Tillamook County is graced to have Tillamook Bay Community College, ranked 8th in the nation’s community colleges. That ranking is based on the educational and career outcomes of its students. The success of our students is a boon for our community. This stellar success is due to the commitment and excellence of TBCC’s administration, teaching staff, and its Board. They are ensuring the future of our youth.
Of the serving TBCC Board members, Andrea Goss, Mary Jones, Betsy McMahon, Shannon Hoff, and Mary Faith Bell are running for reelection. Serving with the two other Board members, they have brought a depth and breadth of experience and expertise that has kept the educational quality of TBCC at the top of community colleges. They have built dynamic partnerships, maintained funding, and allocated costs to give us the curriculum that best serves the career aspirations of our students. The real-world successful outcomes of our students prove that the Board’s strategies are working.
TBCC has added 24 new degree and certification options for students. The Career Technical Education collaborates with local businesses to give students proper training for high paying jobs in Tillamook. TBCC has career driven programs in manufacturing & industrial technology, agricultural technology, healthcare administration, welding, and truck driving. The most recent addition is the RN Nursing Program which will start in 2024. Our Board is working with state legislators to offer a Bachelor Degree for Nursing at all Oregon colleges. This will dramatically affect health care in Tillamook County. TBCC offers co-requisite classes in math and writing which clearly helps more students complete degree requirements without taking multiple developmental classes that do not count toward graduation.
As program manager of CASA for Children in Tillamook, I reached out to Andrea Goss about creating a Lives in Transition program which is a wrap-around program to help parents involved in the juvenile dependency system realize their potential in higher education and a career. She presented it to the administration and the Board and made it happen. In the next year, students who weren’t focused on an academic path will have a program that supports them as their lives become more productive. These programs lead to real world stable jobs that build our community.
This Board’s only agenda is to serve the needs of the students to have a fulfilling and productive life. Your children can leave TBCC and step into a well-paying career path. The Board’s drive and commitment are to keep TBCC the best at giving our students opportunities to actualize their dreams.
Please vote on May 16 to maintain the excellent quality and expertise of TBCC by returning Andrea Goss, Mary Jones, Betsy McMahon, Shannon Hoff, and Mary Faith Bell to their seats on the TBCC Board. Keep Tillamook strong and our children’s futures bright! They are doing things right!
Vanessa Genens
Netarts, OR