1
APRIL 1,2008
(MOKE SIGNALS
Acttivitfcy Cemfteir, amid seMF-estfceeinni, going up
Tribal employment programs find construction jobs for Tribal, community members
t
jBy Ron Karten
Smoke Signals staff writer
i Lincoln City-based Quade Com
'mercial Construction has been
building and upgrading facilities for
.the Grand Ronde Tribe almost since
the beginning.
The first project, Superintendent
Craig Hoffman recalls, was remod
eling the Tribal Community Center
eight years ago.
Today, at work on the Elders' Ac-
tivity Center located west of the El
der Foster Care buildings, Hoffman
! and Quade Commercial are a vital
; part of the Tribe's Workforce Devel
' opment Program, bringing in Tribal
and community members who have
learned construction skills as part of
the Preapprenticeship Program and
. are now earning a regular paycheck,
! as well as gaining the kind of self-es-;
teem that pays dividends daily.
I "I'd never really done this building
stuff before," said community member
j Ezequeil (Zeke) Jones, 25, who went
through the Tribe's Preapprentice
! ship Program last year. He is married
j to Tribal member Shawn Hostler,
i "It was just something I knew I
! liked," Jones said, taking a break
from building a wall on the second
j floor of the Elders' Activity Center,
j "Zeke is my number one student as
1 far as how it turned his life around,"
j said Tribal member and the Tribe's
Preapprenticeship Program Coordi-
nator Denise Harvey.
I "He was there every day on time.
I He worked hard and when job op
portunities came up, he took them.
His family told me, he is just a dif
ferent person today."
And Jones makes no bones about
his life before the Preapprenticeship
Program. He was cooling his heels
in three different prisons.
j "They take the time to teach
you the skills," Jones said. "It did
, take me awhile to catch on to some
things, but they didn't freak out."
"On any of our construction proj
ects, I try to make opportunities
! .1
- - - - AA
Photo by Michelle Alaimo
Tribal member Daniel Mooney nails a board as he works on building the
Elders' Activity Center on Tuesday, March 25. Mooney went through the
Tribe's Preapprenticeship Program.
for Tribal, Native or local people,"
Harvey said.
The Elders' Activity Center is the
fifth project that the Workforce De
velopment and Preapprenticeship
programs have been involved in.
Many working on the Elders' Activity
Center, in fact, worked on the casino
southern expansion and came over to
the center when their employment
ended on the casino project.
On all Tribal construction projects,
Harvey approaches the construction
companies working for the Tribe
with an offer to take advantage of
the Workforce Development and
Preapprenticeship programs and
the people who have learned basic
skills through the programs.
"(Quade lead carpenter) Paul (Goetz)
does a lot of teaching," said Tribal
member Daniel Mooney, 30. "He's
right there on everything with us."
Mooney names layouts, framing
and working around cranes as skills
he's picked up on the job.
"I'm liking it so far," Mooney said.
Now, he's learning to add brackets
for the building's trusses. "You get
to learn a new skill every day."
"It has worked out," Hoffman
said. "They've shown that they have
the ability to work in construction.
They've learned something out of
those classes."
The alternative, Hoffman said, is
"hiring off the street and teaching"
the necessary skills.
Tribal descendant Kristy Mik
kelsen also went through the Preap
prenticeship Program and worked
on the casino expansion before
coming over to the Activity Center
on the Tribal campus.
"It's a lot better than just jumping
in," Mikkelsen said.
"The construction trade is not just
for men," said Harvey. ."It's also for
women. A lot of women don't think
construction is for them, but obvi
ously it is."
"The more you teach," said long
time Quade carpenter and Tribal
member Ward Blanchard, 46, "the
more they learn."
"It's hard to measure those results,"
Harvey said, "but I really believe that
some of that work reflects our mission
statement, providing opportunity,
building strong healthy families,
and creating a sustainable economic
foundation for generations. When
you have a Tribal member who can
now take care of themselves and their
families, it raises their self-esteem."
The Preapprenticeship Program
is interviewing new people all the
time, Harvey added.
"Especially with our housing, with
families moving here, they have
increased my numbers. I'm the one
program that can assist the family
members of our Tribal families. The
Tribal member can get the housing,
but there are no other resources to
help family members find jobs."
The three-month courses bring
in about 15 students per session,
and the Preapprenticeship Program
has a backlog of some 25 Tribal
members and 20 more community
members who are interested in find
ing employment.
"When I get a list of skills needed for
a job," Harvey said, "I first go through
my list of Tribal members and then go
to the community member list.
"It's just about somebody taking
the time to teach and empower them.
There's always a little risk but you
just have a belief in them that you
can make a difference in their lives.
You give them the tools, empower
them and be supportive of them.
"It builds their self-esteem and
once you get that going, you just try
to build on it.
"The end result is not just the
number of people working. If you
have one success, then the program
is a success. And even if some didn't
find their niche, they were given
skills that they can use in their life
and at home."
Anticipated completion of the
Elders' Activity Center is this sum
mer. Meanwhile, Harvey is counting
on new construction projects, such
as the upcoming fire station, to
create new positions for Tribal and
community members.
New photojournalist joins Tribal publications staff
Michelle Alaimo began shooting on March 3 for Smoke Signals
By Dean Rhodes
Smoke Sinnnls editor
Michelle Alaimo joined the Publi
cations Department staff on March
3 as the new Tribal photojournal
ism succeeding Toby McClary, who
left in early November to accept
a supervisory position at Spirit
Mountain Casino.
Alaimo, 33, previously worked for
nix years at The NcwH-lievivw in
Koseburg, Ore., as an assignment
editor and phntojournalist.
Before that, she worked as a
photojournalist in Merced, Calif.,
Marshfu-ld, Wis., Attleboro, Mass.,
and Canandaigua, N.Y.
She earned a Bnchelor of Fine
Arts degree in photojournalism
from the Rochester Institute of
Technology in New York state, and
is familiar with several brands of
digital cameras, processing pro-
Name: Michelle Alaimo
Age: 33
Bom: Rochester, N.Y.
Tribal job: Photojournalist
Education: Photojournalism
degree from Rochester Institute
of Technology
Quote: "I've already met a lot of
great people and covered many
interesting events in my few
weeks here. I'm excited about
this opportunity and look forward
to what the future holds."
Contact: 503-879-1961 or mi-chelle.alaimograndronde.org.
grams, photography software and
scanning equipment.
"Michelle brings a good combina
tion of personality, technical ability
and creative eye to the position,"
Publications Coordinator Dean
Rhodes said. "It was difficult replac
ing Toby's four years of experience
with the department, but I think
we've found a good fit."
Alaimo has received four pho
tography awards in the Oregon
Newspaper Publishers Association
Better Newspaper Contest, includ
ing a first-place finish in 2006.
She also is a member of the National
Press Photographers Association.
She grew up in Fairport, N.Y., a
suburb of Rochester. Her parents
are retired and she is the youngest
of three children.
She lives in McMinnville with her
dog and two cats.
"I've already met a lot of great
people and covered many interest
ing events in my few weeks here,"
she said. "I'm excited about this
opportunity and look forward to
what the future holds." D
I ' 1
Photo by Dean Rhodei
Michelle Alaimo