(Editor's Note: This was written by my Dad in 1998 - W. Dawson)
I am in my eighties. I retired from the Regular Air Force
39 years ago. I have been active with computers for 40 years and
online 20 years. I am an Internet pioneer having initiated Web
pages as a favor for many organizations and individuals.
I am proud to have received the 1998 Member of the Year
Award from the National Weather Association. As a meteorologist
it is logical that I would assist the National Weather
Association in "going on the Web." The NWA is a national
organization of the civilian meteorologists of government,
business and TV broadcasting.
Also, at an earlier date I created a web site for the
Air Weather Association with the encouragement of MGen John
Collens, its founder. It was linked at and featured by the Hq
USAF Main Home Page sometime before the then Air Weather Service
had a Web page. The AWS is now the Air Force Weather Agency,
which serves the USAF, Army, and Space Exploration.
I established the Virtual Library of Hampton Roads which
developed into the Hampton Roads Central Library online and
operated for a few years. Without community support, and due to
my age and health, I could not do it alone, and it is now in part
carried on by the present Buzzard's Nest.
I setup up a WWW site for the TROA Hampton Roads Chapter
back when TROA Hq strongly emphasized that they couldn't keep from
doing it, but hoped I wouldn't. Before this I was consulted by
the Air Force Military Personnel Center before they established
their Web presence for retired Air Force personnel.
I put online a predecessor of the TROA St. Petersberg
Florida Chapter Web Site, and have advised a number of other TROA
chapters on starting their own.
10-31-98