Benjamin Franklin Award
(February 9, 2006) -- Officials from the National Weather Service office in Birmingham, Ala. presented James B. Price of Pinson (Jefferson County) with the Benjamin Franklin Award. This award is given to cooperative observers completing 55 years of service. Price has provided the NWS Birmingham office with weather data for nearly 21,000 consecutive days. NWS Birmingham Data Acquisition Program Manager Dave Wilfing says, "James Price is truly a unique American who stands out among the 11,000 cooperative observers nationwide." Price has also been recognized by National Weather Service Director D.L. Johnson, Alabama Congressman Spencer Bachus, and Alabama Governor Bob Riley for his dedication and accomplishments. He is a past recipient of the John Campanius Holm Award, which is granted each year to a maximum of 25 cooperative observers for outstanding accomplishments in the field of cooperative observations. Holm was the first person known to have taken systematic weather observations in the American colonies in 1644 and 1645. Price also received the Thomas Jefferson Award, the highest and most prestigious award bestowed on Cooperative Weather Observers. That award is named for our nation's third President, who kept an almost unbroken series of weather records from 1776 to 1816. This award is given to very few observers each year, usually not more than five, for outstanding and unusual achievements. All candidates for the Jefferson Award must have received the Holm Award in the past and allow five years to pass after receiving the Holm Award before observers are eligible for the Jefferson Award. While Benjamin Franklin is best known for the lightning and kite incident, he was also the first person to track a storm moving up the East Coast. While serving as United States Postmaster, he instructed other postmasters along the eastern seaboard to record the weather, and used the compilation of these records to show storm movement. BACK: SRH News |
