Tribal employees honored for 1,568 years of service

By Danielle Harrison

Smoke Signals editor

Second-quarter employees hired in either April, May or June with at least five years of service to the Tribe were honored with a Years of Service barbecue lunch event held at the uyxat Powwow Grounds Thursday, June 20.

There were 118 Tribal employees honored for a combined 1,568 years of service to the Grand Ronde Tribe at the event.

Tribal Council member Jon A. George gave the invocation and Tribal Council Chairwoman Cheryle A. Kennedy welcomed the hundreds of employees in attendance, thanking them for their service to the Tribe.

Other Tribal Council members in attendance included Kathleen George, Lisa Leno, Matthew Haller and Brenda Tuomi.

Tribal General Manager Angie Blackwell reminded employees that rest and relaxation from work were essential to help avoid stress and burnout.

“This organization is very committed to the workforce and we want to remind people that those vacation days you take are there for your rest and relaxation,” she said. “It’s important to take care of your well-being, so you should not feel like you need to be responding to emails when you are on PTO. We believe and support our employees taking care of themselves.”

Employees were served pulled pork sandwiches, barbecued hamburgers, fresh fruit, mac n cheese, baked beans, potato salad, soda, juice and water.

Lenos led the way in terms of longest tenure with the Tribe with Groundskeeper Supervisor Greg Leno reaching 36 years, Housing Department Maintenance Coordinator Lonnie Leno hit 34 years and Housing Department Manager Shonn Leno was recognized for 30 years.

In the more than 20 years and above club were Human Resources Specialist Cindy Mitchell and Fish and Wildlife Program Manager Kelly Dirksen, 28 years; Education Department Manager Angela Fasana and Tribal Council Senior Administrative Assistant Lauri Smith, 27 years; Children & Family Services Supervisor Kristi Petite, Gaming Commission Executive Assistant Kathy Doane and Senior Staff Attorney Deneen Aubertin Keller, 26 years; Publications Production Specialist Justin Phillips, Procurement Supervisor Kevin Mueller and Senior Network Administrator Jack Dobiash, 25 years; Community Transitions Program Manager David Fullerton, Lands Project Administrator Brandy Humphreys and Housing Safety Specialist Tara Leno, 23 years; Great Circle Recovery Clinic Peer Support Specialist Christopher Martin and Early Childhood Education Instructional Assistant Roxanne Moniz, 22 years; Natural Resources Department Manager Colby Drake, Gaming Inspector Kary Turner and Cultural Education Specialist Cristina Lara, 21 years; and Cultural Resources Department Manager David Harrelson, Senior Children & Family Services Intake Specialist Donna Johnson, Family Partnerships Coordinator Audra Sherwood and Senior Peer Support Specialist Sydney Clark, 20 years.  

Other employees honored included:

19 years: Medical Receptionist Tina Leno, Early Head Start Teacher Jessica Cruickshank and Training Specialist Tisha Pellett.

18 years: Housing Maintenance Technician Randy Bean, Native Plant Nursery Supervisor Jeremy Ojua, Adult Foster Care Caregiver Anna Huston and Health & Nutrition Coordinator Shelley Clift.

17 years: Adult Foster Care Administrative Assistant Carmen Parren, Fire Management & Protection Program Manager Andrew Puerini and Biologist Matthew Zimbrick.

16 years: Chinuk Wawa K-6 Teacher Ali Holsclaw, Gaming Commission Background Investigator Nicholas Bailey, Academic Coach George Neujahr, Gaming Commission Executive Director Michael Boyce and Internal Auditor Kailey Compton.  

15 years: Fire Supervisor Jim Pinder and Senior Auditor Michael Langley.

14 years: Restoration Ecologist/Policy Analyst Lindsay McClary, Realty Coordinator Teresa Brocksen, Dentist Erin Lange, Health Promotion Specialist Tammy Leno, TERO Compliance Officer Duke Kimsey and Youth Tobacco Prevention Coordinator Shannon Stanton.  

13 years: Homeownership Coordinator Michele Plummer, Parks & Recreation Specialist Daniel Schramm, Early Childhood Education teacher Amber Wright and Maintenance Technician Robert Wiggs.

12 years: Youth Enrichment Program Manager Tim Barry, Tribal Council Coordinator Chelsea Baranski, Lead Groundskeeper Brady Bruckner, Youth Education Program Manager Justine Flynn, TERO Secretary Kristina Summers, Early Childhood Education Family Partnership Specialist Denaee Towner and Treasury Manager DeAnne Norton.

11 years: Recreation Coordinator Leo Ayala-Guillen, Maintenance Technician James Byars Jr. and Historic Preservation Technician Nicolas Atanacio.

10 years: Grand Ronde Tribal Police Department Lt. Tim Hernandez, Program Accountant Michael Hubbard, Senior Staff Attorney Holly Partridge, Senior Records Clerk Emma Leno, Pharmacy Technician Randi Keyser-Crocker, Young Child Wellness Community Coordinator Tawna Norwest and Early Head Start Teacher Hannah Sabey.                                                                                                                                                                                                              

9 years: Early Childhood Education Program Manager Dawn Doar, Cultural Protection Specialist Dustin Hawks, Clinical Nurse Manager Christa Hosley, Housekeeper Sabrina LaBonte, Aftercare Educator Holly Marler, Groundskeeper Youvani Ring, Aquatic Biologist Brandon Weems, Forestry Technician Lukas Soderberg, Gaming Commission Licensing Application Specialist Joel Greer and Bus Driver Heidi Whittington.

8 years: GIS Coordinator Alex Drake, Tribal Council Administrative Assistant Shannon Ham-Texeira, EHS Family Educator Tammy Fisher, Early Childhood Education Teacher Griselda Perez-Bravo, Emergency Operations Chief Steve Warden, Accounts Payable Clerk Aaron Merrill, Education Administrative Assistant Sasheene Baker and Tribal Employment Rights Office Director Harris Reibach.

7 years: Human Resources Director Sarah Harvey, Chinuk K-5 Assistant Teacher Kayla Grijalva, Grants Coordinator Dana Morfin, Cultural Protection Coordinator Cheryl Pouley, Swing Shift Housekeeper Aaron Alvarado-Anderson, Great Circle Recovery Senior Administrative Assistant Tajia Ulestad, Cook Joshua Baker, Field Biologist Kyle McLaughlin, Silviculture/Fire Prevention Technician Waylon Rich and Groundskeeper Brandon Bastin.

6 years: Billing and Auditing Specialist Aisha Alvarado-Anderson, Chinuk Wawa Assistant Teacher Mary Lopez, Communications Director Sara Thompson, Elder Activities Assistant Virginia Kimsey-Roof, Lead Pharmacy Technician Lindsey Petersen, Procurement Shipping & Receiving Clerk Samuel Thornsberry and Training & Development Coordinator Jacob Boekhoff.

5 years: Gaming Inspector Jon Kuchta, Health & Wellness Senior Executive Administrative Assistant Alexis Alvarado, Health & Wellness Coordinator Jamie White, Warriors of Hope Domestic Violence Manager Cassie Dandy, Tribal Police Office Clint Cardwell, Housing Administrative Assistant Diana Robertson, Central Phones Receptionist Lisa Schmid, Natural Resources Specialist Annaliese Ramthun, Early Childhood Education After Care Educator Amber Purcell, Member Services Administrator Shayla Myrick-Meyer, Staff Accountant Casey Case, Information Services Applications Administrator Adam Jordan, Native Plant Nursery Assistant Joseph Ham and Early Childhood Education Social Emotional Learning Coach Jeffrey Versaw.

Raffles were conducted during the event that included 10 administrative leave days and cash drawings for $250 to $1,000.