LSU STUDENT VOLUNTEER TO RECEIVE NOAA ENVIRONMENTAL HERO AWARD

Student volunteer and recent Louisiana State University graduate Bethany Lovette has been selected to receive the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Environmental Hero Award. The award will be presented by Paul Trotter, meteorologist-in-charge of NOAA’s Weather Forecast Office in New Orleans, in a special ceremony during the St. Tammany Parish Government Council meeting in Mandeville, La., May 9.

A 2004 Louisiana State University graduate, Lovette was instrumental in researching and providing information concerning limited NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards coverage in the southern-most parishes of southeast Louisiana. She served as a valuable resource for the Multi-Agency Governmental Intern Committee where she worked to identify and develop avenues of collaboration for various NOAA line offices including the National Weather Service; the National Marine Fisheries Service; the National Ocean Service; and the National Environmental Satellite, Data and Information Service.

Lovette co-authored a paper examining the vulnerability of the African American communities in southeast Louisiana and coastal Mississippi due to hurricanes and floods from 1894-2004. She is also continuing her education at the University of New Orleans in preparation for a career goal as a meteorologist.

Established in 1996, the Environmental Hero award is presented to individuals and organizations that volunteer their time and energy to help NOAA carry out its mission.

“NOAA and the nation are fortunate to have such dedicated people volunteer so much of their time,” said retired Navy Vice Adm. Conrad C. Lautenbacher, Jr., Ph.D., under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator. “They set a perfect example for others to follow in their communities. America needs more environmental heroes like them.”

NOAA’s National Weather Service is the primary source of weather data, forecasts and warnings for the United States and its territories. NOAA’s National Weather Service operates the most advanced weather and flood warning and forecast system in the world, helping to protect lives and property and enhance the national economy.

NOAA, an agency of the U.S. Commerce Department, is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety through the prediction and research of weather and climate-related events and providing environmental stewardship of the nation’s coastal and marine resources.

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