NWS Northern Indiana

PANDORA, OHIO RESIDENT RECOGNIZED FOR OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTIONS
TO NOAA NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE

Ray Burkholder of Pandora, Ohio, received the Benjamin Franklin Award Thursday August 26, 2004 from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Weather Service (NOAA Weather Service) in recognition of his 55 years of service to the agency as a Cooperative Weather Observer. NOAA is an agency of the Commerce Department. The ceremony took place at 1 PM at the Pandora’s Lunch Box restaurant in Pandora.

Gary Foltz, Deputy Director of the NOAA National Weather Service Central Region, presented the award at a family gathering in Pandora.

“Cooperative weather observers provide a valuable service to our agency, our nation and the people who rely on their information. They’ve given dependable, accurate and timely weather observations that have defined the climate around northwest Ohio since December 1949. We estimate he has taken nearly 20,000 observations during his tenure.” said Mike Sabones, Meteorologist in Charge of the Northern Indiana NOAA Weather Service Forecast Office that serves northwest Ohio.

Burkholder has received several other NOAA Weather Service cooperative observer honors for length of service and for his contributions to the agency. These include the John Campanius Holm Award in 1976, the Thomas Jefferson Award in 1984, the Stoll Award in 1999, and the Environmental Hero award in 2002.

The Cooperative Weather Observer Program was established in the 1890s to provide data to the newly formed Weather Bureau, predecessor to the NWS. Today, the program comprises more than 11,000 volunteer observers, who record temperature and precipitation data daily.

Foltz noted that Burkholder has distinguished himself by joining such notable American pioneers as Benjamin Franklin, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson who maintained early weather records. Jefferson kept an almost unbroken record of observations from 1776 through1816. Washington took his last weather observations just a few days before he died. The award is named after Ben Franklin. Franklin was probably the first person to track a hurricane along the Atlantic Coast by using a network of observers. He was Postmaster General in 1743 and was able to get weather reports from postmasters along the coast.

Foltz also noted, “Burkholder personifies the conscientious and unselfish weather observers imagined by Thomas Jefferson when he envisioned a weather network across the United States. Clearly, he deserves the recognition this award bestows for the life long contribution to the nation’s climate record and this community.”

NWS Northern Indiana’s cooperative program manager, Terry Click, said, “Cooperative observers record weather at the same time every day and enter data for temperature, precipitation, snowfall and snow depth. Mr. Burkholder has recorded 55 years of data which are now a permanent part of the nation’s climate record.”

Burkholder has served on the area school board, was president of both the Pandora Medical Center and the Mennonite Disaster Relief Service of Western Ohio. He has supplied many area newspapers with weather data.

Data collected by Burkholder benefits other federal, state, and local agencies including the U. S. Geological Survey, and the U. S. Corp of Engineers which use the information to assist in water management.

The NOAA National Weather Service is the primary source of weather data, forecasts and warnings for the United States and its territories and 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 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.

NOAA's National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office