Al Roker’s Guinness World Record-setting national tour wrapped up on Friday in his home state of New York.
Roker, meteorologist for NBC’s The Today Show, set the world record for fastest time to report the national weather forecast from all 50 states and the District of Columbia, taking a single week to travel across the United States and deliver the forecast while also promoting and calling for donations to Feeding America.
Roker is no stranger to the record book. Last year, he set the Guinness World Record for longest uninterrupted weather broadcast, delivering the weather live for 34 consecutive hours.
The project, titled “Rokerthon 2: Taking America by Storm,” made its Tennessee stop at Discovery Park of America in Union City. The stop was Roker’s 26th of the trip, making Tennessee the state that pushed the project over the halfway point. Roker rode into Discovery Park on a 1957 fire engine, where he was greeted by hundreds of fans shouting, “We want Al!” After his weather forecast, Roker marched out with the Union City High School Marching Band playing “Rocky Top.”
Many hours of planning went into making Roker’s stop a success. After Cindy Dupree, PR Director for Tennessee Department of Tourist Development, told Today Show producers that they “had to come to Discovery Park of America,” the wheels were set in motion. Things moved at a fast pace from that point on.
“We had time to have one planning meeting,” said Mary Nita Bondurant, Marketing Director at Discovery Park of America. With less than two weeks’ notice of Roker’s visit, the crew at Discovery Park of America had to figure out to make the all-important visit happen while still keeping it top secret. To the team at Discovery Park, all of the hard work was well worth it.
“The national, regional and local publicity that this event generated is amazing,” said Bondurant. “We could never have bought this amount of exposure. We are thrilled.”
To donate to Feeding America, visit www.feedingamerica.org.
