NOAA Honors Hattiesburg, Mississippi with Mark Trail Award

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has presented a Mark Trail NOAA Weather Radio, All Hazards Award to the City of Hattiesburg, Miss. Hattiesburg Mayor Johnny Dupree will accept the award at a June 3rd ceremony in Washington, D.C. The city is being honored for providing NWR receivers to citizens who could not otherwise afford to purchase them. NOAA is an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Now in its eighth year, the Mark Trail Award program honors individuals and organizations that use or provide NWR receivers and transmitters to save lives and protect property. Twenty award recipients will be recognized nationally this year.

“The City of Hattiesburg, Miss., has made a valuable contribution to their community,” said retired Navy Vice Adm. Conrad C. Lautenbacher, Ph.D., undersecretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator. “NOAA Weather Radio can provide the public with those extra minutes of warning in situations where minutes can save lives.”

Under the leadership of Mayor Dupree, the city obtained a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development grant to purchase NWR receivers for elderly, disabled and low income housing families. To become eligible for a receiver, citizens only had to show proof of residency and take a short course on use of the radios and varying types of severe weather. The program includes free battery replacement and an annual home visit.

The Mark Trail award is named for the nationally syndicated comic strip character which serves as the campaign symbol for the NOAA Weather Radio program. Since 1995, Jack Elrod, writer and illustrator of Mark Trail, and King Features Syndicate have been strong advocates for publicizing severe weather safety through the use of weather radios.

“Jack Elrod and his alter ego, Mark Trail, have been great partners to NOAA National Weather Service in helping educate the public to the importance of having a NOAA Weather Radio in your home when danger threatens,” said retired Air Force Brig. Gen. David L. Johnson, director of the National Weather Service.

NOAA's National Weather Service is the primary source of weather data, forecasts and warnings for the United States and its territories. The 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. To learn more about NWS, please visit: http://www.nws.noaa.gov.

NOAA 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 our nation’s coastal and marine resources. To learn more about NOAA, please visit: http://www.noaa.gov.

Information about NOAA All Hazards Weather Radio and the Mark Trail Award is available at: http://www.nws.noaa.gov/nwr.