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Dear Team Members,

As many of you know, my family is very important to me. That is why Mother’s Day, along with Father’s Day upcoming in June, are always celebrated as a time for giving gratitude. I hope each of you joins me in conducting a gesture, such as a picnic or a dinner for your parents on these special occasions. They are the ones who molded you into the peopleyou are today.

Then there is my other family- all of you at GRGE. As a CEO, it’s so great I have the opportunity to describe a diverse group such as yourselves in this way. Many of you have been in my life for such an extended period, we are closer than many actual families. Plus, it’s spectacular to see families like Danielle Kedekein and Mijah Baptiste working alongside one another. When you have a situation of a child watching his/her parent come home from a workplace with a positive attitude and wanting to pursue that same feeling, I know we are doing something right as an enterprise.

With Memorial Day also being celebrated this month, I would like to take the time to recognize the brave men and women who sacrificed their lives for our freedom. There are many veterans within the enterprise and the community, and they deserve to be respected in the highest regard.

It seems as if there is always something exciting going on at Vee Quiva. Last month it was the security team stepping up to the plate, and now the Players Club is in the spotlight. I am so gracious that our team members work together during short staffing, and they certainly deserve all the recognition directed their way. As a whole, the complete property came to life during Vee Quiva’s annual carnival. This is a great way to exhibit all of the values we are looking for at GRGE, and I am excited to see what can be done to make next year’s even better. You might even see me riding the mechanical bull!

Keep up the good work, stay safe, and remember, if you have any questions about something, don’t hesitate to ask myself or your manager. We are here to assist you.

Sincerely,

Kenneth Manuel, Chief Executive Officer

Kenneth Manuel

MESSAGE FROM CEO KENNETH MANUEL

KENNETH MANUELChief Executive Officer, Gila River GamingEnterprises, Inc.

Memorial Day is observed on the last Monday of May, and it is a day set aside to commemorate all men and women who have died in military service for the United States.

Most people know that Memorial Day is about honoring the fallen soldiers of our nation; however, it is also to remember the veterans who did not fall in battle but returned home and lived out their lives and then passed on. Memorial Day is to remember all those who have served in the U.S. Armed Services and are no longer with us. Please honor the memory of the Soldiers, Airmen, Seamen, and Marines who served this country to insure our freedom, for freedom is not free, and put up a flag in remembrance on Memorial Day, May 29, 2017.

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COMMUNITY CORNER: MEMORIAL DAY

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VEE QUIVA THROWS ANNUAL CARNIVAL

RECOGNITION FOR VEE QUIVA PLAYERS CLUB

On one sunny day, team members at Vee Quiva could ride a mechanical bull, roll around in oversize hamster balls and feast on cotton candy. That’s because the Vee Quiva marketing department threw the sixth-annual team member carnival on March 29, which this year featured a luau theme.

“I designed the shirts, we had to get the photo booth and all the games together,” said VQ marketing coordinator Adina Ungureanu, who spearheaded the planning. “I had to get with Spectra to resolve the space and needed to think of gifts. After playing the games, they get tickets; that way, they can pick what they win.”

Ungureanu said she began planning back in February. Other games included an inflatable basketball hoop, balloon darts and tossing rings on soda bottles, all accompanied with GRGE management handing out prize tickets.

“It was good for employees to get together,” cashier Kendra Dixon said. “You get to have games and food and win prizes at the end. I was just having fun.”

Dish and machine operator Ed Parsons put it all in perspective on why such events build a better work environment.

“From the looks of everyone’s faces, it seems fun,” he said. “We get to know each other up close and personal, and that’s good because we’re supposed to be a team.”

A GLIMPSE INTO THE PERSONALITIES OF OUR TEAM MEMBERS

EMMANUEL NORZAGARAYTitle: Vee Quiva Maintenance

Date of Hire: October 13, 1995

Tell us about yourself: I was hired on the spot in October of 1995. Originally, I worked at the small building on 56th Street, the old Vee Quiva. Three years later, I moved to the new Vee Quiva. I drove many poker dealers to Mesa for training back then. I have learned so much and have met really nice people. Tony Rocha was my first manager, and was the person who trained me in the plumbing and electricity departments. I have a big family of six, four girls and two boys, all grown up. There’s going to be a sixth grandchild on the way. One daughter is a blackjack dealer at Lone Butte.

Who is your favorite baseball player?Alex Rodriguez, since he’s done a lot of things for the community and such. I liked Barry Bonds, the ASU alum, ever since he started with Pittsburgh. I went to all of the World Series games that were here.

What is your favorite candy bar? Milky Way Dark. My wife doesn’t like it, so if I buy one, I don’t have to worry about my wife eating it.

What was the craziest thing you wore for Halloween?I dressed as the character from the ‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre,’ and my son dressed as Jason. We went around scaring kids

It takes special types of people to sacrifice their own time to contribute to the team. This was the case recently at the understaffed Vee Quiva Players Club, where shorthandedness spurned representatives Raquel Almaguer, Shawna Brown and Kevin Knox to voluntarily stay past their out times.

“I love that they come together when they need to,” Vee Quiva Players Club manager Shanna Sebok said. “They never stopped smiling, and they were slammed all night. I know they are burned out, but they are always able to step in and take the extra responsibilities. I love that about them.”

In addition, supervisors Audrey Richardson, Rob Rojas and Mary Jane Sosolda elected to stay late – and their pay is salary. GRGE awarded the group with a pizza party, and interviews to correct the staffing are in progress.

CELEBRATING MOTHER’S DAY AT GRGE

There are plenty of things Danielle Kedekein and Mijah Baptist have in common. They enjoy the same TV shows and music, do each other’s makeup and even coordinate their outfits without even thinking of it at the Gilbert apartment they share. But what might be the most special about the mother and daughter is that they both are team members at Lone Butte Casino.

“It’s been a wonderful experience, it’s so funny,” said Kedekein, who began working at GRGE in 2010 in the cage and vault at Vee Quiva and now is a blackjack dealer on the graveyard shift. Baptist, who is the oldest of her three children, came on board as a Players Club representative in November 2015.

“I did the Players Club in 2011, and I knew the girls who worked here,” Kedekein said. “I knew it would be the set pace she likes because she likes helping people. I knew I would want her to be around these types of people.”

Baptist, who will turn 21 on Mother’s Day (May 14), ironically enough, often is confused as a sister of the youthful-appearing Kedekein.

“Everyone always says, ‘I can’t believe she’s your mom!’” Baptist added. “Not just at work, even at the grocery store!”

Can you guess the answer of the younger brother in this brain teaser?

Answer:

MAY BRAIN TEASER

Send your answers to Scott Mammoser before May 24th for your chance to win 2 tickets to Harkins Theatre. One winner from each property will be drawn each month. Only current GRGE-Spectra Team Members qualify. Answers can be found on Team Works.

Thank you to everyone who participated in the April Puzzle. Winners listed to the right please contact Scott Mammoser at extension 7131 or Scott.Mammoser@wingilariver.com to pickup your Harkins Movie Tickets!

NAME: DEPARTMENT:

LB VQ WHPPHONE: PROPERTY:

River Spirit is published monthly by Gila River Gaming Enterprises, Inc., Public Relations Department for team members only and is designed to provide informative material of interest to our readers.Information in this publication is current as of the issue date. For additional information, or to submit an article, please contact Scott Mammoser at Scott.Mammoser@wingilariver.com or at (520) 796-7131.

MARCH WINNERS: Agnes Khafaja, WHP, HousekeepingRaul Morrillo, VQ, Spectra DMOManuel Sabori, LB, Facilities

99% will get this wrong....

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When I was 2 years old, my brother was half of my age...

Now I am 10 years old

Tell me how old is my brother now.