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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 1, 2017)
8 S moke S ignals AUGUST 1, 2017 Let your light shine Community Fund celebrates 20th anniversary of giving By Dean Rhodes Smoke Signals editor PORTLAND – As invited guests entered Oregon Health & Science University’s pavilion overlooking the picturesque Tilikum Crossing spanning the Willamette River for the 20th anniversary celebration of Spirit Mountain Community Fund, they couldn’t help but notice an oversized $74 million check resting on an easel next to the registration table. If they did manage not to see it, Tribal Council Chairman Reyn Leno ensured that the more than 300 people at the event pondered that impressive total donated to Oregon nonprofit organizations in 11 northwestern Oregon counties since the Community Fund was founded in 1997. The $74,146,358, to be exact, rep- resents 6 percent of Spirit Mountain Casino proceeds that the Grand Ronde Tribe has given back to the community after the community took care of Grand Ronde people during 29 years of Termination from 1954 to 1983. “You can’t imagine, when you re- ally think about it over 20 years and $75 million or whatever, how many people that has really reached out and helped,” Leno, who also sits on the Community Fund’s Board of Trustees, said about the almost 2,500 grants awarded. “It’s been a success story.” The “Let Your Light Shine” cel- ebration started at 4:30 p.m. with a VIP Reception on OHSU’s patio overlooking the river. Community Fund Board of Trust- ees Chairman Sho Dozono told reception attendees that they were standing in the ceded lands of the Grand Ronde peoples and it was the Grand Ronde Tribe that submitted the winning name for the 2 year-old pedestrian-public transit bridge crossing the Willamette River. Community Fund Director My- chal Cherry honored many of the original members of the Commu- Photos by Michelle Alaimo Tribal Council members and Spirit Mountain Community Fund Board of Trustees members Denise Harvey, left, and Jack Giffen Jr., right, present Tribal Elder, former Tribal Council Chairwoman and an original Community Fund Board of Trustees member Kathryn Harrison with a Tribal Pendleton blanket during the VIP Reception at the fund’s 20th anniversary celebration “Let Your Light Shine” held at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland on Saturday, July 29. nity Fund’s Board of Trustees with Pendleton blankets, including former Polk County Commissioner Ron Dodge, Tribal Elder and former Tribal Council member Leon Tom, former Spirit Mountain Casino Marketing Director Chuck Galford, Tribal Elder and former Tribal Council Chairwoman Kathryn Har- rison, and Dozono, who has been on the Board of Trustees since its inception. Those honored but not in attendance included former Tribal Council member Ed Pearsall, Ore- gon Gov. Kate Brown and former Oregon U.S. Attorney Kris Olson. The celebration drew an array of current and former Tribal Council members, as well as many Tribal Elders and Tribal staff. A sampling of those in attendance included Tribal Council members Jack Giff- en Jr. and Denise Harvey, who both sit on the Community Fund’s Board of Trustees, as well as Tonya Gleason-Shepek and Chris Mercier; former Tribal Council members Kathleen Tom, Steve Bobb Sr., June Sell-Sherer, Candy Robert- son and Ed Larsen; Tribal Elders Laura Gleason and Jenny VanAt- ta; and Tribal employees Stan Dillon, general manager at Spirit Mountain Casino, Tribal Attorney Rob Greene, Tribal lobbyist Justin Martin, Human Resources Depart- ment Manager Patrick Dempsey and Tribal Council Administrative See CELEBRATION continued on page 9 Spirit Mountain Community Fund Board of Trustees Chairman Sho Dozono, left, gifts Donna Maxey, founder/director of Race Talks, a $5,000 check during Spirit Mountain Community Fund’s 20th anniversary celebration held at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland on Saturday, July 29. Dozono chose the nonprofit to grant during the event.
