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.