NWS Southern Region Director Proenza, Secretary Gutierrez and NHC Director Max Mayfield pose with NHC and WFO staff members (Photo by Frank Lepore, NOAA PA)

NWS Southern Region Director Bill Proenza briefs DOC Secretary Gutierrez in the Miami WFO (Photo by Frank Lepore)

Just three weeks after being sworn in as the 35th Secretary of the U.S. Department of Commerce, Carlos M. Gutierrez paid a special visit to the NOAA/NWS facility that is home to the National Hurricane Center (NHC) and Weather Forecast Office (WFO) in Miami. NWS Southern Region Director Bill Proenza and NHC Director Max Mayfield were on hand to greet the Secretary and lead him on a tour of the facility.

Following a tour of the NHC Operations Area where a variety of satellite loops, radar animations and atmospheric and storm surge computer projections were demonstrated and explained, Secretary Gutierrez moved on the Weather Forecast Office. In the WFO, Southern Region Director Proenza and Meteorologist-in-Charge Rusty Pfost briefed him on the wide range of weather forecast and warning services provided in Miami as well as the other 121 WFOs, 13 River Forecast Centers and 21 Center Weather Service Units across the nation.

Secretary Gutierrez joined the Kellogg Company as a sales representative in 1975 and rose to the position of President and CEO -- before answering the call to join President Bush's administration. Proenza noted, "The Secretary graciously acknowledged the vital contributions made by the staffs of NHC and WFO in support of our mission to protect life and property and enhance the economy."