JANUARY 1, 2002
Smoke Signals 3
Annual "Shop with a Sheriff" Program is a Christmas Story About Giving
By Peta Tinda
The Dallas Wal-Mart was filled
with police officers on December 15,
but there was no crime scene.
Instead, it was a shopping spree.
About 30 kids from Grand Ronde
were paired up with sheriffs depu
ties, S.A.L.T. members (Seniors
And Law enforcement Together)
and sheriff s office volunteers for the
sixth annual "shop with a sheriff'
program.
"We're trying to form relation
ships with the kids so they can feel
comfortable talking to us," said
Deputy Bruce Distler of the Yam
hill County Sheriffs department.
"Plus I like to see kids smile."
After being paired up with an of
ficer the kids went shopping. But they
weren't shopping for themselves.
"Our program is different from
others," said Deputy Tom O'Brien.
"Because the kids aren't buying
gifts for themselves, but for their
families. And they're very selfless.
They just love to give and their
families are important to them. It's
about giving."
The focus of the shop with a sheriff
program is to familiarize the kids with
the officers and make sure a child's first
experience with a police officer is a posi
tive one. Many of the officers came in
on their days off, or after finishing an
eight-hour shift. But they all agreed
that they wouldn't rather be doing
anything else.
"It's a day we all look forward to,"
said Polk County Deputy Steve Briles.
That sentiment was echoed in all
of the officers present.
"It's nice to see the look on the kids
faces," said Polk County Deputy
Tara Duncan. "The kids are really
grateful and it's nice to see them
exited. It's a good feeling to be able
to help, especially a little kid."
Not only did the officers donate
their time, but many of the officers
paid the difference out of their own
pockets if the total of their kids pur
chase went over the allotted thirty
dollars. When noticed doing so and
asked about it, Deputy Briles said,
"Did I pay the difference? Abso
lutely. It's Christmas time. We went
a little over, but it's Christmas."
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il IMyp
"I Think She Will Like These" - Jane Getsler of Grand Ronde gets help from
Deputy Sheriff Steve Briles while she picks out a pair of fuzzy slippers for her mom
during the "Shop with a Sheriff" program at the Dallas Wal-Mart.
CASINO'S TOP DOq IS MIKE MOORE
THE MAN WITH THE PLAN
President and CEO brings Vegas, East Coast
experience to Grand Ronde.
By Brent Merrill
The Tribe's Spirit Mountain Casino is on top. How did we get there?
How did we stay there for the last few years? How do we continue to
stay on top? As Tribal members, we want to know the answers to
these questions.
Past Tribal Council members and people like Mark Mercier, Jim Willis
and Bruce Thomas got us started and took us to the top. The top
notch casino staff and people like Bob Watson kept us there. Now, its
President and CEO Michael Moore who is charged with keeping us at
the forefront of the business. It is his job to make the staff a family
and ride the wave of change that permeates itself throughout the
gaming industry.
Moore came to Grand Ronde after a stint with the wildly successful
Foxwoods Casino in New England and more than 30 years experience in
Las Vegas and Atlantic City. We wanted to know what the man with the
plan had in his plans so we asked him.
INTERVIEW WITH MIKE MOORE:
You have a specific message that
you want to send to employees
what is it that you really want to
get across to folks especially the
employees right now?
"I guess a couple of things one is
they are doing a great job and they have
done a great job. I was attracted to this
place because of the quality of the op
eration. A lot of things are being done
very well here. My message is I don't
want to reverse what we have been do-
Cr"
J A.
ing. We reviewed our strategic plan and
then we had occasion to review our mis
sion statement which is driven by our
guiding values those eight things are,
we think, are the cornerstones of our
business and if we do those things then
we will be successful no matter what the
general economic conditions are. We
just need to do things a little bit smarter,
maybe a little bit quicker, maybe a little
more efficiently. We're just taking a
sharper look at everything we can't
Sa ry V ' ....
c
It's a Steinway Legendary pianist Elgin Bruner, who makes his living as a floor
manager at Spirit Mountain Casino, poses for a photo with part of the Legends Restaurant
crew after an entire day of entertaining passersby with his vast store of classical music.
Bruner, has been in and around gaming for years and has played the piano all his life.
"Spirit Mountain Casino is an
environment of good people focused
on providing a high level of consistent
friendly service to our guests... that's
our strength. To be able to work in
this environment is a major benefit
and I'm proud to be a member of the
team," said Mike Moore. "I enjoy the
positive work environment that
results when managers and staff
work together to accomplish our goal
of operating Spirit Mountain Casino in
a business manner that generates
profits to help provide the Tribe with
the means to gain economic self-sufficiency."
JPIBJT MOUNTAIN
CASINO
rest on our lau
rels. We can't be
satisfied. So
that's where we
are at."
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What is your
background?
I think it is im
portant for folks to know that I have
done a lot of these jobs. When I be
came a casino employee thirty or forty
years ago I broke in at the bottom. I
have done it all worked all the shifts,
done all the things. One thing that I'm
proud about and that I have learned is I
don't take my knowledge from one part
of the country and go to another part of
the country and try to plug it in.
This is what I call a local casino I
mean that the people who play here,
live here."
So in a sense what you are saying
is that what we do has a broad
base, it has a broad appeal to it,
but we localize it for folks that come
here because we want them to
know we recognize the fact they
are local.
"This is an Oregon Casino. It's not a
Vegas casino. The mood is different,
the pace is different."
There is a different attitude. There
continued success.
PCC k..
ir.j uy urnvirf n
every visit. y d Tun and en-J
is a different sense of who our
guests are.
"Well, their guests (in Las Vegas) are
international. One thing they are prob
ably not they are not from Las Vegas.
Foxwoods was a New England casino,
not a Vegas casino, not an Atlantic City
casino. This (Spirit Mountain) should
always be an Oregon casino. And it is
it has that little bit of laid-back, that
little bit of quiet it's got action, but it's
an Oregon Country casino."
Do you go out and meet people on
the floor?
"Yes. Exactly."
Why? Is that your style?
"Yes. Just to be in touch. I like to ride
in the shuttle buses and go and pick
people up. I listen to them. I like to
hear what they have to say. I have al
ways done that."
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