General Council briefed on Spirit Mountain Casino

General Council received election results and an update from Spirit Mountain Casino General Manager Stan Dillon on Sunday, Sept. 13, at the Tribal Community Center.

The Grand Ronde drum group opened the meeting with a drum song. Drummers were Bobby Mercier, Kaikanim Mercier, Kyoni Mercier, Brian Krehbiel and Travis Stewart.

Tribal Council member Cheryle A. Kennedy gave the invocation in which she included a special prayer for young Saige Torres, who was seriously injured in a car-bicycle accident on Monday, Sept. 7.

Election Administrator Penny DeLoe delivered the 2015 Tribal Council election results and said there had been a recount because of the closeness of the results.

“We actually hand-counted more ballots this year than we ever have,” said DeLoe. She then explained the process for hand counts. “We are never left alone with the ballots without the administrator in the room,” she said.

DeLoe announced that Kennedy and Jon A. George were re-elected and that Brenda Tuomi was elected to fill the seat being vacated by Tribal Council Secretary Toby McClary.

When DeLoe finished briefing the membership on the election results, she turned over the floor to Tribal Elder Steve Bobb Sr., who briefed General Council on the latest happenings with the Veterans Special Event Board.

Bobb introduced board members and the Color Guard, and talked about all the different events that board members have participated in this year.

“This is a committed group of people that work hard and we have been to many, many events, and we always represent Grand Ronde in a very good fashion,” said Bobb. “I’m very proud of these guys.”

Bobb then congratulated the newly elected Tribal Council members. He also ran for Tribal Council and finished fourth, two votes behind George.

“I’ll always be here on the sidelines for you,” said Bobb. “I will always contribute in any way I can.”

Tribal Council Chairman Reyn Leno then moved to the Spirit Mountain Casino report and said that it would be a general report and that the General Council would not go into executive session.

Leno said there would be a financial report at the next General Council meeting and that that meeting would be exclusive to Tribal members only and would be conducted in executive session throughout its duration.

“I’ve talked with council and this meeting will be open to Tribal members and Tribal members only,” said Leno. “We will update the membership on where we are on a lot of financial issues.”

Dillon reported that he lost the “interim” general manager status last September and that he is the casino general manager.

Dillon introduced the casino’s Marketing Director Shawna Ridgebear, who has been on board since April. Ridgebear is a member of the Shoshone Tribe.

Dillon said that Ridgebear came to Spirit Mountain after spending 15 years working at Circus Circus, where she was also director of marketing.

Dillon said that although the job market has increased, wages have not. He said rising food costs have hurt low-end players who visit the casino – Dillon said those are the players that on average spend about $20 per visit.

Dillon said that guests who live more than 75 miles from the casino are visiting the property less often, but spending more money on each visit.

Dillon also said that the casino’s biggest competitor continues to be the Oregon Lottery.

“They have increased their advertising and their television commercials,” said Dillon. “They have over 12,000 machines and they are probably the biggest slot operator in the country, and they are spending $250 million to replace all their machines.”

Dillon said the new Oregon Lottery machines look and act like the machines at Spirit Mountain and that they hold 12 games each. He also said the casino has lost three slot technicians in recent months to the Oregon Lottery.

Dillon said his team is always keeping an eye on possible new competition and that they want to be proactive and not reactive. He said one of the ways they are doing that is to focus on guest loyalty programs that reward the most frequent players.

Dillon said marketing efforts are paying off, especially with players from the Vancouver, Wash., area. He said those visits are up.

Dillon said that he is happy to report that revenue is up in the first seven months of 2015 over the estimated budget and that revenues are also ahead of last year’s numbers.

“The casino has managed its expenses effectively in order to pay higher dividends to the Tribe,” said Dillon.

Dillon said his team has been preparing since May for the casino’s 20-year anniversary in October and that they are bringing in country singer Martina McBride for the special event. He said her show is already sold out.

“We wanted somebody special,” said Dillon.

Dillon explained to the General Council that the top players – the platinum players -- drive the most revenue for the casino and they are doing targeted marketing as a way to retain those players.

Dillon said his team also is developing new “Get Into the Spirit” television commercials for 2016 as part of a re-branding effort.

Dillon also updated General Council on the new improvements that were completed this summer at the casino. He said all projects, like the new exterior paint and the kitchen remodel, came in under budget and were completed on time.

Leno then congratulated the recently elected Tribal Council members and thanked Tribal Council Chief of Staff Stacia Martin and Public Affairs Administrative Assistant Chelsea Clark for their hard work at recent public events, including the Tillikum Crossing event held on Saturday, Sept. 12.

“I think we had very good representation up there,” said Leno. “It really shows when we are putting something on here or someplace else we have some great staff.”

Outgoing Tribal Council member Toby McClary used his last General Council meeting to thank the membership for believing in him during his six years on council.

“Thank you for putting your trust and confidence in me. It has been an honor to serve you in this capacity,” said McClary. “These have been some of the most memorable years of my life and I will always hold on to these memories and cherish them.”

McClary also thanked Tribal staff for all their efforts during his time on Tribal Council.

“I want to acknowledge the staff,” said McClary. “They do all the hard work. They help prepare us to make the best decisions for the membership. I just want to raise my hands to the staff.”

McClary also thanked his friends and family for all their support and he had a message for the membership as well.

“Please be kind to one another,” said McClary. “Hayu masi. It’s been a good ride.” The membership present gave McClary a standing ovation.

Miguel Adams won the $100 door prize and Wink Soderberg, Nina Portwood Shields and Brent Merrill won $50 door prizes.

In addition, Dorothy Shortt and Linda LaChance won the Elders’ 50/50 drawings and Deanna Johnson and Bob Duncan won beaded necklaces made by Tribal Council member Jon A. George.

The next General Council meeting will be held at 11 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 4, in the Community Center.

To watch the video of this General Council meeting in its entirety, visit the Tribal website at www.grandronde.org, click on the News tab and then go to Videos.