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AUGUST 15, 2020
7
Boxes being delivered as far away as Colorado
EDUCATION continued
from front page
Employees brainstormed and
came up with the idea of hihi-lak h a-
set, which loosely translated means
“fun boxes.” Every week, a different
theme is selected and the boxes are
filled with corresponding items.
Themes have ranged from how to
make rice crispy treats to lava lamps
to taking care of your teeth to side-
walk chalk artwork.
Every Monday through Aug. 24,
the boxes are delivered to students’
doorsteps or mailed out, depending
on where they live. On Thursday,
Youth Education staff host a Zoom
meeting to connect with youth and
chat about projects they worked on
and how things are going overall.
“We wanted to make it both fun
and educational for youth who are
missing out on our usual summer
programming,” Youth Education
Program Manager Tim Barry said.
“Everyone in the department helps
out, and then we hand deliver to Wil-
lamina, Sheridan and Grand Ronde.”
A benefit of the new programming
format is that youth from out of the
area can participate as well, and it
has attracted Tribal youth from as
far away as California and Colorado.
“It’s helped us reach Tribal mem-
bers who haven’t had a chance to
participate in our summer programs
before,” Barry said. “We’ve gotten
really positive feedback on that.”
When the program launched in
June, Barry and his staff were
hoping to serve 60 students in
Photo by Timothy J. Gonzalez
High School Lead Kaylee Oakes and Youth Education 6-12 Tutor Vincent
Chargualaf prepare books that will be added to boxes sent to 6-12 students in
the Youth Education Building on Wednesday, July 22.
kindergarten through 12th grade.
They had 150 sign up. In July, the
number jumped to 200 because the
department was able to provide
more boxes. They are expecting
similar numbers through the month
of August.
Barry isn’t sure if Youth Edu-
cation will continue providing the
boxes next summer.
“I don’t know what the future holds,”
he said. “It kind of depends on the
situation and where we are at with
offering onsite programming. But, I do
see the value in it for kids who can’t
participate onsite. However, it’s been
a huge process to put this on. We had
to get creative to think of ways to get
Spirit Mountain Gaming, Inc.
Board of Directors Position Openings
Spirit Mountain Gaming Inc. (“SMGI”), a Tribal corporation chartered
by the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde (“Grand Ronde”), operates
Spirit Mountain Casino – the largest casino in Oregon. Spirit Mountain
Casino offers Las Vegas-style slots and provides superior entertainment
and resort amenities. Spirit Mountain is one of the Pacific Northwest’s
premier casinos. Grand Ronde invites applications to serve on the Spir-
it Mountain Gaming Inc. Board of Directors. There are two board
seats expiring on Sept. 30, 2020.
The SMGI Board of Directors is responsible to the Grand Ronde
Tribal Council. The Board oversees strategic planning, overall fiscal
accountability, budgets and operations of Spirit Mountain Casino.
The SMGI Board meets monthly. From time to time, additional special
meetings may be held. Board members are expected to attend all meet-
ings in person, which are held at Spirit Mountain Casino – although
participation by telephone will occasionally be permitted. Each board
member receives a monthly stipend for attending meetings. Travel re-
imbursement is limited to travel within the six counties of Polk, Yamhill,
Marion, Tillamook, Multnomah and Washington.
Board members must have a superior understanding of and experi-
ence with financial statements, strong communication and analytical
skills, experience in a hospitality or customer service driven environ-
ment, 10 years of experience in a senior management position, and a
solid understanding of the Portland metro and Salem area economies.
Experience in the following areas is also preferred: gaming, tourism,
corporate finance and accounting, marketing and promotions, human
resources, and management of senior executives. Experience with and
knowledge of Native American organizations is also preferred.
Ability to pass a thorough background check and obtain a gaming
license from the Grand Ronde Gaming Commission is required.
Preference will be given to qualified Tribal members.
Submission deadline: 5 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2020
Interested individuals should submit a letter of interest describing their
qualifications, a résumé and three references to:
Stacia Hernandez, Chief of Staff
Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde
9615 Grand Ronde Road
Grand Ronde, Oregon 97347
Phone: 503-879-2304
E-mail: stacia.martin@grandronde.org
all of the supplies every week.”
The boxes include a welcome sheet
that covers the week’s activity and
links to YouTube demonstration
videos.
“We had to learn how to get sup-
plies in and how to create fun,
instructional videos,” Barry said.
“Staff is creating four or five of these
a week now.”
Youth Education has teamed up
with several Tribal departments to
create weekly themes for the boxes
including Health & Wellness, Social
Services, the Tribal Library and
Chinuk Language Program. They’ve
also partnered with Oregon State
University Extension Service and
the NASA STEM Program.
“My favorite aspect of this is
twofold,” Barry said. “Seeing the
staff excel at something we are not
trained for, it’s been really great to
see the work we are doing is import-
ant, and that we were able to adapt
to a new, short-term normal. The
retention levels we’ve had with kids
tells us that they like it. The staff
has been very creative in finding
new and different things to do with
the kids.”
K5 Tutor/Advisor George Neujahr
said he’s enjoyed learning how to
shoot and edit videos for YouTube,
many of which feature his pets.
“The whole process has been a
learning experience,” he said. “We’ve
been able to connect with youth
that we normally don’t because of
distance.”
Elementary Lead Matt Bucknell
said the feedback he’s received
from Tribal member parents has
been gratitude for the boxes when
so many other activities have been
canceled this summer.
“They’re really happy kids have
something to participate in,” he
said. “We’ve gotten overwhelmingly
positive responses from the kids,
too. We’ve been able to collaborate
with different departments and put
extra activities in the boxes. Kids
are excited to participate in it. When
staff deliver the boxes, some of the
kids start jumping up and down. It’s
good to keep these connections while
socially distancing.”
Bucknell said that with everything
that has happened in 2020, it feels
good to bring a bit of normalcy back
again.
“We feel happy we’ve found some-
thing to provide for families during
the shutdown,” Bucknell said. “By
the end of the summer, we will
have had 12 weeks of programming.
Everyone here has had a chance to
contribute something.”
Neujahr added that learning new
techniques of communication has
been an interesting process.
“I had to brush my teeth for one of
our videos” he said. “It was different
showing that to people, but I tried to
make it fun.” 
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