11/17/2022
Today was a very special day for the National Weather Service Office in Paducah, Kentucky.
To the staff of the National Weather Service in Paducah, Kentucky.
December 10, 2021, was a defining moment in our careers and lives.
Tens of thousands of people were impacted by a swarm of tornadoes that swept across the Ohio and Tennessee Valleys.
It was your staff, leading up to and during the tornado outbreak, that helped save countless lives.
The clear and precise communication with your partners helped warn those in the path of the tornadoes.
It is with great honor to announce that The Shadow Angel Foundation has bestowed the Paducah, Kentucky, National Weather Service with the regional Superior Service Award for their dedication and hard work during and after the December 10th tornado outbreak.
This commendation has been available for twenty years. Nearly a quarter of a century. This is the first time it has been awarded to any person or agency.
The qualifications for the commendation include preventing a significant mass casualty event.
On December 10, 2021, your staff issued a series of special weather statements, tornado warnings, and tornado emergencies. Warning those in the path of the tornadoes. Saving countless lives.
Afterwards, your staff helped bring peace and comfort to the communities impacted by the tornadoes.
This honor is bestowed upon you on behalf of your partners in local, state, and national agencies, law enforcement, fire and rescue services, emergency medical services, emergency management officials, city council leaders, mayors, house representatives, local television and radio meteorologists, print media, members of the ham radio community, the general public, and others.
One thousand people were randomly chosen from an email list of fourteen thousand area residents asking them to decide if your office should be awarded this commendation. It required ninety-eight percent of them to agree. All agreed.
The greatest honor a person can receive is one given by their peers, colleagues, and friends.
Your commitment to your partners is self-evident. Never taken for granted. Always appreciated. We know that you care about our communities. Your timely warnings save lives. They help keep our communities safe.
Your office, like an angel, watches over the region. It is there day and night.
The decades of steadfastness are acknowledged. You have become a part of our daily lives. You have, to many of us and to our communities, become like family.
We thank your staff for their dedication. We thank your staff for what they did on December 10, 2021.
Sincerely,
Your Partners and communities.
