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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (July 1, 2010)
8 JULY 1, 2010 Smoke Signals JK U m St . i 'fc" , i -x it m, l m ft. ix ' 9 OfeVtf i-J,V, V Photo by Genifer Grout Spirit Mountain Casino's float "First Hava Compassion" won tha Al Rasar Swaapstakas Award as tha "most outstanding float" at tha 2010 Grand Floral Parada in Portland on Saturday, Juna 12. Tribal Eldar and Tribal Council mambar Stava Bobb Sr. dasignad tha float. Uttla Miss Grand Ronda Isaballa Grout was tha modal for tha young girl daplctad on tha float. Ca so duo's Rose FesftiivaD tfOoatt woods award! By Ron Karten Smoke Signals staff writer The 2010 Rose Festival was a three-week event for Jocelyn Huff man, Angela Sears and the team of casino staff and Tribal volunteers who participated. Huffman and Sears are Tribal members; Huffman is Spirit Moun tain Casino's Marketing Spon sorship coordinator and Sears is Casino Marketing coordinator. In addition to the Grand Floral Parade, the funwork included meet-and-greets for Rose Festival sponsors, the Starlight Parade and a continuous presence at the Portland Waterfront. The waterfront celebration in cluded barbecues, brews and circus like events. Spirit Mountain Casino this year sponsored the barbecue category and the event's high definition broadcasts. The Rose Festival is Oregon's festival, said Huffman. "It's one of the top five events in the state,"' she said. "It puts the message out there that we are a community sponsor, that we give back. It's a great marketing and advertising tool. "It was great being a partner with the Rose Festival. They do a lot for us advertising-wise." As part of that, the Grand Ronde group also handed out promotional items and talked to folks at the festival. On May 21, the casino hosted the Rose Festival Court for lunch. Tribal member and Youth Educa tion Cultural Specialist Travis Mercier organized a singing and drum program for the court. Then, "First Have Compassion," the casino's float, won the Al Reser Sweepstakes Award as "the most outstanding float" this year during the June 12 Grand Floral Parade. "It was my first year," Huffman said. "It was great to win the sweep stakes this year." Tribal Elder and Tribal Council member Steve Bobb Sr. designed the winning float. After a last-minute request to design last year's float, Bobb had plenty of time this year, starting in January at a meeting with Portland-based Studio Concepts, the company that builds the mechani cals for all of the floats. "Pencil to paper?" said Bobb, "I guess I worked on it this year for about two-and-a-half weeks in the evenings." He knew when he got thinking about it that he wanted something to do with the emotional content you get with children and animals, he said. When he saw Tribal member and Little Miss Grand Ronde Isabelle Grout at the Gathering of Oregon's First Nations Powwow held at the State Fairgrounds in January, he knew he had a model. In addition, Bob"b made a con scious effort to make the Tribal logo prominent on the float. . "In the past," he said, "it's been secondary, There's always some really nice floats. I was hoping to get us back into some sort of con tention, but winning was kind of a pleasant surprise." I , 1 - , 1 m vJV ''''' ' V Steve Bobb Jr., Tribal member and surveillance director at Spirit Mountain Casino, covers the Spirit Mountain portion of the casino's 201 0 Grand Floral Parade float as he helps decorate it at Studio Concepts in Portland on Thursday, June 1 0. Tribal Elder and Tribal Council member Steve Bobb Sr., Bobb Jr.'s father, designed the float. Photos by Michelle Alaimo Jocelyn Huffman, Tribal member and Marketing Sponsorship coordinator at Spirit Mountain Casino, applies glue to a hair tie that will be used on the casino's 201 0 Grand Floral Parade float as she helps decorate it.
