Tribe offers employees a carnival for summer Years of Service awards

By Nicole Montesano

Smoke Signals staff writer

The Tribe offered its employees something a little different for the quarterly Years of Service awards: a day off to enjoy with family at a new Summer Splash carnival.

Numerous employees brought their children and families to enjoy the bouncy castles, pick up free children’s books from the library booth, sample food from various vendors and participate in other fun events.

Tribal offices were closed for the day and employees in attendance received administrative leave. Starting at 8 a.m., doughnuts and coffee were on offer, along with breakfast burritos. Several other food vendors were also on hand to offer a variety of foods throughout the day.

The second quarter Years of Service event began at 9 a.m. and celebrated a collective 2,383 total years of employee service to the Tribe, with 161 employees honored. Vendor booths and festival events opened at 10 a.m. and continued until 4 p.m.

Tribal Council Chairwoman Cheryle A. Kennedy, Tribal Vice Chair Chris Mercier, Secretary Jon A. George and Tribal Council members Toby McClary, Matthew Haller and Lisa Leno attended.

George gave the invocation.

Kennedy welcomed employees, saying she was enjoying hearing children laughing as they began exploring the booths and activities. She reminisced about being one of the first four Tribal employees in 1984, moving her office into the old train depot because she didn’t want to work in the cemetery and that was the only other option.

“We have almost 900 employees on the Tribal government side,” Kennedy said. “On the casino side, we’ve also got over 900. It’s amazing to see the growth. … We’re still not at the point where we have all the services we envisioned, with housing, fish and wildlife and hunting, so we still have things to look forward to.”

The following employees were honored:

38 years: Groundskeeping Supervisor Gregg Leno.

36 years: Housing Maintenance Supervisor Lonnie Leno, Health Benefits Specialist Barbara Steere and Support Services Coordinator Barbara Branson.

35 years: Interim General Manager Bryan Langley.

32 years: Housing Department Manager Shonn Leno.

30 years: Fish & Wildlife Department Manager Kelly Dirksen, Benefits & Safety Specialist Cindy Mitchell, Tribal Attorney Kimberly D’Aquila, Cultural Advisor Bobby Mercier and Secretary Caryn George.

29 years: Education Department Manager Angela Fasana and Tribal Council Executive Assistant Lauri Smith.

28 years: Children & Family Services Manager Kristi Petite, Executive Assistant Kathy Doane, Assistant Tribal Attorney Deneen Aubertin Keller and Education Services Coordinator Elaine Lane Raven.

27 years: Network Engineer Jack Dobiash, Production Specialist Justin Phillips and Cultural Protection Specialist Christopher Bailey.

26 years: Facilities Manager Tyson Mercier.

25 years: Self-Governance Program Manager Brandy Humphreys and Rental Housing Coordinator Tara Leno.

24 years: Tribal Navigator Christopher Martin and Teacher Aide-Bus Monitor Roxanne Moniz.

23 years: Gaming Inspector Kary Turner, Cultural Education Specialist Cristina Lara, Natural Resources Department Manager Colby Drake and Benefits & Safety Specialist Peggy Carpenter.

22 years: Children & Family Services/Foster Care Coordinator Audra Sherwood, Senior Children & Family Services Intake Specialist Donna Johnson, Peer Support Specialist Supervisor Sydney Clark, Cultural Resources Department Manager David Harrelson, Member Services Program Manager Shannon Simi and Health Information Technician Stephanie Simmons.

21 years: Risk Analyst Tisha Pellett, Secretary Tina Leno and Early Head Start Teacher Jessica Cruickshank.

20 years: Lead Maintenance Technician Randy Bean, Native Plant Nursery Supervisor Jeremy Ojua, Health Coordinator Shelley Clift and Lodge Caregiver Anna Huston.

19 years: Lodge Caregiver Carmen Parren, Biologist Matthew Zimbrick, Fire Management & Protection Program Manager Andrew Puerini, Information Systems Program Manager Alec Palanuk-Mercier and Lead Central Telephone Receptionist Scarlett Holtz.

18 years: Senior Background Investigator Nicholas Bailey, Elementary Lead Teacher Ali Holsclaw, Executive Director Gaming Commission Michael Boyce, Academic Coach George Neujahr and Internal Auditor Kailey Compton.

17 years: Audit Manager Michael Langley, Fire Management & Protection Operation Coordinator James Pinder, Teacher Aide/Bus Monitor Bradly Robertson and Project Manager-in-Training Andrew Freeman.

16 years: Community Health Promotion Specialist Tammy Leno, Tobacco Prevention Coordinator Shannon Stanton, Restoration Ecologist/Fish & Wildlife Policy Analyst Lindsay McClary, Dentist Erin Lange, Tribal Realty Program Manager Teresa Brocksen, Senior TERO Compliance Officer Marvin Kimsey Jr., Maintenance Technician Gary LaChance Jr.and Maintenance Technician Jason Bailey.

15 years: Maintenance Technician Robert Wiggs, ERSEA/Data Coordinator Amber Wright, Homeownership Coordinator Michele Plummer, Parks and Recreation Specialist Daniel Schramm and Procurement Supervisor Daniel Mooney.

14 years: School Administrator Justine Flynn, Youth Enrichment Program Manager Timothy Barry, Tribal Council Coordinator Chelsea Clark, Administrative Assistant Kristina Summers, Tribal Navigator Denaee Towner, Restoration Technician/Equipment Operator Brady Bruckner, Treasury Department Manager DeAnne Norton and Parks and Recreation Coordinator Jerry Bailey.

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

12 years: Records Supervisor Emma Leno, Senior Staff Attorney Holly Partridge, Police Lt. Timothy Hernandez, Second Grade Teacher Hannah Sabey, Pharmacy Technician Randi Keyser-Crocker, Housing Program Accountant Michael Hubbard, Administrative Assistant Public Health Tawna Norwest and Family Practice Physician Lance Loberg.

11 years: Lead Groundskeeper Youvani Ring, Early Childhood Education Program Manager Dawn Doar, Clinical Nurse Manager Christa Hosley, Forestry Technician Lukas Soderberg, Bus Driver Heidi Whittington, Aquatic Biologist Brandon Weems, Cultural Protection Specialist Dustin Hawks, Preschool Teacher Holly Marler, Housekeeper Sabrina Labonte, Police Sgt. Tokata Tehama and Senior Help Desk Technician Nathan Hoff.

10 years: GIS Coordinator/Drone Pilot Alex Drake, Early Head Start Family Educator Tammy Fisher, Administrative Assistant Shannon Ham-Texeira, Infant/Toddler Teacher Griselda Perez-Bravo, Chief of Emergency Services Steve Warden, Accounting Clerk Aaron Merrill and TERO Director Harris Reibach.

9 years: Human Resources Director Sarah Harvey, Maintenance Technician Aaron Anderson, Clinic Administrator Tajia Ulestad, Cook Joshua Baker, Grant Writer Dana Morfin, Cultural Protection Coordinator Cheryl Pouley, Field Biologist Kyle McLaughlin, Silviculture Coordinator Waylon Rich, Groundskeeper Brandon Bastin and Health Information Technician Norma Reed.

8 years: Elder Enrichment Coordinator Virginia Kimsey-Roof, Training/Development Coordinator Jacob Boekhoff, Communications Director Sara Thompson, Mail Printing Specialist Samuel Thornsberry, Assistant Teacher Mary Lopez, Pharmacy Technician Lindsey Petersen, Pharmacy Technician Carrie Lewis, Lead Certified Medical Assistant Jennifer Lott and Pharmacy Clerk Amber Thiede.

Seven years: Housing Resource Navigator Diana Barney, Central Telephone Receptionist Lisa Schmid, Health Admin Senior Administrative Assistant Alexis Alvarado, Gaming Inspector Jon Kuchta, Domestic Violence Manager Cassie Harper, Detective Clint Cardwell, Natural Resources Specialist Annaliese Ramthun, Native Plant Nursery Assistant Joseph Ham, Applications Administrator Adam Jordan, Member Services Administrator Shayla Murphy, Staff Accountant Casey Case, Senior Executive Assistant Danielle Dickey, Cultural Policy Analyst Gregory Archuleta, Executive Assistant Christine O’Day.

Six years: Lead Driver/Wellness Assistant Damon Dickinson, Foster Care Recruitment Specialist Josie Justen and Infant Toddler Teacher Hannah Nice.

Five years: Dental Office Manager Marti Coblentz, Digital Communications Manager Matthew Williams, Licensed Practical Nurse Vanessa Caudel, Patient Accounts Specialist Koana Leno, Accounts Payable Specialist Emily Sterling, Nutrition Services Supervisor Jose Montano, Administrative Assistant Bryanna Rue, AV Technician/Web Specialist Zachary Poisal, Licensed Practical Nurse Melissa Ramirez, Enrichment Coordinator Elijah Ibarra, Teacher Aide/Bus Monitor Lena Nelson, Assistant Teacher Leah Brisbois, Registered Nurse Manager Crystal Scheese, Health Policy/Grant Analyst Paul Myatt, Legal Assistant Paige Schultz, Equipment Operator David Nelson, Firefighter/Paramedic McKenna Hoy, Assistant Teacher Lana Townsend, Community Resource Officer Derek Trombla and Groundskeeper Matthew Murphy.