Smoke signals., January 01, 2000, Page 2, Image 2

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Stories and photos by Brent Merrill
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Mary Mode
New gaming commissioner and
tribal member Mary Mode was hop
ing for a chance to come home to
Grand Ronde; and she is a firm be
liever that everything happens for a
reason.
"When I moved back here, I really
wanted to be involved in the Tribe
some how," said Mode. "I worked at
the casino for a couple of years and
then moved over to Grand Ronde
Legal Services where I have been for
two and a half years."
Mode, who lives in McMinnville
with her husband, is a legal secre
tary who feels the work being done
by Grand Ronde Legal' Services is
important for tribal members.
"As a tribal member I think the ser
vice that we provide is great," said
Mode. "We help people with the day-to-day
legal issues that come up. We
have 14 offices throughout the state
of Oregon for tribal members to ac
cess." Mode said she saw the ad for the
gaming commission opening and
thought it sounded interesting.
"I'm still just honored that they
picked me," said Mode.
Mode said she has fond memories
of time spent in Grand Ronde as a
youth.
"I remember coming here as a little
girl and playing out here in the
yards," said Mode. "We lived in Sa
lem and we would come out here to
visit and it was an all day trip to get
out here. Now people drive that just
to come to work."
Mode started as a gaming commis
sioner in April.
"I'm doing a job that is extremely
important," said Mode. "You have to
be very neutral. We go by the rule
book. Having worked at the casino,
I can see the difference between
what their (casino employees) job
duties are versus what their job per
formance is."
Mode said members should view
the gaming commission as an insur
ance policy designed to keep the pro
ductivity of the casino in place.
"We're here to make sure that they
follow the regulations and that we
stay in business," said Mode. "I think
those two duties (monitoring job per
formance and tracking compliance)
blended together is very important.
We're not against each other, we're
working together with just different
job duties."
Being back in the tribal community
means a lot to Mode. She said she is
thankful for all the Tribe provides
and wanted a chance to be part of
the effort.
"I hadn't been involved with the
Tribe until the last few years," said
Mode. "I thought, there has got to
be some people who put in a lot of
work and effort to get us where we
are today. We have a lot to thank
them for in getting us to this point."
The gaming commission's executive
director Wayne York, said Mode's ex
perience at the casino and current
position as a legal secretary gives her
an edge.
"She understands operations, hu
man resources and how a casino
functions," said York of Mode. "And,
she is a legal secretary so she under
stands the procedures needed to
function within the commission's of
ficial hearings."
York is impressed by Mode's dedi
cation and desire to be a part of some
thing significant.
"Mary is very dedicated to the com
mission," said York. "Her dedication
is obvious. She takes her job very
seriously and very sincerely and that
is what you want in a commissioner."
Mode said she sees the future of
the Tribe as a very bright place. The
casino's recent venture into manage
ment consulting for other tribal casi
nos should be a point of pride for the
Tribe, said Mode.
"We have been in a position of be
ing leaders and now we are going to
actually assist other Tribes in getting
to where we are," said Mode of her
vision of the future. "I think that
(helping other Tribes) is something
to be so proud of and it says a lot for
those people that have got us where
we are today."
Mode's belief that everything hap
pens for a reason seems to give her
strength and balance.
"Who would have ever thought
when I left Medford to move up here
that I would be a gaming commis
sioner," said Mode. "I'm really en
joying it. I feel like I'm truly assist
ing in the growth of our casino. I
feel like I have an important func
tion and I take it seriously.
"Things are going to happen to you
and you never really know until you
are on the other side of it and then
you can look back," said Mode. "I
mean, look what happened to me, I
met a wonderful man and got mar
ried and I have a new home. Those
are not things that I planned when
I moved up here. But, there is a rea
son that I came up here."
Pat Mercier
Being the newest member of the
Tribe's gaming commission isn't the
most time consuming aspect of Pat
Mercier's life right now. Getting her
home prepared for the holidays and
her family of world travelers took
some effort.
Son Brian just returned from school
in Germany, where he is being re
cruited for Harvard University's
Ph.D. program among other schools,
and son Chris sent word that he
would not be home for the holidays.
Chris is traveling in Thailand and
stayed overseas for Christmas.
Mercier's nephew flew in from
Ukraine and her brother in from Lon
don. Another relative arrived from
Vancouver Island.
"They are just coming from all over,"
said Mercier. "We had 15 people stay
ing here over the holidays."
Last year, Mercier also entertained
relatives from Ireland.
Although preparing her home for
her globetrotting family took a lot
of time, Mercier still found time to
continue her two day-a-week classes
at the University of Oregon where
she is finishing up her Master's de
gree in public administration. Mer
cier will graduate with her degree
in June.
"I'm enjoying it (attending school)
so much, that I'm going to apply for
the Ph.D. program," said Mercier.
"I'm learning a lot and I'm still en
joying it, so I don't want to stop."
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Pat Mercier (right) taking the gaming commission oath.
Along with adding twice a month
meetings of the gaming commission
to her busy schedule, Mercier also
works with the Tribe's former CEO
Jim Willis. Willis now runs a con
sulting firm in Portland and works
with Oregon Tribes on a variety of
issues.
"Of all the bosses I've ever had, I
have respected him and appreciated
him the most," Mercier said of Willis.
"He is the only one who ever allowed
me to go to my full potential. He al
ways encouraged me to do more and
take on more challenges."
Mercier said she believes she will be
an effective commissioner and looks
forward to the opportunity to stay in
volved in the tribal community.
"I felt this was something I could
do," said Mercier. "Because I'm not
a member (her children are members
of the Tribe), my ways of being in
volved are pretty limited and I
thought this is one of the ways I
could do it."
When asked why community in
volvement was important to her,
Mercier said she likes the people here
in Grand Ronde.
"I think the people are just won
derful," said Mercier. "I really genu
inely like the people in this commu
nity. For me, the people of my chil
dren are my people."
Mercier said pursuing a position
with the gaming commission follows
a pattern in her life; a pattern of
learning what she can about subjects
that interest her.
"I love to learn so I looked at this
(being a gaming commissioner) as
another opportunity to learn," said
Mercier. "That is the positive I'm get
ting out of it. It is a whole new
branch of tribal stuff that I didn't
know a whole' lot about."
The gaming commission's executive
director Wayne York said Mercier
was an attractive candidate for com
missioner for many reasons.
"She is the former financial officer
for the Tribe and one of the positions
on the commission is required to have
some financial, auditing and accounting-type
background," said York. "Be
cause of her previous position for the
Tribe, she fills the bill there. She has
a real good understanding of finan
cial operations auditing."
York said he has been impressed
with Mercier's personal character and
apparent good judgment. York said
Mercier is very organized.
"She's sharp and I think she will
be a good resource," said York.
Mercier said she is ready for the
challenge the commission represents
to her.
"We are going to tackle re-writing
and re-organizing (gaming) regula
tions," said Mercier of her first prior
ity. "I expect to learn a lot. The vi
sion is just to try to fill a need that is
out there. My vision and my goal,
personally, is to build, like we have
done with so many things in Grand
Ronde, a model that other Tribe's
would then use.
"My first year goal is to learn as
much about gaming and the process
as I can."