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.
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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."
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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.