Southwestern honors Koontz Machine and Welding as Industry Partner of the Year

Mar 21, 2024 | Community, News

Pictured left to right: Samantha Fry, Welding Student; Chelsea Clemens, Associate Professor of Welding/Manufacturing; Andy Grotzke, Koontz Machine & Welding; SWOCC President Patty Scott; Kobe Greene, Koontz Machine & Welding; Kristen Mayer, SWOCC Welding Graduate and Koontz Employee; Ali Mageehon, Vice President of Instruction and Student Services; Daniel Koopman, Dean of Instruction – Career Technical Education.

Coos Bay, OR – Southwestern Oregon Community College is pleased to honor Koontz Machine and Welding with the 2024 Career Technical Education (CTE) Industry Partner of the Year Award.

Southwestern recognizes our CTE partner, Koontz Machine and Welding, whose steadfast support of our programs has been integral to our students these past nine(+) years.

“We have been fortunate to have Koontz Machine and Welding as a partner on our advisory committee, giving us feedback and helping us keep our curriculum aligned with the welding industry. Koontz not only collaborates with SWOCC but they have employed several students over the years. We hope to continue working with Koontz to help educate and employ future generations of welders and ironworkers. Thank you for your support,” said Chelsea Clemens, Associate Professor of Welding and Manufacturing at Southwestern.

Koontz Machine and Welding is an Oregon based company that was established in 1906 and has been in the same location since then. Koontz was founded by John Koontz and has seen numerous changes over the years. It was always a machine shop, but other ventures have also come and gone: an automotive garage, Packard dealership, gas and diesel station (sold to boats on the bay) and a tire shop. Koontz also manufactured and patented the Koontz hydraulic press. Bruce Thompson bought Koontz Machine and Welding in 2007, after being foreman and employed by Koontz for over twenty years.

Koontz Machine and Welding serves on our Welding/Manufacturing advisory committee, and they provide internship and employment opportunities for our students. It is with great pleasure that we present them with our CTE Partner of the Year Award.

To learn more about Southwestern’s career technical training programs call 541-888-7405 to make an appointment with an advisor. You can learn more about Koontz Machine and Welding at their website: http://www.koontzmachine.com/.

Ballin’ In The Bay Showcase Basketball Tournament – June 20-22, 2024

Mar 19, 2024 | Community, News

Girls High School Basketball Tournament at Southwestern Oregon Community College

Coos Bay, OR – Southwestern Oregon Community College athletics invites high school basketball teams from across the region to participate in the inaugural Ballin’ In The Bay Showcase, a premier varsity girls basketball tournament set to take place June 20-22, 2024, at the College’s Coos Campus located in Coos Bay, Oregon.

With a seven game guarantee, the Ballin’ In The Bay Showcase promises a fun tournament for high school girls basketball teams that includes a skills competition, memorable camaraderie and an event barbeque for participants. Teams interested in on-campus housing accommodations can arrange for them at an additional fee.

Registration for the Ballin’ In The Bay Showcase is now open. Teams can secure their spot for $400 by registering online HERE. Furthermore, teams registering and submitting their rosters by May 31, 2024, will receive complimentary t-shirts. Hurry, as the tournament will cap at 16 teams.

Tournament Details:

• Dates: June 20-22, 2024
• Location: Southwestern Oregon Community College’s Coos Campus (1988 Newmark Ave., Coos Bay)
• Registration: $400 per team, register online HERE
• Game Guarantee: 7 games
• Officiating: OSAA Certified Officials
• Additional Events: Skills competition & BBQ
• Accommodations: Teams have the option to stay in on-campus housing for an additional fee (details in the registration link)

For more information, including specific inquiries about accommodations and tournament details, please contact Southwestern’s Head Women’s Basketball Coach Heather Weber at 541-391-3494 or via email at heather.weber@socc.edu.

Join us for this opportunity to compete, connect, and celebrate basketball at the Ballin’ In The Bay Showcase.

Southwestern to plant NASA Moon Tree on Coos Campus – April 3, 2024

Mar 19, 2024 | Community, News

COOS BAY, OR –Southwestern Oregon Community is pleased to invite the community to celebrate the planting of a Moon Tree at 3 p.m., Wednesday, April 3, 2024, on its Coos Bay campus, 1988 Newmark Ave.

The ceremony will be held next to upper Empire Lake, at Tioga Hall. The area is accessible from Parking Lot 2 at the back of campus. Tasha Livingstone Davison, associate professor of Forestry and Natural Resources at Southwestern, will lead a tree walk after the ceremony, with a focus on the unique tree genera and species found on campus. The walk will be low impact and remain on flat ground. This is a free event. All ages are welcome.

Southwestern’s second-generation Moon Tree is a Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) grafted from trees grown from seeds that orbited the moon during NASA’s Apollo 14 mission. Southwestern received the tree in collaboration with Oregon State University and Oregon Department of Forestry to celebrate the 50^th anniversary of the mission.

Each second-generation tree is named after an astronaut and Southwestern’s Moon Tree is “Gene”, in honor of Gene Cernan (Apollo 17) – the last astronaut to walk on the Moon. Southwestern’s hope is that the moon tree will inspire students to think big. Will a SWOCC student be the next astronaut to walk on the moon?

There is more to the Moon Tree connection to Coos Bay, though, dating back to Apollo 14 and astronaut Stuart Roosa. He was the mission’s command module pilot. He also had lived in Oregon in the 1960s and was a former U.S. Forest Service smoke jumper. Because Roosa loved Oregon’s forests and wanted to honor the Forest Service, he chose to carry hundreds of fir seeds into space as a scientific experiment.

Image of The World Newspaper, May 6, 1971

Roosa also loved Coos Bay. While learning about geology and prepping for the Apollo mission with other astronauts in Central Oregon in 1966, Roosa happened to meet Bob Perkins and Phil Waters, from Coos Bay. In a story from The World on May 6, 1971, Waters told the reporter that on that day in 1966 he and Perkins were exploring in the high desert terrain. They had not brought lunch. Roosa noticed them nearby and invited them to join the astronauts for a snack. That started a great friendship between Perkins and Roosa who visited Coos Bay several times.

The Apollo 14 mission to the Moon launched Jan. 31, 1971, sending Roosa, Alan Shepard and Edgar Mitchell into space until splashdown on Feb. 9, 1971. Perkins called the Roosa family after the mission and invited them to come back for a visit. NASA made it an official visit and when Roosa returned to Coos Bay on May 7, 1971, the city declared it Stuart Roosa Day. The community hosted a parade with the astronaut as grand marshal, while the College’s bagpipe group McLoughlin Highlanders and the SWOCC Stage Band played in the procession. (See attached image from The World Newspaper, May 6, 1971)

For more information about the event contact Tasha Livingstone Davison at Tasha.L.Davison@socc.edu.

For information about studying forestry or natural resources management at Southwestern visit www.socc.edu/forestry.