Fifty-plus years of service recognized by NOAA
Published 1:30 am Thursday, May 16, 2024
Charles Dudley Warner once said … “Everybody complains about the weather, but nobody does anything about it.” While we can’t do much about it Jerry King was recently recognized for keeping track of it for over 50 years. Last week Jerry was bestowed the Edward H. Stoll Award.
The Edward H. Stoll (1886-1981) was created and became effective in 1975 in honor of Mr. Edward H. Stoll. Mr. Stoll was the observer at Elwood, Nebraska for over 76 years and was the first to receive the prestigious Stoll award. To receive this award, an observer must have taken observations for 50 years.
John Burg, a Hydrometeorological Technician, from the Seattle NOAA Weather Forecast Office, traveled to Forks last Thursday to present the award to Jerry at his home in Forks. While at Jerry’s home office Burg also checked the weather equipment for accuracy and commented that Jerry has won almost every award. The awards are proudly displayed on a wall in the King’s home. Jerry also received a 50-year pin from NOAA.
Jerry has previously received two of the more prestigious awards: the Thomas Jefferson Award and the John Campanius Holm Award. Both were created in 1959 for the National Weather Service to honor cooperative weather observers, and the first of each was presented in 1960. To be eligible for these awards, observers’ excellence must include accuracy, promptness, legibility, cooperation, consistency and care of equipment. These things must have been done over a long period of time.
In addition to delivering Jerry’s award and pin Burg also traveled to the Quillayute Airport where NOAA retains an automated system that keeps weather data.
