Richard R. "Dick" Fletcher was a broadcast meteorologist. He was Chief Meteorologist for WTSP channel 10 in St. Petersburg, Florida, for 28 years at the time of his death on February 26, 2008. He held the American Meteorological Society Seal of Approval. During his lengthy broadcasting career, Fletcher flew aboard reconnaissance aircraft missions into three hurricanes and made 15 different penetrations into the eye of those storms. In 1987, he was honored by the American Meteorological Society with an award for Outstanding Service by a Broadcast Meteorologist. He was presented the distinguished service award by the National Hurricane Conference in 2003 for his leadership efforts in hurricane preparedness. He also received the Media award from the Florida Governor's Hurricane Conference in 1993. Fletcher, a native of Omaha, Nebraska, graduated from the University of Omaha in 1964. He had an early ambition to be a television news broadcaster and started his career in Cedar Rapids, Iowa at KCRG, working as a news anchor and occasionally doing the weather. [More at Wikipedia]

September 18th, 1942 in Omaha  /  Died:   Feb 26th, 2008