Ever since I was a boy, I have been fascinated with hurricanes. Throughout grade school, I read all the books I could find concerning the characteristics of tropical storms and would use tracking maps to track the storms during each hurricane season. After graduating from Crestview High School in 1971, I became involved with community organizations as a volunteer of the Okaloosa County Civil Defense (now Okaloosa County Emergency Services). During 1975 and 1979, when Hurricanes "Eloise" and "Frederic" landed, I assisted in the hurricane shelters.
In 1992, I founded the North Okaloosa Search and Rescue (NOSAR) team. During its 12-year operation, we assisted in the hurricane shelters and we also monitored
the local river water levels after the storms past through. In 1995 and 1998 we volunteered our services during "Opal" and "Georges" respectively. The NOSAR team also assisted with rescue efforts during the "100-year flood". Photos of the “Georges flood” can be viewed at woolcom.org/nosar. NOSAR was disbanded in May of 2004.
From 2004 to present, I have been actively involved with the American Red Cross.
I am now a Hurricane Shelter Manager assigned to Antioch Elementary School in Crestview, Florida.
Now with the marvel of the internet, I created a Web site and included as much information as possible concerning tropical storm activity. I hope that this site is beneficial to you.
Thank you,
Larry L. Woolley
