4
December 16, 1996
SMOKE SIGNALS
Holiday food drive benefits West Valley families
UCasino 's visitors asked to donate canned food items for local food banks and holiday baskets
Spirit Mountain is asking all of its visi
tors during the holiday season to donate a
can of food to help disadvantaged families
as part of the Casino's Holiday Food Drive
from November 25 to December 22.
"We expect thousands of visitors this
month," notes Public Relations Manager
Beth Sorcnsen. "If each one brought one
can of food, the benefit for the local food
banks will be tremendous."
The Willamina VFW Holiday Food Bas
kets, the Grand Sherimina Food Bank, and
the Grand Rondc Tribe's Family Action
Program (TFAP) will all distribute proceeds
from the Casino's food drive to disadvan
taged local families during the holidays. As
an incentive to donate, customers will be
given a ticket for each can of food they bring
to the Casino. The tickets will be entered
into drawings for a $100 cash drawing ev
ery evening at 9 p.m. All tickets collected
throughout the length of the food drive will
be entered in the Grand Prize Drawing for
$1,000 which will be held a 9 p.m. on
December 22. Winners for the drawings
need not be present to win. For more infor
mation on the Holiday Canned Food Drive,
call the Player Services Department at Spirit
Mountain Casino, 879-2350, ext. 3402 or
1-800-760-7977, ext. 3402.
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A donation check was presented to the Willamina VFW.
Employee Spotlight
Guest Services provides fulfilling
work for Candy Robertson
Tribal member Candy Robertson
just reached her one year anniversary
of employment with Spirit Mountain
Casino, and things are going better
than ever. She just received a new
position within the Guest Services
department she's the Bus Coordi
nator. If you have passed by the Ca
sino lately, there always seems to be
shuttle busses all lined up in the park
ing lot. Well, those busses carry visi
tors from Portland, Salem, Vancou
ver, and Woodburn to Spirit Moun
tain Casino every day, and Candy is
responsible for making sure every
thing runs smoothly.
In addition to the daily shuttles,
Candy coordinates the special char
ter bus group gatherings for organi
zational meetings, parties, or celebra
tions. Many Christmas parties are
currently being arranged through
charter bus services, so this is a busy time
of year for Candy.
"Basically, I monitor the bus arrivals and
departures, make sure the groups who re
ceive fun books have them, make sure they
are welcomed when they arrive, and other
customer service duties," said Candy.
She said that when she first began work
at the Casino in October of 1995, she
thought "Guest Services" meant greeting
people, making sure people are enjoying
themselves and have all their needs met.
But what she's found is that there is a lot
more involved with Guest Services besides
all those things.
"I took the Guest Services and Cash
Handling classes offered through the Edu
cation Department," said Candy. "They
gave me the skills I needed to have in order
to serve our guests here at the Casino."
i
"L
Candy says she really enjoys working
with the Marketing and Guest Services em
ployees, they are all a friendly, funny group
to be around. She is also enhancing her
skills by learning more about computer tech
nology and how it can be used to better serve
guests.
Also, because she has been with the Ca
sino since it's opening, and has seen many
tribal members try to gain employment with
the Casino, she has some words of encour
agement for prospective employees. 'There
are still a lot of positions for people who
may have gotten discouraged early on, when
the hiring process was still new," she said.
"I encourage tribal members to continue to
seek opportunities with the Casino. There
are many avenues for employment training
and advancement that exist now, which were
not available earlier."
More donations to local Head Start programs
P $6,000 donated to help Keizer and IndependenceMonmouth area children
As part of their on-going contributions to area Head Start programs, the Confederated
Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community and Spirit Mountain Casino recently donated the
financial offerings left at the statue of Martha Jane Sands to the Keizer Head Start program
and the IndependenceMonmouth Head Start program to assist in the education and devel
opment of economically disadvantaged children. In addition, the Casino will match the
statue offerings, for a total donation of $3,000 to each program.
Offerings to Martha Jane, which have varied from bouquets of flowers to cash dona
tions, usually in the forms of coins, began appearing at the base of the bronze statue shortly
after the Casino opened. "In many cultures, including our Tribe's, people make offerings
to the departed to honor their spirits or for personal good fortune," explains Bruce Thomas,
President of Spirit Mountain Gaming, the parent company of the Casino.
Although the offerings are spontaneous and have not been encouraged by the Casino,
the cash donations have continued to accumulate. "We agreed, given the symbolism of the
statue, that the offerings should be donated to a charity that benefits disadvantaged chil
dren in our area," Thomas says. This year "Martha Jane" donations have gone to Head
Start programs in Grand Ronde, Willamina, McMinnville, Dallas, Lincoln City, Dayton,
Salem, Keizer, and IndependenceMonmouth. Newberg's Head Start program will receive
the next donation. Future donations will rotate monthly between Head Start programs in
these ten communities.
Legends and Buffet open on Christmas
Spirit Mountain Casino's highly-popular restaurants will be open on Christmas Day for
your enjoyment. At the Coyote's Buffet, breakfast is served from 7-1 1 a.m and the price is
$4.50 for the all-you-can-eat meal. Lunch is served from 1 1 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. and costs
$7.50. Lunch on Christmas Day will feature turkey, roast top round, pork loin, fried chicken,
salmon, prawn saute, roasted red potatoes, mashed potatoes, rice pilaf, vegetables, and an
assortment of fruits and dessert items and well as the salad bar. Dinner, beginning at 5
p.m., will feature prime rib and turkey with all the trimmings. The cost is $8.75.
New Year's Eve at Coyote's will serve breakfast from midnight until 3 a.m for those
celebrating the new year until the wee hours. Please take advantage of the great food and
low prices! Kids 12 and under can receive lunch for $5.95 and dinner for $6.95.
Legends restaurant is also open on Christmas Day and will serve a traditional Christ
mas feast. Seating is available for large groups in the banquet room (12-25 people or
more), and will feature a special holiday menu of prime rib, turkey, ham, halibut, and
more! Legends will be open from noon until 10 p.m.
Outfitters has last minute gift ideas
Looking for a Christmas gift for someone special? Stop by Spirit Mountain Outfitters
near the main entrance of the Casino for lots of gift choices. New jewelry items featuring
silver bracelets, necklaces, earrings, charms, and lapel pins with the Casino's logo are all
available. Come in and take a look! There are also plenty of attractive clothing items and
stemware, as well as ornaments and little stocking stuffers.