NOAA HONORS RECIPIENTS OF THE MARK TRAIL AWARD
Awardees Foster Wider Use of Life-Saving NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards

June 21, 2007 — The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration today presented the 2007 Mark Trail Award to 15 individuals and organizations for supporting the agency’s NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards program. The Mark Trail Awards program, in its eleventh year, honors individuals and organizations that use or provide NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards receivers or transmitters to save lives and protect property. The awards were given during a ceremony in the Cannon House Office Building in Washington, D.C. (Click NOAA image for a larger view of Mark Trail and the NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards. Please credit “NOAA.”)

“Our Mark Trail Award winners made a difference in communities across the nation and provided an important contribution to NOAA’s mission of protecting lives and property,” said retired Navy Vice Adm. Conrad C. Lautenbacher, Jr., Ph.D., undersecretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator. “Whatever the danger, whatever the hour, when minutes count, you can rely on the NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards network.”

NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards is a nationwide network of radio transmitters broadcasting continuous official National Weather Service warnings, watches and forecasts 24 hours a day from a nearby National Weather Service office. NOAA Weather Radio is an "All Hazards" radio network, broadcasting warning information for all types of hazards — including natural (such as tornadoes and flash floods), environmental (such as chemical releases and oil spills), and public safety (such as Amber Alerts and 911 telephone outages). The NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards network includes more than 970 transmitters, covering all 50 states, adjacent coastal waters, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the U.S. Pacific territories.

The Mark Trail Awards are named for the nationally syndicated comic strip character that serves as the campaign symbol for the NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards program. Since 1995, Jack Elrod, writer and illustrator of Mark Trail, and King Features Syndicate have been strong advocates for publicizing severe weather safety through the use of the radios. In recent years, the strip's education message has included the fact that anyone listening to NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards has instant access to the same lifesaving weather reports and all-hazards information provided to meteorologists, emergency personnel and the media. (Click NOAA image for larger view of Kathryn Martin of Evansville, Ind., being presented with a Mark Trail Award by NOAA Administrator Conrad C. Lautenbacher, Mark Trail creator, Jack Elrod and Mary Glackin, acting director of the National Weather Service. Click here for high resolution version. Please credit “NOAA.”)

“Through Jack Elrod’s character, Mark Trail, countless people have been educated on a variety of issues that affect our environment, including severe weather and the role NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards plays in saving lives,” said Mary Glackin, acting director of the National Weather Service. “We at the National Weather Service, much like his vast audience, cannot thank Jack Elrod enough for raising awareness of these issues.”

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, an agency of the U.S. Commerce Department, is celebrating 200 years of science and service to the nation. From the establishment of the Survey of the Coast in 1807 by Thomas Jefferson to the formation of the Weather Bureau and the Commission of Fish and Fisheries in the 1870s, much of America’s scientific heritage is rooted in NOAA.

NOAA is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety through the prediction and research of weather and climate-related events and information service delivery for transportation, and by providing environmental stewardship of our nation's coastal and marine resources. Through the emerging Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS), NOAA is working with its federal partners, more than 60 countries and the European Commission to develop a global monitoring network that is as integrated as the planet it observes, predicts and protects.

Relevant Web Sites
NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards and Mark Trail

Media Contact:
Chris Vaccaro, NOAA Office of Communications, (202) 482-0702