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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (June 1, 2007)
Smoke Signals 7 JUNE 1,2007 Tribal Member Promoted To Director Of Program Operations By Toby McClary Tribal member John Mercier has recently taken on a new posi tion for the Tribe. After serving as the Public Works Director for 14 years, Mercier has been promoted to Director of Program Operations. Mercier has worked for the Tribe for a total of 16 years and began his career as the Commu nity Planner before moving to Public Works. "I've been in my current position since March 26 and things are going very well," said Mercier. "I can't say enough about the over whelming support from Tribal Council and staff." Some of Mercier's management responsibilities will be to oversee a number of Tribal departments which include the Cultural Re sources Department, the Edu cation Department, the Social Services Department, and the Member Services Department. Mercier splits his departmental responsibilities with Tribal mem ber Pete Wakeland who was hired on as the Director of Development earlier this year. "This is the first time that all of the executive positions have been filled with permanent placements in a long time," said Mercier. "It is my goal to be part of and help create a good working team within the executive struc ture." Mercier ex plained that he will also assist Wakeland, who now oversees the Public Works De partment, with the budgeting, safety, building inspections, and the waste water treatment plants which fall un der the responsi bilities of Public Works. Mercier then added that he, Wakeland, and Tribal member and General Manager Chris Leno will work to find a "permanent management solution for Public Works" in the near future. "Ideally we would like to find a Tribal member for that position," said Mercier, "but we will search for a good fit for that depart ment." Mercier graduated from Wil lamina High School and attended Director of Program Operations & Tribal member John Mercier both Oregon State University and Chemeketa Community College. He explained that he earned his Land Surveying Certification and did some surveying work early in his life. He also worked as a consultant for many Tribes on the western half of the United States before deciding to take up a career in Grand Ronde. He stated that he had worked with Tribes as far north as Alaska, as far south as Arizona, and as far east as Oklahoma. Mercier seems to be happy with his career decision and explained that his work with the Tribe is far from over. "I am permanently here," said Mercier. "I plan to help myself as well as the Tribe to grow and prosper until I retire." As proof of his plan to become a permanent fixture at the Tribe, Mercier is having a new house built near Willamina and hopes to be in it sometime in June. Mercier lives with his wife, Ad ministrative Assistant for the Member Services Department Hollie Mercier, and their blended family which consists of children Kalim, Hattie, Devin, Nick, and a baby which is due in early June. Mercier is the son of Tribal Elder Darrell Mercier and the late Ruth Mercier. Although seeming a bit reluctant to publicize himself, Mercier did not want to escape our interview without one final statement. "I am proud of the accomplish ments of our Tribe in my entire 16 years of employment," said Mercier, "and I look forward to being a part of this Tribe's pro gression." B Tribe's New Human Resources Director Sets Sights On Those Who Want To Succeed By Ron Karten Walter Kalinowski, the Tribe's new Human Resources director, counts problem solv ing among his skills. He plans to focus on "employment strate gies that work." "You find out what's working and what's not," he said in an interview from his just-barely-moved-into office last week. "You look for what plans are in place to address Tribal goals; what infrastructure, what re sources. You look at the gaps and try to fill them." In most places, he said, pay and benefits along with job satisfac tion are major areas of dissatis faction, but "that's not true here." The Tribe already has employee surveys showing that. "Those are big issues, and it's wonderful that they are not problems here. It says a lot about the organization." The Tribal workforce is unique, he said, in that employees here have "a higher sense of identity" and "a sense of purpose" not found in all workplaces. "If you work in retail," he said, "the purpose is profit." And Kalinowski knows about both retail and government work, having served as a direc tor of Human Resources for the Minneapolis-based Target Corporation, and before that for Seattle-based Frederick & 1 W fl j 1 ftt 1 I o 1; Human Resources Director Waiter Kalinowski Nelson Department Stores. Ear lier still, he was a labor relations specialist for Lane County. Here, he said, the next step af ter coming to the job with a sense of purpose is "to make sure that employees are. equipped to do their jobs." "What do you do with somebody who doesn't have the skill sets to do the minimum level of work?" he asked. "You need to look at ways to develop skills. We get excited working with those who want to succeed." As a lover of the long shot, a friend for the un derdog, Kalinowski puts his inclinations and talents to work both on the job and at home. He and his family have driven "over 40,000 miles" in Mexico, he said, work ing alongside missionaries to supply food, clothing and construction help to many communities, in cluding the Tarahuma ra Indians in the Sierra Madre Mountains. He told a story about miscues with language and culture: "I had an electronic translator, and couldn't figure out how to pronounce one of the words I wanted to say." Finally, he just showed the transla tor to the old man he was trying to communicate with. The old man looked at the translator and then nodded. "I thought he understood," said Kalinowski. "Later, I learned that he can't read." His wife, Kristel, now retired, spent 17 years teaching in a tough Texas middle school. "Every day," he said, "there was a fight there." "She really has a heart for kids in trouble. You can break through to some of these kids and it really makes a differ ence." "We're always involved in some kind of community activ ity," he said. Among the non profits he and the family have helped are United Way, Union Gospel Mission, and the Bet ter Business Bureau Advocacy Center (in Colorado). Four times a year, Kalinowski joins some 250 others in El Paso, where they get together and with the help of different non-profits and businesses, they build homes and clean up areas. Walter's and Kristel's four children, from 35 to 16 years old, are spread across the west, but Walter's folks still live in Aberdeen, Washington, so his return to the Northwest is something of a homecoming. Or nearly. "I'm a very open person for new ideas," he said. "I take my job seriously, not myself." "I'm very very excited to be here," he said. "People have been so friendly, very helpful and generous of their time." He suspects there may have been a memo sent out just before he arrived: Be nice to Walter.
