If you ask a meteorologist why they got into weather, most will say it started as a childhood fascination and, usually, it was one particular storm that solidified things. I’m no different. I grew up in southern New England and we had everything. Severe weather, tropical storms & hurricanes along with lots of ice and snow. I loved them all then and I still do. I was seven when Hurricane Bob rumbled into southern New England – my first big storm that my brain was ‘online’ for. However, I think my sister, Kelly, and I had more fun thinking that a storm named Bob could be coming at us with such ferocity rather than being awestruck at the meteorological marvel. The storm that I remember having the most impact on me as a budding meteorologist wasn’t a Nor’Easter. It wasn’t a hurricane. It wasn’t the storm of the century and it wasn’t one that kept us out of school for days. I was no more than 12, Kelly and I were standing at our backdoor, looking beyond the grass and into the woods behind our house. Two giant pine trees were separated just enough along the back edge of the grass to almost create a gateway into the woods. As we watched, the sky was getting darker, rumbles of thunder started to roll, rain was falling harder and the two giant pines, along with all of their tree brothers & sisters, were starting to sway & bend. This storm was getting nasty and I was enjoying the show. It wasn’t long after that, the large pine on the right, probably 70 to 80 feet tall, got its top half snapped off. The top of the tree seemed to stay suspended in the air, while turning slightly, before crashing to the ground. Kelly started screaming, calling our parents, and I was freaking out like Vinatieri when he made the kick to beat the Rams in 2002. Was it a tornado? Microburst? Isolated strong wind gust? Next to impossible to say at this point, and at the time, it didn’t matter. I witnessed the power of Mother Nature first hand and it was incredible. I spent the rest of middle school, junior high and high school doing every weather related project I could get my hands on. After high school I went to Lyndon State (now Northern Vermont University: Lyndon), got my degree in meteorology and expected to spend my life in weather.
I started my career in Grand Junction, Colorado at KREX-TV. I had never been west of Ohio prior to accepting this job, but have you ever been to western Colorado? My dad and I drove out together, I remember him saying, “look at all the red rock, it looks like the surface of Mars.” After helping me get settled, Dad left Mars to go back to Massachusetts and I did weather on the weekends and reported news 3 days a week from 2007 to 2009. There was one minor hiccup in 2008 when the station burned down (literally) but we got through that! From May 2009 to July 2019, I lived in Tallahassee, FL, Memphis, TN and Burlington, VT. I worked mornings, evenings, weekends, and most holidays. With each passing day I soaked in great culture while becoming a better meteorologist, communicator & leader. It was around the fall of 2018 that I was having a conversation with my wife and we both decided, for many reasons, that it was time for a change, but what could I do? I felt like Costanza running down the things I know and like and how I might be able to spin them into a new career. I know about the weather, I like to talk and I like to help people. I thought about teaching or working for a public utility, but neither were a right fit at the time. Becoming a recruiter was sort of on the radar, bad pun intended, but I hadn’t dug into the idea yet. That was until I was perusing LinkedIn and saw a good friend of mine post that her firm was looking to hire a recruiter. I did more research, messaged her about it, went in for an interview and found they specialize in agriculture and heavy machinery but are efforting to branch into renewable energy.
In my mind, everything clicked. I found a role that was getting established in an industry that will help the planet through building relationships while helping great people find jobs. In broadcasting, relationships are forged with every forecast, every interaction (on air, online or in person) and every blooper that ends up on youtube. Now, I’m strengthening new connections with every phone call, email, handshake, smile and business card that gets passed out. Luckily for everyone, youtube isn’t involved! Viewers, job seekers and hiring managers become friends I can relate to and owe a huge amount of trust. I’ve moved halfway across the country four times. Accepting a job, whether it’s down the street or thousands of miles from home is a family decision. I’m an analytical thinker who goes beyond the job description to find the right fit, I’d never try to force a circle into a square hole. If you asked me how things were going so far, I’d say “forecast verified.” It’s going well and I’m loving it.
Speaking as a meteorologist, I see our weather changing because our climate is changing. Winters are getting warmer, storms are becoming more frequent & powerful and that is in large part because of how we’re fueling our lives. It’s all too clear that things won’t reverse themselves on their own. In addition to agriculture and construction, it is my goal to find the innovators in alternative & renewable energy so they can work with industry leading companies to slow the effects of climate change.
Feel free to contact me with any questions, concerns or forecast help 🙂
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sean-parker-07167318/
Phone: 802-448-8272
Email: sparker@grnvt.com
