September 15, 1997
SMOKE SIGNALS
5
Employee Spotlight ,
Casino employee happy
to be here
MONTY HERRON has worked for Spirit
Mountain Casino since March of 1996. He
began working in the Casino's Security De
partment as an Officer and recently trans
ferred to working as a shuttle driver. The
Shuttle Bus Department is a new addition to
the Casino. The shuttles currently go to the
coast and other communities to provide trans
portation to Casino patrons.
Monty came to work at the Casino to help
the Tribe realize its goals in becoming self
sufficient. Working at the Casino has let
Monty meet and interact with tribal mem
bers, and he said there were not a lot of op
portunities for him to do that before.
Monty is happy to be working at Spirit
Mountain and being more involved with the
Tribe. He said that he was able to partici
pate in the moccasin making class that the
Tribe offered this year. Being back involved
with the Tribe has also prompted Monty to
get back into traditional dancing. He is cur
rently completing his regalia to dance again,
and through the friends he has made he is
learning traditions and the history of the
Grand Ronde Indians. Monty also has fam
ily members who work for the Tribe and
are involved with tribal activities.
"The shuttle transportation department is
a new and exciting experience. The depart
ment is in its infancy, so it has a lot of room
to grow and expand. It's exciting to be in
volved on the ground floor," he said.
Monty enjoys the customer service aspect
of the job, and he is able to interact more
with external customers. "It gives me the
opportunity to share information with the
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customers about the Tribe and Casino." He
currently is working a varied shift to meet
the business demand. Monty said flexibil
ity is crucial during the start up phase of
the shuttle program.
Working at Spirit Mountain Casino has
also impacted Monty's personal life in a
positive way. He said that his employment
has brought more stability and satisfaction
to his life. He also feels that he has had
more opportunity to help people on a per
sonal level through his first responder train
ing and emergency situations.
Monty is also involved in helping the
Casino plan for National Indian Day events
for September 27. "It's been a new experi
ence in getting to see how an event comes
together, all the work that goes into report
ing each week that contributes to the goal."
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Head Start donations help kids
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Pictured above are members of the McMinnville Head Start Board of Directors looking
over the shoulder of Michael Eichman, Director of Head Start of Yamhill County, as he
demonstrates children's computer programs. The computers and programs were purchased
through a check donated by Spirit Mountain Casino and the Grand Ronde Tribe as part of
the Martha Jane Sands statue donations that are matched and distributed to many area Head
Start programs. The computer programs are bilingual, easily available in both English and
Spanish, with many hands-on functions and audio responses to make learning fun and
easy. Head Start of Yamhill County also offers computer classes to train teachers.
National Indian Day
CELEBRATION
Saturday, September 27
All day in Legends lobby area
S?KX MOUNTAIN
CAHNO
Opening Ceremony 10 ajn
live basket making demonstrations
cultural displays and photos will be displayed
throughout the entire week staring September 22