S moke S ignals
NOVEMBER 15, 2016
13
66 employees honored for 820 years of service
By Dean Rhodes
Smoke Signals editor
Sixty-six employees were honored
for a combined 820 years of service
to the Grand Ronde Tribe during
a third-quarter Years of Service
ceremony held on Thursday, Nov.
3, in the Tribal gym.
Leading the pack in longevity
was Natural Resources’ Timber
and Roads Program Manager Jeff
Kuust, who reached the 27-year
mark in working for the Tribe.
Joining him in the quarter-cen-
tury or more club were Higher
Education Manager Bryan Langley
at 25 years, and Health Benefits
Specialist Barbara Steere, Staff
Accountant Melanie Hubbard and
Procurement Assistant Kelly Her-
ber at 26 years apiece.
Employees reaching the 20-year
mark of service included Assistant
Tribal Attorney Kim D’Aquila and
Health & Wellness Data Entry Spe-
cialist Sharon Wattier, and Tribal
Attorney Rob Greene notched his
22nd year of employment.
Natural Resources Manager Mi-
chael Wilson and Finance Officer
Chris Leno both reached 24 years
of service.
Third-quarter recipients were
hired between July and September.
Employees received certificates
and bonus checks in appreciation
for their increased tenure with the
Tribe. In addition, those reaching
the 10-year mark received a Tribal
Pendleton blanket or an extra $100
in their bonus check.
The ceremony began with an
invocation from Tribal Historic
Preservation Office Manager David
Harrelson and then employees were
treated to a breakfast of scrambled
eggs, sausage, hash browns, bagels
and cream cheese, fruit, and juices
and coffee to drink.
Breakfast was served by Tribal
Council Chief of Staff Stacia Mar-
tin, Public Affairs Administrative
Photo by Dean Rhodes
Tribal Higher Education Manager Bryan Langley receives a fist pump from
Tribal Council member Brenda Tuomi while going through the receiving line
at the third-quarter Years of Service ceremony held Thursday, Nov. 3, in the
Tribal gym. Langley reached the quarter century mark in employment with
the Tribe. Others in the receiving line were, from left, Tribal Council members
Chris Mercier, Denise Harvey, Tonya Gleason-Shepek, Kathleen George,
Chairman Reyn Leno, Tribal Council Chief of Staff Stacia Martin and General
Manager David Fullerton.
Assistant Chelsea Clark, Food Sus-
tainability Administrative Assistant
Patricia LeClaire, Tribal Council
Administrative Assistant Shan-
non Simi, Economic Development
Administrative Assistant Meghan
Zimbrick and cook Charles Neujahr.
General Manager David Ful-
lerton introduced Tribal Council
members in attendance, which
included Chairman Reyn Leno,
Tonya Gleason-Shepek, Brenda
Tuomi, Kathleen George, Chris
Mercier and Denise Harvey.
“I would just like to say that
this is always our opportunity to
acknowledge a lot of people who
have been here a given amount of
time and acknowledge the newer
people who have come,” Leno said.
“I would just like to thank you and
acknowledge all of the hard work
you do for us and do for our mem-
bership.”
Leno discussed the draft 2017
Adult Foster Program
“A Place To Call Home”
The Tribe’s Adult Foster Care lodges are committed to offering quality
care to our Elders and helping them remain as independent as possible, while
providing the personalized assistance they need. At our lodges, a wide range
of services is available in a comfortable setting where privacy is respected and
maximum independence is supported. For information, contact Adult Foster
Program Director Peggy Shaver at 503-879-1694. 
budget and re-assured employees
that the coming budget year will
not require staffing changes be-
cause of the scheduled opening of
the Cowlitz casino in April 2017. He
reminded Tribal employees of how
the Tribe worked on keeping peo-
ple employed during the economic
downturn in 2008.
“We had a great commitment to
keep people working, not only here
but at the casino,” Leno said. “We
lived up to that. So I don’t really
believe that the ’17 budget is really
going to be the biggest impact. I be-
lieve that ’18 will really be the year
to really know the impact, and will
it be a severe impact? I don’t know.”
Leno said that employees should
remember that Spirit Mountain Ca-
sino offers Class III Las Vegas-style
gaming while the Cowlitz’s casino
will only be Class II.
“We believe that we have a good
product down here,” Leno said. “We
just pumped in about $13 million
down at our casino to stabilize it.
Overall, I think we stand strong and
I think we have a lot of reserves to
back us up.”
Harrelson also gave a brief cul-
tural presentation on Termination
and Restoration.
Other employees honored during
the third-quarter event included:
19 years: Cultural Adviser Bobby
Mercier.
18 years: Head Start Teacher
Toni Lockwood, Family Services
Assistant Elaine Lane Raven and
Dental Hygienist Sheila Blacketer.
17 years: Procurement Supervi-
sor Kevin Mueller.
16 years: Elementary Lead Mat-
thew Bucknell, Senior Network
Administrator Jack Dobiash, Trib-
al Court Judicial Assistant Julie
Boekhoff and Grand Ronde Police
Department Records/Evidence
Clerk Egypt Leno.
15 years: Security Officer Roel
Hernandez and Education Senior
Administrative Assistant Deborah
Bachman.
14 years: Part-time College Pro-
gram Coordinator John Harp, Audit
Director Trudi Yoshikawa, Natural
Resources Machine Equipment Op-
erator Mark Mercier and Treasury
Manager Rick Anderson.
13 years: Benefits Specialist
Peggy Carpenter, Nutrition Pro-
gram Manager Kristy DeLoe and
Ceded Lands Coordinator Brandy
Humphreys.
12 years: Enrollment Special-
ist Jolanda Catabay, Health In-
formation Technician Stephanie
Simmons, Tribal Council Admin-
istrative Assistant Shannon Simi,
Finance Executive Assistant Ken
Trevino and Employment Special-
ist Brandy Hembree.
11 years: Housing Services Co-
ordinator Deborah Kroeker, Pur-
chased/Referred Care Specialist
Erica Mercier and Wellness Driver
Susan Sabey.
10 years: Acting Spirit Mountain
Community Fund Director Louis
King and Graphic Designer George
Valdez.
9 years: Central Phones Opera-
tor Scarlett Holtz, Senior Help Desk
Technician Alec Palanuk-Mercier,
GIS Coordinator Volker Mell, Cook
Aaron Neujahr, Publications Coor-
dinator Dean Rhodes, Swing Shift
Housekeeper Kelly Mercier and
TERO Workforce Development
Specialist Misty Carl.
8 years: Controller Linda Hanna,
Middle School Lead Matthew Zim-
brick and Lead Pharmacy Techni-
cian Kandee Little.
7 years: Patient Account Repre-
sentative Kayla Leno.
6 years: Maintenance Technician
Jason Bailey, Health Information
Technician Amanda McMahon,
Oral Historian Specialist Stacey
Runningbird, TERO Compliance
Officer Marvin “Duke” Kimsey Jr.,
TERO Administrative Assistant
Lori Sterling, Cultural Collections
Coordinator Veronica Montano,
Education Department Manager
Angie Blackwell, Housing Main-
tenance Technician Michael Lane
and Cultural Resources Depart-
ment Manager David Harrelson.
5 years: EHS Home Visitor
Amber Mercier, Youth Education
Administrative Assistant Amber
Yates, Cultural Resources Proj-
ect Development Manager Julie
Brown, Laboratory Manager Sha-
ron Laddusaw, Medical Technol-
ogist Staci Robbins, Laboratory
Assistant Alisha Joachim, Legal
Secretary Susan June and Eco-
nomic Development Administrative
Assistant Meghan Zimbrick.
Following the Years of Service
presentation, Terry Pietras, com-
munications officer with the Oregon
Office of Emergency Management,
handed out certificates and a com-
memorative challenge coin to Tribal
employees who participated in the
June Cascadia Rising earthquake
exercise held on the Tribal campus.
Employees honored were Holly
Engles Thompson, Pattie Mercier,
Dean Rhodes, Dalette Reming-
ton-Nash, Elaine Lane, Kim D’Aq-
uila, Rhonda Leno, Niki Mosley,
Scarlett Holtz, Patrick Dempsey,
Shannon Simi, Jennifer Biesack,
Nancy Renfro, Andrew Freeman,
Daniel Mooney, Briece Edwards
and Michelle Alaimo.
Human Resources staff members
also raffled off prizes that included
Amazon gift cards, road safety kits,
Fire readers and extra administra-
tive time. 