Andy_Johnson's Blog

We have suffered a great loss in the recent passing of Dick Fletcher. Even though we work for differerent stations, I frequently see Dick at the monthly American Meteorolgocal Society meetings that I preside over. Dick was a long time member of the national American Meteorological Society (A.M.S.), as well as, a member of the West Central Florida Chapter of the A.M.S. He participated in local meetings quite frequently, even though he would have to rush from work at WTSP in Pinellas County on his dinner break to attend meetings as far away as the National Weather Service in Ruskin and return to do the 11:00 PM Weather. He mentored students and volunteered for our "Teach the Teacher" meetings at U.S.F.  where he demonstrated scientific experiments. Numerous chapter meetings were held at WTSP Channel 10 due to his efforts. He contributed his vast knowledge of meteorology during the meetings and individually with members in casual discussions before and afterward. He held strong opinions about weather forecasting and presentation but always backed them up with his own research and investigation. He really loved every aspect of the weather and wanted to present the most correct information possible. Dick held the AMS Seal of Approval for television weathercasting for many years and was awarded national Weathercaster of the Year by the AMS in 1986 for his coverage of Hurricane Elena in 1985. In addition, he obtained the Certification for Broadcasting Meteorology from the A.M.S. a few years ago. We had several discussions about the new certification program. On behalf of the officers, members and all of your friends in the West Central Florida Chapter of the A.M.S. and all of the meteorologists at FOX 13 we will miss you very much and our thoughts and prayers will be with your family.
 
Andy Johnson