RESULTS OF THE NWA MEMBERSHIP SURVEY Brnard N. Misnr National Wathr Srvic Southrn Rgion Fort Worth, Txas Thrsa Rossi Drak National Wathr Srvic Forcast Offic Pittsburgh, Pnnsylvania r 1. Introduction A National Wathr Association (NWA) Mmbrship Survy was conductd in arly 1994. Th incoming 1994 Prsidnt initiatd th survy in an attmpt to stablish a framwork for organizational dcision makrs. Th objctivs of th survy wr: I) to dtrmin how wll th NW A was mting th nds of its mmbrs; 2) to dtrmin which srvics NW A could improv, chang, add or drop; and 3) to obtain a mmbrship profil. Th last formal survy had bn conductd in 1989. Th NW A Officrs and Councilors wr first brifd on th rsults of th Survy during thir Council mting in April of 1994. Applicabl rsults wr thn di stributd to th various committs for action or information. A summary of th rsults was prsntd to th gnral mmbrship in Octobr 1994, at th Annual Mting. Th following is th final summary of th Survy rsults. 2. Rprsntativnss of th Rsponss Th qustionnair (Fig. I) was includd as part of th annual dus statmnt that was maild out nar th nd of 1993. By mid March 1994, 1497 mmbrs had rturnd thir statmnts with thir dus. Of thos, 1314 had compltd at last part of th survy. Not all mmbrs providd rsponss to all th survy qustions. Bcaus th survy was part of th dus statmnt, it was possibl to dtrmin th gndr and stat of rsidnc of 183 of th mmbrs who chos not to rspond to any of th survy qustions. 3. Charactristics of th Mmbrship a. Ag Figur 2 shows th ag distribution of th mmbrs who rspondd. Ags rangd from two collg studnts still in thir tns, to on mmbr who proudly proclaimd that h was not mrly ovr 70 (th highst rspons on th qustionnair) but was, in fact, ovr 80! Th gratst numbr of r!1mbrs ar in th 30s (360 mmbrs) and 40s (353 mmbrs). Th avrag ag of thos mmbrs working in th nws mdia was somwhat lowr than that of th othr groups-xactly half of th broadcastrs wr in thir 30s. b. Gndr Womn compris 5% of th total mmbrship. By comparison, about 11 % of National Wathr Srvic (NWS) mtorologists ar womn (NWS 1994) and 9% of th Amrican Mtorological Socity mmbrs ar womn (Zvin and Sittr 1994). Eight prcnt of th Association 's mmbrs working in th 57 nws mdia ar womn. A gratr fraction of th lowr ag lvls wr womn-7% of th mmbrs in th 20s, and narly 10% of th mmbrs in th 30s. Although womn continu to b undrrprsntd in th profssion and th Association, thir numbrs ar incrasing. A survy of th Association's mmbrs in 1989 (NW A Nwslttr 1990) indicatd that only 3% of th mmbrs wr womn at that tim. c. Education Figur 3 shows th distribution of highst dgr arnd by mmbrs: 6.5% do not hav a bachlor's dgr; 48.7% hold a B.A.lB.S.; 34.3% a M.A.lM.S.; and 10.5 % a doctorat. Many of thos without a four-yar dgr wr studnts, or indicatd that thy had arnd an associat dgr or had compltd som collg courswork. d. Dmographics Th NW A has mmbrs in vry stat and svral forign countris (Fig. 4). Th distribution of mmbrs somwhat rflcts th locations of th National Ocanic and Atmosphric Administration (NOAA)/NWS administrativ, forcast and training cntrs. Maryland has th most mmbrs, followd by Txas, California, Virginia and Nw York. Th distribution of mmbrs in th nws mdia is vry diffrnt from that of th mmbrship as a whol (Fig. 5). Most of thos working in th mdia liv in th South or nar th Grat Laks. Fw liv in th Wst or th Grat Plains. Th Wathr Channl accounts for many of th mmbrs living in Gorgia. Figur 6 shows th locations of thos mmbrs who hav nvr attndd an Annual Mting of th Association. Cost of travl was frquntly citd as a rason why som mmbrs wr unabl to attnd a mting. Th Annual Mting locations ar usually altrnatd btwn th Wst, th cntral stats, and th East. Rcnt mtings hav bn hld in Raligh, NC, St. Louis, MO, and Salt Lak City, UT. Futur mtings ar plannd for Houston, TX and Atlanta, GA. Sinc many mmbrs in th far Wst and Grat Laks stats hav nvr attndd a mting, thos locations would b promising sits for futur mtings.. Employrs Figur 7 shows th distribution of th mmbrship by principal mployr in both 1994 and 1989. Th gratst numbr of th mmbrs (36%) work for ithr th National Wathr Srvic or othr sgmnts of th NOAA. Th scond largst, and most rapidly growing, group (22%) work for th nws mdia; followd by thos who ar ithr slf-mployd or working for privat companis (13%); thos in acadmia (9%); and thos in th military (6%). About 6% of th mmbrs ar rtird.
58 National Wathr Digst NWA MEMBERSHIP SURVEY You can gratly assist th 1994 NW A Officrs and Councilors by complting this survy. Plas circl your answr or fill in th blanks as appropriat. Additional commnts will b most wlcom. 1. Ovrall, how wll dos th NWA fulfill your nds/xpctations? Extrmly Wll Vry Wll Adquatly Not Vry Wll Not at All 2. Rat th valu of currnt NW A srvics: Monthly Nwslttr: Extrmly Valuabl Vry Valuabl Som Valu Not Much Valu No Valu National Wathr Digst: Extrmly Valuabl Vry Valuabl Som Valu Not Much Valu No Valu Annual Mting: Extrmly Valuabl Vry Valuabl Som Valu Not Much Valu No Valu Monographs and Publications: Extrmly Valuabl Vry Valuabl Som Valu Not Much Valu No Valu 3. Rank th oprationallrsarch mix providd in NWA srvics: Too Oprational Appropriat Mix Too Much Rsarch 4. How oftn do you rad or attnd: Th Nwslttr: Always Oftn Somtims Sldom Nvr Th Digst: Always Oftn Somtims Sldom Nvr Th Annual Mting: Always Oftn Somtims Sldom Nvr 5. Should th NW A chang or add products or srvics? Ys No If ys, what? 6. Is thr a nd for mor local chaptrs? Ys No If ys, can you suggst aras/citis? 7. What ar th most important issus for th NW A mmbrship ovr th nxt yar? 8. What issus should th NW A b concrnd with ovr th nxt fiv yars? 9. With th xpctd incras in printing and postag rats would you agr to a dus incras of $3.00 for 1995? Ys No Would you agr to an incras of $5.00 for 1995 if th nwslttr was maild 1st class instad of bulk rat? Ys No 10. How can th NW A bttr srv your nds? 11. Would you voluntr to b an: officr councilor committ mmbr (committ prfrnc? Highst Lvl of Education Compltd: High School Bachlor's Mastr's Doctorat Ag: < 20 20-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 60-69 > 70 Sx: Mal Fmal Primary Work/Studis: Fig. 1. NWA Mmbrship Survy
Volum 19 Numbr 3 March, 1995 59 350 300 M 250 m 200 b 150 r 100 s 50 0 Undr 20 o Fmal. Mal 20-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 60-69 Ovr 70 Fig. 2. Distribution of mmbrs by ag group and gndr. 50 P 40 r 30 c 20 n t 10 Associat Bachlor's Mastr's Doctorat or High School Fig. 3. Distribution of mmbrs by trminal dgr.
60 National Wathr Digst D 1-20 mmbrs ~ 21-40 mmbrs ~ 41-60 mmbr s 61-80 mmbr s 81- mmbrs Alaska 23 Hawaii 6 Canada 8 Grmany 3 Guam 3 Purto Rico 2 ;;PO Addrss 6 I\! w Zaland 1 Fig. 4. Numbr of NWA mmbrs by stat, trritory and country. Canada 1 D I\lon ~ 1-5 ~ 6-10 iii] 11-20 21-39 Fig. 5. Numbr of NWA wathrcastrs in ach stat and Canada.
Volum 19 Numbr 3 March, 1995 61 D 1-5 mmbr s I82l 6-10 mmbrs ~ 11-1 5 mmbr s 16-20 mmbrs 21-51 m mbr s Alaska 13 Ha w aii 4 Canada 4 Grman y 1 Guam 1 Purto Rico 1 J\ PO Addr ss 4 1\lw Zal and 1 Fig. 6. Numbr of NWA mmbrs who hav nvr attndd an annual mting by stat, trritory and country. Stat/Local Govt. Othr Fd. Govt.. 1994 0 1989 Military Othr Collg/Univ. Privat/Slf Nws Mdia NWS/NOAA o 10 20 Prcnt of Mmbrs 30 40 Fig. 7. Changs in mmbrship by principal mployr btwn 1989 and 1994.
62 National Wathr Digst Whil th numbr of mmbrs in th nws mdia has incrasd, thos in th military, and in govrnmnt agncis othr than NOAA, hav dcrasd sinc 1989. 4. Typical Mmbr Basd on th rsponss rcivd, th typical NWA mmbr is a "40 somthing" mal with som courswork byond a bachlor's dgr, and works in NOAA. H is satisfid with th NW A, rads th Nwslttr and Digst rgularly, but has nvr attndd an annual mting of th Association. Howvr, most of th mmbrs do not fit th strotypical modl. On of our mmbrs is a Nw England author who includs ralistic rprsntations of wathr in hr fictional writing. Anothr is a slf-mployd photographr. Invstigating accidnts for th National Air Traffic Safty Board is th occupation of on mmbr, whil yt anothr is an ditor for th Institut of Elctrical and Elctronic Enginrs. Mdical doctor, spcial ducation tachr, and Associatd Prss rportr ar som of th othr occupations of our non-typical mmbrs. 5. Mmbrs Assssmnt of NWA Srvics Th mmbrship indicatd that it was gnrally plasd with th Association ovrall, including th Nwslttr and th National Wathr Digst (Fig. 8). Most of th mmbrs indicatd that thy always rad th Nwslttr and th National Wathr Digst (Fig. 9). Th mmbrship, as a whol, ratd th valu of th annual mting much lowr than any of th othr itms. Howvr, many of th mmbrs also indicatd thy had nvr attndd an annual mting (Fig. 9). Of thos who rspondd that thy attnd th annual mting Always, Oftn or Somtims, 63% ratd th mting as Vry Valuabl or Extrmly Valuabl. Th vast majority of th mmbrship (91 %) indicatd thr was th appropriat mix of oprations and rsarch providd in th NW A srvics. 6. Mmbrs Suggstions and Rcommndations Svral opn-ndd survy qustions ncouragd th mmbrship to idntify issus for th organization and mak suggstions and rcommndations. By far, th most mntiond issu for th NWA mmbrship ovr th nxt fiv yars was th NWS Modrnization and th application of th nw rsarch and tchnology to oprational mtorology. Othr issus which wr frquntly idntifid includd th Air Wathr Srvic's Evolution, Global Climat Chang, Training and Education, and maintaining th intgrity of th NWA RadiolTV Wathrcastr Sal of Approval. Although most rsponss indicatd that th NW A was currntly mting thir nds, thr wr numrous rcommndations for improvmnts including: mor broadcastrs involvd, mor local chaptrs, xpandd and mor timly NW A publications, publishing th Annual Mting paprs, incrasing mmbrship, mor public awarnss -spcially of th nw tchnologis, mploymnt information, a group halth plan, a mntoring program for studnts, a computr bulltin board, and mor rgional/spcializd mtings and training, spcially for th broadcastrs. p r c n t Extrm Vry DSom DNotMuch DNo NWA Ovrall Nvvslttr Digst Publications Annual Mting Fig. 8. Distribution of rsponss to qustions concrning th valu of th various srvics providd by th NWA.
Volum 19 Numbr 3 March, 1995 63 p 80 r c 40 30 n t 20 10 0 Rad Nwslttr Always Oftn DSomtims D Sldom D Nvr Rad Digst Attnd Annual Mting Fi9.9. Distribution of rsponss t~ qustions concrning th frquncy that mmbrs rad th Nwslttr and National Wathr DIgst, or attnd th Annual Mting. 7. Summary Th survy provd to b an xcllnt organizational managmnt tool. Many of th commnts/suggstions from mmbrs w~ i~plmntd immdiatly and othrs wr dvlopd into action Itms, goals and plans for th futur. For instanc, mploymnt announcmnts ar now includd in th Nwslttr, 1995 dus wr incrasd by $3.00 instad of $5.00, lists o~ voluntrs f~r offic and committ mmbrship wr pro Vidd to th vanous committs, dmographic information was takn. into considration in th planning of upcoming Annual Mt111gs, th Mmbrship Committ is considring th mmbrship profil in idntifying targt groups for rcruiting activitis, a spcial Ad Hoc Committ to upgrad/improv th National Wathr Digst was formd, and a NW A computr bulltin board is undr dvlopmnt. Th authors rcommnd that similar survys b conductd vry thr yars. Acknowldgmnts Thanks to all mmbrs who participatd in this survy. Th NW A Officrs and Councilors thank th 1994 Prsidnt, Thrsa Rossi Drak, for initiating th survy, analyzing th data and lading th actions ncssary to implmnt th wishs of th mmbrs. Spcial thanks to Brnard N. Misnr who was a NW A Councilor at th bginning of th survy priod. H voluntrd to typ th information into his computr, procss th rsults and show maningful graphics. H gav much mor than h promisd as attnds at th 1994 Annual A wards ~anq.ut will attst to. H provd to b a trrific banqut spakr 111 brifing th rsults of th survy with facts and humor. Rfrncs National Wathr Association Nwslttr, 1990: Volum 90-9, 3-5. National.Wathr Srvic, 1994: NWS Divrsity Workshop Dvloping Tomorrow's Managrs and Ladrs: Focus on Womn. National Wathr Srvic, NOAA, U.S. Dpt. Commrc. 89pp. Zvin, Susan F. and Kith L. Sittr, 1994: Rsults of survy of Socity mmbrship. Bull. Amr. Mtor. Soc., 75, 1855-1866.