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30th Anniversary Ceremony:

A Recap of the Commemoration Ceremony for the

30th Anniversary of the
"Super Tornado Outbreak" of April 3, 1974"

The National Weather Service Offices in Huntsville, Nashville and Birmingham hosted a commemoration of the 30th Anniversary of the Super Tornado Outbreak of April 3, 1974. The purpose of this ceremony was to commemorate one of the deadliest tornado outbreaks in recorded U.S. history while promoting public severe weather education and preparedness.

The commemoration ceremony took place on Saturday, April 3rd, 2004 from 10 am until noon at the ballroom building at Athens State University in Athens, Alabama. In reviewing this violent episode of weather history, we honored the memory of all those who endured this tragic event.

The commemoration ceremony featured speakers bringing local, regional, and national perspectives. We also heard "first-hand" accounts from a few of the remaining survivors of this devastating tornado. The collage of guest speakers included:

Welcome Remarks: David Seibert, Chairman, Limestone County Commission, AL

Masters of Ceremony: John Gordon, Meteorologist in Charge
NWS Huntsville, Alabama
Ken Graham, Meteorologist in Charge
NWS Birmingham, Alabama

Presentation of the Flag – Madison County Sheriff Honor Guard

Invocation - Dr. Joel Carville, Pastor, Bethlehem Baptist Church, Hazel Green, AL
(originally from Athens, AL)

Bill Proenza, Director, National Weather Service, Southern Region

Jim McCamy, District Director, Congressman Cramer’s Office

Dan Williams, Mayor, City of Athens, AL

Phil Seagraves, Mayor, City of Guin, AL

Butch Fyre, grandson of 1974 City of Guin, AL Mayor Paul Guin

Spencer Black, Director, Limestone County, AL Emergency Management

Jim Campbell, Deputy Director, National Weather Service, Western Region

Larry Vannozzi, Meteorologist in Charge, NWS Nashville, TN

J.B. Elliott, ABC 33/40, Birmingham, AL

H.D. Bagley, formerly WHNT News Channel 19, Huntsville, AL

Adrian Gibson, WAAY, Channel 31, Huntsville, AL- April 3, 1974 Video

Brad Travis, Meteorologist, WAFF, Channel 48, Huntsville, AL –April 3, 1974 Video

Russell Carter, National Storm Shelter Association

Reading of the fatalities names from event by TV Meteorologists

Moment of Silence

Benediction - Dr. Joel Carville, Pastor, Bethlehem Baptist Church, Hazel Green, AL (originally from Athens, AL)

Closing Remarks- John Gordon, NWS Huntsville, AL, and Ken Graham, NWS
Birmingham, AL

The Masters of Ceremony for the event were Mr. John Gordon, Meteorologist in Charge of the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Huntsville, Alabama and Ken Graham, Meteorologist in Charge of the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Birmingham, Alabama.

Dr. Joel Carville, Pastor of the Bethlehem Baptist Church in Hazel Green, Alabama, delivered the invocation and benediction, with presentation of the flag by the Madison County Sheriff Honor Guard. A series of five minute videos was also presented by Adrian Gibson, who was a news anchor for the local Huntsville, Alabama ABC affiliate during the event, a personal account by former local CBS meteorologist H.D. Bagley and a video presentation by Brad Travis, chief Meteorologist for the local Huntsville, Alabama NBC affiliate. In honor of those who perished in the event, each person's name was read by local TV meteorologists and a moment of silence was observed.

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