Smoke signals., June 15, 2015, Image 9

S moke S ignals
JUNE 15, 2015
9
DeGarmo named first TERO Worker of the Year
By Brent Merrill
Smoke Signals staff writer
When Ferrell DeGarmo accepted
the first Tribal Employment Rights
Office Worker of the Year Award on
Saturday, May 30, at the Elders Ac-
tivity Center, he entered the annals
of Tribal history.
TERO Director Greg Azure said
that staff considered several can-
didates for the TERO Worker of
the Year Award and they chose the
winner from the list of workers who
had previously been honored with
a monthly TERO award.
When selecting the winner, Azure
said they considered attendance,
performance and acquisition of new
skills. They also consulted with
contractors.
“We knew this individual cer-
tainly had the heart for this type of
work,” said Azure. “We have seen
this individual come along and we
wanted to recognize him for those
accomplishments.”
Azure said he hopes that honor-
ing DeGarmo, 33, will encourage
others to rise to the occasion.
DeGarmo is currently working
for Great Western Corp. on the
Fogarty Creek Bridge project on
U.S. Highway 101.
“He has been offered to move
with the company to the next proj-
ect in California, so a real success
story in a short period of time for
Ferrell DeGarmo,” said Azure.
DeGarmo, who was the March
worker of the month, received an
engraved plaque and a $150 gift
certificate to Spirit Mountain Ca-
sino.
“I just want to thank everybody –
all the TERO staff,” said DeGarmo.
“I’m thankful for all the opportu-
nity given to me. I take all of you
guys with me on every job I go to. I
take a lot of pride in my work; not
just for myself, but for my people.”
Azure was master of ceremonies
and Tribal Chairman Reyn Leno
welcomed the audience after Tribal
member Marcus Gibbons gave the
invocation during the dinner.
A slideshow featuring Tribal
members who have been dispatched
to job sites during the year played
as guests visited and shared sto-
ries. More than 60 people attended
the dinner.
“The whole idea tonight for this
type of event is appreciation,” said
Azure. “I just really want to em-
phasize the fact that we are appre-
ciative of what this workforce has
been doing out there.”
Azure said it has been 13 months
since TERO staff members started
putting Tribal members to work.
He added that TERO serves the
Grand Ronde community by pro-
moting the interests of self-gov-
ernment and ensuring that Indian
Photo by Brent Merrill
Tribal member Ferrell DeGarmo receives a plaque for being named the first
Tribal Employment Rights Office Worker of the Year from TERO Director Greg
Azure during a dinner held Saturday, May 30, in the Elders Activity Center.
people can participate in economic
opportunities on or near the Res-
ervation.
“My hat’s off to all those that have
been contributing to the workforce
and getting out on these construc-
tion projects,” said Azure.
Leno said that establishing a
TERO program was a struggle that
took work from Tribal leadership to
finally get secured in Grand Ronde.
Leno said it’s the people involved
with TERO and the opportunities
the program creates that matter.
Under TERO and a memorandum
of understanding with the state
Department of Transportation, the
Tribe can obtain construction proj-
ect jobs for Tribal members within
a 60-mile radius of the Reservation.
“When council decided to give it a
shot, then this is the outcome of it
right here,” said Leno. “When you look
back on the program, it’s about the
people – it’s about you guys. The Tribe
can really only make the opportunity.
It’s you people that really go out and
do the work. This is a program that
we are really proud about.”
Leno acknowledged fellow Tribal
Council members Denise Harvey,
Vice Chair Jack Giffen Jr. and
Chris Mercier in attendance.
“I would like to acknowledge our
council, not only our present coun-
cil, but past councils as well,” said
Leno. “To see it now today, where
it’s all at, I just think it is a great
program and I want to make sure
to let everybody know that council
is in full support of this. We have a
lot of people working now. It’s been
a journey that I don’t think we are
done with yet by any means.”
Leno said he envisions a program
that will be a standard for other
Tribal TERO programs. “We are
going to make this work,” he said.
“We are going to make it the best
program we possibly can.”
Summer food service starts
A free lunch for any child from 1 to 18 years of age will be served
beginning Monday, June 8, as part of the Summer Food Service.
Free lunch will be served through Aug. 14 at Tina Miller Park in
Willamina from 11 to 11:30 a.m. and at Raven Loop Park in Grand
Ronde from noon to 12:30 p.m.
Lunch also will be served at Willamina Elementary School to any
student attending the Art Conspiracy in June and summer school
in July and August. n
Azure said he and TERO staff
members have a great working
relationship with Tribal leadership.
“We are on the same page in
where we are going with the pro-
gram,” Azure said.
Azure acknowledged TERO staff
members in attendance – Career
Development Program Manager
David DeHart, Administrative
Assistant Lori Sterling, Secretary
Keri Kimsey, Workforce Develop-
ment Specialist Misty Carl and
Compliance Officer Duke Kimsey.
“This staff is what makes TERO
work,” said Azure. He also recog-
nized TERO Commission member
Lew Younger, the Tribe’s legal
staff, Human Resources Depart-
ment Manager Connie Holmes and
her staff, and General Manager
Dawn Doar.
Azure and Harvey then gifted
Angela Ramos and Paul Joiner of
the Oregon Department of Trans-
portation’s Office of Civil Rights
with Native necklaces. Ramos is
the Field and Business Support
manager and Joiner is the Region
2 field coordinator. Later, they
also honored David Dixon with a
Native necklace. He is the Region
1 field coordinator of ODOT’s Civil
Rights Office. Region 1 is the Port-
land metro area and Region 2 is the
Eugene area.
“I had the pleasure of working
with Angela for about 10 years in
workforce development,” said Har-
vey. “Thank you for all your time
and patience.”
Azure said TERO is actively re-
cruiting participants because new
construction projects are happen-
ing all the time.
“With this workforce, we are
changing the region,” said Azure.
“We have a lot more projects com-
ing on line and our workforce is
region-wide. The Oregon Depart-
ment of Transportation and area
contractors are in need of skilled
workers so we are filling a gap
there. We feel good about how that
has worked for us. We’re focusing
on the future.
“This is just a start. We’re just
13 months in. We will continue to
expand what we can provide for
resources. This is the start of that
vision.”
Giffen said hard-working Tribal
members are giving the Tribe a
good reputation.
“I’m very proud, very honored and
very humbled to stand before you
and recognize you and thank you
for the job you’ve done of going out
there and being ambassadors for
the Confederated Tribes of Grand
Ronde,” said Giffen. “Thank you for
showing these contractors that we
are hard-working people. We show
up, we do the job correctly and you
guys are doing a fantastic job.”
Azure said he sees Tribal mem-
bers who are inspired by their suc-
cesses and hungry for more.
“We see people dig deep and dis-
cover something about themselves,”
said Azure. “Tonight we are here to
honor that part of this that TERO
represents. As you increase your
skills and learning power, other
things in your life come together.” n
ATTENTION ALL RESIDENTS WHO
HAVE CTGR TELEPHONE SERVICE
If you have an emergency and need to dial “911” you must first dial
a “9” (9911). The only calls that do not require that you dial a 9+ are
those made from the CTGR extensions within the CTGR campus
and/or those who use CTGR Tel for their home phone service. n
TERO Open House
TERO will be hosting an Open House Event for those of you who are interested in learning more
about the program and job assistance. TERO staff will be available to answer any questions you
may have and will also be on hand to assist with filing out TERO applications. We hope to see
you there!
When: June 25 th from 5-6pm
Where: Adult Education Building Room 126 A & B
Light refreshment will also be served.
If you have any questions you can call Keri Kimsey at 503-879-2188