July/August 2008 - Absentee Shawnee Tribe Of Oklahoma

Anita Chisholm
Treasurer
August 2008 Report
Hello Tribal Members
I was sworn in as the Treasurer
of the ASTribe on July 9. We had
a great reception after the ceremony.
Thank you all for coming to the reception
to show your support. It meant a
lot to see so many of you in attendance.
The very next day the three new Executive
Committee members met with the
Governor, Scott Miller and Secretary,
Michelle Lopez. Your five member Executive
Committee members have been
meeting nearly everyday discussing all
the important issues you must have on
The 22nd annual Red Earth Native American Festival
was held in dowtown Oklahoma City, June 6-8th. The Red
Earth grand parade opened the festival on Friday, June 6th
and once again the Tribal Veteran’s Association was represented.
However, the Veterans Association was supported a
little differently this year. Instead of the float being filled with
members of the association, it was primarily filled with tribal
members and tribal leaders riding in support of the Veteran’s
Association and Tribe.
Roy Charley, David Voyles and John Vanderburg
were the members of the Veterans Association who organized
and attended the parade event. Tribal Governor: Scott
Miller, Lt. Governor: Michelle Lopez, Representative: Isaac
Gibson, Alicia Miller, Connor Miller and Brody Miller, Darrell
Larney, Shawnee Larney and Taylor McKinley-Larney, Devin
Voyles and Wynonna Coon were the others who participated
and represented our tribe.
A Special Thanks to the support and pictures; and to
Alex Blanchard and Cecil Walker from the tribal maintenance
department for providing and driving the truck and trailer and
for all the work they put in on the day of the parade, it would
not have been possible without them.
your mind as well. We all realize that
we must continue to work to balance our
budget and to bring in new revenue to
off set our current deficit. Your Casino,
Thunderbird is beginning to bring new
business and is in the process of paying
the Tribe back the funds loaned to
them several months ago. The tribe is
in a difficult place right now but you do
have five committee members who are
talking, sharing and who will make the
best decisions based on all our expertise
as well as consulting with others. We
are not taking our roles as your leaders
lightly. We want our AST to succeed and
we will with your help and prayers.
You may want to know that the
Executive Committee members are also
discussing the following issues: 1)revision
of the Constitution, 2)ASEDA,Inc., (our
economic development authority),3)All
Nations Bank, 4)Improving employee
relations, 4)looking at the infra-structure
of the tribe and 5) looking at strategic
planning(where do we want to be in one
year, 3 years and so on). Your ideas
and thoughts will be gratefully appreciated.
So at anytime please call or e-mail
myself and other Committee members.
I’d also like to hear from former Executive
Council members. Your expertise is
welcome.
I’ve enjoyed talking with the employees
of the Tribe. I’ve gained a lot of
insight about how our departments operate.
We have a lot of dedicated employees
who work for the Tribe. The next time
you meet one of our employees please
tell them how much you appreciate their
hard work.
The finance department and
I are meeting on a regular bases. We
have some excellent people in that department.
The finance department has
undergone many changes since 2005 to
date. Today, we have a Controller, Assistant
Controller and other staff that are
working hard to ensure AST has the best
and most efficiency department around.
The finance department will start providing
training to departmental heads on
their budgets. Our promise is that we
will meet on a regular bases with the Executive
Committee, the staff and others
to keep everyone updated on our budget
as we go though the next six months.
I am totally energized by all the
issues I feel we face as your Executive
Committee and as a tribal member. I believe
we can and will move forward and
become successful in all our endeavors.
We do plan to have our monthly meetings
starting in September. I’ll be looking
forward to meeting each of you in person
on September 13th at Tecumseh Square.
My e-mail address is: achisholm@astribe.com
or call me at 405-325-4030
ext. 118.
May the Creator bless you and
your family and our AST family. n
*** Attention***
Community Meeting
September 13, 2008
Tecumseh Square Center
10:00 a.m.
Hope to see you there!
Tribal Leaders/Members Show Support of Veterans
Thank you for the support of the Veterans and the Absentee
Shawnee Tribe.
August 2008 The Absentee Shawnee News 5