CELEBRATING 80 YEARS at MWH |
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- Message from Don Kersey
- Seventy years of Boeing, Moses Lake
- CTE & Vanguard Academy
- News From Around our Region
- In Case You Missed It
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Message from Don Kersey, Executive Director |
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I want to open with a thank you to Boeing for this incredible historical photo we've borrowed for the header of this quarter's newsletter. There you see Boeing's planes being serviced here at Grant County International Airport (GCIA) 50-60 years ago. Boeing's influence on the Port and our region is an amazing story and one that we've spent a great deal of time covering in our social media historical series since our 80th anniversary November 2022. It's only fitting that as we start to wrap up our series next month that we close with a story (below) on the lasting power of Boeing and Moses Lake's relationship for nearly 70 of those years. Our sincerest gratitude to Boeing for their partnership in drafting this story as well as the fascinating history we share with them. |
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Also in this newsletter, we take a deeper dive into innovative efforts and talent we're fortunate to have in our region's education and workforce development. Creating pathways for our next generation's workforce continues to gather tremendous momentum in finding meaningful career connections for our area youth. You'll read more below on how Vanguard Academy, a new high school in our Moses Lake School District, is not only taking education to the next level, but serving as a flagship learning model attracting a great deal of attention. They have our most enthusiastic applause!
From aerospace to agriculture, Q3 was busy for Port district industries as growth and progress continued. Twelve, an e-jet fuel company, broke ground on their new facility while Stoke Space performed an exciting hopper test this summer. Meanwhile, Okanagan Specialty Fruits celebrated with an official ribbon cutting for their new facility processing Arctic Apples, also being grown locally. We also want to congratulate Samaritan Healthcare for the groundbreaking of their new hospital campus earlier this month, along with OneD's Sinanode pilot test facility ground breaking. Congratulations, all!
Finally, this will be my last newsletter as I've decided to return to the manufacturing sector and take on an exciting challenge. I want to thank our Port Commission for their leadership and friendship. The same goes for our incredibly dedicated, hardworking, and expert staff that have been the greatest pleasure to work along side this past several years. You're being left in the best hands as the Port remains, and always will be, a great place to dream big.
Thank you for tuning in to our newsletter.
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Seventy years of Boeing, Moses Lake |
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Celebrating 80 years of service at GCIA this past November, if you’ve been following our historical series on social media since, Boeing has been in a great deal of those stories. Boeing, from the earliest days of B-17s (Flying Fortresses) flying at the Moses Lake Army Air Base during WWII, before officially moving into the Port 70 years ago, has been here. The Port sat down to talk about this lasting relationship with Michael Delaney, Senior Director of Operations for 737 Remote Sites (pictured left), here in Moses Lake. Delaney, who has been with Boeing for 30 years, and is also a Moses Lake native, not only discussed Boeing’s current role at the Port but how Boeing also appreciates the richness of our shared history and home in Moses Lake. |
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Originally attracted by open and uncluttered airspace, Delaney said of Boeing, “Even through our military contracts in the past, there’s always been that connection with the Grant County airport. Its capacity to be able to take on large airplanes, small airplanes, and a large number of airplanes, it’s always been a natural fit.”
Boeing currently occupies a large footprint at the Port including six terminals and two hangars. A convenient location from Boeing’s Puget Sound operations, the Port serves as an outlet to support production. Delaney, whose primary responsibility is making sure employees get on and off the airplanes safely, also said, “We build them of the highest quality, and we fly them out of here on time.”
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While Boeing officially started operations at Moses Lake in 1953, Boeing used the site earlier than that for the XB-47 flight test program. The first flight of the XB-47, Dec. 17, 1947, flew from Boeing field and landed at Larson AFB where Boeing conducted flight tests. This photo shows two XB-47s in the hangar at Moses Lake in Jan. 1949. |
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The work performed at the Port is a valuable part of 737 program operations. “Our team protects the 737 airplanes that are being stored and helps prepare them for eventual delivery to our customers. The Port has done such a fantastic job for us, and we have such a great relationship. It's really valued.”
Boeing’s official Port occupancy history dates back to 1953 when Boeing announced that it would begin permanent operations in Moses Lake (by then, known as Larson AFB) to conduct production flight testing for the B-52 Stratofortress assembled at Boeing Field in Seattle. By 1955, the new Boeing flight test and acceptance center was opened. In 1956, Boeing began construction of a giant $8,000,000 hangar large enough to hold eight Boeing jets. Built for KC-134 (Stratotanker) and B-52 flight test programs, for its time, it was one of the largest in the world.
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When Larson AFB closed in 1966, Boeing was pivotal in helping the region acquire Larson’s assets and become a Port district. Boeing not only continued to use the airspace for commercial flight crew training, but also fronted operating expenses for the Port’s first year. As a nod to the relationship, in 1967, the first KC-135, or next generation Stratotanker, was named the “City of Moses Lake,” and arrived at Larson AFB on May 17th of that year. |
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“Nothing to this scale has been done in any other community where Boeing kind of swarmed into town and set up shop like we have here in Moses Lake. I think Boeing’s relationship with Moses Lake has been the most impactful.”
Mike Delaney, Boeing
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What followed was decades of continued shared “firsts” including the testing of the first Boeing 747 jumbo jet that revolutionized international air travel, and the pioneering high-altitude Condor UAV (Unmanned Air Vehicle), that set the world piston-powered aircraft altitude record of 67,028 ft (20,430 m) and was the first aircraft to fly fully automated from takeoff to landing. Boeing was also responsible for introducing Japan Airlines to the Port, which then contracted for pilot and crew training for the next forty years at the Port. Delaney said, “Nothing to this scale has been done in any other community where Boeing kind of swarmed into town and set up shop like we have here in Moses Lake. I think Boeing’s relationship with Moses Lake has been the most impactful.” |
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Meanwhile, growing up in Moses Lake, Delaney remembers flying on a Japan Airlines 747 around the Columbia Basin as a 6th grader, and hearing jets breaking the sound barrier. “I didn’t realize as a kid that Boeing has always been here on some level. Boeing has had a footprint here for 70 years, so we’re calling it our 70th anniversary in Moses Lake. We tell our teams that, and they take a lot of pride in that.” |
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Boeing, at the Port of Moses Lake, 1958 |
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Another matter of immense pride, for both Boeing and Moses Lake, was the last 747 (Queen of the Skies) ever produced, coming to the Port for a bittersweet touch and go in January of this year. Delaney said, “I worked on that last airplane. I was in the 747 program and got to see it come through the assembly line, land fully painted, and cruise out of here. It was emotional for a lot of us, absolutely.”
Over the decades in Moses Lake, Boeing has been a very generous donor to workforce education initiatives, area non-profits, and event sponsorships. Boeing employees in Moses Lake are quite active in community initiatives, too, often embracing grassroots food drives during the holidays, sometimes resulting in truckloads of food. Delaney said, “I am so proud of what Boeing has been able to contribute to Big Bend Community College, Boys and Girls Club, STEM programs, and the Moses Lake Airshow, as examples. We’ve donated to Big Bend's Aviation Program specifically. We want to be the face of Boeing and have a presence here because we need Columbia Basin workers, too. What better place than Moses Lake that has one of the best AMP (Airframe and Powerplant) programs in the state?”
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Delaney said, ”While we continue our operations in Moses Lake, we’re also family here. We've been able to hire a lot of locals, provide great employment opportunities, and give back to our shared community. I couldn't be prouder.”
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Career Technical Learning & Vanguard Academy |
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Career Technical Education (CTE) exposes high school and junior high students to programs that can accelerate college and career plans by strengthening their technical skills and knowledge. Among traditional classroom settings, exposure to CTE has existed in the Moses Lake School District for some time. Project-based learning, however, a teaching method where students learn by actively engaging in real-world projects, and at the students’ own pace, along with standard based learning (or benchmarking), has only recently culminated into a flagship learning model in Vanguard Academy, Moses Lake School District’s newest high school. The Port of Moses Lake sat down with Ron Mayberry, Director of CTE with the Moses Lake School District, to discuss CTE’s role in preparing our students for college and/or career readiness after high school via this new learning modality. |
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Ron Mayberry
Director of CTE for Moses Lake School District
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Project-based learning, (PBL) in the classroom, pioneered at the University of Washington College of Education, adopts the “Knowledge in Action” by taking students beyond books and lectures. As an example, instead of projects at the end of conventional classroom learning, PBL is the centerpiece of the lesson. PBL’s earliest effectiveness study published in 2021 measuring results of PBL in the classroom showed that students across the United States taught with PBL significantly outperformed students in a typical classroom. Factor in standards-based learning objectives, or milestones that measure understanding of concepts along project trajectory vs. a timeframe, also helps students develop confidence along the way. While iterations of this learning model exist across the country and Washington State, Mayberry said, “Combining project based and standards-based learning, there’s only a few out there doing that.” |
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Vanguard Academy, Moses Lake |
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Mayberry said, “With typical schools, there might be more kids doing the same things at the same time. At Vanguard, there will be less of that. I think what’s going to emerge more is students’ personal choices and finding something meaningful for themselves that’s still tied to their CTE program and the standards we’re charged with measuring,” Mayberry said. |
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Divided into focus areas, each wing holds multiple classrooms with commons area. |
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Vanguard currently houses 400 students grades freshman through junior years as part of a phase in of students since it’s opening in 2022. Vanguard is an impressive, state-of-the-art facility complete with a music room and soundproof recording booths, a clean room, robotics lab, and a “makers space” for 3D printing. Designed to look like a college, each of the focus area wings, ranging from agriculture and construction to computer science and robotics, have modern and transparent, floor-to-ceiling sliders that open into student commons areas. |
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For the first two years at Vanguard, students engage in core learning via engagement in inter-disciplinary project-based units, as well as shorter-term skill-building projects. The second two years at Vanguard, students are encouraged and provided flexibility to participate in mentorships, internships, and projects, all while satisfying academic benchmarks as established by governing agencies. “CTE has a tremendous number of requirements directed from Washington Office of Public Instruction (OSPI), as well as from the federal level. We operate to make sure we’re compliant, but a lot of the compliance is built around good practices. The idea is to find the good practices that get us better at our craft while still meeting requirements of the state. We have some great teachers with great energy and mindset to tap into what’s already been started and do really great work,” Mayberry said.
The model is drawing a great deal of interest, too. “Washington State Board of Education has reached out to our district, and they’re interested in tracking how things progress. It's important work because it can be an essential model for kids just needing something different in their life. A place that gets them going to where they want to go.” Mayberry said.
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"We as a community have big dreams for our own families, but we also know that as a community we’re strongest when many of them choose to stick around and continue to build a strong community.”
~Ron Mayberry
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Vanguard students’ preparatory education goal to lead to a post-secondary credential, industry-recognized credential, dual credit from a Big Bend Community College partner, or lead to college credits. As not all students want to go to college, and not all college-ambitioning students know what they want to study after high school, coursework at Vanguard is also designed to expose students to known interests as well as help unlock yet-to-be discovered interests while helping them navigate post-graduation requirements. Mayberry said, “If the student wants to be a welder, they’re going to need to do an apprenticeship and what’s great about it, is that the company they’re doing the apprenticeship with, like Genie, is going to pay them for the apprenticeship, provide additional schooling, with the result possibly no debt at all by the time they graduate.” |
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In April of this year, students from Vanguard partnered with second graders at Garden Heights Elementary School researching dinosaurs. The second graders drew photos of their subject, and Vanguard students turned them into 3D models. |
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Key to continued success is involvement. District wide, Mayberry said that they’re always looking for partners who want to get involved and provide opportunities to students. It can be from mock interviews, guest speaking opportunities, or participating in Vanguard advisory groups that typically meet three times per year. They’re also looking for partners in non-traditional roles. “In computer science, it’s a male-dominated industry. We would like to have women in computer science come and talk to students so they can see themselves in that job. The opposite is the same for health sciences where we see mostly women. We want to give opportunities for industry exploration that doesn’t have gender boundaries that way.” |
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From agriculture to manufacturing, a great deal of opportunity already exists for our next-generation workforce right here at home. “Agriculture still has a large, powerful presence while manufacturing is growing. It’s important that industry partnerships tap into this to see how we can best position our students for future employment. We as a community have big dreams for our own families, but we also know that as a community we’re strongest when many of them choose to stick around and continue to build a strong community.”
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News From Around our Region |
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Okanagan Specialty Fruits celebrates official ribbon-cutting for new facility in Moses Lake
SourceOne News
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September 29, 2023 – MOSES LAKE — A grand ceremony marked the official ribbon-cutting of the new Okanagan Specialty Fruits (OSF) facility on Wednesday. The event was attended by OSF team members, members of the Moses Lake Chamber of Commerce, and local luminaries, all gathered to celebrate the significant advancement of the ongoing construction project.
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Photo courtesy: Photo: SkillSource Grant-Adams counties
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Update on Hopper2: The Hopper Has Landed
STOKE SPACE
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September 17, 2023 – Today at Stoke Space’s test site in Moses Lake, Washington, we successfully conducted a vertical takeoff and vertical landing (VTVL) developmental test flight of our reusable second stage rocket. During this test, known as Hopper2, we were able to successfully launch the Hopper test vehicle to an altitude of 30 feet and land at its planned landing zone following 15 seconds of flight.
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Photo courtesy: STOKE SPACE |
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Activity starts on Samaritan Hospital construction site Monday
Columbia Basin Herald
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September 7, 2023: Dirt will start moving Monday on the site of the new Samaritan Hospital, with construction fences going up the week after.
“We are going to start mobilizing on Monday. You will see there’s going to be all kinds of earthworking equipment that will show up in the first week,” said Matt Pulick of Graham Construction, general contractors for the project. “They’re going to be moving dirt around to prepare for the site fencing that’s going to go up the following week.”
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Samaritan Hospital commissioners, from left, Katherine Christian, Dale Paris, Susan Carbon and Tom Frick listen to a presentation on hospital financing Thursday. Cheryl Schweizer/Columbia Basin Herald |
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Stoke to test new project in Moses Lake
Columbia Basin Herald
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August 31, 2023: Stoke Space Technologies announced Wednesday it will begin testing its new vehicle in Moses Lake over the coming weeks.
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Photo courtesy: STOKE SPACE |
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MLI donation will pay for new GCSO K-9
Columbia Basin Herald
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August 24, 2023: The Grant County Sheriff’s Office brought some of its coolest vehicles and all but one of its K-9s to Moses Lake Industries Thursday at lunchtime to thank the company for its donation. Chief Operating Officer Brent Hansen said MLI officials looked on the donation as a way to contribute to public safety and to thank law enforcement and first responders in general for what they do for Grant County.
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Moses Lake Industries president Hiroyuki Era, right, volunteered to be the demonstration partner for K-9 Edo and his handler Tyson Voss, left, during a ceremony recognizing a donation from MLI for a new GCSO K-9. CHERYL SCHWEIZER/COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD |
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BBCC proposes Tech Hub for Grant, Adams
Columbia Basin Herald
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August 24, 2023: The Adams County Board of Commissioners met in Othello on Wednesday and heard a presentation from the Othello School District and Big Bend Community College on making Grant and Adams a national tech hub and supporting Othello students along the way.
Big Bend Community College Vice President of Instructional Programs and Student Services Bryce Humpherys and Othello School District Student Services Director Amy Parris, who is also on the Big Bend board of trustees, ran the presentation.
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Big Bend Community College is one of the three leaders of a group of organizations proposing the Columbia Basin region be designated as a tech hub. COURTESY PHOTO/BBCC |
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Group14, Secretary Granholm, and APEC Energy Ministers Discuss Global Transition to Clean Energy
Group14
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August 22, 2023: Last Wednesday, Group14 CEO Rick Luebbe joined U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Asia and the Americas Elizabeth Urbanas, Seattle Mayer Bruce Harrell, and President of the WA State Labor Council, April Sims, at the 13th APEC Energy Ministerial Meeting. They discussed APEC and US economies' ongoing strategies to collaboratively accelerate clean, sustainable, equitable, and inclusive energy transitions in the United States and abroad.
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BBCC's TRiO Upward Bound celebrates Summer Academy graduates
Columbia Basin Herald
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August 17, 2023: Big Bend Community College’s TRiO Upward Bound program celebrated the end of its annual six-week Summer Academy with an awards banquet on campus Friday, formally recognizing the 45 students from Moses Lake, Othello, Royal City, and Warden high schools who successfully completed the program.
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A TRiO Upward Bound graduate beams as he walks during the program's graduation ceremony at Big Bend Community College. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO/BBCC |
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‘The future is happening in our town’
Columbia Basin Herald
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August 3, 2023: A group of about 60 people – including a number of state legislators and Lt. Gov. Denny Heck – got a first-hand look at the future Wednesday, on a tour that included stops at Big Bend Community College, Boeing and other businesses at the Port of Moses Lake, as well as presentations by three local cutting-edge companies.
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Photo courtesy: Columbia Basin Herald |
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Group14 Hosts Senator Patty Murray to Discuss Washington’s Clean Energy Economy and Workforce
Group14
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August 2, 2023: Group14 CEO Rick Luebbe, Washington State Senator Patty Murray, and community college and economic leaders discussed the transformative work being done to accelerate the emerging clean energy economy and create new jobs in Eastern Washington.
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Grant County continues to outpace state in population growth
SourceOne News
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July 24, 2023: Grant County, once again, is surging ahead of the state average in terms of population growth, according to the latest statistics released by the Office of Financial Management (OFM). This thriving region, as per the data provided by the OFM for the year ending April 1, 2023, is the third fastest-growing among all counties in the state, just behind Whatcom and Benton.
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Traffic on I-90 with Moses Lake in the background. Photo: Kevin Roylance Photography |
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Sustainable jet fuel developer, Twelve, breaks ground in Grant County
Columbia Basin Herald
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July 11, 2023: Production could begin by spring 2024 at a facility designed to reuse carbon dioxide and water to produce other products, in this instance jet fuel. Governor Jay Inslee joined the founders of Twelve at a groundbreaking ceremony for the facility on Wheeler Road in Moses Lake Tuesday.
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Washington Governor Jay Inslee, left, speaks with Twelve cofounders, from left to right, Nicholas Flanders, Etosha Cave and Kendra Kuhl during the Twelve groundbreaking on Tuesday. The facility south of Wheeler Road and east of Moses Lake will develop and produce environmentally friendly aviation fuel.
R. HANS MILLER/COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD
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SGL Carbon announces refinancing
Columbia Basin Herald
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July 10, 2023: WIESBADEN, Germany — SGL Carbon has announced that it has successfully completed refinancing and has fully redeemed its corporate bond. As of March 31, its corporate debt has dropped to €174 million — about $191.5 million. |
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Photo courtesy: Port of Moses Lake |
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Check out this great touch and go video of a Boeing 787-10 at GCIA this August. Taken by MCA Photography, click on the link left to be taken to their Facebook page.
Thank you, MCA Photography, for sharing this. Yes, "cool" is an understatement!
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7810 Andrews N.E. Suite 200
Moses Lake, WA 98837
Phone: 509.762.5363
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COMMISSION
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Stroud Kunkle -President
Kent Jones - Vice President
Darrin Jackson - Secretary
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STAFF
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Kim Detrolio - Director Finance and Administration/Public Records Officer
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