OIC moves into new home

MOSES LAKE — The giant scissors snipped, the ribbon fell and everyone present applauded as Opportunities Industrialization Center of Washington officially moved into its new digs at the WorkSource Center at 309 E. Fifth Ave. in Moses Lake Thursday.

The new location was inaugurated with a meet-and-greet with the Moses Lake Chamber of Commerce and speeches from Grant County Commissioner Cindy Carter, Big Bend Community College Vice President of Learning and Student Success Bryce Humpherys and BBCC Program Coordinator for Workforce Education Julia Gamboa, as well as OIC’s new neighbors: Susan Adams and Dave Peterson from SkillSource and Todd Wurl from WorkSource.

OIC’s previous location was at 903 W. Third Ave., where they’ve been located for 13 years. OIC took over the location when the North Columbia Community Action Council closed down in 2010. The Grant County Conservation District purchased the building in March, according to county records.

The move is a welcome one for both OIC and the other agencies in the building, said Anthony Peterson, CEO of OIC, who came over from Yakima for the occasion.

“We’ve been in this area for over 25 years,” Peterson said. “We saw two things wrong. One was an aging and undignified building for our clients. And two, it was a barrier for clients who had transportation issues that needed kind of a one-stop hub to come to get their (needs) met.”

The WorkSource Center would seem to fit that bill. Among the other occupants of the building are SkillSource, the Washington State Employment Security Department and the Washington Department of Social and Health Services Vocational Rehabilitation.

“It's great for cross referrals,” said OIC Supportive Services Director Candi Jaeger. “If we see somebody here that might need resume assistance, we can send them down to SkillSource where they get that. Or if they have someone that's maybe needing energy assistance or homeownership assistance of some sort, they just send them right down the hallway. So it's a great partnership.”

The process of finding a new home for OIC began during the COVID-19 pandemic, Peterson said. The old location was in bad shape and OIC was trying to maintain it on a piecemeal basis. It was time to decide whether to do a complete overhaul of the building or look for another location.

“We do our leadership meetings here,” Peterson said. “And I contacted (SkillSource CEO) Lisa Romine and said, ‘Hey, can we use your space?’ And she said ‘yeah,’ and then we got here and I'm like, ‘Hmm, this space may be big enough for what we need.’ So we were just kind of spitballing, just joking, and she was like, ‘No, we really need somebody to lease it out. Are you guys interested?’”

The move has been a complete changeover, Peterson said, not just moving to a new building but replacing all the office furniture and fixtures. The final result has been a place OIC can feel confident welcoming its clients, and where those clients can feel the same confidence in OIC.

“It was very important to me that our clients feel good about the space they walk into,” Peterson said. “You know, too many social service agencies or state buildings are just dilapidated and rundown, stoic, they're not inviting. So we want our participants to find hope in the space that we're offering services in.”

“We've collaborated closely in the past,” Wurl said in his speech. “I look forward to seeing what we can accomplish together in one building, and the synergy we can create as a larger team. Coming together in the WorkSource Center is another example of OIC’s dedication to collaboration and the shared passion to make a difference in the lives of our community.”

Joel Martin may be reached via email at jmartin@columbiabasinherald.com.