In November, Cascades’ Carpentry instructor Tammie O’Dell received a Lifetime Achievement award from Washington Women In Trades during their Dream Big dinner and awards ceremony in Seattle.

In 1975, Tammie began in a carpentry apprenticeship program on a dare. She toughed it out during a time when there were no women in construction. Six of the eight men assigned to her first crew quit immediately because they wouldn’t “work for a woman.”
She replaced them and never looked back. Her efforts paid off when she reached the position of Foreman, and then achieved Superintendent status.

 She’s been a trustee in her union for more than 20 years, and has served on the Regional Council both as a delegate and on the Executive Board. For the past ten years, she has been a carpentry instructor at Cascades Job Corps Center. In this latest phase of an impressive career, she has served as a living example of how determination and hard work can lead to a successful career in any industry.