NOVEMBER 15, 2000
7
Tribal Gaming Commission
gets New Executive Director
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7
being only two classes per month.
The classes met at the casino's Hu
man Resources building, and every
person was given a mentor. From
then on, the participants went
through a series of modules, or chap
ters of the training that focused on a
specific career area. On occasion the
trainees would work together and
other times work independently.
Included in the training were a
number of instruments, also called
the Power Tools. Notable amongst
them was the Value Ledger, a folder
wherein was listed numerous per
sonal values, for example "Having
High Income" or "Being Indepen
dent" or "Having Authority Over
Others." Trainees were to select their
seven most important values and
then had to assign "Value Dollars"
from a set amount to illustrate how
their values are prioritized.
Sound strange? Well, there's more.
Try the Feedback Wheel, or the Ca
reer Action Inventory, both of which
take some time to figure out.
Although offbeat, nobody would
laugh at the results. The program
began with 43 Tribal members, 23
of who went on to complete the
course. According to Henny, that's
not bad for a pilot program.
Grand Ronde was not the first stop
for Career Power. Career Systems
International, a division of Beverly
Kaye & Associates, Inc, designed the
program. Dr. Beverly Kaye is a re
spected authority in the career de
velopment field. She has written
books on the subject, and her com
pany is has gone worldwide with its
training programs.
Career Power has definitely lived
up to its reputation, according to this
class of trainees. An afterglow still
resides in Tribal members who com
pleted the program.
"This helped define what was im
portant to me and how those things
can change," said Tribal member
Bekki Yuoso, who works in Human
Resources.
Yuoso admits she was put off at
first, particularly by the program's
unique approach. But now she
agrees with Henny that the method
could not yield any clearer results.
"This taught me that my education
is never complete," she says. "I've
learned to be happy with my
self and with my job."
Tribal member Marilyn Porter
concurs.
"This helps you realize your own
potential," she says. "And for a
lot of Tribal members we don't
know that about ourselves."
Porter works as an Employment
Coordinator in Human Resources.
Career Power has given her new in
sights already. She plans to add to
her skills by learning a new language
and acquiring more clerical skills.
"I've learned there is always room
for improvement," she says. "Not just
in the career, but at home, too."
"I would take it again," she adds.
"This has brought out some confi
dence in me."
Tribal member Lewis Younger,
Maintenance Supervisor at Spirit
Mountain, offers no less of an opin
ion. "This gave us an opportunity to
develop a sense of worth," he says.
Younger started out as a mainte
nance technician over a year ago, and
attributes his ascension into a super
visory level to Career Power.
"This has given me the skills to com
municate effectively with others," he
says. "And because I've become so
focused, my managers were able to
see my potential."
Part of the success of Career
Power, Henny says, is that trainees
are taught, above all, that virtually
everything is in their hands, that no
matter what, people control their
own lives.
"We just guide the participants are
still in the driver's seat," she says.
"And we remind them of that."
Furthermore, she contends, people
need to dispel the erroneous notion
that Career Power is solely about
self-advancement. The emphasis of
the program, she says, is self-enhancement
and self-awareness.
"This is not necessarily a 'moving
up' scheme," she says. "This is mov
ing up, moving sideways, moving
down we just want people to find
what situation suits them best."
Henny is immensely pleased with
the results of Career Power, Already
plans for the next program are un
derway, and they have even added
a second tier a leadership program,
where previous participants will act
as the mentors. She sincerely be
lieves that Career Power is suitable
for anybody.
"I invite Tribal Council to come
down and participate," she says, with
a wink.
Henny hasn't been the only one
impressed with Career Power. Mike
Larsen, former Chairman of the Spirit
Mountain Development Corporation
Board of Directors, who has done simi
lar training, likes what he sees.
"It's good to see people further their
abilities," he says. "This gives people
tools to let them look at themselves
and to look at others."
"I know that quite often people will
walk away from something like this
with a new outlook," he adds. "And
usually for the better."
1 J , X P ; I
L VI i a 4 - - ,s .
Eric Reiss
Photo by Brent Merrill
By Brent Merrill
From the desert
to the rain.
The Tribe's new
Executive Director
of the Gaming
Commission Eric
Reiss, who comes to
Oregon from Ari
zona, said he and
his wife Bridget like
the rain and wel
come the change in
scenery.
"Coming from
Arizona it (the
weather in the
Northwest) is a
little bit different,"
said Reiss in an
understatement.
"A little bit greener
and wetter. We
like it my wife
and I. We're really enjoying the weather."
Reiss started his gaming career while working in Parker, Arizona for
the Colorado River Indian Tribes (Mojaves, Navajos, Hopis and
Chemehuevis) it is also the place that he met his wife who is a mem
ber of the Tribe.
"I worked on the gaming floor of the Tribe's casino as an inspector and
my wife worked there too," said Reiss.
For Reiss, it was his first experience in Indian Country and he won
dered how he would be accepted.
"It was a different experience the Indian culture," said Reiss. "It
was the first time I had any experience working at a reservation or even
near a reservation. I wasn't sure when I first started working how I was
going to be accepted. The office I worked for was probably 90 percent
Native American. Here I was an outsider and I didn't even grow up in
Parker. So I didn't know how well I would be accepted, but everybody
was great to me. I met my wife there and I made great friends there. I,
wasn't sure whether her family would accept me and they did and it has
been great. I just had a great experience there."
Reiss then shifted gears and stepped up to a job with the nearby Salt
River Pima Maricopa Indian Community. Reiss started out as Chief
Inspector for the Pima Maricopa Tribe's gaming commission and quickly
became the Executive Director in 1995 after an unexpected personnel
change.
Reiss' unlikely career in gaming started out in accounting and worked
its way through the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI).
After being born in New York, Reiss and his family moved to Phoenix,
Arizona when he was 11. Reiss attended Arizona State University and
graduated with a CPA degree and went to work for a large accounting
firm in Phoenix.
From there, Reiss was recruited to join the FBI as a special agent dur
ing the nation's bank loan scandals of the early '90s. Reiss explained
that the FBI was looking for new agents with an accounting background
and that led to his recruitment.
After passing an extensive background check that took nearly a year
to complete, Reiss joined the FBI and was off to the academy in Quantico,
Virginia.
After being an accountant, Quantico was a different world.
"I had never shot a gun in my life before," said Reiss. "It was a totally
different experience. It was fun, but it was a lot more physical. Before
long we were wearing camouflage and acting out arrest scenarios. It
took awhile to get used to, but the training was excellent. The people,
the instructors were great. I had a good time."
Reiss made a name for himself in the FBI by busting up a multi-million
dollar fraud ring based on an informant's tip and participating in
the Gang Task Force with the Los Angeles Police Department.
Soon, he tired of the L.A. scene and moved back to Arizona, met his
wife and started a career in Indian gaming.
Reiss applied for the position in Grand Ronde in September and shortly
after that he and Bridget were moving to Salem.
"My wife was born and raised in the desert," said Reiss. "When we
were driving up here she saw all the trees and all the colors she asked
me 'are those trees dead?' 'I said no it's fall here they actually have
seasons here.'"
Getting used to the climate isn't the only thing Reiss has been doing
since starting his new job in Grand Ronde he has been gettjng famil
iar with the Tribe's gaming regulations, standardizing the gaming com
mission employee policies and procedures format and learning the Tribe's
gaming compact with the State of Oregon.
Welcome to the family and get ready for the rain because it is just
getting started.