[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 20]
[Senate]
[Page 29479]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                     TRIBUTE TO RICHARD P. AUGULIS

 Mr. HOLLINGS. I rise today to pay tribute to Richard P. 
Augulis on the occasion of his retirement as director of the National 
Weather Service Central Region.
  In Mr. Augulis' 35 years with the National Weather Service, including 
13 years as director of the 14-state Central Region, he has held public 
safety paramount, whether as a forecaster or as a manager. He has now 
retired to Las Vegas, Nevada where he is able to enjoy this new venture 
with members of his family.
  Mr. Augulis joined the National Weather Service in August 1961 as a 
Weather Bureau Student Trainee at WBAS Midway Airport while attending 
St. Louis University. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Meteorology 
in 1963 and added a Masters Degree in 1967. He distinguished himself in 
a variety of forecasting and management positions--in Salt Lake City; 
Anchorage and Fairbanks, Alaska; Garden City, New York; and, finally, 
Kansas City.
  Beginning in 1974, as Meteorologist in Charge of the new Fairbanks 
Weather Forecast Office, Mr. Augulis presided over a staff that 
operated service programs during the exciting and challenging times of 
the Trans-Alaska Pipeline construction. Mr. Augulis' leadership was 
also invaluable to employees during the mid-1970s when the National 
Weather Service implemented the Automation of Field Operations (AFOS) 
communications network, making a breakthrough transition from teletype 
to computers.
  Mr. Augulis' last decade with the National Weather Service included 
the largest modernization and reorganization ever undertaken by the 
agency. He helped guide his region through the introduction and 
implementation of state-of-the-art Doppler radar, computer-enhanced 
weather modeling and forecasting, and restructuring from more than 300 
offices of varying sizes and capabilities to an efficient network of 
123 21st Century Weather Forecast Offices across the United States.
  Mr. Augulis has served proudly as an employee and a manager of the 
National Weather Service. He is a distinguished executive branch 
employee whose accomplishments reflect credit on himself, the National 
Weather Service and our nation.
  On this occasion, I am honored to join his family, friends and 
colleagues as we recognize Richard P. Augulis on his retirement from 
the National Weather Service.

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