SKY News weather meteorologist Dick Whitaker will be the Shoalhaven’s Australia Day ambassador next year.
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Shoalhaven City Council will present the 2016 Australia Day Awards in the categories of Citizen of the Year and Young Citizen of the Year (person 24- years-old or less) at the Ulladulla Civic Centre on Thursday, January 21.
In a major change to previous years, council has combined the Australia Day Awards with the Shoalhaven Medal.
Known as Australia’s premiere weather man, Mr Whitaker’s career spans 40 years.
A runaway weather balloon ignited his interest in weather after finding the item in his backyard as a child.
He started his career as a meteorologist in 1971, working for Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology after serving two-years in the army as a national serviceman.
He worked his way through the ranks, holding the position of senior forecaster in the NSW office for nine years before becoming manager of the bureau’s commercial arm, the special services unit in 1993.
He left thebureau in 2002 to retire, but the ‘weather bug’ struck again and he began his own meteorological consultancy business, joining The Weather Channel on Foxtel in 2006 as their first meteorologist, before being promoted to chief meteorologist 2011.
He accepted a role at Sky News Weather in 2012, where he continues today.
Next January, 140 of NSW’s most prominent sporting personalities, cultural leaders, medical pioneers and everyday heroes will be visiting communities across the state for Australia Day.