Abilene City Hall: News conference launches West Central Texas All-Hazards Preparedness Campaign

The NWS Weather Forecast Office in San Angelo has partnered with the Texas Trails and Concho Valley Councils of the Boy Scouts of America and state emergency managers to launch the West Central Texas All Hazards Preparedness Campaign. The February 8 kickoff was timed to coincide with the 96th anniversary of the Boy Scouts of America, and the campaign's central theme features the popular Boy Scouts motto BE PREPARED®.

"The Boy Scout's Be Prepared motto is a perfect match to the disaster preparedness philosophy the National Weather Service shares with our emergency management community," said Steven Cooper, deputy regional director of the National Weather Service Southern Region. In the coming months, approximately 6,000 Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts will help spread the preparedness message in their communities and will be featured in broadcast public service announcements. They will carry messages on the importance of residents owning a NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards.

NOAA Weather Radio broadcasts National Weather Service warnings, watches, forecasts and other non-weather hazard information (including chemical, biological, radiological or terrorism incidents) 24 hours a day. Later this year, emergency managers will be allowed direct access to NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards, providing them with a fast, reliable means of injecting non-weather Civil Emergency Messages into the nation's Emergency Alert System.

Serving nearly 4.9 million young people, between seven and 20 years of age, with more than 300 councils throughout the United States and its territories, the Boy Scouts of America is the nation's foremost youth program of character development and values-based leadership training.