Page 2 - Chehalis Tribal Newsletter - December 2024

2

FESTIVE

From page 1
The Chehalis Tribal Business Committee
honored three of the Tribe’s longtime employees
who will retire during December and early
January:
n Chehalis Tribal member Amil Starr
made the decision to retire this year. His official
last day working for the Tribe was the day of
the Christmas Party. He was honored with a
Pendleton blanket.
n Don Terry was acknowledged and
honored with a Pendleton Blanket. During his
decades of employment, he has been involved
with many projects that have positively impacted
the progressio of the Chehalis Tribe. Terry was
familiar with the Chehalis Tribal people when
he was a child growing up in the 1970s because
his father worked in the timber industry and
had a working relationship with the Quinault
and Chehalis Tribal people. Terry started
working for the Tribe as a contractor in 1994
when he was part of various projects on the
reservation, including building the Fish House
and remodeling the old Youth Center (now
part of Head Start). He was hired as a full-time
employee for the Chehalis Tribe in 2006. Terry
is known to go above and beyond as he became
a part of the Tribal community during his 30
years working on the reservation. He is known
to provide a helping hand or advice to Tribal
members who need any type of assistance with
their homes.
n Harold Chesnin, Lead Attorney for the
Chehalis Tribal Government, will also retire
after nearly five decades working with and for
the Chehalis Tribe. He has worked among the
Chehalis Tribal people since 1976. During his
time with the Office of Tribal Affairs, Chesnin
has obtained a wealth of knowledge regarding
Tribal history and sovereignty. During the party,
Chesnin said the Chehalis Tribal people are a
caring community that takes care of one another.
“The people are wonderful,” Chesnin said. “It
has been my great honor to serve you.” Harold
finished by formally announcing to the rest of
the employees that Robbi Kesler will be the next
Lead Attorney.
Business Committee members took time to
thank the rest of the employees for their hard
work and dedication throughout the year.
After the employee recognition, Wayne Barr
was asked to say a prayer for the holiday meal.
Events staff conducted raffle drawings during the
rest of the party. The Employee
Thank you to everyone who participated and Christmas
to Philip Youckton for his lively emceeing during Party offered
the gathering. a chance to
play a giant
Connect 4
and classic
casino games
along with a
sElfie booth,
time to honor
retiring staff
members
and so much
more.