12 MAY 1, 2003
Smoke Signals
Pallie Campbell Teaches Groups But Sees Only Individuals
Leadership development is in good hands at the casino.
By Ron Karten
At one time, Pallie Campbell thought she would
be a teacher. And so she is one, if by another name.
In a career that has included teaching both "hard
skills" (like computer and software training) and "soft
skills" (like Leadership training), she said, "I really
love learning personally and helping other people to
learn and grow. I probably learn more from them
than they learn from me."
Part of her gift has got to be her willingness to be
a kid. She takes great pleasure in the tools of her
trade which include cans of spray-on
cheese spread, large dice and all kinds
of little knick-knacks that help her
make points in a fun way.
Specifically, she is known to roll un
usual things into the training "to estab
lish purpose and passion" about what
her "customers" (what she calls the
people she trains) do. "If you don't have
(purpose and passion), you're not going
to do your job well."
One example is a wide-topped bottle
with big and little marshmallows (that
have hardened beyond the eating stage)
that don't automatically fit into the
bottle. The big marshmallows represent
the big jobs one has to complete at work,
and the little marshmallows represent
the little jobs. The test asks how to get
all of the marshmallows into the bottle,
or put another way, how do you get both
big and little jobs done at work?
"If I give you an example and it's
hands-on, then you'll remember," she
said. "I'm not telling you how to do some
thing. You're discovering and learning
with your peers how to do it."
Many years ago, when Pallie
Campbell was helping her best friend
face terminal cancer, she herself was di
agnosed with it. Her friend did not survive the dis
ease, but Pallie moved forward with a mission.
Maybe it is not so surprising that for Pallie now,
"apathy's the biggest challenge that drives me crazy."
She is not only a survivor, but is again full of life,
curiosity and appreciation. There are "predictable
outcomes for survivors," she said. One is to turn
inward and another is to turn outward to the world.
"I'm absolutely driven to make a contribution to
the world," she said.
She has known nearly her whole life that she would
turn outward. In addition to her daily contributions
as a Leadership Trainer at Spirit Mountain Casino,
she said that she has her sights set on one day launch
ing a magazine for kids with cancer.
"This life is such a gift, but it's your choice. There's
not one right way for everybody. When I go, I want
to be able to say, 'Man, that was a good ride and I
made a difference."'
Working for nearly four years as a Casino Human
Resource Leadership Development Training Special
ist, Campbell also is a thoughtful person. "I line up
the pros and cons in my head before making any
A U
; fLP. t
ill t i I
"If I give you an example and it's hands-on, then you'll
remember. I'm not telling you how to do something. You're
discovering and learning with your peers how to do it."
Pallie Campbell
decision," she said.
She was hired to start a Leadership training pro
gram for the still young casino, and while the initial
thoughts on the program indicated that employees
would be mandated to take the classes, she knew
before the first meeting that people do not appreciate
being ordered about, that they prefer to have some
ownership in their jobs and that they perform better
and learn more if they do. She worked, as perhaps
only a person educated in mediation can, to enable
others to see that the program would be more effec
tive if employees bought into it, and then chose to
attend. And so, in most cases, she said, they now do.
"If it needs to be said," said Vickie Merrill, Hu
man Resources Training Specialist who works
closely with Campbell, "she'll come up with a way
to get the point across. Very diplomatically. Very
appropriately." Perhaps it doesn't hurt either that
Campbell's ultimate humanity appears always to
be shining through. Merrill also described her as,
"Very caring. Would-give-you-the-shirt-off-her-back
kind of person. Very dedicated not only to her work
but to her team."
Campbell believes in coupling "real
world experience" with training. "If
you take something from the real
world and something from the train
ing, you're going to learn it better."
"One of the hardest things to learn
is to work with people," Campbell said.
"People can't be put in a box. You
have to see things through their
lenses. Maybe they're here because it
is their passion, but maybe they're
just here to earn a living." And she
tries to make training effective for
people wherever they are, as opposed
to where one might think they're sup
posed to be.
"She has a true gift of inquiry," said
Laurie Roe, Organization Develop
ment and Training Manager for Spirit
Mountain Casino, "of asking thought
provoking questions, of getting people
thinking and moving toward action."
People are apathetic," Campbell
said, "when they don't get support, or
when they don't realize they have
choices." When she encounters apa
thy, she knows, she can't do the moti
vating for another person, "but hope
fully," she said, "I can guide you to
things that will help you motivate
yourself."
"Pallie's definitely a fabulous person here," said
Human Resources Director Camille Mercier.
"Amazing creativity. She brings a lot to Spirit Moun
tain." "I'm a realist," Campbell said. "I don't think ev
eryone will make the right choices, but I don't see
failure as a bad thing, either. As people, we're all
works in progress."
In progress at her home in the country with plenty
of grapes is husband Craig, daughter Stephanie,
grandson Logan and "the boyz" (possibly seen by
some as, the dogz): Willie and Amigo. B
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With the opening of the Grand Ronde
Tribal library, community members
will have place to read and check out
their favorite books and periodicals,
study for classes and surf the Internet.
With the support of the Tribal Coun
cil and the help of a grant from the
Institute of Museum and Library Ser
vices, the Tribal Education Depart
ment was able to buy new books and
materials, as well as hire Barbara
Bucknell as a part time-librarian to
work on Saturdays. The library's
hours are 8 to 5 weekdays and 10 to 2
on Saturdays.
Marion Mercier, Tribal Education
Director, said that the library filled a
long-standing need for a modern li
brary in Grand Ronde.
"It's the first contemporary library
we've ever had," she said. "It's always
been one of our priorities and it's nice
to see it work out."
In addition to an extensive collec
tion of Northwest Native and Native
American themed books, the library
also has many children's books, doz
ens of Tribal newspapers and maga
zines from across the country and
many brand-new books.
There is also a large paperback sec
tion as well as two computers with
Internet access.
A successful children's reading pro
gram has been taking place at the li
brary on Mondays at ten o'clock. Com
munity members volunteer to read to
the preschools kids, and volunteers are
booked until June, among those people
that have volunteered to read to the
children are Tribal Chairwoman
Cheryle Kennedy and Tribal Council
members Val Sheker-Robertson, June
Sell-Sherer and Jan Reibach.
There is carpeted kids' reading area,
and new chairs, tables and furniture.
"It's a quiet, comfortable place for
people to come and read." said Mercier.
Future plans include expanding the
collection of Native American titles,
purchasing more books on tape, and
setting up a computer network with
the Tribe's Cultural Resources
Department's online archive, so that
Tribal members will have better ac
cess to their heritage and traditions.
They also want to start a bookmo
bile program to bring reading mate
rials to the Tribal Elders who might
not be able to get down to the educa
tion center.
"It's just exiting," said Mercier. "This
library will be enriching to people's
lives, once they take advantage of
it. . .even if they just want to read the
paper on Saturday morning. It's great
to have a place for people to come and
read and learn." B
J.
... . . v" :
Sr V'.
Marion Mercier