The Memphis, TN Chapter of the American Meteorological Society (AMS) held its fifth and final meeting of the 1998-1999 year on 11 May 1999. There were thirteen people present for the two hour meeting. The evening commenced with brief business matters. The appointment/election of officers occurred, with Erik Proseus becoming the new secretary/treasurer and Mike Wroten taking on the role of vice-president. Their terms become effective with the beginning of the upcoming academic year (September 1999). Mark Isaminger volunteered to remain as chapter president for at least one additional year. Other business items of interest included an acknowledgement by Isaminger for outgoing secretary/ treasurer Ben Boorman's past few years of service to the chapter. Also highlighted was an expression of appreciation by the membership for Isaminger's many contributions to the Memphis chapter over the past several years. Ideas for upcoming meetings included: a possible visit to the University of Memphis' earthquake research center, a visit to the US Army Corps of Engineers' office, and/or the possibility of having the St. Louis NWSFO SOO make a presentation in Memphis.

On the agenda for this meeting was an overview by Steve Terry and Paul Luke of the local non-profit agency, ECAMS (The Emergency Communications Alliance of the Mid-South). This corporation was organized in 1995 to develop advanced emergency communications and technology systems for the benefit of the general public and public safety agencies through the use of technology and alliances with the public and private sector. The speakers focused on some of the new relay technology available for storm warning notification and other EMA-related alerts. This system is capable of broadcasting emergency information onto televisions, pagers, RBDS (Radio Broadcast Data System) car radios, mobile data receivers, road-way signs, sirens, smoke detectors, and even shake the beds of the deaf. The system is highly flexible, allowing the creation of separate LANs (local area networks) to be set up for special situations. The next step in this rapidly advancing technology will be a totally automated system. ECAMS' website address is: http://www.ecams.org

Respectfully submitted,
Benjamin Boorman
Secretary / Treasurer

Minutes Approved,
Mark Isaminger
Chairperson