Smoke Signals
ACTINC MARKETING DIRECTOR ISA FAMILY MAN
Tribal Member Adam Henny is an idea man who worked his way up through the ranks.
JANUARY 1, 2002
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ADAM H6NNY
Tribal member Adam Henny
' has his hands full. As In
terim Marketing Director
and Public Relations Man
ager, Henny leads a busy life
and lately his personal life has
added to the stress but in a good way.
Married, with one daughter, 4, and
wife Julie expecting any moment, Henny
came off aad on the nervous side. The
week of our interview Henny carried his
cell phone with him, probably to the
shower even, eagerly anticipating the
arrival of a new son (for the record,
John Henny was born soon thereafter,
weighing in at 7 pounds, 7 ounces).
Though Oregon State University is no
more than a stone's throw away from
Grand Ronde, marketing and public re
lations are worlds away from what he
studied in Corvallis Horticulture.
"Some day I'm going to use it," he said.
"Someday."
That Bachelor's of Science might not
get much use at Spirit Mountain, but his
minor, business, undoubtedly will. And
seeing that many of his duties include
corporate giving, events and promotions,
perhaps a little background in the area
helps.
"I guess I'm part of the team that
comes up with ideas," Henny said, in list
ing his duties.
That team spans three different de
partments (Group Sales, Marketing and
Player Services) and includes a few
dozen members. His job, and collec
tively their job, is to make Spirit Moun
tain known through whatever means
possible. Those means include every
thing, from television ads to promotions
to the website.
"The website has done great," he said.
"We've been able to triple the number
of hits because of our promotions."
Their television ads have also been
respectable. Many readers will remem
ber such ads as the rhinoplasty dig, or
the green sandals, or the pink leather
hat. Billboards have also been abun
dant, peppering state highways as far
south as Eugene.
"We always try to keep ads fresh," he
said. "We try to keep them new."
Most ads demonstrate the Tribe's
sense of humor, an important aspect of
Spirit Mountain's philosophy, not only
because they want to appear light
hearted, but such an approach also has
appeal to younger audiences. As the
average age of an SMC customer lin
gers around 51, the vein of youthful cli
ents is still ready to be tapped.
"We've been reaching out to the
younger crowd," he said. "We want
them to know there's lots of fun things
to do here. We just have to get them in
the door."
Another of his current projects is
working on a direct email campaign for
Coyote Club members. It was the Coy
ote Club, in fact, where Henny got his
start with Spirit Mountain, working in
their marketing department on the
graveyard shift. And over the course of
a few years, he worked to his present
position.
Henny understands that the goal of
luring new customers is really an ongo-,
ing saga, requiring flexibility and in some
degree, vision.
"The casino, when you think about it,
is really just a form of escapism," he said,
adding that that is an attraction in itself.
"It's interactive entertainment, reaily."
Escapism has been an important com-
modity of note following the
September 11 attacks. Since that
date people have been doing less travel
meaning more are ending up at Spirit
Mountain than usual.
Superbowl parties and concerts,
Henny said, are reliable draws.
Failed promotions have been few, ac
cording to Henny, probably because the
marketing team has a fairly diverse
background in its own right, meaning a
constant stream of original ideas will
likely keep trickling in. Which is good,
because they need them.
"Our team is great," he said. "We've
all sorts of backgrounds, all sorts of lev
els. It's exciting.
"But still, we have to change," he said.
"You look at the Lodge. I mean that was
just a dream once, but customers asked
for it.
"Now it has some of the highest occu
pancy rates in the state," he added.
Deviation has become the norm then,
really. Bob Newhart is coming January
24 and overall one can expect some ex
perimentation, more comedy acts and
pop musicians.
Eventually, Henny would like to go back
to school. To study what, he doesn't
know. He'd just like to go back. But for
now he is genuinely pleased with his job,
one that for him is really a double bless
ing the opportunity to help the busi
ness and the Tribe at the same time.
Try getting that out of Horticulture.
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HUMAN RESOURCES DIRECTOR WANTS TO TRAVEL, SWIM WITH THE DOLPHINS
Tribal Member Camille Mercier oversees a workforce not afraid to try new things.
CAMILLA MRCIR
Henny preferred to see
himself as part of a team,
and really, Spirit Mountain
Casino embodies the concept. More than
1,500 employees, payroll in the millions,
dozens in, dozens out, all in the course
of a week who's the Colonel in all
this?
Answers will vary, of course, but never
before was the need for people in charge
of people more illustriously demon
strated. Somebody has got to keep tabs
on all these people and that responsi
bility rests with the Human Resources
Director, Tribal member Camille Mercier.
Born and raised in Lebanon, graduate
of McNary High School in Salem, Mer
cier found herself drawn to the Tribe
more than 10 years ago. And she has
been a fixture ever since.
She didn't start out in her present field,
not unlike nearly every other person in
this story. Rather her employment in
Grand Ronde began with the Wellness
Department, involved in prevention pro
grams. It was during her first few years
in Grand Ronde that she met John
Mercier, now her husband. They live in
Grand Ronde with their five year-old
son, Kalim.
Mercier also gave self-employment a
shot, for three years working as a free
lance interior decorator. Just enough
money came in, she said, to sustain the
business, but obviously greener pastures
lay elsewhere. Through Western Or
egon University and George Fox Univer
sity, Mercier was able to earn a
Bachelor's of Arts degree in Organiza
tional Management Development, mak
ing her ripe for the field of human re
sources. Beginning as a receptionist, she
worked her way up to Tribal Recruiter.
There, her love for the field came into
its own.
"I did everything," she said. "Recruit
ing, prescreening, building awareness
for Tribal members. That's when I built
up my experience.
"It gave me a good foundation of un
derstanding," she added.
And it gave her the fast track for the
next stepping stone: Employee Devel
opment Manager.
"That really gave me the experience
on a leadership level," she said.
Leadership is definitely an important
quality, especially within an arena re
plete with issues that range from per
sonal to conflict. And that was her job,
setting a precedent for dealing with
workplace conflict, deaths, drug
screens, harassment, theft and above
all communication.
"You have different challenges every
day," she said. "And they always change
in a business that never closes. Not pre
dictable, not mundane no two situa
tions are ever the same."
The stakes have been upped a notch
by her present position as Human Re
sources Director, but you won't hear any
complaining. Though she misses the
physical freedom of being able to roam
the casino floor, her plate is full enough
looking after benefits, compensation,
recruiting (still), training, coaching,
counseling and outreach to the commu
nity. "Yeah sure, I miss being out on the
floor, but I don't miss the disruptions in
my life," she said. "I take a lot of pride
in helping people get end results.
"As HR Director, you've got to look at
problems as opportunities," she said.
"Spirit Mountain Casino is not afraid to
try new things.
"If your policies don't evolve with the
market," she said. "Then you're in
trouble."
One example of HR policy evolution
might be the Bonus Pull incentive a
pool of money winnable by employees
with excellent attendance records. Or
the Tribal Career Development Program
that helps Tribal members at SMC ex
plore other career options. Or the Tu
ition Reimbursement Program that en
courages employees to pursue higher
education. The list goes on and on, and
like Mercier will gladly declare, work
ers at SMC are grateful for it.
"We used to get 200 applications a
month," she said. "Now, we get 200
per week."
Would-be and actual employees can
always point to the candlelight vigil held
following the 9-11 World Trade Center
attacks as epitomizing SMC's desire to
reach out to workers. They even
brought in a grief counselor for particu
larly bereaved workers.
Mercier is abundantly happy with her
position and sees a lengthy career with
SMC.
Mercier recently bought a horse, a
gelding named Charlie. And she went
skydiving. Already she is making some
major travel plans, siting the Taj Mahal
in India as her next likely destination.
"I would also like to go some place
where I would swim with dolphins," she
said.
For now, however, playing with the
kids and reading occupy her spare time
perfectly.
"I see myself staying here for a long
time," she added.