Owensboro Community & Technical College (OCTC) has been named a StormReady Supporter by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
The announcement, made at the end of August, recognizes NOAA partners as StormReady. Beginning in 2000, NOAA began encouraging communities, counties, Indian nations, universities and colleges, military bases, government sites, commercial enterprises and other groups to participate and apply to ensure they are better prepared to save lives from the onslaught of severe weather through advanced planning, education and awareness.
StormReady uses a grassroots approach to help communities develop plans to handle all types of extreme weather-from tornadoes to winter storms. The program encourages a proactive approach to improving local hazardous weather operations by providing emergency managers with clear-cut guidelines on how to improve their hazardous weather operations. Applications are made through the National Weather Service.
OCTC’s Safety and Security office plays a vital role in disseminating information, providing training, and supervising drills as needed.
“I was a part of the team that facilitated the Kentucky National Guard Training Center becoming a StormReady Community so I was familiar with the process and we were able to align some of our efforts to meet the StormReady Supporter criteria,” said Jeff Hendricks, director of safety and security at OCTC. OCTC was named a Weather-Ready National Ambassador in June 2019.
“We are excited to be named a StormReady Supporter and are grateful that our safety and security office is ensuring that our employees and students continue to focus on awareness and preparedness. We are pleased to lead the charge and be one of the first colleges in our region to achieve both the Weather-Ready and StormReady statuses,” said Scott Williams, OCTC President.