60 Year Length of Service Award Presented in Ainsworth
The National Weather Service in North Platte had the privilege of presenting the Helmut E. Landsberg Award for 60 years of service to Mr. and Mrs. Gerry Osborn, Cooperative Weather Observers of Ainsworth, NE, followed by a luncheon at the Senior Citizen’s Center on Tuesday, October 24, 2006.
There are approximately 11,000 Cooperative Weather Observers in the United States. Each year the National Weather Service presents length of service awards to selected Cooperative Weather Observers. These service awards are presented after 10 years of service, and then every 5 years thereafter. It is a rarity to present awards for over 50 years of service.
The Helmut E. Landsberg Award was created in 1986 in honor of Dr. Helmut E. Landsberg, a noted professor, author, and lecturer. He was one of the preeminent climatologists of our time; and was, for a number of years, Director of the NWS Climatology Program until 1973. This award is presented to all cooperative observers who have completed 60 years of service.
Gerry Osborn began his weather observing at the age of 12 as his father’s assistant, and the secondary observer for Ainsworth. Over the next 20 years his father instructed and mentored him on how to use the mercury- and alcohol-filled thermometers and measure snowfall. For the next 5 years, Postmaster R. E. Skillman took over the observations for Ainsworth. At the end of September in 1966, Mr. and Mrs. Gerry Osborn became the official observers for Ainsworth. They have watched the technology change from the liquid thermometers to digital thermometers, and are now able to watch the temperature rise and fall from inside their house. Mr. and Mrs. Osborn continue to provide the National Weather Service with daily temperature and precipitation readings, as well as snowfall readings during winter months.
The temperature and precipitation data can be found monthly in CLIMATOLOGICAL DATA, which is published by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Climatological records are compiled using information from weather observing sites supervised by the National Weather Service and received at the National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, North Carolina.
Mr. Osborn has also been the recipient of the Jefferson Award in 1999, the highest Cooperative Observer Award. No more than five Jefferson Awards are presented to Cooperative Observers annually. The award is based on merit and community involvement; to be considered, an observer must usually have had a long period of service as well as an exemplary record. The observer must also have received the Holm Award five years prior.
The Helmut E. Landsberg Award to the Gerry and Bev Osborn was presented by Brian Hirsch, Meteorologist in Charge of the National Weather Service in North Platte, Nebraska . Also representing the National Weather Service in North Platte, Nebraska were Mary White, Christina Henderson, Bill Taylor and Mitch Power. We’re sure the citizens of Brown County will join with the National Weather Service in saying “Thank You Mr. and Mrs. Osborn” for your efforts and dedication.
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