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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (May 1, 2002)
8 MAY 1, 2002 Smoke Signals Mentorship Program Will Be A Springboard To A Brighter Future For Tribal Members If "pilot project" takes off, participants will choose between Tribal government and casino operations each track leading to management or specialized careers. By Chris Mercier Like Martin Luther King, Grand Ronde Tribal member Diana George has a dream. "One day you can walk into this casino and ask for the General Manager, ask for any other manager, ask for a director, and they'll be Tribal members," said Diana George. "That is my dream." George wants to see a Tribal Mentorship Pro gram in place and she is dedicated to see it hap pen. Just what precisely is this Tribal Mentorship Program? The whole idea of a mentor conjures up images of young Luke Skywalker and Yoda, Mr. Meogi and the Karate Kid, and orange-robed Buddhist monks. For George, though she laughed at those comparisons, the mentorship is no joke. This just might be the biggest thing to hit Grand Ronde since that Casino down the road. The Tribal Mentorship Program was developed on the premise while there is a rather large con tingent of available members who would be more than willing to assume management and spe cialized positions within Spirit Mountain Casino and Tribal Government. The program would churn out talented, skilled, and seasoned Tribal workers, some ready to assume a score of posi tions, others specially groomed for a certain slot. George and others on the task force that devel oped the program are confident it will work. "This is a good opportunity and I'd say a per manent program," said Director of Program Op erations Chris Leno. "It shows a commitment by the Tribe to long-term success. If it's not work ing, we'll fix it. I see it expanding." For now, the program still rests in "pilot project" form and is due to begin with the hiring of the Mentorship Program Coordinator during the next two months. Since the coordinator will be overseeing the whole program, George said, it's the most important thing on the list at present. The mentees are themselves those for whom this program is designated. They are the ones who hope to benefit most from the program, be ing those well-rounded individuals that will some day run the Tribe. With that in mind, the Mentorship Program rests in two divisions, one for the casino and one for Tribal government, though both will answer to the overall mentorship coordinator. Within both divisions exist the two tracks for mentees, the management track and the non-management track. The management track is available for those Tribal members pursuing a post-secondary edu cation and interested in positions that incorpo rate greater responsibilities. Requirements will include at least 72 college credit hours and proof of ongoing educational pursuit. The non-management track will focus mem bers seeking more specialized avenues in their career or those interested in getting firsthand, comprehensive knowledge of overall casino and Tribal government operations. Requirements will be lighter for these mentees, needing only a high school diploma or GED. The program will mandate that participants in both tracks be enrolled in college courses and pursue a post-secondary degree. Those courses should reflect the mentees' academic and career goals. Most importantly, they will need to. make a two-year commitment to the Mentorship Pro gram. The 24-month program will have mentees jumping through different jobs in different de partments, the idea being to foster a thorough understanding of Tribal operations. Those in the Tribal Government Division, for example, will spend 10 months in Human Resources, Finance, Policy & Planning, Public Works and Govern ment Executive Office Legal-Court. They will also spend the remaining 14 months in programs like Education, Member Services, Social Ser vices, Cultural Resources, Natural Resources, Health & Wellness, and Housing. The Casino Division would run along similar lines, putting mentees through various positions in Food & Beverage, Table Games, Marketing, etc. While the mentees will be changing positions on a regular basis, the mentors themselves, pro vided they meet their own success, will stay at the same positions and will generally be selected from pre-existing employees, probably the heads of their respective departments. The mentoring duties will be tacked on to pre-existing ones, with supplemental pay. Mentors could potentially play a bigger role than planned, George said. Some will enjoy the position and who knows, maybe teach mentees a lesson beyond the realm of work. "The mentors can bring anything," she said. "They might teach something that has nothing to do with the job at all..." The overall plan includes having two mentees hired and ready to go by the summer, one for the casino and another for Tribal governance -both in non-management tracts. The program will then incorporate two more participants ev ery six months, the second session adding two in the management tracts and then splitting the additions from then on. This revolving door pro cess will put less pressure on the mentors, as well as allowing for the task force and program coordinator to catch certain glitches. "This is still going to be a pilot project," said George. "We know that. There will be lots of bugs to work out." Bugs might include all manner of problems. The first of course could be discovering that mentees or mentors either fail to match up well personality-wise, or just don't quite fit into the scheme of the program. Conflict, Leno feels, could very well be inevitable. "Well, yes. The situation is delicate," he said. "The whole idea of having a mentor and some body looking over your shoulder... not every body will find out they like that." The greatest problem could be the program faces is that although participants would be making the two-year commitment as mentees, in no way are they under any contractual obli gation to remain with the Tribe or casino once their time in the program expires. No problem, George tells me, for the whole point of the pro gram is to simply temper well-rounded individu als and give them career direction, within or beyond the borders of Grand Ronde. No hard feelings, then. "If mentees take this opportunity, it could open doors for them," she said. "Even if they don't stay with the Tribe." Leno, who was interim Executive Officer while the mentorship program was being developed, took to the idea from the start, partially because he saw it as a no-lose proposition, and also be cause at one point during his life, he would have liked the guidance it will provide. "I went to college," he said. "And honestly, I didn't really know what I wanted to do. I had an idea of what I wanted to study, but as far as my career..." That is one aspect he particularly loves: the academic and career advice. Mentees should finish their commitments experienced and hav ing a sound sense of how to run their careers. "This (program) is not only about preparing people," he told me. "But exposing people to dif ferent opportunities and departments." "With this (program), they'll learn about Tribal government, council, and legal. We need more people who know that," said George. ( ) I' I Diana George When Leno arrived on the scene one decade ago, CTGR was nothing more than a few modu lar buildings and 50 employees. Now the Tribe for all economic purposes is a multi-million dol lar corporation, retaining the services of hun dreds. But frankly, if he and George thought Tribal members were ready to run the whole thing, then there wouldn't have been any rea son to adopt the program. With this program, George said, the number of Tribal members who have "done well" would hopefully increase. But getting over attitudes might be the big obstacle. "You have to have a balance of discipline," she said. That sense of entitlement among Tribal mem bers is what made her realize the Tribe needed a program of this nature. When Tribal Council approved the program, George immediately vol unteered for the task force in charge of assem bling everything. "The last three months, we really got focused," said George. The task force included Leno, then-Executive Officer Bob Martin, Education Manager Marion Mercier, Connie Holmes and Fred Grinnell of Human Resources. All worked full-time, which slowed the development process as the task force was an after hours affair. Human Resources Director Camille Mercier, Sam Henny, and George tasked the casino division. Overall, George said, every major entity has been in volved in one way Casino Executive Officer Michael Moore, SMDC, the Tribe, Spirit Moun tain Casino. Neither George nor Leno takes complete credit for developing the mentorship. Ideas for a model came last year after a visitation by Tal Moore of the Falmouth Institute. Founded in 1985, Falmouth specializes in providing information services and programs to North American In dian Tribes, many of which face the same di lemmas as Grand Ronde sudden wealth, an unprepared Tribal body, and a casino. Moore led a two-day workshop last year on the mentorship, one that evidently gave some good ideas to George and Leno both. "One day, Tribal members will occupy all top level positions," George said. "We've got Adam Henny (Interim Marketing Director), Randy Dugger (Guest Services Director). We're already getting close." B
