City of Stillwater NEWS | For Immediate Release

Plan to attend S.A.F.E. (Storm Awareness for Everyone) Program Thursday, March 18th, 2010

Guest speakers from the National Weather Service and Local Emergency Managers will be on hand to make presentations and answer questions from the community to help keep your family safe.

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(STILLWATER, OKLA. / March 18, 2010) — Payne County Emergency Management directors with special guests Rick Smith and Forest Mitchell from the National Weather Service Office (Norman) will present the second S.A.F.E. (Storm Awareness For Everyone) Program Thursday, March 18 at the City of Stillwater Community Center, 315 W. 8th Ave.

According to S.A.F.E. program coordinator Rob Hill, City of Stillwater emergency management technician, "With Oklahoma's volatile weather it is important that residents have the knowledge they need to keep their families safe. Our mission is to help educate people in Payne County on how to recognize severe weather and what to do before, during and afterwards."

Rob Hill, Emergency Management Technician

S.A.F.E. program presentations will be given by Rick Smith and Forrest Mithcell with the National Weather Service Office of Norman. These sessions will include safety and scientific weather information, starting at 6:30 p.m. The program will include question-and-answer sessions with area experts.

The S.A.F.E. program is free and open to the public.

Hill said, "This program is ideal for people new to the area, as well as those who need to brush up on their weather preparedness. We are extending a special invitation to the area's international community who may not be familiar about tornados and Oklahoma's thunderstorms."

Radio Shack will be present to provide purchasing opportunities for the NOAA Weather All Hazards Alert Radios. Also the Stillwater Amateur Radio Club will be on hand to discuss local radio repeater systems, packet radio and skywarn opportunities, and Amateur radio in general.

For more information contact City of Stillwater Emergency Management at (405) 372-7484 or visit the web site at stillwater.org/seccc

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Speaker Biographies

Forrest Mitchell has been associated with the National Weather service since 1979, when he was first employed as a NOAA Weather Radio broadcaster. He currently serves as the Observations Program Leader at the Norman Forecast Office. He has been a storm spotter for more than 30 years, and he has conducted storm spotting classes since 1987.

A native of Winfield, Kan., Forrest’s interest in weather began during his childhood. Several of his relatives lost their home in the infamous Blackwell F5 tornado that occurred on May 25, 1955. His father was in the Kansas National Guard at that time, and was involved in search and rescue efforts in the wake of the Udall F5 tornado, that occurred an hour after the Blackwell tornado. That event played a major role in Forrest’s decision to pursue a career in weather. In 2005, Forrest was a guest speaker at a memorial dedication in Blackwell, commemorating the 50 year anniversary of the May 25th tornado.

A licensed Amateur Radio operator, Forrest (KB5FOL) communicates directly with Emergency Managers and storm spotters during severe weather events. He transmits radar updates and the latest weather statements, while gathering ground truth storm reports on a real time basis. He strongly believes that effective communication is the key to a successful warning program.

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Rick Smith is the Warning Coordination Meteorologist at the National Weather Service’s Norman Forecast Office. He organizes NWS Norman’s hazardous weather preparedness activities, and leads a team of meteorologists who help train severe storm spotters throughout the office’s 56 county area of responsibility, and works closely with the media, emergency managers and other state, county and local government officials to ensure that communities in central and western Oklahoma and western north Texas are ready when hazardous weather threatens.

Rick has been a meteorologist with the National Weather Service since 1992, working at offices in Memphis,Tulsa and Fort Worth before relocating to Norman in 2002.

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On the Web:

City of Stillwater Emergency Management Division: http://stillwater.org/seccc/

OKFirst: http://okfirst.mesonet.org/

National Weather Service: http://www.weather.gov/

Contact: Sherry Fletcher, Director of Marketing and Public Relations
Phone: 405.742.8362
E-mail: sfletcher@stillwater.org
Web: stillwater.org

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