Picture on the bottom left: Lee Harrison, Meteorologist in Charge, (left) presenting the Thomas Jefferson Award to Mr. James Forbes (right).

Picture on the right (from left to right): Steve Griffin (Hydrometeorological Technician), Angela (daughter of Mr. Forbes), Ann (Wife of Mr. Forbes), Jimmy (son of Mr. Forbes), Mr. Forbes, Lee Harrison, Marion Kuykendall (Data Acquisition Program Manager), Bill Murrell (Meteorologist Intern), and Ken Falk (Science and Operations Officer).

Marion Kuykendall presenting awards, certificates and congratulatory letters from Governor George W. Bush, U. S. Senators Kay Bailey Hutchison and Phil Gramm, Texas senator Drew Nixon, Texas Representative Wayne Christian, and U.S. Congressman Jim Turner.

The National Weather Service honored Mr. James W. Forbes of Center, TX for his outstanding contribution to the field of meteorology as a volunteer weather observer for the National Weather Service for over 32 years on Tuesday, Nov 14. The National Weather Service presented him with the Thomas Jefferson award, which is the highest award the NWS presents to volunteer observers; no more than 5 Jefferson awards are given annually. The award was created in 1959 as a way for the NWS to honor observes for unusual and outstanding achievements in the field of meteorological observation.

Mr. Forbes records temperatures and rainfall and other weather events in the Center, TX area. He provides a written record each month for the Shreveport forecast office, then the data is sent to the National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, NC where the data is archived and published. In addition, when precipitation does occur, he reports the amount of precipitation via phone to a computer in the forecasters, to the River Forecast Office's and the U.S. CORPS of Engineers for the use in flash flood forecasting and flood control planning.

Presenting the award was Lee Harrison, Meteorologist in Charge, and Marion Kuykendall, Data Acquisition Program Manager, from WFO Shreveport, LA and Alton Abernathy, Surface and Upper-air Program Manager from Fort Worth Regional Headquarters.