NICC Alum Donates $100,000 to Support Welding Programs

From breaking news to community stories, get the latest in your inbox. CALMAR, Iowa — Before Greg Dougherty built an oil field services company or managed a workforce of 100 employees, he was a Waukon High School graduate looking to learn a reliable trade. It was 1978, a year after graduating from high school, when Dougherty decided to pursue a long-term career. He visited Northeast Iowa Community College — then known as Area One Vocational-Technical School — in Calmar. He weighed bricklaying against welding before making a practical decision. "I figured the welding would be a lot less back-breaking work," Dougherty recalled. "I went with that." He graduated from the college's welding program in 1979 after mastering the rigorous, hands-on standard of his instructor: welding a beveled plate, stripping it down and bending it into a horseshoe. If a single flaw showed up in the bend, the student failed and had to start over. "Basically, that's how I got my skill level," Dougherty said. "Our instructor was really good at helping us train." That discipline paid off almost immediately. In 1980, Dougherty headed west to Gillette, Wyoming, where his brother lived and oil field work was booming. Soon after arriving, he took a position on a coal mine construction site building massive storage silos. The site superintendent took Dougherty high up on a silo, instructed him to lie on his back and crawl under a tight network of steel beams to perform a difficult overhead weld. "I welded it up, and I climbed out of there, and then he climbed in there and looked," Dougherty recalled. "He pops his head out right away, and he says, 'Where did you learn how to weld?'" "Calmar, Iowa," Dougherty answered. That foundation launched a career spanning more than four decades. By 1983, Dougherty had taken over a small operation in Gillette, renaming it Greg's Welding. Over the next 40 years, he expanded into shop fabrication and repair, on-site field welding, custom steel buildings, pipeline work, heavy rig repairs, crane services and pressure vessel manufacturing across Wyoming and North Dakota. He eventually launched 20 startup companies and employed 100 people. In 2000, he patented a specialized gas header system, manufacturing more than 2,000 units for the coalbed methane industry. He also partnered with Vortex Tools to patent a downhole flow tool that was sold worldwide. Dougherty retired in late 2025. Before stepping away, he made sure to take care of his team. "I paid everybody a thousand dollars for every year they worked for me, and everybody went away happy," he said. Giving back has long been a trademark of Dougherty's career. Over the years, he has donated more than $1 million to various community projects and educational causes. When he decided to make a $100,000 gift to NICC, it was a decision to honor where it all began. The gift will support hands-on technical instruction and specialized welding programs at the college. Dougherty recently returned to the Calmar campus with a former classmate to tour the updated facilities. For Dougherty, the gift represents a full-circle tribute to the place where his career began. "It's my roots," Dougherty said. "My beginning. NICC taught me how to weld. It'd be nice to see some kids come out, get good jobs and be productive people." Busy day? We've got you covered. Get local news delivered to your inbox.