Every year became busier as I progressed through my career. Maybe you noticed the same in your career. Each year I would vow to reduce my workload and enjoy life a little more, but to no avail. Finally it came to the point that I had to prioritize tasks and some had to be dropped. That was the case with my blog.
The blog went on hiatus after my visit to the White House for the release of the 3rd National Climate Assessment. I simply had too many projects to do all of them well. Some of these projects exceeded my wildest expectations and will be the topic of future posts.
Now that I have retired from television I am released from the daily grind of having to make the most accurate forecast. I did not think I would ever tire of this early in my career, but after 44 years it was time to step away.
It has been a little over six years since I last posted on this blog and much has happened in that time. The most time consuming project began in 2013 and it became Gandy’s Garden. At times I combined it with Climate Matters as it was an offshoot from that program. This will be the focus of my next post.
The weather acted up as there were a number of record events like the South Carolina Flood of 2015. The hottest month on record occurred in July, 2016 and in the fall another flood ravaged the eastern part of the state. In 2018 another flood occurred in North Carolina and South Carolina from Hurricane Florence. The town of Nichols, South Carolina was inundated for the second time in two years. There has been much to talk about, but little time to analyze much less talk. Thus, there is plenty of material for the blog over the next few months.
During this time I won awards for specific work and for a lifetime of work. I was awarded an EMMA and an Emmy from the southeast chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences in 2016 for the South Carolina Flood of 2015. Later that year I was a Silver Circle awardee for lifelong work as a broadcast meteorologist by the same organization. Upon retiring from broadcasting (not meteorology) I was given a Service Award from the National Weather Service and Special Congressional Recognition from the U.S. House of Representatives (Rep. Joe Wilson). In addition I was given the Key of the City from Columbia (Major Steve Benjamin), and resolutions from Richland County and the SC State Senate.
Receiving a service award from the National Weather Service in Columbia, SC.
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| Special Recognition from US Representative Joe Wilson. |
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| Receiving the Key to the City from Columbia Mayor Steve Benjamin. |
Two rare honors came my way. In 2018 I was elected as a Fellow of the American Meteorological Society. I sometimes have to pinch myself over that one. It was a privilege to be elected in the same year as my friend and colleague Paul Gross.
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| New Fellows of AMS 2018. President Roger Wakamoto is between me and Paul Gross. |
I was given the Order of the Palmetto by South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster for service to South Carolina over the past 34 years upon retirement. This is the highest civilian award given by the state of South Carolina. It means a lot to be recognized by the community in that way.
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| Receiving the Order of the Palmetto. |
It has been humbling to receive so much recognition. Those who know me know that I never expected this. My goal was to do the best job I could for the community by producing the best and most reliable forecast. Our records and those of independent observers rated our forecasts as the best.
Going forward the blog will cover the topics of weather and climate as it has in the past. However, it will sometime delve into topics not directly related to meteorology such as a pandemic. There is so much misinformation on social media that needs to be exposed and corrected. I will try to do that at times with science that is peer-reviewed and not just opinion. My social media presence will continue on Facebook (Jim Gandy WX) and Twitter (@JimGandyWX)
