The NDSCS Alumni Foundation has received a donation of $30,000 from the Shorma Family to support the NDSCS Athletics Department. The free weight gym in the Clair T. Blikre Activities Center has been renamed the Shorma Family Gym in recognition of this donation.
Tom Shorma is a 1978 NDSCS graduate who studied Accounting. He felt it was fitting for the Shorma family to give back to NDSCS, where he and most of his siblings began their higher education. Tom played football and spent many hours in the weight room while he was a student, and later was an assistant football coach for then head coach John Richman. Ed and Pat Shorma, Tom’s parents, have a deep-rooted history in Richland County and have owned several companies, including WCCO Belting, Inc., which remains a family-owned business and Tom Shorma serves as the Chief Executive Officer.
The Shorma Family Gym houses a weight room that is used by many NDSCS athletes. The gym is also available for use by NDSCS students, faculty and staff, as well as the general public through Clair T. Blikre Activities Center Facility Memberships. The gym recently received upgrades, including a new floor that was constructed with virgin three-ply rubber from WCCO Belting, Inc.