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About Siletz news / (Siletz, OR) 199?-current | View Entire Issue (May 1, 2003)
It’s Happening at Chinook Winds in May ... Miss Native American Oregon Pageant Coming in August The Miss Native American Oregon Scholarship Program, affiliated with the Miss Oregon organization, will hold its first competition at Chinook Winds Casino on August 15-18. The pageant is endorsed by Miss America 2002, Katie Hannon, and the Miss America Foundation. To be eligible to compete, the applicant must be a young Native American woman 17 to 23 years old, have never been married, be enrolled in a college or university or plan to continue secondary education, be a resident of Oregon, be an enrolled member of a federally recognized tribe, have never been convicted of any criminal offense, and have no criminal charges currently pending The person who wins the Miss Native American Oregon title is automatically eligible to compete for the title of Miss Oregon 2004 in Seaside, Ore., in July 2004, with the ultimate goal of competing for the Miss America 2005 title in September 2004 in Atlantic City, NJ. The Native American Oregon Program offers a minimum of $4,200 in scholarship money. It gives contestants a forum to raise awareness of important social issues. They must clearly define an issue to which they are committed and for which each will be an activist during her year of service. Every year, the Miss Oregon Scholarship Program offers more than $100,000 in cash and in-kind tuition scholarships. Scholarships for academic achievement, community service, talent, fitness, speaking skills, and more are available to any competitor, not just the ultimate titleholder. The four competition categories of the Miss Native American Oregon are interview, evening wear, talent and lifestyle, and fitness in swimsuit. If you have any questions, please contact Martin Wheeler, regional sales executive, at 541-996-8732 or martinw@chinookwindsgaming.com. Wood, Rashidi Hired as Sales Execs Andrew Wood and Manny Rashidi have been hired as regional sales executives for Chinook Winds Casino. Andrew grew up in the Willamette Valley and graduated from the University of Oregon with a bachelor’s degree in economics with heavy emphasis on statistical analysis. He then moved to Maui. Previous ventures include employment as a scuba instructor, boat captain, under-water photographer, and travel writer. His Andrew Wood and Manny Rashidi articles and photo graphs have appeared in more than three dozen books and magazines around the world. His last job was as marketing director for a day cruise company on Maui. Andrew says he's happy to be home in Oregon, where he enjoys fly-fishing and hiking. Manny graduated from the University of Nevada with a BSEE. He has more than 15 years of sales, marketing, and management experience and has been in the Portland-metro area for the past several years. He worked for AT&T, Sprint, and Hilton before joining Chinook Winds. When asked why he wanted to work for the casino. Manny replied, “I am joining Chinook Winds Casino because 1 believe there is a big opportunity for me to use all my experience here and to help to drive our business to the next level." Manny and his wdte of 11 years have two daughters. 28 □ Siletz News □ May 2003 by Teresa Simmons Navarro Selected as Interim Games Manager Siletz Tribal member Don Navarro recently was selected as interim games manager for Chinook Winds Casino. Don has been with Chinook Winds from the beginning. He was hired onto the Maintenance staff before the tem porary structure opened in May 1995. He was promoted to engineer I after nine months with the Maintenance crew. While holding down his full-time job, Don completed Blackjack training while the new facility was under construction and began dealing on the day of the grand opening of the permanent facility in June 1996. After nine months, Don was promoted to supervisor and one week later became a shift supervisor. He went on to supervise every shift at one time or another and later resigned his position to learn to deal Craps, Roulette, Let it Ride, Pai Gow, Caribbean Stud, and Mini Baccarat. After becoming proficient at dealing the new games, he was promoted to supervisor. Two years later, on Dec. 26, 2002, he was offered the position of interim games manager. Don Navarro Working his way from the ground up, Don has established a strong rapport with the staff he supervises and has proved himself to be a dedicated member of the Chinook Winds team. When asked why he chose to work for the casino, Don stated, “I wanted to take an active role in the advancement of the Siletz Tribe.” Mason Hired as Slot Manager Kelly Mason recently was hired as the Slot manager for Chinook Winds. A member of the Siletz Tribe, Kelly is a native of Lincoln County and a graduate of Newport High School. He served in the U.S. Army and the Oregon National Guard for five years. Kelly attended the Oregon Institute of Technology and Linn Benton Com munity College, graduating with an associate’s degree in business. He left Hewlett-Packard in Corvallis, Ore., to join the team that opened the temporary facility for Chinook Winds in May 1995. He was promoted from his initial position as VLT supervisor to VLT manager in January 1997. In 1999, Kelly moved to the director of Casino Operations position. Between 2000 and 2002, he held the Slot director position at casinos in Kelly Mason New Mexico and California. Kelly and his wife, Eve, have two children - daughter Addie Nicole and son Cade Dore. When asked about his personal goal for Chinook Winds, Kelly replied, “1 want to see Chinook Winds reach its full revenue-generating potential.” He added that he looks forward to making a positive contribution to the financial stability of future generations of tribal members.
