Author: cheryl

The 2022 Corwin Hardham Scholarship has been awarded to Hood River Valley High School student Sandra Castillo Palacios. There were thirteen well-qualified applicants for this year’s scholarship. The GTA Board of Directors used a scoring matrix to narrow the pool to one final recommendation which was forwarded to the Gorge Community Foundation Board of Directors for final approval.

Miss Castillo Palacios is a first-generation student with plans to study Computer Science. As a high school senior with a 4.0 GPA, Miss Castillo Palacios is already certified in Beginner HTML and CSS as well as Beginner JavaScript. With a well-rounded record in volunteer community service, practical work experience, and a perfect academic record, Miss Castillo Palacios is a deserving recipient of the 2022 Corwin Hardham Scholarship. Congratulations to Miss Castillo Palacios!

The GTA proudly launched the Corwin Hardham Memorial Scholarship fund in 2015. This scholarship is awarded annually to Gorge high school seniors pursuing post-secondary degrees in the fields of science, technology, engineering, or math (STEM). Eligible students are those from Hood River, Wasco, Sherman, Skamania, and Klickitat counties who are graduating from high school, home school, or receiving a GED in the spring / summer. Donations to the fund can be made here.

One of the best benefits about being a member of the Gorge Tech Alliance is that fellow GTA members are never too far away, even if you leave the Columbia River Gorge. We are excited to announce that nine member companies of the Gorge Tech Alliance are exhibiting at the 2022 AUVSI XPONENTIAL tradeshow in Orlando, FL.  The majority of the GTA member booths are located near one another, off one of the main aisles.

• SightLine Applications, booth number 2551
• Overwatch Imaging, booth number 2754
• Power4Flight, LLC, booth number 2754
• Sagetech Avionics, Inc., booth number 2230
• Sierra-Olympic Technologies, booth number 1851
• SigmaDesign, booth number 2649
• Silicon Forest Electronics, Inc., booth number 2649
• Trillium Engineering, booth number 2557
• Zepher, booth number 2565

This is the first year the GTA is lending added support to members at XPONENTIAL with an identifiable marker.  It will be easy to identify which booths are GTA members, simply look for the blue and gold GTA floor sticker. Each booth will have a GTA floor sticker in the aisle outside their booth.  Additionally, table top flyers will be on display at members’ booths talking about the GTA and our mission.  

If you are interested in coming to the mixer, stop by any of the sponsor XPONENTIAL booths for tickets.  All are invited!

The GTA is happy to host its first in-person event of 2022! The Spring Networking Event will be held on April 6th, 2022 from 5:00 pm to 7:00pm at The Dalles campus of Columbia Gorge Community College. The event will also include a tour of CGCC’s new Regional Skills Center. The  24,000 square foot Regional Skills Center supports career and technical programs and has design flexibility to accommodate the workforce needs of Gorge area employers. Time for networking and catching up with industry colleagues will follow the tour. Light refreshments will be provided. The Regional Skills Center is located in Building 5 of  CGCC’s The Dalles campus located at 400 Scenic Drive in The Dalles.  Please register in advance and join us in The Dalles!  

The GTA’s regular elections will be held in the last week of March. Any member or sponsor who has been a member or sponsor of GTA for at least one year is eligible to apply. GTA members in all fields (including marketing, design, and remote workers) are encouraged to apply, as are women, minorities, and others traditionally underrepresented in STEM fields.

To be included on the Ballot, please complete this brief application by 5PM on Friday, March 25th.

The GTA board currently meets on the third Wednesday of alternate months from 3:30 to 5:00 p.m. The meetings are virtual for the foreseeable future. Contact Cheryl with any questions.

Join the GTA at XPONENTIAL 2022, the international conference and trade show for the unmanned industry. This year’s event is being held at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida on April 25th – 28th. The GTA is offering sponsorship opportunities for GTA member organizations who are both participating in and attending the event. Sponsors will receive visual Gorge Cluster branding and tickets to the off-site networking mixer event. There are 3 levels of sponsorship opportunities available. Find out more here or email Cheryl. 

 Applications for the 2022 Corwin Hardham Memorial Scholarship are now available. Completed applications must be received by the GTA by 5:00 pm on Friday, February 25th, 2022. This scholarship is awarded annually to Gorge high school seniors pursuing post-secondary degrees in the fields of science, technology, engineering, or math (STEM). Eligible students are those from Hood River, Wasco, Sherman, Skamania and Klickitat Counties who are graduating from high school, home school or receiving a GED in the spring/ summer. 

The 2022 application is now available here. Please contact Cheryl Eniero with questions.

The GTA is proud to sponsor A05 Annex Robotics team from Hood River Valley High School. The GTA Board approved a Gold Level sponsorship for the team after they approached the GTA for support of their 2022 competition season. The team will be representing the Columbia River Gorge at this year’s FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC). The team notes that robotics competitions are not their only focus; their biggest goal is to make STEM accessible to everybody. As part of that goal, they do not charge any member to join the team. They also created the Unified Robotics program which pairs FIRST team members and students with disabilities together to increase equity within STEM. Their other outreach programs include the STEM Bus, which is a mobile fabrication laboratory (“FAB LAB”) that provides STEM access to elementary students, as well as supporting various LEGO robotics programs in elementary and middle schools throughout the Gorge. The GTA appreciates and recognizes the hard work and dedication of the team members, its coaches and mentors, and all other supporters in fulfillment of the team’s goals. The GTA is rooting for the team as they attend competitions in 2022. You can find out more about the A05 Hood River Valley High School Robotics Team here.