[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 14]
[Senate]
[Page 19474]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   TRIBUTE TO METEOROLOGIST TOM WILLS

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I rise on behalf of the people of 
Louisville, my hometown, and across Kentucky who were saddened by the 
news that after 40 years on the air, WAVE-3 chief meteorologist Tom 
Wills is retiring. Tom first joined the station and began to be 
welcomed into people's homes over the airwaves back in 1969.
  Many Louisvillians cannot imagine turning on the TV and not being 
able to find a forecast from Tom Wills. It is a rare and remarkable 
achievement to reach 40 years in broadcasting and even more so at the 
same station, serving the same community.
  Tom earned the level of respect he has in Louisville by being one of 
the best meteorologists in the Nation. He is the only broadcast 
meteorologist in Louisville to hold the Certified Broadcast 
Meteorologist Seal from the American Meteorological Society, and he is 
among the earliest holders of the AMS Seal of Approval in the Nation to 
still be on the air.
  We Louisvillians have appreciated waking up every morning the last 40 
years knowing Tom is there to tell us whether we need our coat or our 
umbrella. Tom has also been a calming presence on the television screen 
at the time of severe weather, helping to save lives by providing 
crucial information.
  Tom was on the air on April 3, 1974, the day when the most severe 
tornadoes in living memory cut a path of destruction through the city 
of Louisville. When it was over, lives had been lost, hundreds were 
injured, and over 900 homes were destroyed.
  Throughout the night and into the early morning hours of the next 
day, Tom Wills was on the air telling people the information they 
needed to know. As tragic as those events were, we know things could 
have been worse if not for the lives saved and the tragedy averted 
thanks to Tom's work.
  Tom Wills grew up in West Reading, PA, and knew by age 7 he wanted to 
do the weather when he grew up. While earning meteorology degrees at 
Penn State and Colorado State, he specialized in the science of tornado 
formation.
  In addition to his WAVE-3 duties, he has passed along his knowledge 
and experience by teaching meteorology at the University of Louisville.
  Now that he will no longer have to wake up at 2:30 a.m. every day, I 
hope Tom will have time to pursue his other interests, including 
gardening and following our Louisville Cardinals sports teams. Of 
course, his wife Pam, his kids, and his grandkids will be happy to see 
more of him. Tom is known throughout the community not just as a fine 
meteorologist but also a gentleman and friend to the many people he has 
met in his 40 years on the air. He is going to be greatly missed, and I 
wish to take this moment to thank him on behalf of Kentuckians 
everywhere for his service.
  We are honored that for four decades he chose to share his talents 
with the people of Louisville and the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

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