Spotlight on: Gary Skaggs
Gary Skaggs, jack-of-all-trades: ham radio operator, scuba diver, pilot-in-training, golfer, vocalist - and these are just his hobbies! "Mr. Happy" has repaired pianos, worked in a music library, at churches and machine shops, in the oil field, and has done janitorial work -- a little bit of everything.
Gary's real passion is music. His "mongrel" past includes a degree in Vocal Music Education from East Central University in Ada, OK, and almost an M.S. degree in Church Music from Southwestern Seminary (minus the comps and thesis). Meteorology was Gary's "second love," and he decided a career in meteorology could help fund his love for music. He took coursework at OU for two years, but was lured away to Arizona to become a fulltime music and education minister at a church in Kingman, AZ.
After a year and a half Gary returned to OU, fitting in what coursework he could and still work full time as the supervisor of the NOAA Weather Radio folks in the Oklahoma City NWSFO. His radio expertise caught the attention of NSSL, and Gary was brought on to support the Interim Operational Testing & Evaluation (II), a field verification experiment for NEXRAD. Back in the days before cell phones, communication between the teams in the field was mostly by radio - and his expertise was invaluable. He continued to do a lot of field work - SWAMP in 1990, SWAMP-II in 1993, and VORTEX '94-95 until he began to make the shift to networking. "It was completely on-the-job training," Gary says, and he eventually ended up managing the IT department at NSSL. "IT people work hard," Gary says, "If no one says anything, you're doing a good job." Gary is now working to get the communications network in the new building ready to go. It is a project he has been working on for six years, and he looks forward to seeing it all come together.
Though he made the switch to meteorology in his career, Gary still pursues his first love. He is the volunteer music minister at his church, leading worship, sanctuary choir, and orchestra. For many years, Gary has also been a part of the "Singing Churchmen of Oklahoma" - a group of over 280 ministers of music in the state who are dedicated to ministry through music. Gary and the Churchmen have traveled all over the world at their own expense, performing at venues from the Theater of the Red Army in Moscow, to the Shanghi Conservatory of Music and the Sydney Opera House -- experiences that will stay with him forever. Golfing at St. Andrews in Scotland is another memorable experience, but that's a whole other passion!
Gary found one of his favorite places while scuba diving 80 feet below the surface of the Caribbean on the Santa Rosa Wall off Cozumel; another favorite place is Mather Point at the Grand Canyon at sunrise.
Gary, who fills in for Santa Claus at NSSL
family Christmas parties, and his wife Linda, NSSL's Administrative Officer,
have been married for seven years and have two cats--one a refugee from the
May 3, 1999, tornado. Gary offers this insight on life and work: "No one
at NSSL is one-dimensional - they all have a life outside of here with kids,
hobbies, etc . What we do here is important, but not consuming, which is a
good perspective for all of us to have." 
