[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 132 (Tuesday, December 5, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2096]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        MAX MAYFIELD RETIREMENT

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. SHERWOOD BOEHLERT

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, December 5, 2006

  Mr. BOEHLERT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize an outstanding 
public servant, Mr. Britt ``Max'' Mayfield, Director of the National 
Weather Service's National Hurricane Center. Since 2000, Mr. Mayfield 
has been the face and voice Americans trust for information about 
hurricane forecasts and warnings. He led the National Hurricane Center 
tirelessly during a time of many intense hurricanes hitting our highly 
populated coasts, including the record-breaking 2005 hurricane season 
that saw 28 named tropical storms.
  For each tropical storm or hurricane, Mr. Mayfield and the staff of 
the National Hurricane Center work around the clock gathering 
information about the storms and constantly improving the projection of 
the storm's track. As a storm nears the U.S. coast, they often spend 
days at a time at the National Hurricane Center making sure that the 
public continues to receive vital forecast and warning information, 
even as their own families and properties may be in the storm's path.
  Mr. Mayfield has served our Nation for 34 years, beginning in 1970 as 
a meteorologist for the Air Force before joining the National Weather 
Service in 1972. He is internationally recognized for his expertise in 
forecasting hurricanes. But, Mr. Mayfield also goes above and beyond 
his responsibility as a hurricane scientist. He dedicates much of his 
time to educating communities about the risks of hurricanes and making 
sure that the public understands the information in hurricane forecasts 
and what they need to do to protect themselves from these dangerous 
storms. Both his forecasting efforts and community service have been 
recognized with awards from many prestigious organizations.
  I thank Mr. Mayfield for his more than three decades of service to 
this country and for the countless lives his hurricanes forecasts and 
warnings have saved. I also thank his family for the sacrifices they 
made to support him in this demanding job and wish him a long and 
relaxing retirement.
  One final note. My wife, Marianne, contends that Max Mayfield is her 
favorite federal employee--and that, alas, probably includes me.

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