now let%u2019s talk meat and potatoes
Meteorological
Ok well I must say that the guys at the NHC are sharp and very well on top of their game, however, during the rap sessions the paid for show jocks were constantly badgering them on why don%u2019t you do this and why don%u2019t you do that. They are through media being placed under so much peer pressure that the lag of truth cannot be truly said until they can review their conclusions beyond crucifixion before releasing the data. Thus our local face gods on TV have picked them apart and though they run their own models still don%u2019t have the ability with the knowledge base that resides in the NHC center have all the data and personnel to truly analyze what is going on. I am going to list some sites that was on the handout from the NHC to us during one of the sessions and as stated above I am not going to do all the www. Whatever so if you are not aware of these sites remembers to use the old usage criteria? I am certain almost all of you if not all of you are aware of this information. Ok I will list the sites below.
They all start with %u201C http//www.noaa.gov/
1. Pdf/NHC Product Description 20100217.pdf
2. Pns1 2010.shtml
3. Watchwarn changes.shtml
4. Help/tcp.sctml
5. Tcu example.shtml
6. Aboutnhcgraphics.shtml#GTWO
7. Aboutsshs.shtml
8. Aboutconecone.shtml

In Summary

It was good to be able to do networking with the many parts of our country and island areas and discuss lessons learned and in fact is the most valuable product of this conference. Was it a waste of time and money? No because the connections made and real time problems that all the areas have seen help you better have an idea on how you might handle things if they come your way. Sadly though it seems the powers to be just do not see it as the ones that truly face it. The National Hurricane Conference of 2010 was successful if you are open and willing to talk in the hallways and listen and learn from those that have been there and it is disappointing that our government cannot hear things the same way even though they have been told. I hope this information is helpful and I appreciate all of you and be safe.

2010 National Hurricane Conference
“The Distinguished Service Award”
The Honor and realization


The realization of such an award is starting to sink in such a feeble mind. I have always tried to help all that I could and being in such company of professional individuals that have not only devoted their lives to but have sacrificed so much for their work, education and life to do what they do is a bit over such a simple mind as my own. To have had the opportunity to sit and simply talk with these people was an experience I will never forget. It’s very hard to be able to share what we shared in this process to have such a small thought from my so basic view is intimidated b the knowledge that surrounded me. I however also was amazed that they starve for the knowledge that we as local responders have to offer.
Its my analysis that the isolation of what is actually occurring verses the analytical view need to be better connected. I don’t have the education to explain how or why but those that are there do. The loss of that connection I think could help in the saving of life and property. The commitment of these individuals is amazing. Once you are in the presence of such people the first impression is very humbling. We must remember that all of us are human and sometimes we become timid when we think that the intelligence of another is far greater that our own. Somehow we must connect the doers to the thinkers and let the lessons be shared. Can I say the right things in the right technical ways? NO but if we interacted in a better fashion even the dog catchers would be better understood.
Dr. Steve Lyons in 20 minutes gave me a better understanding of what the purpose of meteorological science means than I have understood in my lifetime. It is a shame that many cannot have those 20 minutes. I now feel just how small a fish I am in a very large sea. This however should not intimidate anyone but hopefully express to them the need to share more with hose that they might think are above them. In reality it was a very stimulating and learning experience. I could continue to speak or type about a lot of these topics but I must say we need to reach out and share more information even a single sentence in one’s eyes could an encyclopedia of wealth to another so let’s share the wealth.

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PASCAGOULA, Miss. -- At the recent National Hurricane Conference in Orlando, Fla., former Jackson County Emergency Management Director Butch Loper was recognized for more than 30 years of service.

And though the distinguished service award bore his name alone, Loper said Monday that he didn't earned it alone.

"It's kind of hard for that to be a singular person award," Loper said Monday.

"When you start doing emergency response and emergency management work, it's really a teamwork thing. So, to me, it's an award that recognized the teamwork of our county and our region as a whole ... for the people that work together during disasters."

Loper, who cites 32 years of emergency volunteer work during his career, said he tries to attend the national conference as many years possible, keeping current on a variety of different subjects through networking with colleagues, peers and Bill Read, director of the National Hurricane Center in Miami.

"You can pick up some new ideas," Loper said, by talking with emergency officials who have dealt with similar situations, such as Hurricane Katrina, which hit the Gulf Coast while he headed the local emergency management office. "(You see) how they responded and some of the things they did."

The annual conference also helps keep Loper apprised of new weather-measurement technology, such as storm-surge prediction, he said.

After more than four years as director of emergency management, Loper stepped down and is currently the assistant road manager for Jackson County.

And yet, no matter how much he learns, or what is engraved above his name on his distinguished service plaque, Loper insists he's just one piece of a larger whole protecting the Mississippi Coast.

He cites a personal philosophy of, "I can do a little, but we can do a lot."

"It's a teamwork effort and you have to be a team player," he said.

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The garden is growing.

Morning friends looks like a week of beautiful weather ahead.