Roseburg, Ore. — Steffan Ihrcke remembers what he was doing when he learned about the shooting on Umpqua Community College’s campus last October. He recalled, “I was in here working, and a number of friends texted me that something was happening.”
Ihrcke has owned and operated Zombie Performance since 2010. “My business is actually probably about 95% custom handlebars for motorcycles,” he said.
But this week, he’s been working on a much larger project involving the entire community. “I got approached by Mike with Steel Outlet, and, to see if I wanted to contribute to it, and I was more than happy to jump on board,” said Ihrcke
The project involved awards made out of metal in the shape of Oregon with the words “Umpqua Strong” engraved on the front. Ihrcke said, “I couldn’t say no to something like that.”
With his equipment, the two sat down for 11 hours, and eventually came up with the finished product. “We made 180 of the small ones, and then we made three of the larger 12 inch by 12 inch ones,” said Ihrcke. All ready to be handed out on Saturday, in remembrance of the lives lost, and with gratitude to a community who rallied together.
Ihrcke said, “This community has just been so awesome and come together, and I just feel really lucky to be a part of it.”
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