This is a story of unselfish public service. It is a story about a man in Pinson who has been keeping weather records for 55 years. He has done this without a cent of compensation other than just the pride of doing a good job. His attention to detail is unsurpassed. His name is James Price.
It was great to see that he was given the Benjamin Franklin award yesterday at his home in Pinson. That award is only given to people who have completed 55 years of service. Earlier he had received the Thomas Jefferson award, the highest and most prestigious award bestowed on cooperative weather observers. It was named after our third president, who kept an almost unbroken series of weather records from 1776 to 1816.
Mr. Price has the official instruments at his home in Pinson. He calls in high and low temperature and rainfall to the NWS at Shelby County Airport twice a day. His information is widely distributed. I had the pleasure of talking to him almost daily when he would call the weather service while I was still working. I remember one cold winter night when we expected rain to change to snow. Mr. Price voluntarily called in a present temperature every 15 minutes for several hours in a row. He was that cooperative.
Dave Wilfing, who supervises the cooperative observers from his office at the NWS, said, “Mr. Price is truly unique among all Americans and even stands out among the 11,000 or so coop observers nationwide.”
I couldn’t agree with Dave more. I feel like the Pinson records are as accurate as any in the United States including the large 24-hour forecast offices. I wish I could have been there to congratulate him, but I will do so later.
-J.B. Elliott
It was great to see that he was given the Benjamin Franklin award yesterday at his home in Pinson. That award is only given to people who have completed 55 years of service. Earlier he had received the Thomas Jefferson award, the highest and most prestigious award bestowed on cooperative weather observers. It was named after our third president, who kept an almost unbroken series of weather records from 1776 to 1816.
Mr. Price has the official instruments at his home in Pinson. He calls in high and low temperature and rainfall to the NWS at Shelby County Airport twice a day. His information is widely distributed. I had the pleasure of talking to him almost daily when he would call the weather service while I was still working. I remember one cold winter night when we expected rain to change to snow. Mr. Price voluntarily called in a present temperature every 15 minutes for several hours in a row. He was that cooperative.
Dave Wilfing, who supervises the cooperative observers from his office at the NWS, said, “Mr. Price is truly unique among all Americans and even stands out among the 11,000 or so coop observers nationwide.”
I couldn’t agree with Dave more. I feel like the Pinson records are as accurate as any in the United States including the large 24-hour forecast offices. I wish I could have been there to congratulate him, but I will do so later.
-J.B. Elliott