Deal announces severe weather task force

ATLANTA - Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal has announced a task force that includes various state and local officials, meteorologists and business leaders charged with making recommendations to improve the state's response to severe weather events.

A winter storm last week dropped about 2 inches of snow on the metro Atlanta area and brought traffic to a standstill. Deal has faced considerable criticism for the state's response to the storm, which left tens of thousands stranded on icy, gridlocked roads.

The governor says his office is working on a public alert system similar to one used for missing and endangered children that would be used in certain weather situations.

Deal also says he expects an internal review of the state's response to the storm to be completed within 10 days.



The task force members are listed below. (source, office of the governor.)



Bart Gobeil (Chair)
Governor's Office
Chief Operating Officer

Charley English
GA Emergency Management Agency
Executive Director

Keith Golden
Dept. of Transportation
Commissioner

Mark Williams
Dept. of Natural Resources
Commissioner

Mark McDonough
Dept. of Public Safety
Commissioner

Jim Butterworth
Dept. of Defense
Major General

Jannine Miller
GA Regional Transportation Authority
Executive Director

Chris Tomlinson
State Road and Tollway Authority
Executive Director

Glenn Burns
WSB
Chief Meteorologist

Markina Brown
CBS
Chief Meteorologist

Ken Cook
Fox 5
Chief Meteorologist

Chesley McNeil
11 Alive
Meteorologist

Robert Avossa
Fulton County Schools
Superintendent

Emily Lembeck
Marietta City Schools
Superintendent

Michael Thurmond
DeKalb County Schools
Superintendent

Keith Parker
MARTA
General Manager/CEO

Ed Crowell
Georgia Motor Trucking
President and CEO

Jeffrey Parker
HNTB Corp.; former Connecticut DOT commissioner
Vice President

Anthony Wilson
Georgia Power
Executive VP, Customer Service and Operations

Jerry Donovan
Georgia Transmission Corporation
President and CEO

Hala Moddelmog
Metro Atlanta Chamber
President

Gil West
Delta
Senior VP, Airport Customer Service and TechOps

Steve Thompson
GA State Senate
District 33

Steve Gooch
GA State Senate
District 51

Jay Roberts
GA House of Representatives
District 155

Mike Glanton
GA House of Representatives
District 75

Kelvin Cochran
City of Atlanta
Fire Chief

George Turner
Atlanta Police Department
Chief of Police

Awaiting Confirmation
National Weather Service

Awaiting Confirmation
AT&T

Awaiting Confirmation
Verizon Wireless

Awaiting Confirmation
Metro Atlanta Municipality

http://accesswdun.com/article/2014/2/270683