Press Release
In November, Mike and Teri Marquez of Sunnyside, Utah were presented the 2022 John Campanius Holm Cooperative Observer Award by the Salt Lake City National Weather Service.
The Marquez team has provided timely, accurate and dependable weather observations to the National Weather Service for the past 35 years. Of the nearly 10,000 volunteer Cooperative Program observers across the nation, only 25 individuals earn this prestigious award each year.
In addition to a large, matted and framed award, each Holm recipient is given a embroidered three-season jacket. The award was presented by Meteorologist-in-Charge Darren Van Cleave and Observations Program Leader Lisa Verzella.
Mike began weather observations when the city of Sunnyside took over the weather station at its city office site in 2008. In 2015, the station was moved nearby to its current location at the Marquez residence, where Mike and his wife Teri diligently record each day’s maximum and minimum temperature, measure any rain or snowfall, and melt down new snowfall to determine water content.
The award is named for John Campanius Holm, a Lutheran minister, the first person known to have taken systematic weather observations in the American Colonies. He did so in 1644 and 1645, without the benefit of instruments. Benjamin Franklin, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson all maintained early weather records. Jefferson kept an almost unbroken record of weather observations from 1776 through 1816, while Washington took his final weather observations just a few days before he died.
NOAA’s National Weather Service is the primary source of weather data, forecasts and warnings for the United States and its territories. The National Weather Service operates the most advanced weather and flood warning and forecast system in the world, helping to protect lives and property and enhance the national economy. In partnership with national and local government, members of the weather enterprise, Weather-Ready Nation Ambassadors and academia, the National Weather Service is working to build a more Weather-Ready Nation to support community resilience in the face of increasing vulnerability to extreme weather.