GRIC presents “Years of Service Awards” to longtime workers

October 7, 2016

Thomas R. Throssell

Gila River Indian News

The Gila River Indian Community Human Resources Department held a “Years of Service Awards” ceremony in honor of the tribe’s longest serving employees at the Italian restaurant Bucca di Beppo in Chandler, on Sept. 26.

Over thirty GRIC employees attended the event and were treated to an Italian lunch and a variety of entertainment provided by Human Resources Employee Assistance/Training Specialist, Richard Weschrob and Training Specialist, Phillip Morris.

As GRIC employees dined, the sounds of Dean Martin singing “That’s Amore” played through the restaurant’s sound system while Weschrob played an interactive game called “Remember When?”

The game involved music trivia and items from the 80’s, 90’s, 00’s decades in which many of the long serving tribal employees first began working for the Community.

Holding up several packages of oddly shaped padding, Weschrob asked GRIC employees what they were.

Amid laughs from the crowd, a woman exclaimed, “Shoulder pads!” Weschrob nodded in agreement and explained to the diners that shoulder pads were popular in the 80’s and inadvertently made everyone look like football players.

Many of the employees present at the “Years of Service Awards” had worked for the Community for at least 20 years.

However, there were a few individuals who had breached the three-decade mark. Danielle Jackson and Ernest Lucero were two such employees, each having worked for the Community for the past 35 years.

Department and Rehabilitation Services Corrections Officer, Dorene Davis, received a special award from Lt. Gov. Antone for reaching the 20-year mark of working for the Community.

Lt. Gov. Antone closed the awards presentation by thanking the GRIC employees for their hard work and commitment to the Community.

Below is a list of those honored at the GRIC Years of Service Awards:

20 Years of Service - Jacqueline Allison, Clyde Antone, Christopher Bauer, Maria Daley, Larry Gene, Cynthia Harris, Jay Holtz, Andrea Johnson, Ann Lucas-Stewart, Keith McDonald, Deanna Mendoza, Susan Morago, Viva Quintero, Diana Sangster, Evangeline Shelde, Raymond Soto, Leslie Stovall, Laurie Thomas, Eugenia Webb, Robert Wilkerson, Michael Woodson.

25 Years of Service - Lanadine Allen, Eugenia Franklin, Carleton Giff, Glenn Stark, Marie Stewart.

30 Years of Service - Jay Pedro

31 Years of Service - Leslie Manuel, Cheryl Pablo

32 Years of Service - Laurie Juan

34 Years of Service - Alan Blackwater, Abigail Thomas

35 Years of Service - Danielle Jackson, Ernest Lucero