At a ceremony in Silver Spring, MD on December 9, Ann Thorne of the Global Monitoring Division received the NOAA Research Employee of the Year Award for Personal and Professional Excellence. The well deserved recognition stated on the citation: "For exceptional service to NOAA's Global Monitoring Division and Earth System Research Laboratory, and an unsurpassed spirit and dedication to the NOAA Boulder Student Program." Ann's proud father, former Provost of the University of Maryland, was in attendance.

The NOAA Research Employee of the Year Award recognizes OAR employees who have made outstanding contributions to promote excellence in the operations or programs of NOAA Research. Ann’s title is Program Management Specialist, but her contributions to the Global Monitoring Division of ESRL go far beyond her title. The NOAA Boulder Student Program is an excellent example of Ann's devotion, hard work, and initiative. Ann has single-handedly quadrupled the number of students supported each summer while she managed the entire NOAA Boulder Student Program, impacting well over 400 students in the last decade. This feat involves annual recruiting and retaining of students; coordinating logistics; arranging seminars and field trips, training, and placements; as well as serving as a liaison between ESRL and NOAA/Boulder and the NOAA Office of Education.