AMS Council on Priorities and Transition

The AMS Council met at AMS Headquarters in Boston 19-20 September 2007. As is usually the case, the Council's agenda was very full. One discussion topic, however, was of great importance to the weather and climate community: the planned AMS/UCAR Transition Document and the planned AMS Statement on Weather and Climate Community Priorities.

A Transition Document is prepared by AMS and UCAR every four years to benefit the incoming President, his administration, and Congress. This year AMS and UCAR have decided to complete it by March 2008, in time to be used by candidates during their presidential campaigns.

The planned Statement on Community Priorities is a response to a long-standing request from Congress that our community speak with a single voice about our highest priorities for the community as a whole. The AMS Board on Enterprise Communications has held several town hall and community meetings over the past two years to collect community input on this topic.

At its recent meeting, the AMS Council decided to go forward with both the 2008 Transition Document, and establishing a drafting team for the AMS Statement on Community Priorities, noting that both documents must be consistent with one another. Because of the early deadline for the Transition Document, work on the Community Priorities Statement is being accelerated.

The AMS Contact for the Transition Document is Bill Hooke. The UCAR contact is Jack Fellows.

The Co-Chairs of the drafting team for the AMS Statement Weather and Climate Community Priorities are Bill Hooke and Matt Parker. Enterprise Commissioner, George Frederick, will be one of the members of the drafting team.

By the way, while in Boston, the AMS Councilors and Commissioners posed for a picture outside of Cheers. Don't recognize everyone in the photo? That's OK, click here.