As winter approaches, students, faculty and staff can rest assured that Sinclair Community College is prepared for severe weather at any given time.
On Oct. 19, the National Weather Service designated Sinclair as StormReady.
Sinclair is the only community college in the tri-state area to receive the certification and one of 10 in the entire US.
“Being designated as a StormReady college by the National Weather Service is a sign that Sinclair is improving our communication and preparedness as a community,” Sinclair President Steve Johnson said. “Being the only community college in Ohio with this designation strengthens Sinclair as a whole and ultimately shows how hard our team works to help keep students, faculty and staff at Sinclair safe on campus.”
To be designated as StormReady, Sinclair had to pass an inspection where they had to “demonstrate a formal hazardous weather plan, a 24-hour warning point, community outreach and multiple methods to disseminate information,” according to our.sinclair.edu.
Sinclair Police Chief Charles Gift announced the presentation of the certification to Dr. Ty Stone, vice president of Business Operations at Sinclair, which was received in Building 7 Room 210.
He said the certification process was very extensive and took a lot of efforts on the behalf of many college officials, including Johnson and his cabinet, outside agencies, Marketing, and Facilities at Sinclair.
“Sinclair Community College is honored to receive this prestigious award which further demonstrates the overall commitment to the safety of our students, faculty and staff,” Gift said in a phone interview. “The program has been credited with saving lives in several instances throughout the United States.”
He added that many of Sinclair’s employees were recognized by the NWS as official “Storm Spotters,” who are authorized to report weather conditions to the NWS.
For more information on the designation of being StormReady or the NWS, visit stormready.noaa.gov.