Jack Goertz
attended elementary and high school in Medford, OK, graduating in 1969 from Medford High School as Valedictorian of his class. He applied to and was accepted at Oklahoma State University, where he quickly chose Industrial Engineering and Management as his major. Jack received his BS degree from the Industrial Engineering and Management (IEM) program at Oklahoma State University (OSU) in December 1972. As an undergraduate, he was a member of AIIE (now IISE), Alpha Pi Mu, and Sigma Tau/Tau Beta Pi. Among other positions, he served as president for both AIIE and Alpha Pi Mu organizations. He was also selected by the faculty as Outstanding IEM Senior in his final undergraduate semester. As an undergraduate, Jack worked as a tutor in the Engineering Department, tutoring other students in Mathematics and Physics.
Upon receiving his BSIE, Jack applied for and was accepted into the Graduate College at OSU and continued in IEM. He received MSIE in May 1974. As a graduate student in IEM, he had a research grant from the USAF and helped debug simulation programs for Eglin Air Force Base, FL. This required a Top Secret clearance from the USAF.
In June 1974, he accepted a position with Southern Services (now Southern Company Services), in Birmingham, AL -- the design engineering division for the Southern Company, the parent company of Alabama Power, Georgia Power, Gulf Power, Mississippi Power, Southern Nuclear, and a host of other energy-related companies. While working for the Southern Company (1974 until retiring in 2001), he worked in a number of different capacities, beginning his career as a scheduling engineer, using techniques he learned while a student at OSU. Initial responsibilities included coordinating the Engineering, Procurement, and Construction Schedules for Plants Scherer and Wansley, both located in Georgia. His final years with the Southern Company were in the Customer Service Department, where he directly interfaced with all levels of management and employees to ensure their PC needs were fully met. In addition, he was deeply involved with "data mining", reviewing massive amounts of data to do Root Cause Analysis to help determine what was happening when a particular system failed.
Jack has also pursued his passion for bicycles for almost sixty years. In 1977, he was elected to the Board of Directors of the League of American Wheelmen (now the League of American Bicyclists). This national organization of over 40,000 members works to insure bicyclists' rights are not overlooked in the US. He served as National Treasurer and National President. In 1974, he bought an interest in a new bicycle shop opening in Vestavia Hills, AL. he served as VP of the corporation from 1974-1981, when he sold his interest in the shop. This shop has been recognized as a "Top 100" bicycle shop several times, and is still going strong today.
From 1981-1984, he owned a small mail-order business, specializing in high-end bicycle components. It grew into a store-front operation in Birmingham. He sold this business in 1984 and opened a third bicycle shop, Tandems, Ltd, that same year. Tandems, Ltd specializes in the sale and service of bicycles built for two (tandems). It quickly became one of the premier sources for tandem bicycles. Since retiring from Southern Company, he has devoted his time to keeping Tandems, Ltd in the forefront of its field. Today, Tandems, Ltd has customers in all 50 states and over 10 foreign countries.
Jack Goertz was selected to be a member of the inaugural class of the Cowboy Academy of Industrial Engineering and Management, launched in November 2016. The Academy includes a select group of alumni of the IEM program at OSU and includes founders of companies, senior executives of Corporations, Provosts, Deans, National Academy of Engineering members, and other highly accomplished alumni. Jack is also an Industrial Advsory Board (IAB) member for IEM.
**************************
Susan Goertz
grew up in Illinois, graduating from New Trier High School in Winnetka. After completing her high school education, Susan was accepted into the Engineering College at the University of Illinois (Champaign-Urbana), where she majored in Civil Engineering.
Upon graduating from U of I, Susan joined Chicago Bridge and Iron (CBI) as a trainee in CBI's young engineer training program. One of her assignments in the training program brought her to CBI's Birmingham, AL, office in 1980. It was on a bike ride one weekend when she met a young engineer who worked at Southern Company Services. This young engineer knew a good thing when he saw it, and quickly asked her to join him for a ride on one of his tandem bicycles. In 1981, Jack and Susan were married.
Susan worked for CBI's Birmingham Division from 1980 through 1993. She worked on a number of different projects for CBI, with rising responsibilities over the years. Her final assignment with CBI (now CBI Services) was Project Manager for one of CBI's Shipbuilding Projects.
When CBI Services closed their Birmingham office, Susan chose to leave the company and stay in Birmingham. She applied to graduate school at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), where she completed the requirements for a Masters Degree in Environmental Engineering in 1995. While a grad student, Susan worked as a consultant to Zurn Industries' Air Systems Division, working with their environment concerns at their manufacturing facility. After receiving her MS, she was hired by Zurn Industries as a Project Manager and Environmental Co-ordinator. She continued to work for Zurn (which became Clarage, Inc in 1995) until 1998.
In 1998, Susan left Clarage and went to work for Discover 2000, which was just beginning construction of the McWane Science Center in downtown Birmingham. Susan served as the Assistant Project Manager during the construction phase of the Science Center, with responsibilities encompassing all phases of project management, including scheduling, progress reporting, and inspection of work completed. Susan enjoyed her work at McWane so much that when construction of the Science Center was completed, she stayed on at McWane as one of their volunteers, a "job" she still enjoys today.
Back in 1984, when Jack chose to open Tandems, Ltd, Susan was in total agreement with his decision. Since those humble beginnings, Susan has served as co-owner and CFO of the company, ensuring all bills are paid on time, and that the goals of the company are kept at the forefront at all times.
Susan and Jack are pleased to be able to make this deferred gift to the OSU IEM School for a fully funded chair. They have also funded an endowed scholarship that will assist students in the College of Engineering's Mentoring program. This scholarship fund will begin awarding scholarships in 2018.
