Town Hall Participants

Town Hall Participant Survey

The National Weather Association will be hosting a Town Hall meeting on Tuesday, October 18, 2011 from 7-9 p.m. at the Wynfrey Hotel in Hoover. The event will bring together professionals involved in the severe weather enterprise to listen to the thoughts and opinions of a scientifically chosen sample of 200 everyday people who experienced that fateful day here in Central Alabama. The event is free and limited to the 200 participants, who may each be accompanied by a non-participating guest. There will be no compensation to the participants other than the knowledge that you will be helping to make the severe weather warning system better for you and your community. Once you are selected and come to the event, you can stop your participation at any time. Should the questions and discussions at the event bother you in any way, the Town Hall Team is prepared to offer you referrals to counseling resources in the area that can assist you with any fear or anxiety you may experience from the discussion. This list of referrals will be provided to all participants as a service to the community because of any remaining fear and anxiety resulting from the April 27th event.

Would you like to be a part of this unique opportunity to improve the warning process? Please answer this quick questionnaire to help us sort the respondents into the various population demographics we need. This information will remain confidential and your name will not be associated with your responses. You will be asked for demographic information to be sure that we are getting responses from all of the population. Your name will not be associated with your responses, making your responses anonymous. The information you provide in the selection survey below will remain confidential.

Participating in the event involves some commitment on your part. If you are selected to participate, you will be asked to:
* Be at the Wynfrey Hotel from 6 p.m. until 9 p.m. on Tuesday, October 18, 2011
* Use a hand held audience sampling device (like a TV remote clicker) to respond to a series of 12-15 multiple choice questions. Your responses will remain anonymous and will not be associated with your name.
* Allow your responses to be used in peer-reviewed scientific research papers, which will be used by policy makers to develop new procedures and processes to be used to protect your community in future severe weather events.

From those who apply to participate in the Town Hall Event, a representative group of ten individuals also will be chosen in advance to participate in a live interactive focus group on the stage in front of the entire audience, with a moderator and two social scientists asking questions. You will have the chance to indicate on this questionnaire if you want to be considered to be included in this onstage focus group. If you do, we want to make sure that you are not afraid to talk in front of a crowd and aren’t afraid to speak your mind!

If you are selected for further consideration from this questionnaire:
* You may be asked to take part in a short telephone interview in mid-September.
* You will be notified if you are selected to participate in late September.
* If chosen to be a part of the ten-member focus group on stage, you will receive the questions that we will ask focus group members by October 8th to help you prepare for the event.
* If you are chosen to participate in the Town Hall audience, the invitation is non-transferrable and you will have to bring positive identification to the event for admission.

Thank you for considering being a part of this significant and potentially lifesaving research.

The NWA Birmingham 2011 Organizing Committee

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1. Contact Information

Name:

ZIP:

Email Address:

Phone Number Including Area Code:

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2. Gender: (Required.)

Female

Male

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3. Age: (Required.)

18-29

30-39

40-49

50-59

60-69

70+

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4. Race: (Required.)

African American

Asian

Caucasian

Hispanic

Other (please specify)

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5. Education Level: (Required.)

Elementary school only

Some high school, but did not finish

Completed high school

Some college, but did not finish

Two-year college degree / A.A./A.S. or equivalent

Four-year college degree / B.A./B.S. or equivalent

Some graduate work

Completed Masters or professional degree

Advanced Graduate work or Ph.D

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6. What is your total household income? (Required.)

Under $25,000

$25,000-$39,999

$40,000-$49,999

$50,000-$74,999

$75,000-$99,999

$100,000-$124,999

$125,000-$149,999

Over $150,000

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7. Tell us your status. (Required.)

Employed full time

Employed part time

Unemployed/Looking for work

Student

Stay at home caregiver

Retired

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8. Are you a business owner? (Required.)

Yes

If yes, how many people do you employ?

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9. How long have you been a resident of Central Alabama? (Required.)

Two years or less

3-5 years

6-10 years

More than 10 years

Not a resident - was traveling through the area during the outbreak

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10. What town or city were you in during the April 27th severe weather events? (Required.)

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11. Which round of severe weather on April 27th impacted you? (Required.)

Morning

Afternoon/Evening

Both

No impact at any of those times

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12. Describe the storms' impact on you. (Check all that apply.) (Required.)

I experienced physical loss or injury from the storm

I directly knew people who experienced physical loss or injury from the storm

My community experienced physical loss or injury from the storm

No one I know experienced physical loss or injury from the storm

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13. What type of area were you in during the storms? (Required.)

Urban - City or Town

Suburban - Community

Rural - County

Please List location:

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14. Were you: (Required.)

At Home

At Work

At School

In Transit

Other (please specify)

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15. What type of structure were you in when the storms hit? (Required.)

Constructed Home - Brick

Constructed Home - Non-brick

Mobile Home

Business - small building

Business - large building

Outside

Vehicle

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16. If you were in a structure, was there a place of safety for you to seek shelter in, such as a basement, safe room, or storm shelter? (Required.)

Yes

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17. If there was an area such as a basement, safe room, or storm shelter available, did you take shelter in this place? (Required.)

Not Applicable

Yes

If yes, specify type of area in which you took shelter -

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18. What is the PRIMARY way that you receive notification of weather warnings? (Check one please.) (Required.)

Local Television

Local Radio

NOAA Weather Radio

Smartphone

Web

Text Message Service

Telephone call service

Social Media

Siren Sounding

Friends/Family

Other (please specify)

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19. Do you have a severe weather plan for your home, business, church/place of worship and/or school? (Required.)

	Yes	No	Don't Know	N/A
Home	Home Yes	Home No	Home Don't Know	Home N/A
Business	Business Yes	Business No	Business Don't Know	Business N/A
Church/Place of Worship	Church/Place of Worship Yes	Church/Place of Worship No	Church/Place of Worship Don't Know	Church/Place of Worship N/A
School	School Yes	School No	School Don't Know	School N/A

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20. What do you consider your level of weather training to be? (Required.)

No formal training

Spotter Training

Extensive Subject Matter Reading

Some college meteorology

Formal degree in meteorology

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21. If you were working at the time of the storms, does your position make you responsible for the safety of others that you manage? (Required.)

Yes

Not Applicable

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22. Do you still have minor children at home? (Required.)

Yes - they were in my care during the storms

Yes - but we were not in the same location during the storms

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23. What do you consider your outlook on severe weather to be? (Required.)

Fearful

Stay aware and informed of conditions, prepared for changes, and know when to take shelter

Rarely give severe weather a thought

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24. PRIOR TO April 27th, what had your experience with severe weather been? (Please check all that apply.) (Required.)

I had directly experienced physical loss or injury from a storm

I had known people who experienced physical loss or injury from a storm

My community had experienced physical loss or injury from a storm

No one I know had experienced physical loss or injury from a storm

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25. Would you like to be considered for the focus group of 10 that will be present on the stage and will participate in the discussion? (Required.)

Yes (please give additional response below)

If yes, please provide us with a summary of your experience of April 27th.

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* 1. Contact Information

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* 2. Gender: (Required.)

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* 3. Age: (Required.)

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* 4. Race: (Required.)

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* 5. Education Level: (Required.)

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* 6. What is your total household income? (Required.)

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* 7. Tell us your status. (Required.)

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* 8. Are you a business owner? (Required.)

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* 9. How long have you been a resident of Central Alabama? (Required.)

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* 10. What town or city were you in during the April 27th severe weather events? (Required.)

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* 11. Which round of severe weather on April 27th impacted you? (Required.)

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* 12. Describe the storms' impact on you. (Check all that apply.) (Required.)

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* 13. What type of area were you in during the storms? (Required.)

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* 14. Were you: (Required.)

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* 15. What type of structure were you in when the storms hit? (Required.)

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* 16. If you were in a structure, was there a place of safety for you to seek shelter in, such as a basement, safe room, or storm shelter? (Required.)

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* 17. If there was an area such as a basement, safe room, or storm shelter available, did you take shelter in this place? (Required.)

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* 18. What is the PRIMARY way that you receive notification of weather warnings? (Check one please.) (Required.)

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* 19. Do you have a severe weather plan for your home, business, church/place of worship and/or school? (Required.)

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* 20. What do you consider your level of weather training to be? (Required.)

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* 21. If you were working at the time of the storms, does your position make you responsible for the safety of others that you manage? (Required.)

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* 22. Do you still have minor children at home? (Required.)

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* 23. What do you consider your outlook on severe weather to be? (Required.)

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* 24. PRIOR TO April 27th, what had your experience with severe weather been? (Please check all that apply.) (Required.)

Question Title

* 25. Would you like to be considered for the focus group of 10 that will be present on the stage and will participate in the discussion? (Required.)

1. Contact Information

2. Gender: (Required.)

3. Age: (Required.)

4. Race: (Required.)

5. Education Level: (Required.)

6. What is your total household income? (Required.)

7. Tell us your status. (Required.)

8. Are you a business owner? (Required.)

9. How long have you been a resident of Central Alabama? (Required.)

10. What town or city were you in during the April 27th severe weather events? (Required.)

11. Which round of severe weather on April 27th impacted you? (Required.)

12. Describe the storms' impact on you. (Check all that apply.) (Required.)

13. What type of area were you in during the storms? (Required.)

14. Were you: (Required.)

15. What type of structure were you in when the storms hit? (Required.)

16. If you were in a structure, was there a place of safety for you to seek shelter in, such as a basement, safe room, or storm shelter? (Required.)

17. If there was an area such as a basement, safe room, or storm shelter available, did you take shelter in this place? (Required.)

18. What is the PRIMARY way that you receive notification of weather warnings? (Check one please.) (Required.)

19. Do you have a severe weather plan for your home, business, church/place of worship and/or school? (Required.)

20. What do you consider your level of weather training to be? (Required.)

21. If you were working at the time of the storms, does your position make you responsible for the safety of others that you manage? (Required.)

22. Do you still have minor children at home? (Required.)

23. What do you consider your outlook on severe weather to be? (Required.)

24. PRIOR TO April 27th, what had your experience with severe weather been? (Please check all that apply.) (Required.)

25. Would you like to be considered for the focus group of 10 that will be present on the stage and will participate in the discussion? (Required.)