Tonight we the administrators of TalkWeather.com are pleased to launch our new TalkWeather Blog feature. In the coming weeks, you will see a series of posts discussing various topics from weather related tools to keep you safe and after action reviews of how well various weather systems were forecast. However, tonight we wish to use our very first post to honor a friend, @PerryW.
Last week I tried to think about when I had my first interaction with Perry. It is times like this I wish we still had the old forum, but I think I narrowed it down to the late 2000’s. There was a snow event coming and he had posted some information that I didn’t quite understand. I asked a few questions and he replied back to my private message with a virtual mountain of information and links to more information. That was Perry. He never hesitated to share his knowledge with anyone and often went above and beyond to make sure they understood the concept.
As previously announced we have a great idea to honor his legacy of teaching and sharing weather knowledge by establishing the Perry Williams Memorial Weather Station at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, AL. Each year thousands of kids enrolled in Space Camp, Aviation Challenge and field trip programs come to the center to learn more about earth science. Recently, while speaking at a homeschool event, one of their awesome museum educators informed me that he would really like to have a weather station on site. When Perry passed away the idea of providing one just came together.
So with that in mind, we are launching our GoFundMe campaign tonight to raise $500 to purchase and mount the weather station with the assistance of U.S. Space and Rocket Center staff. We will also have a plaque created to ensure all those who see the station know that it was placed there in loving memory of our dear Perry. Any additional funds donated will go toward addons such as a camera for time lapse images, lightning detector or even hand instruments to demonstrate analog weather gathering tools (analog vs digital).
While we aren’t ready to announce a date or details yet, we will be hosting a summer gathering in Huntsville. It is our chance to re-connect with each other and also hold a dedication ceremony for the weather station.
So, I invite you to consider giving to our GoFundMe account. Any and all amounts help us reach our goal and if you can’t donate please consider sharing with your friends in the weather community that might have known Perry.