In this issue of Rising Tide

By Andrea Spirtos

OCCC Foundation Development Director

It is that time of year when the OCCC Foundation Board Members turn their thoughts to Pearls of Wisdom. This issue of Rising Tide is all about Pearls.

Pearls 2022 promises to be new: new OCCC departments spotlighted; new videos; a virtual auction will add to the excitement of the evening. Mark your calendars now for virtual March 5, 2022, the 4th Annual Pearls of Wisdom!

Rep. David Gomberg, who has co-emceed Pearls for many years shares why he serves on the OCCC Foundation Board and what OCCC means to Lincoln County.

Because the OCCC Welding program was spotlighted at Pearls last year, it is only fitting that Lorna Davis, General Manager for the Port of Toledo, share her story about how she became the G.M. and how OCCC Welding students make a difference to the port.

Debbie Skaggs, Data Professional Title II Basic Skills and GED instructor, discusses the GED program at OCCC and how the Anne Stangeland Scholarship Fund may assist GED students with tuition. As an added feature, Anne Stangeland joined in the interview. The GED program will be highlighted during Pearls this year.

A business partner who contributes annually to Pearls by providing a surprise piece of jewelry is interviewed in this issue. Can you guess who it is? Okay, it is Kathryn Heater, owner of “Diamonds by the Sea.”

Penny Ittner lives in California yet she established the Penny Ittner Scholarship Fund. Penny explains why OCCC is in her giving heart.

Lauralee Norris-Graamans, an OCCC alum, recently showed and sold her photographs at the 1^st Annual OCCCF Art Show. Lauralee tells her story.

 Employee Shaneon Dinwoodie discusses why she contributes to OCCCF through the Employee Giving Plan.

Before we begin, Ella Salmonella has a new home. The winning raffle ticket was drawn by Judy Gibbons, wife of the late, great, Michael Gibbons and Adam Springer, President of the OCCC Foundation Board of Directors. Judy Mastick became the proud new owner of Ella whose forever home offers a view of the world from her bay window.

Speaking of art, the 1st Annual OCCCF Art Show of art by OCCC students, faculty and Board members was a tremendous success. Thirty-one pieces were shown and all sold! Proceeds were split: 50% to the artist; 30% to the OCCC Art Department and 20% to the Foundation to cover expenses. Julia Goos, Visual Arts Faculty Member, shared that as a result of the Art Show, the Art Department will be purchasing a 3D Printer. Julia plans to begin teaching classes in this new artistic tool in the fall. What exciting news!

Is there a better way to ring in the holidays than with an Ugly Sweater event? I didn’t think so.

OCCC Foundation Board member and President-Elect Steve Spector, with his beautiful bride Judy co-hosted an intimate In-Home Gathering at my home benefiting OCCC on December 1st: just in time to kick off the season. Steve shared with guests what serving on the OCCCF Board means to him.

Dr. Ryslinge spoke about OCCC’s impact on the community: that an education at OCCC changes the lives not only for the students, but their family and all of Lincoln County.

The event, which was a friend and fundraiser, surpassed its goal. Neighbors, Barbara de Serpa, Angela Piete and Kay Hlavka cheer OCCC students, faculty and staff for all that they do.

According to Judy and Steve, who judged the Ugly Sweater Contest, the decision was difficult but the ugliest Ugly Sweater prize had to go to Ken Combs, Principal Second Violinist with the Newport Symphony Orchestra. Congratulations, Ken! That is one ugly sweater.

We hope you take time to read the articles and enjoy. As always, we look forward to your comments. Please email Andi Spirtos at [email protected] with your suggestions on this and future issues of Rising Tide.



Mark your calendars:

January 10, 2022 – Winter Term begins

January 17, 2022 – Martin Luther King, Jr. Day observed – campus is closed

February – Black History Month

February 21, 2022 – All Presidents’ Day – campus is closed

March – Women’s Herstory Month

March 5, 2022 – PEARLS OF WISDOM, details coming soon

March 26, 2022 – End of Winter Term

March 28 – April 1 – Spring Break – college remains open

April – Neurodiversity Celebration Month

April 4, 2022 – Spring Term begins

April 15, 2022 – Next issue of Rising Tide

Have you considered including OCCC in your estate plans? We have free resources for your planning that may be helpful. Remember, after you plan for your family and pets, a Contingency Plan to OCCC can be your legacy. We are happy to help! [email protected].

A Word from the President

Birgitte Ryslinge, PhD

Dear Friends of Oregon Coast Community College,

I wish all of you a Happy New Year. While circumstances for the past two years have presented many challenges, I hope you will find this issue of Rising Tide to be uplifting in in the stories shared of supportive community members and hard-working students. I am always in awe of the quantity and variety of donors (individual and business) that continue to help students fulfill their dreams. This issue of Rising Tide continues our tradition of presenting the stories of support along with a focus on our upcoming Pearls Event (our fourth). 

In this issue, you will read about our Welding program and the partnership with Port of Toledo. Welding is a type of program called Career Technical Education (what some of you may have known as Vocational Education). Career Technical Education (CTE) provides students of all ages with the academic and technical skills, knowledge, and training necessary to succeed in future careers and to become lifelong learners. CTE prepares these learners for the world of work by introducing them to workplace competencies and making academic content accessible to students by providing it in a hands-on context.  (Definition from Higher Education Coordinating Commission). Providing strong and regionally relevant CTE programs is an important part of our mission at OCCC and growing our CTE offerings continues to be part of our strategic plan. Strong CTE programs are good for the local & regional economy, help to attract and retain employers, and provide students a direct route to fulfilling livable wage jobs. In most instances, CTE programs are also far more costly to deliver due to the specialized (and often very expensive) equipment and faculty, along with typically lower student to faculty ratios. Program support from industry partners like Port of Toledo and Samaritan Hospital, and direct student support from donors such as yourself, make these vital and expensive CTE programs feasible for Oregon Coast Community College students.

Wishing you the very best in 2022,

Birgitte



Please join us in celebrating the Honor Roll of Oregon Coast Community College students for the Fall 2021 term. Find the list of students, here. Congratulations, Sharks!



Foundation Board Member David Gomberg



The OCCC Foundation is honored that one of its Board members is State Representative for House District 10 on the Central Coast, David Gomberg. David has served on the Board for at least six years that he can recall. For as long as can be remembered, he has gleefully and enthusiastically co-emceed Pearls of Wisdom. David’s love for OCCC is expressed in this interview.

I was born in England. My father was in the U.S. Air Force and my mom was a war bride. When I was less than a year old, we moved to the United States.

After graduating from Sacramento High School, I enrolled in Oregon State University and received both a BA in political science and an MA in economic history and political science. While at OSU, I served as the Student Body President which opened my eyes to the role government plays on affecting the lives of people.

I transferred to Willamette University for an MBA degree. Immediately upon graduation, I began working with Congress as staff.

Thirty-two years ago, I met my wife, Susan. I like to say on my resume that marrying her is my greatest accomplishment. We moved to the Newport area so I could run the Chamber of Commerce in Lincoln City.

Two years later, we opened a kite business with three retail stores and three websites. We not only sold the kites: we manufactured them. Some of our kites were as large as the biggest balloons in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. It takes a great deal of skill and expertise to show and maneuver kites some weighing as much as 30 to 40 pounds. Susan and I have shown our kites at Walt Disney resorts, Super Bowl games, the London Millennial Celebration and more than forty countries. In 2018, we sold the retail portion of our company. I find that being a good State Representative keeps me sufficiently busy.

I have always been a supporter of OCCC even as far back to the days before the College had a tax base. At that time, the “campus” was in store fronts and office buildings. For at least the past six years, I have served as a member of the Foundation Board of Directors. It gives me a special opportunity to be part of the College and to help assemble resources the College needs to help students be successful.

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Pearls Update: The Port of Toledo & OCCC Welding Program

The OCCC Welding Program was spotlighted at last year’s Pearls of Wisdom fundraising event. We thought you might enjoy an update. Lorna Davis, Port Manager, graciously carved some time from her exceedingly busy schedule to talk with us about the Port of Toledo and the Welding Program.

My parents and I immigrated directly to Tillamook from the U.K., when I was about five years old. We were living in Sheffield when my sister met someone from Tillamook. They fell in love so the whole family moved. 

I started working at 15 years of age when I was in high school and then after, multiple jobs to make ends meet. In 2001, I came to Lincoln County, later working as the Sales Director at Embarcadero in Newport. From there, I worked for the Newport Chamber of Commerce as the Tourism Development Director. After that, I served as the Chamber’s Executive Director for ten years.

COVID shook up the travel and leisure industry. I had been working as the Global Sales Director for Europe and India at Travel Oregon when I learned that Bud Shoemake was about to retire from the Port. I applied for the position and got it!

The Port of Toledo is so much more than a port. We have an industrial park, the Port Complex; other industrial properties, a Marina; and several public spaces including the Waterfront Park, the Paddle Park on the Bay Road, and a public boat launch. Three of our properties have kayak launches.

A couple of years ago, Bud, Majalise Tolan with the Lincoln County School District and Dr. Birgitte Ryslinge at OCCC discussed the workforce needs of the community and how to address them. The Port’s 2018 Strategic Business Plan identified the need for the Port to develop vocational training programs in order to increase the skilled workforce needed at the Shipyard. With a MARAD grant and with the support of local businesses, US Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, Congressman Kurt Schrader and Representatives David Gomberg and Arnie Roblan, the Welding Program opened in January of 2020.

The craft of welding is a sought-after trade. The average age of a welder in the U.S. is 55+ years of age. There is great demand for skilled tradesmen. OCCC welding students learn the basics and some advance work. At the end of the program, they are sufficiently skilled and ready for either continued schooling and/or a career that is transferrable.

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In 1942, the U.S. Armed Forces Institute asked the American Council on Education to develop a battery of tests to measure high school-level academic skills. These tests gave military personnel and veterans who had enrolled in the military before completing high school a way to demonstrate their knowledge.  General Educational Development (GED), referring to a system of standardized examinations which entitle those who pass them to receive a credential considered as equivalent to completion of a high school diploma.

Debbie Skaggs heads the GED and Basic Skills program at OCCC. I had an opportunity to meet with her.



Life is a challenge and for some it is almost insurmountable. However, lacking a high school diploma is one of those hurtles that can absolutely be jumped and successfully, with help from OCCC.

I moved here one and a half years ago. Originally from Colorado, after high school, I attended Bethany University in Santa Cruz, CA. That is where I met my husband. We are both pastors in Siletz. Prior to heading the GED program at OCCC, I taught basic skills in jails and prisons. It seemed that OCCC was just a good fit for my skills. 

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The OCCC Foundation’s Pearls of Wisdom fundraising event provides the perfect opportunity to acknowledge and thank an un-sung hero who donates year after year. It was my privilege to interview Kathryn Heater, owner of Diamonds by the Sea, one of Lincoln County’s oldest family-owned businesses.

The following are Kathryn's answers to questions asked of her. 

My Mom was born right here in Toledo and so was I. In fact, four generations of our family lived in the Lincoln County area. 

After World War II, Dad attended the Oregon Institute of Technology and became a watch maker. My mom had eight sisters. The story is told that Grandma did not want Mom to move away after marriage so she brokered a jewelry store deal for Mom and Dad in downtown Toledo and founded Smith’s Jewelers. That was in 1953, nearly 70 years ago. 

Lincoln County is a very special place. I call it a “village” where residents care, give and help each other. That is what you do. The community is small so we become very connected.

The jewelry business is in my blood. It is part of who I am, but Dad told me that being a watch maker meant sitting at a bench for fifty years. He didn’t want that for me. So, in 1982, I attended the Gemological Institute of America in Santa Monica, CA and became a Graduate GIA Gemologist which means I appraise, buy jewelry and own a jewelry business. I spend a lot of time looking at gems through a microscope. I sat down as an appraiser and haven't gotten up for forty years. “Thanks Dad”. 

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How does someone go from a self-described lower-middle-class family to someone who lives in California and funds an annual named scholarship for OCCC students? Penny Ittner tells her story of how she became the first woman manager supervising installers in a Virginia company and then went on to owning her own business. She hopes to inspire OCCC students to realize their dreams.

I was born in Los Angeles but moved to San Diego when I was six months old. My parents divorced. My mother, sister and I moved in with our grandmother.

When I graduated from high school, at age 17, my sister and I shared an apartment. This was the first time either of us were responsible for ourselves. We quickly learned we had to find jobs.

Fortunately, I paid attention to my dad who suggested I learn how to type. I practiced until I became fast and proficient. That skill enabled me to successfully apply to San Diego’s Pacific Telephone Company as a typist.

One of the benefits of working for Pac Tel was that they paid for 50% of tuition and books for employees who wished to attend college. I started my college education by attending San Diego Junior College at night. I loved working for Pac Tel. I had good jobs there. But, after seven years, it became apparent Pac Tel did not have a good corporate ladder for women.

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Hearing from Alumni is such a treat! For many, graduation marks the beginning of their life path. So many changes and so rapidly. This is the case with Lauralee Norris-Graamans. The interview began with my comment about her ease with public speaking.

I started attending Oregon Coast Community College in 2014 through the Early College program while attending Newport High School. By the time I was a senior, I was already a full time OCCC student. I really loved the freedom of being able to take courses online and learn about a variety of subjects. It was a great way for me to explore options while working toward the Oregon transfer degree.

When it came time to decide where to go to college, I applied to every scholarship available. My family was concerned abut being able to afford college. I will never forget the day I received the letter in the mail from the OCCC Foundation notifying me that I was receiving a scholarship. I walked into the house with the letter, held it up to my mother and said, “I can go. I will be able to afford college!” Receiving that letter changed the course of my life. I will be forever grateful to the Foundation for believing in my and investing in my future.



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'Why I Give'

featuring Shaneon Dinwoodie

Shaneon is that smiling face who runs the Newport campus College Store and sometimes sits at the front U-shaped desk. I first met her there and immediately felt welcomed to the campus. In her own words, Shaneon shares why she donates monthly to OCCC.

I was born in Portland and went to high school in Newberg. Family brought me and my husband, now ex-husband, to Lincoln City for visits. It was so beautiful that we moved. That was twenty years ago. Five years ago, I married my key supporter, Demetrious.

Together, with two stepchildren, I have four kids and fourteen grand kiddos. Family is very important to me. I am “Mom” or “Grandma” to all. Besides trying to be the best Mom I can be, church is important to me. When I have some free time, after family responsibilities, I like to paint.

I wanted to prove to myself and my family, and generations to come, that they can conquer their goals. You have to push yourself and hard. I work on campus and am a student working on my AA degree. After graduation, I hope to advance within the College system.

What I like most about OCCC is the students. They are always very positive. I love when they are on campus. You can feel the energy.

To OCCC students, I wish to say, keep plugging along with your goals. If you have to slow down a bit, slow down but don’t quit.

I donate monthly to the OCCC Foundation through Employee Giving. It feels good to give and I know it comes back to students and staff.

To other OCCC staff who have not yet enrolled in the Employee Giving, I say Just Do It! It is easy and very rewarding.

The Foundation thinks Shaneon is an inspiration. Thank you, Shanny! For more information on how to enroll in the Employee Giving program, email Andi at [email protected].



Connect with the Foundation!

Visit the Foundation's website any time to learn more about coming events, connect with the Foundation Board, or learn how to donate conveniently and safely online.