NWS Southern Region Director Bill Proenza holds his last "all hands" meeting with headquarters staff in Fort Worth prior to taking on new duties as Director of the NHC/TPC in Miami (Photo: Ron Trumbla, NOAA/NWS)

(Dec. 6, 2006) - National Weather Service Southern Region Director Bill Proenza convened his last "all hands" meeting with Southern Region headquarters staff after being selected to head the National Hurricane Center (NHC) in Miami. Proenza will become the Director of the NHC and two other divisions of the Tropical Prediction Center when current Director Max Mayfield retires, January 3.

Proenza, long-time director of the Southern Region, will be actively working with Mayfield this December handling post-season hurricane evaluations and conference preparation.

"Although Bill has big shoes to fill as America's calm and trusted voice in the eye of the storm, his experience and his ties to the emergency management community will be a national asset in preparing our coastlines for tropical cyclone threats," said Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez.

Proenza started his National Weather Service career at the NHC and with NOAA's Hurricane Hunters in the mid 1960s and went on to serve in a number of field, headquarters and leadership capacities across the nation. He has been director of the National Weather Service Southern Region since 1998. He is a Florida State University graduate is a long-standing member of the American Meteorological Society (AMS), the National Weather Association and has held appointments in both of these professional organizations. In 2001, the AMS recognized him with its prestigious "Francis W. Reichelderfer Award" for outstanding environmental services to the nation; and, elected him as a Fellow of the American Meteorological Society in 2003.

"Bill was the natural choice for this position," said retired Air Force Brig. Gen. David L. Johnson, director of the National Weather Service. "His passion and enthusiasm to expand the nation's hurricane program, combined with his extensive experience in leadership and operational roles, will serve the nation well."

"I certainly look forward to working with the outstanding National Weather Service teams at the National Hurricane Center and the coastal Weather Forecast Offices across our nation," said Proenza. "While we were fortunate to have had a below normal Atlantic Hurricane Season in 2006, and no land-falling hurricanes, we remain in a hurricane active multi-decadal period with its continued challenges to protect life and support the economic well being of the nation. Working closely with our many partners in the scientific community, emergency management and the media, I am confident we will meet those challenges and continue to advance the science of tracking and warning for devastating hurricanes and tropical storms."