[ESIP-all] Fw: Thank you

[Tamara Ledley]

I am on the listserv for the Council of State Science Supervisors. Tiffany 
Neill, the state science supervisor in Oklahoma, sent the email below 
following the tornado early in the week.  I am forwarding it with her 
permission.  She describes how the availability of state of the art 
science and technology and the ability to use it - through science 
education efforts -  benefited many of those impacted by the storm.  I 
thought the members of the ESIP Federation would appreciate seeing this.

Tamara

___________________________________
Tamara Shapiro Ledley, PhD
Senior Scientist, TERC
2067 Massachusetts Ave
Cambridge, MA 02140
phone: 617-873-9658; fax: 617-349-3535

----- Forwarded by Tamara Ledley/CSTL/TERC on 05/24/2013 10:27 AM -----

From:   Tiffany Neill <Tiffany.Neill at SDE.OK.GOV>
To:     CS3 at LISTSERV.RI.NET, 
Date:   05/22/2013 05:34 PM
Subject:        Thank you
Sent by:        Discussion List for Members of the Council of State 
Science Supervisors <CS3 at LISTSERV.RI.NET>



Greetings from Oklahoma,
 
I just wanted to express my deepest appreciation for all of the e-mails, 
texts, and phone calls I have received in the last couple of days from the 
CSSS family. It has been a trying time for all of us and we are bracing 
for a long recovery effort. However, I know the people of my community, 
city, and state and they are among the most resilient and positive people 
on earth. They will come together and rebuild.
Over the past couple of days I’ve been flooded with inquiries regarding 
opportunities to help. I will certainly keep everyone informed if there is 
something specific but I wanted each of you to know that you have helped 
in more ways than you can possibly imagine! You are the very people who 
have championed science education for years and because of your tireless 
efforts we in Oklahoma have benefited!
 
Let me explain. On my way to work Monday morning, I received a text from 
the National Weather Center saying that the storms would be coming through 
between 2:00-4:00 pm. At 9:00 am I received a text form my son’s school 
that conveyed the safety precautions they would be taking and that all 
students would be held at the school unless parents picked them up. I left 
the office around 1:00 pm to travel through the heart of Moore to pick up 
my son and find shelter. Twenty minutes prior to the tornado touching 
down, I was watching our local meteorologist on my phone weather app as he 
detailed the streets that might be impacted, including my own. Moments 
later I viewed images on my phone that storm chasers were taking of the 
tornado touching down, all while my son and I were taking shelter because 
the local sirens had already begun to sound. When the sirens turned off 
and the rescue efforts began, we had a level one trauma center nearby and 
first responders who were well trained for such a disaster. In the hours 
after the storm, we had heat seeking sensor equipment and a map of every 
storm shelter in the area that allowed rescue workers to find individuals 
trapped in the rubble.
 
We had science on our side! We had state of the art scientific instruments 
to collect accurate up-to-date weather data. We had skilled meteorologists 
who could analyze and interpret that data. We had numerous shelters 
engineered to protect people from a mile-wide EF5 tornado. And we had the 
equipment and personnel who were able to respond to such a disaster 
quickly and efficiently. The loss of any life from such a natural disaster 
is difficult to overcome and we certainly keep the families of the victims 
in our thoughts daily. However, I am certain that if it were not for the 
continued advancements in science and engineering and for those that elect 
to go into scientific professions, many more families would be suffering 
the loss of loved ones today.
 
Thank you again from the bottom of my Oklahoma heart and please continue 
your efforts to promote and enhance science education! It can and will 
continue to save lives!
-Tiffany
 
 
_________________________________________________________________
 
Tiffany Neill, M.Ed. 
Director of Science Education 
Office of Instruction
Oklahoma State Department of Education
 
P: 405.522.3524  |  Tiffany.Neill at sde.ok.gov  |  @tiffanyneill  | Science 
Webpage | PE & Health Webpage
 
 
 
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