Smoke Signals 11
AUGUST 15, 2005
Career Development Starts From Within
At Spirit Mountain Casino, the ''cornerstone" program for Tribal employees is one they choose themselves.
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Tribal Member Advocate The Career Development program, which is
held once a year, is coordinated by the Human Resources Department for Spirit
Mountain Casino. Tribal Elder Sam Henny instructs the course held at Human Re
sources. "It's an introduction to self-awareness," said Henny.
By Ron Karten
Once a year for two days, the Spirit
Mountain Casino's Human Resources
Department offers a program for
Tribal employees with an interest in
exploring their potentials and discov
ering their special skills.
"Maybe you need a different line of
work," said Tribal member and Smoke
Signals Photojournalist Toby
McClary, "but you're not sure what.
Maybe you're interested in different
things. Maybe the casino wasn't the
right place for me. Then the newspa
per job opened up. Had I not gone
through this class, I probably would
have stayed at the casino."
McClary is among a small and grow
ing number of Tribal members who
have gone through the Tribal Develop
ment class and gone on to find a career
that suits him.
Of course, it didn't hurt in McClary's
assessment of his current job that one
of his first assignments was to photo
graph the President of the United States,
the nation's Secretary of State and Presi
dential candidate, whatshisname Kerry,
all in person, all in the nation's capital,
and that he came back with the goods.
Toby's story really touched me," said
Tribal Elder Mike Larsen, who man
ages the casino on an interim basis
from time to time. Larsen had not
taken the course, but regarding
McClary, Larsen commented on what
success can mean in this program.
"I've seen his growth as a man. I'm
really proud of him."
McClary may never have had the
chance without this program run by
Spirit Mountain's Human Resources
wiz Sam Henny. Her title is Tribal
Developmentor.
One result of this program, said
Mike Larsen, "If you can feel better
about yourself, the perception of you is
going to be different."
Henny reinforced that concept with
the following definition of 'reputation':
"The story you tell about yourself and
the stories that people tell about you."
"We want to get them to a place
where they feel enriched," said Henny,
"where they are able to seek every op
portunity for advancement. Many
have goals in mind. For some, we're
going to establish goals."
Tribal employees of the casino "self
select" themselves for this course, said
Henny.
The class includes several assess
ments that help an employee "know
who they are," said Henny. "If you
don't know who you are, you don't know
where you want to go."
The class begins the process of "iden
tifying interests, values, basic skills
and abilities," said Henny. "There is
a strong emphasis on value assess
ment. It's an introduction to self-
awarencss.
"It didn't take me long to see that
numbers weren't my thing," said
Tribal member Carol Larsen of her
early days in the Accounts Payable
section of the casino. "Human Re
sources was my goal." Today, Larsen
is a I luman Resources Specialist.
The program started in 2jjKX). Twenty
three current casino employees are now
graduates. Among them, three are ca
sino directors, five are managers and
one is a supervisor, said I Ienny.
Two graduates of the class have
joined the Tribal government and 10
have moved on from Tribal employ
ment, whether from the casino or the
government, said Henny. "If they de
cide this isn't the place, that's fine.
We want them to be a success in
whatever they do."
"Networking," one of the side benefits
of the course, and one of the lessons,
"put things in perspective for me," said
Tribal member David Dellart, also a
I luman Resources Specialist. "It helped
me appreciate the bigger picture."
"It opened my eyes a lot," said Sarah
Harvey, Sam's daughter and a Em
ployee Relations and Benefits Manager
who saw the value of the program. "I
took power over my career," said
Harvey. "I had been waiting for oth
ers to do it for me."
All of these employees some
former graduates of the class, some
this year's graduates described their
experiences at a meeting at the Spirit
Mountain I luman Resources office on
Thursday, June 30 at the end of this
year's class.
The pre-packaged program looked
like a good fit from the beginning, said
Tribal member Camille Mercier, the
casino's Human Resources Director,
but it was key that it be tailored for the
special audience here in Grand Ronde.
Among the lessons of the course: "If
you think you're going to take your
weakness and turn it into a strength,"
said Mercier, "you're setting yourself
up to fail." The right question, she
said, is, "how can I leverage my weak
ness to help my strength?"
The program, currently available
only to Tribal employees, is a concrete
example of the Tribe's effort to give
preference in hiring and advancement
to Tribal members, said Henny.
At a banquet held Tuesday, July 19,
in honor of the graduates, Tribal Elder
and Casino General Manager Randy
Dugger told the graduates: "The jour
ney within us is understanding who we
are," and he proposed a definition of
success: "When preparation meets op
portunity. It's difficult to prepare
when you're not sure where you are go
ing but prepare anyway. The most
important thing is to continue that
process. A career is waiting," he said.
"You will find it or it will find you."
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Inspiration Tribal member and Human Resources Specialist Joann Mercier
and son and Smoke Signal's photojournalist Toby McClary speak about their suc
cesses after completing the Career Development program. On Thursday, June 30,
Mercier, along with other graduating members, described their awareness and
ability to identify where they stand in their career goals.
New Accounts Receivable Tech Spreads Her Wings
Linda Meyer and her husband now live in Grand Ronde.
By Jack Ham,
Smoke Signals Intern
Linda Meyer, the Tribe's new Ac
counts Receivable Technician, is a
woman who feels blessed to be where
she is in life. Today, Meyers handles
accounting done with the phone sys
tem, day care and bank deposits.
"My managers have enabled me to
spread my wings," said Meyer.
Meyer has had experience working
in the accounting field for sixteen
years. All of her previous jobs were
in the corporate field. Now, she is ex
cited about learning the important
parts of government accounting. For
example, the Tribe does a lot more
work with government grants than
the corporations she has worked for
over the years.
Another exciting part of the Tribe,
said Meyer, is working with Elders.
"They call up with questions on how
to pay bills and phone service."
Most recently, Meyer and her hus
band Daryl moved to Oregon after liv
ing out of state. Meyer's husband has
family in Willamina.
Meyer and her family constructed
their house in five months located in
Grand Ronde. Meyer found her ac
counting job here at Grand Ronde
through Accountemps, an agency for
people interested in accounting.
For the future, Meyer hopes to fin
ish her BA degree in Accounting. She
intends to go back to school in the fall
at Chemekata to accomplish the goal.
She also looks forward to working
with Controller Jody Jerger, Assistant
Controller Mike Hubbard and Budget
Treasury Manager Rick Anderson, to
learn as much as possible about the
Tribal government.
Meyers personal hobbies away from
work include mountain biking, camp
ing, learning how to clean up brush
from her 12-acre yard and waking up
fa
to see quails, hawks and eagles that
are so beautiful, especially compared
to previous areas she has lived.
Meyer strongly believes in patience.
"It's taking the time and having pa
tience to help one another," she said.
That's what it's all about.