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.