Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 1, 1998)
February 1, 1998 Tribal Life 9 Casino Employee Spotlight Security Officer takes pride in Casino Tribal member TOM WHITE was offered a po sition as a Secu rity Officer six months ago, and works swing shift at the Casino. "I really like it here," he said. "There is a lot of pride in working for an organiza tion you are a part of." Tom currently lives in Salem, where he grew up, but spent nearly twenty five years in the military. He is also a Vietnam veteran. His years in the Armed Forces gave him the experience and knowledge needed to work in security, so Tom qualified for a position right away. "When the Casino was about to open, I was pretty happy in my job at the time. I worked for DeLon Auto Center in Salem, and was recently retired from the military. So I didn't apply at the Casino right away," said Tom. "My wife and I came to play some games and eat though." From the time Tom was a child he can remember his father and other family members talking about the Tribe and Termination. He said his father, Orrin White, was always an active participant in meetings and tribal events, clear up until Tom graduated and went to Vietnam. Now, working at the Casino, Tom has had a chance to visit with Elders and other members who remember him as a little boy. "When I began working here, I started running into people I knew. It feels good to see all those people again," he said. "But it's not just the customers. People in all the different departments are very friendly to each other. The atmosphere is great." ; ! As a Security Officer, Tom gets to meet a lot of the Casino's patrons, and feels good when a non-tribal member comments on how nice Spirit Mountain is or how much fun they have had. "I think all tribal members should take pride in the Casino and the praise we receive from others outside of the Tribe," he said. Tom has been a volunteer firefighter for eighteen years and is a member of the Casino's Emergency Response Team. Joann Mercier is promoted Workplace safety The Tribe's Safety Committee is sponsoring an event to help promote safety in the workplace. Please join us on Friday, February 20 from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. at the Tribal Com munity Center. Lunch will be pro vided. Activities include: demonstrations, guest speakers, information tables, videos, interactive games, and door prizes. We hope that people will join us in the planned activities. Watch for flyers with more information. The Safety Committee members are: Curtis Rentsch, Chairperson; Mary Alice Duran, Co-Chair; Marion Mercier, Secretary; Julia Papen, Treasurer, Jan Reibach and Bill Miller. Tribe will accept bids on trailers The Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde will be accepting bids on modular office trailers, currently located in Grand Ronde. There will be a minimum bid in effect. Removal and any needed repairs will be the responsibility of the suc cessful bidder. Information packets will be avail able to tribal members upon request. Cutoff date to request an information packet is Thursday, February 12, 1998. All tribal members wishing an information packet on the sale should contact Phillip Adams, Property Management Specialist, at 879-2216 or 1-800-422-0232, ext. 2216. (Shibii ainiHli (MinaniB) t)t)3S)taTi) miiiHii gmnuRmv mar Joann Mercier, who works in Ca sino Security, has recently been pro moted to Shift Supervisor. This tribal member, who has worked at the Ca sino for more than two years, also goes to school full-time and juggles a very busy schedule. "This promotion was always a long term goal of mine," said Joann. "But I didn't think it was going to be so immediate." Joann said she is thrilled with her new responsibilities, and gives a lot of credit to others in her department as well as the Security Manager, Bruce Latten. "In the interview for this job, Bruce asked me a lot of really tough, im portant questions. I would like our tribal leaders to know that we have people with a tremendous amount of integrity and pride working here." Joann, who used to work in Social Services (now Community Re sources) at the tribal offices said that her current job is easier on her emo tionally, but she sometimes misses the interaction with friends and family members. "I can remember when I was strug gling with the de cision to change the direction of my career," said Joann. "Then a good friend gave me a valuable piece of advice. He said: 'Sometimes you have to give up all that you are for all that you can be.' That's when I decided to enroll in the Security Guard training." -VS.".::.' ...v i ' .a-""- Gathering of the Nations pow-wow North America's "Biggest" Pow wow will be held as usual at the Pit in Albuquerque, New Mexico on the weekend of April 23-25, 1998. For general information call (505) 836 2810, or their Internet e-mail address is: www.gatheringofnations.com. The Grand Ronde Veterans' Color Guard and Veterans' Royalty Court will be representing the Tribe at this national cultural event. Many activities will be held during the weekend including an Indian Traders Market, the Miss Indian World Competition, and a poster art workshop. Following is basic infor mation on the above listed events: Poster Art Workshop. A FREE hands-on workshop for young Native American Artists is being offered which will focus on the design of Poster Art. This workshop will take place on Thursday, April 23 from 1 to 4 p.m. in Albuquerque, New Mexico. High School and College level participants will receive a free 2-day pass to the Gathering of Na tions Pow-wow and a chance to work with Michael Everette (98' poster art ist). Poster theme to be judged: A poster for the Gathering of Nations Pow-wow 2000. Workshop registra tion deadline is March 15, 1998. Contestants wanted for the Miss Indian World Pageant. Miss Indian World represents Indian people of North American and serves a good will ambassador to all cultures throughout the world. Qualifications: Native or indigenous women, 17-24 years of age; Verifiable tribal affilia tion; Single, never been married, no children; and Knowledge of tribal tra ditions. Current and past princesses are welcome and encouraged to ap ply. The selection of Miss Indian World is based upon a point system: Traditional talent presentation repre sentative of your tribe; Public speak ing and private interview with judges; Dance competition (expression through music); and Raffle ticket sales. Special awards will be given for number of tickets sold. Miss Indian World will be crowned April 15, 1998 at the Gathering of Nations Powwow. For more infor mation and an application, call or write: Gathering of Nations, co Miss Indian World Pageant, P.O. Box 75102, Albuquerque, NM 87194. Phone: (505) 836-2810 or FAX (505) 839-0475. Application deadline is March 16, 1998 No exceptions! To avoid delays, it is recommended to apply early. sum' - SALEM -Feb. 2: 3 to 7:30 p.m. Feb. 3: 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Feb. 4: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. - SILETZ -Feb. 17, 18, 19: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
