NHC Director Bill Proenza reprimanded by NOAA

[cycloneye]

http://www.miamiherald.com/416/story/141783.html

Oh boy,this has turned more worse now. Hopefully,Proenza continues to fight hard the reprimends from the NOAA bosses.I am glad that his staff supports him 100%.

[Air Force Met]

http://www.miamiherald.com/416/story/141783.html

Oh boy,this has turned more worse now. Hopefully,Proenza continues to fight hard the reprimends from the NOAA bosses.I am glad that his staff supports him 100%.

Good for him. NOAA is full of pencil pushers who couldn't forecast their way out of a wet paper-bag. They heap responsibility on the NHC bt the budget is miniscule...and most of it goes to salaries.

[Frank2]

Oops - guess we both posted the same story at the same time...

[cycloneye]

Oops - guess we both posted the same story at the same time...

Than's ok Frank.I locked your thread as I posted mines a few minutes earlier.But it's the same info.It's sad that this is going on against this man.

[Frank2]

That's all right - I agree it is sad, and embarrassing, but, as I know what he did is something in Government that will get a person hollered and screamed at, as Wally would say...

As in the Military, dissention of any kind is not tolerated (as he was told by his Supervisor) or looked on very kindly...

[miamicanes177]

I fully agree with NOAA. You can not publicly trash your superiors. You have to respect your bosses, and if you have a disagreement then you go to them personally. You do not run to the media. He is being punished because what he did was create a fanfare by trying to paint a negative picture on an outstanding organization like NOAA. I agree with the article in that Proenza has taken valuable time away from people at NOAA because they are having to deal with these ridiculas comments from the NHC director. I do not believe Bill Proenza should continue to be NHC director as he is abusing his power to promote his personal beliefs and create hysteria.

[JonathanBelles]

I have to support Bill Proenza. He is only trying to do the best thing. The satellite needs to be fixed stat and NOAA doesn't want to listen. How is Proenza wasting time and money, by having 200 year celebrations, Oh wait thats NOAA! I'm sorry a boss isnt everything. I am know in school for riding over the principals and many teachers, nobody has complanied yet. If it is something that needs to be done, then I say by all means do it. Bill Proenza is a good NHC director.

[flwxwatcher]

I fully agree with NOAA. You can not publicly trash your superiors. You have to respect your bosses, and if you have a disagreement then you go to them personally. You do not run to the media. He is being punished because what he did was create a fanfare by trying to paint a negative picture on an outstanding organization like NOAA. I agree with the article in that Proenza has taken valuable time away from people at NOAA because they are having to deal with these ridiculas comments from the NHC director. I do not believe Bill Proenza should continue to be NHC director as he is abusing his power to promote his personal beliefs and create hysteria.

He did what he had to do..Its our tax dollars that fund the NHC, he brought this to the publics attention and if that ruffled some feathers then good for Proenza.. Lets hope some public outcry can help get some additional funding for the NHC!!!

[miamicanes177]

I'm sorry a boss isnt everything. I am know in school for riding over the principals and many teachers, nobody has complanied yet. If it is something that needs to be done, then I say by all means do it.

Bill Proenza should not be talking to the media about such problems as a QuickScat satellite. He should privately discuss them in a professional manner. He has created a circus out of a position that Max Mayfield held with respect.

[Evil Jeremy]

``I'm not going to be silenced. I know my responsibilities and I know what I have to do.''

Amazing. Bill is doing a great job. The NHC is not getting the funding that we need, and the QuickScat is on the verge of failing. Bill is not afraid of speaking his mind. In fact, the NOAA should read somthing called the first amendment.

[johngaltfla]

I'm just saying that when the next big one hits gang, and I'm saying it for all to hear, the bureaucrats will blame the NHC and absolve their own lack of investment after years of warnings from the Professional Mets in this country.

I think it's all part of wanting to privatize it and absolve the "government" from the responsibility and allow private industry to profit and take the risks from these natural disasters.

[Frank2]

This memo might create some very large waves (no pun intended) for the NHC Director - this is strictly an internal memo, and, was very likely not meant to be released to the media under the FOI Act...

I just had a moment to read the memo itself, and, the sentence, "In the future, I will not accept..." says all that it's meant to say - nothing else will be tolerated.

Still, this memo is not an "Official Memorandum of Reprimand", so, what the media reported is incorrect - other than the NHC Director was criticized in an internal memo...

Ironically, the leak by someone of this memo could (could) possibly lead to an official reprimand...

Still, as someone else said here earlier, obeying one's superiors is the right thing - even the Bible says that (Ephesians 6:5) - I'm not an expert on the Bible, but, someone here gave me that verse, after one of my own outbursts...

Oh, boy...

[flwxwatcher]

You bring a good point .. interesting how the memo to the director got leaked:):).. Proeznas boss of course made sure it got leaked to get her point to the public just like the director went to the public to make his point... because we pay the bills!!!!!!!

[Air Force Met]

I fully agree with NOAA. You can not publicly trash your superiors. You have to respect your bosses, and if you have a disagreement then you go to them personally. You do not run to the media. He is being punished because what he did was create a fanfare by trying to paint a negative picture on an outstanding organization like NOAA. I agree with the article in that Proenza has taken valuable time away from people at NOAA because they are having to deal with these ridiculas comments from the NHC director. I do not believe Bill Proenza should continue to be NHC director as he is abusing his power to promote his personal beliefs and create hysteria.

He did that...and just like good bureaucrats everywhere...they didn't listen to him...or they said "well, Bill, whatever."

If you will read the stories...you will see that he tried the private route and was ignored. The "sit down and shut up" method of doing things in DC is what's wrong with our government in the first place. It's one reason why it is so messed up.

[Frank2]

Still, in the end, being in a high position of responsibility calls on the person to act responsibly at all times - even if they feel otherwise - since the public is relying on this person to calm them - not get them upset...

In the past, Bob Sheets, Jerry Jarrell and Max Mayfield were all known as being very good when it came to calming the public, and, that's really the role of the NHC Director - to keep everyone calm and informed when it comes to the subject of hurricanes...

I'll never forget hearing Bob Sheet's calming voice on the phone during the height of Andrew - he even made me feel better...

One time the late Ann Bishop (Miami ABC Affiliate anchor) also said some very calming words during Hurricane Erin's close pass in 1995 which seemed to help many people. Of course many also remember the calming words of Brian Norcross also heard during the height of Andrew - that's what their role is in the public eye, more than anything else...

We'll see what happens concerning this memo issue - very possibily not a good outcome...

[Chacor]

Ridiculous. If you're talking about keeping the public informed, that's exactly what Proenza was doing when he warned about QuikSCAT. NOAA themselves will face a backlash, no doubt, if they try to do anything close to sacking him.

[Frank2]

It's a matter of how it's done that matters - as I mentioned in my double topic post earlier, a little bit of sincere (emphasis on sincere) diplomacy can go a very long way in helping everyone hear something that will be pleasing to them...

[Frank2]

...it's also important to note that in the media business (the NHC Director position is in this role), the person must always remember that they are speaking to someone who knows nothing about the topic at hand.

The retired person who lives in Miami and uses a walker does not know nor wants to know what a QuickSCAT device is, so, to them, this is just someone who is upset about something, and, that only creates more confusion, rather than to keep the public informed in a way that they can easily understand.

[Stratosphere747]

This could be one of those instances where tropical weather enthusiasts can make a difference. While I understand the stance that miamicanes and others may take against someone like Bill P. speaking out in public, I can't emphasize enough how much it means for Bill to bring these problems to the forefront.

I'm a bit lazy, but if anyone has the proper link to send an email to Bill, let me know. I'd love to let him know that the vast majority of our strange little community across all the weather boards are in full support of what he is doing.

[Recurve]

I haven't read every word on this, so I may not have the full picture -- but I winced when I read that he complained about not having enough funding by slamming other spending by NOAA -- the several million going toward NOAA's "anniversary" PR. It's one thing to campaign for support, but when you point at another part of your own agency and say "they're wasting money" -- it's bound to piss people off and look insubordinate and disloyal. It's a fine line. Maybe he got the word out that he wanted, but it was kind of dumb to think that exposing the PR campaign cost was all he needed to do to get more $$$ for NHC, if that's really what he wanted.

I admire much of NWS and NHC and NOAA efforts and programs. I would like NHC to get double its current funding for research, public outreach, etc. I'd like to see huge grant programs for preparedness, strengthening, evacuation planning and public education. I'd never want to see US weather warning privatized, or public access to weather data restricted. I hope the dust settles on this quickly.