August 16, 2024 • 28 mins
Tim talks to Tiffany Hunter, a volunteer Court Appointed Special Advocate, or CASA in the Maricopa County Foster Care system
He also chats with Mike Kintner of Harrah's Ak-Chin Casino As they celebrate their 30th year in Maricopa We’ll hear about the innovative ways they’ve integrated a culture of giving back to their communities involving both their employees and guests-
He also chats with Mike Kintner of Harrah's Ak-Chin Casino As they celebrate their 30th year in Maricopa We’ll hear about the innovative ways they’ve integrated a culture of giving back to their communities involving both their employees and guests-
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
I'm Tim Hatrick from one O two five Knix. This
is iHeart Communities. Coming up, I'll chat with Mike Kentner,
Senior vice president and general manager of Harrah's ac Chin
as they celebrate their thirtieth year in Maricopa. We'll hear
about the innovative ways they've integrated a culture of giving
back to their communities, involving both their employees and their guests.
(00:23):
But first, there's a great need for volunteers who serve
a specific and vital role in the lives of foster
care children right here in our community. Every day in
Maricopa County, thirty children enter foster care. Between the group
home or family providing that care and the court system
is a volunteer known as a COSA. Tiffany Hunter has
(00:46):
been a COSA for several years. In addition to a
busy professional career, she's a wife and mom who volunteers
her time to help foster kids in our county. Tiffany welcome,
and what exactly is a.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
CASA appointed Special Advocate And so basically what we're doing
as AKSA, it's a volunteer situation. It's through the courts
and you go in and as I say in a nutshell,
you're a voice for kids in foster care. There are
way too many children out there that they don't have
someone to advocate for them. So as a volunteer, you
(01:20):
come in. You are going to be a part of everything,
whether it be schooling, their placement, whether like you had said,
there's foster homes, there's group homes. There's so many different
situations for these kids. But there are kids that they
just need someone that is going to be there for
them and be a constant for them.
Speaker 1 (01:37):
And what kind of things are you doing with and
for the kids you're assigned to as a kassa.
Speaker 2 (01:42):
You get to see them a couple times a month,
but you can go to parent teacher conferences, You get
to go and and just I don't know, be there
in the best ways possible for these kids. And then
in the end the judge, you're going to court on
their behalf, where the judge is really truly going to
be listening to what Akasa has to say because they
are the ones that are in the trenches with those
(02:04):
kids and know what really might be best for their
their well being.
Speaker 1 (02:08):
So a foster child in Arizona is a minor child
who a judge is determined cannot live in their home
because it's unsafe for the parents who are unfit for
a variety of reasons. So then they are entered through
the court system into foster care. What is the difference
between what the people in the group homes or a
foster family does for a child and what a costa
(02:30):
volunteer does for a kid in foster care.
Speaker 2 (02:34):
So for the foster parents or a group home, basically
they're bringing children into their actual homes and doing the
day to days, making sure they're getting to school and
taking care of in that environment. AKASA is coming in
and there being that voice to make sure whether it
be something that they're trying to reunite, reunite them with
their families, or whatever the situation might be for each child,
(02:57):
to make sure educationally the different things that might be
kind of being lost, they get lost in the cracks.
You know, you don't want that to be happening. So
you've got a CASA that is truly just doing that.
It's as a volunteer situation and it's only so many
hours a month that they're being a part of this,
but they're not having the kids in their home they
(03:18):
are going and taking them out and just getting to
know the kids and letting the kids know that they're
there for them to be that constant. And the other
thing is a big difference is you might have situations
where in some of my cases, they've gone to multiple
different foster homes, they've had different social workers along the way,
but you are their constant. You're the one that's going
to be with them every time they have a new placement.
(03:40):
If it doesn't work out, you're still there, and those
kids really learn to rely on you. And it's I mean,
I'm not gonna lie, it fills my cup. I mean
it is amazing because you're getting to do something for
a kid and just even seeing for me, I've been
a COSSA for ten years and what I've actually seen
of even my very first case and the kids, one
(04:01):
of them just graduated from high school and is going
on to college, and it's just amazing just to see
what they've become and feel like maybe I had a
little bit to help get them in a better situation.
Speaker 1 (04:11):
The county needs more KASA volunteers, Yes we do. How
does somebody become a KASA a court appointed special Advocate?
Speaker 2 (04:20):
Well, Yeah, so you're going to end up going through training,
and I want to say it's roughly three days basically
is what I ended up doing. There's a certain amount
of hours that you're going to go through the training,
and then there's going to be the background check. Of course,
you know that you're going to go through the screening
through the courts. But then once you're done with the
training and all the background you get to actually pick
your own family. There might be something where you feel
(04:42):
like you might connect more with elementary age or babies
or high schoolers, whatever it may be, and you get
guided as to okay, here's all the cases, because there's
roughly we're in the hundreds only for casses, and think
of the thousands of foster kids, and it is it's
heartbreaking to see how many cases there are out there.
But you can go in with a family and I know,
(05:04):
like for me, I started out with two kiddos in
my first case. Then it went to three, then four
and it's siblings and you're there for them, but you
can kind of decide what is the best fit for
me and where can I be, you know, the most
productive for these kids and be the best advocate in
what my time would allow.
Speaker 1 (05:19):
How many cases or kids really do you advocate for
at any given time.
Speaker 2 (05:24):
So I usually, and I know they always encourage just
take on one case. Now I each case it was siblings,
so I wouldn't take on multiple cases. Most of my
cases the kids would be in the same home, but
there were cases where it would be in two different homes,
and so then the same thing. I was able to
get all the siblings together because they might not get
to see each other as much. And that's a big deal.
(05:45):
You know, these kids, they get pulled out of their homes,
it's traumatic, and now they're away from their siblings as well.
So it's wonderful to be able to be that person
they can go and get them together and be able
to just spend a little bit of time.
Speaker 1 (05:58):
Let's talk about the time commitment. How much time are
you typically spending with a kid in any visit or
in total, like in the month, what's the time commitment.
Speaker 2 (06:09):
Like, Well, typically you're spending anywhere from I want to say,
ten to fifteen hours a month, is what the commitment
really is. And it's gonna same thing. It's going to
vary where you want at least see them every other week, Like,
that's the ideal that you can set that up. And
there's been cases where I like to see them every week.
If I have that time, then I love that I
can see it. But no matter what, it's the kids
(06:31):
knowing and I love that no matter whether it was
a foster parent group home or whatever, I would always
get there and they're like, oh, they've been counting down
the hours. You know, they get so excited for me
to get there just because they know it's just normalcy.
I get to take them out and they just get
to do I.
Speaker 1 (06:46):
Think the term advocate might be a little intimidating at
first for people, because you do have to represent this child,
for instance, before the judge in court, or speak to
a doctor on their behalf, maybe a school teacher. But
you do also get to have fun with these kids.
Speaker 2 (07:04):
Right exactly. And I know when you talk about it
with a judge, there's court reports that you have to do,
and people will get very intimidated by it. But we
have coordinators. There's so many people that can make it
so easy to be a CASA and it is it's
so rewarding, and I know there's so many people out there.
I literally saw a commercial one day and that's what
made me pick up the phone and say, oh yeah,
(07:25):
I want more information. And so if people have a
love for kids and want to volunteer and do something good,
I mean, this is like the ultimate thing to do.
I mean, like I keep saying, it fills my cup.
It is something. It's so rewarding that you can do
something for these.
Speaker 1 (07:40):
Kids, Tiffany. A lot of kids in foster care have
been through some terrible stuff, abuse, trauma, neglect. Consequently, many
have behavioral issues or at least could be very hard
to connect with. How big a factor is that and
is part of being a CASA dealing with those kinds
of ish they do?
Speaker 3 (08:01):
And it does.
Speaker 2 (08:02):
There's been certain ones that it takes a little bit
more time, but it's the same thing of just knowing
they might rebel a little bit in a certain situations,
but it's knowing that, oh my gosh, I'm going to
get them the help that they need so that we
can build these relationships. And then when they see that
you're not just abandoning them, it's easier to build those.
(08:23):
But every kid is going to be different.
Speaker 1 (08:25):
So, as Akasa, you are representing the interests of this
foster child. Give me a menu or a range of
all the kinds of things and ways you might advocate
for any given foster child.
Speaker 2 (08:37):
Yeah, I was going to say, it's everything. Like I said,
I've done. I've been in where you do parent teacher
conferences where if they have any of the psychologists or
anybody that they might need to see, just regular doctor's
visits that you're able to go to. Whether it be,
there's just different there's foster care boards that you can
(08:58):
go to, they have review boards there, there's going into
court itself. They do have a lot of them have
what's called a gl so it's their attorney. So there's
just different people that you're going to be in kind
of in the trenches with you and you're just it's
being a whole support. It's like a community that you've
kind of built to make sure you're there for the
kids and everybody involved is there for the kids.
Speaker 1 (09:20):
Is it ever hard to be objective on their behalf?
Speaker 2 (09:23):
Sometimes I'm not going to lie, it is hard, But
when you look at it, it's like, Okay, what is
truly in the best interest? Because it's easy when you're
looking at whether they be returned to their parents or
where they're being staying, where they're staying put. You can
look at it and see, Okay, this is where I
truly believe is going to be the best for this kid.
(09:44):
The child might not believe that, but when you really
step back and look at it, you know it's you
just have to be objective about it.
Speaker 1 (09:51):
You said, this really fills your cup. So I can
imagine that you must get very close to some of
these kids.
Speaker 2 (09:58):
Oh yeah, you do definitely get attached. But at the
same time, I know there's certain cases and it's not
the norm A lot of times. Once your case is done,
you're done, you know, and you just have to know, hey,
I did something good for these kids, and They're going
to completely go on and I'm just gonna believe that
they have success. And then there's some that will choose
(10:19):
to try to stay in touch.
Speaker 1 (10:21):
Is there a story about one kid in particular that
kind of exemplifies what it's like to be akasa?
Speaker 2 (10:28):
I know, like for me just even talking about my
very first case, having a couple of boys and they
were just these little things and just you could just
tell scared and traumatized, and there were a lot of
teacher conferences that I had to go into because they
might have been getting a little bit of trouble at school,
and it was amazing that I was just getting so
(10:49):
much from them that they would talk to me and
just open up. And even the foster parents were just
impressed that they just started opening up and just kind
of breaking down those walls. But then you fast forward,
this happens to be a family that did want to
keep in touch. The boys ultimately got adopted, and the
one graduating from high school and he's like, you have
(11:11):
to come up and see my college and you know,
and I'm like, okay, you know, I'm like, okay, apparently
I'm invested for life, you know. But it's it's just
that feeling of knowing that I was able to get
through some of these really hard traumatic times with their kids,
and knowing, you know, whether they have an ie, IEP
or five before. There's so many different learning disabilities that
(11:33):
come with a lot of these kids, and so knowing
that I could go in and help and try to
come up with a path for those those kids, it
just it was just nice. It's just nice to see.
And then you're looking at the end and yes, it's
ten years later, but going, wow, look at this, you know,
and now it's like he's six foot five and graduating
and he was just like this. He was like to
(11:55):
my waist, and now I was like, I'm looking up
to him, and he thinks that's quite funny, you know.
Speaker 1 (11:59):
But I have two sons yourself, I do, And is
it ever tricky? You know, you're out advocating for kids
you basically don't know, and also having to balance advocating
for the two kids you brought into this world.
Speaker 2 (12:13):
I will admit one of my boys was a little
bit more of a challenge, and there was a lot
of the learning disability, and it gave me that insight
of oh, hey, if I can advocate for my kid,
why can't I go advocate for somebody else.
Speaker 1 (12:24):
I got to say first, I think this is a
tremendously noble thing to do with your time and essential
to the well being of kids in foster care in
our county. Is it fair to say, though, that this
takes a certain type of person. Yeah, when you consider
that there are hundreds of KASA volunteers right now in
mera couple county, but many thousands of kids in foster care.
(12:47):
What could you say to somebody out there who who's
listened to this and thought, you know, I think I
might be well equipped to do this. Why should that
person consider becoming a KASA.
Speaker 2 (12:57):
Well, the why is a given. I mean, if you
want to give back and do something truly for a kid,
I mean just knowing that if you can even just
touch one kid, help one kid, it's so worth it.
We've got a nonprofit it's called Voices for Costed Children,
and we are very big on trying to give info, sessions,
and just anything else that you can possibly give to.
(13:17):
Let anybody that might even just be thinking about it
and wants more information, that's where you want to contact,
and that's the Voices for Costa Children dot org.
Speaker 1 (13:27):
Voices is a nonprofit. It's a third party organization that
supports the causas with additional training and such, and also
things like tickets to the zoo or museums.
Speaker 2 (13:38):
Right, Oh my gosh, yeah, So Voices is amazing. I'm
not gonna lie. They do so much because they really
support the causes who are supporting the foster kids. So
it's they are there for so many different whether it
be education purposes, because a lot of times you might
feel a little overwhelmed coming in, so voices is there
to help with so many different aspects of being a KASA.
Speaker 1 (13:59):
To find out more about becoming a Court appointed Special
Advocate for foster Kids in Maricopa County, visit az Coourts
dot gov slash CASA CASA, or you can get more
information at Voices for KASA Children dot org. Tiffany Hunter,
thanks for the time, and I commend you for this
(14:20):
noble work that you do with foster kids as a
KASA volunteer here in our county.
Speaker 2 (14:25):
Well, thanks for having me.
Speaker 1 (14:47):
You're listening to iheartcommunities. I'm Tim Hatrick. My next guest
is Mike Kentner, Senior vice president and General manager of
Harrah's Aucchin Casino and Resort in Maricopa. Mike, I was
just telling you that it's been a while since I've
been to America, and I took a trip there earlier
this year and I thought i'd accidentally pulled into the
Emerald City. It was so new and shiny and impressive,
(15:07):
and a lot has happened there recently.
Speaker 4 (15:10):
Yeah, Maricope is growing and still growing. It's getting really big.
If you haven't been in a while. You should definitely
come down and check us out. We're on the south
part of town, Harrazak Chin and it's been there. In
December this year will be thirty years.
Speaker 1 (15:25):
Thirty years of which you've been almost two decades.
Speaker 3 (15:28):
Right, that's right, Yeah, nineteen years.
Speaker 4 (15:30):
I started back in October two thousand and five coming
back to Arizona from California when I came back, and
it's just been amazing the growth and all the things
we've done in those last nineteen years.
Speaker 1 (15:41):
Well, and the casino and resort is very much connected
to the community of Maricopa and also the Auction Indian community.
You have many different programs to give back to the
community you're part of, so let's talk about some of those.
Speaker 4 (15:54):
We do absolutely, yeah, So I work for Caesars Entertainment.
We manage the business for the Auction Indian community, and
they are wonderful people to work for.
Speaker 3 (16:04):
They are proud farmers.
Speaker 4 (16:07):
It's about an eleven hundred member tribe, half of them
under the age of eighteen, so pretty young tribe and
fairly small. A relatively Hilo River, for example, I believe
is north of twenty eight thousand members, so eleven hundred members,
a little bit smaller, pretty young. I believe President Taft
established the reservation back in nineteen twelve, so and hundred
(16:29):
and twelve years ago. But it really it's like a family,
family business, family style atmosphere. The auction people wonderful people
to work for. Like I said, I've been there almost
nineteen years, and I feel like a rookie. We have
more than a dozen employees that have been there since
day one, thirty years, and I think that speaks to
our culture and how it is is to work there.
You know, I was told when I joined Caesar's a
(16:50):
lot younger and you know, wanting to grow my career,
that if I really wanted to grow my career, I
have to move every eighteen months. And that was happening
in our business at the time. You know, I really
liked it, and I really wanted to stay put and
work for for the auction Indian community, and uh it
was significant for me to stay. Had many opportunities to leave,
wanted to stay and uh and work for these uh
these great uh, these great folks because you get to
(17:14):
see the fruits of your labor every day, go right
back into the community to build homes, for their members,
elder centers, pre schools, to reinvest in our business so we.
Speaker 3 (17:22):
Can all have pretty cool jobs and do fun stuff.
So we do.
Speaker 4 (17:26):
We do give back to the community. It's a big
part of of what we do. And we have an
organization in our company called Hero where we give back
to the community and we really try to support the
local you know, Americo Pocassa Grand So Against Abuse, Women's
Shelter fo R, Americopa Food Opportunity Resources or really give
back and those are our primary focuses. Do a lot
of things around, uh, cancer research and supporting those and
(17:50):
the cancer walks and that sort of thing.
Speaker 1 (17:51):
I think something I like about it. As an Arizona kid, Uh,
this is a Maricopa is a small town. This is
a small Indian community. It has that small town feel.
But this big impressive casino and resort is there that
is part of the Caesars family, so it's connected to
one of the biggest in the world. But it does
have that local feel so that everything you do to
(18:12):
raise money and awareness or whatever for the community really
does show up. There's evidence of it right there in
front of you.
Speaker 3 (18:18):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (18:18):
One of our values at Caesars entertainment is is family
style service. So and really how we you know, we
work hard so you can play hard, right, And our
motto at Hero's Action is played for all. We like
to get everybody to come down and relax and have
a good time. We don't take ourselves too seriously and
we we like to like to have a lot of fun.
It really is like a small small town feel, small
town vibe. Everybody remembers COVID, the pandemic. Hate to bring up,
(18:40):
you know, bad memories. But one of the things when
I think about the auc Chin community and again why
they're so special to work for and that that family
style feel. When we close down that property for eight
weeks through the last seasons, resort to close and the
first one reopen, actal a little aggressive with it. It
was important to them because it was scary. It was
scary for them, main economic driver, main revenue stores for them.
(19:01):
But they paid all of our employees the entire time
we were closed.
Speaker 1 (19:05):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (19:06):
And if you're a beverage server and you're making eight
bucks scenario like Mike, that's great, right, I make all
my money on tips.
Speaker 3 (19:11):
They had us go back and look.
Speaker 4 (19:12):
At the tips for the previous eight weeks average amount,
and we grossed it up and we paid everybody kept
them hold during the entire time we were closed. And
again that's just one example of the many of what
the Aucchen Indian community is, what they do and how
they are for people to work for.
Speaker 3 (19:25):
So it really is, it really is family.
Speaker 1 (19:27):
How many people are employed for the casino and resort.
Speaker 4 (19:30):
We have approximately we sit right now about seven hundred
employees a full time equivalentce SO and but we're still growing.
Speaker 3 (19:37):
We've gone through many expansions.
Speaker 4 (19:39):
So when the casino first opened, there wasn't a hotel, right,
so then they added the resort rooms one hundred and
fifty rooms, beautiful pool for a long time, I think
they used to like we used to like the brag.
I think it was before me, but it was like
the only swim up bar in Arizona.
Speaker 3 (19:53):
That the unheard of now. But that's kind of what
we were known for sure.
Speaker 4 (19:56):
But beautiful resort rooms still some of it, they've been
remodeled very recently and still some of the most coveted
rooms on property. Then we added in twenty eleven of
five story, one hundred and fifty room hotel tower and
then in twenty eighteen added another twelve story tower to
bring us up to five hundred and twenty nine rooms.
Speaker 1 (20:13):
So in terms of economic development for that area, looks
like it rivals the resorts and casinos you might find
around the valley.
Speaker 4 (20:21):
Well, for our customers, you know, like we talked about
Caesars Entertainment a little bit, we have more than fifty
properties across the US, So the real value for them
and value nowadays is.
Speaker 3 (20:30):
A big deal. Right, everybody's looking for that value.
Speaker 4 (20:32):
You hear people talking about bringing value back in our
current environment. The value for our customers is Caesars rewards.
So we have a loyalty program. It's often it's been
recognized for I don't know, it's probably in ten years
in a row. It's recognized as the top loyalty program
in casino gaming, and it's well recognized among just loyalty
programs in general. But we have a lot of our
(20:53):
customers will drive sixty seventy eighty miles past two or
three competitors that come down and see us because the
great service we give in because of rewards. So when
they play there, they get offers and rewards, not just
at harrazoc Chin, but a properties all across the US,
from Las Vegas to Chicago and New Orleans to Atlantic
City to Florida, California and everywhere in between. So with
those fifty properties, it really does allow us to provide
(21:15):
that value to our customers who like to play.
Speaker 1 (21:19):
All right, so let's get back to the Hero program.
This is for your employees to help out different things.
What are some of the fun events you do? What
are some of the ways that you help out through
different events throughout the year.
Speaker 4 (21:29):
My favorite one, and I've done this for I think
about ten ten or more years or so. We were
talking just before this, I'm of u of a guy,
which isn't the most popular thing up here in the valley,
But my favorite thing about ASU, besides the chalkbox, is
the Pat Tilman Race. And if they ever get rid
of the Chalkbox, I don't know, just I'll only have
the Pat Tilman Race that they have every year, which
(21:51):
is a great organization and race that we pay for
our as many employees as would like to attend and
run in that we run as a group. We usually
have fifty to sixty folks out there get to run
it with my boys every year and putting in that
four point two and thinking about what a great human
being pat someone was and in this community that sort
of thing, and it's, uh, it kind of brings together,
you know, the auction Indian community, they're pretty split, like
almost fifty to fifty U of A versus a s
(22:13):
U and right.
Speaker 3 (22:15):
So territorial cup time they have.
Speaker 4 (22:17):
They have basketball tournaments and share volleyball tournaments and it's
all competing against each other and it's a it's a
lot of fun.
Speaker 3 (22:22):
And so we do fun things like that.
Speaker 4 (22:25):
We the other ones we're gonna do, you know, Feed
my starving children is always a fun one because you're
there and you really feel like you're making an impact
and you're doing something. You're active, building those those uh
those those food packs for people. So we get our
families involved, I get the team together and you know,
a lot of a lot of pride in that.
Speaker 1 (22:40):
Is there a benefit to an employee to participate in
these types of events? Do they get any perks for
being a part of this hero program?
Speaker 4 (22:47):
So we check our hero hours and we so, you know,
and giving back to the community. We have a strong
culture of giving back there at Harro's auctionin and and
you know the majority of our employees live I think
eighty percent of our employees approximately live it either in
marri cop or Cassi Grand in that area down in
Panal County.
Speaker 3 (23:06):
So so we do a lot of stuff with fo.
Speaker 4 (23:07):
R Americopa and against Abuse like I said, and people
people just want to get involved. And we tell folks
at the property if you if there's a if there's
something you're you're passionate about or something you care about,
bring it to us and then we try to get
involved and try to support it. Whether it's it could
be you know, local you know, high school sports teams,
or it could be when they need help, or it
could be you know the local animal shelter in a
lot with that taking blankets out for the dogs or
(23:29):
having you know, adoption things on the property. But but yeah,
we we I want to say we did. Our Hero
Committee last year gave me more than fifty thousand dollars
and did more than ten thousand hours in community service.
Speaker 1 (23:41):
That's great. Yeah, the auction community as a as you said,
a farming based community that there are things that are
through green initiatives that are you're also involved with, right.
Speaker 3 (23:51):
Yeah, co Green.
Speaker 4 (23:52):
It's sustainability and then you know, working with the auction community,
it's something that they they haven't. They celebrate Earth Day
every year and we definitely get involved in that. We've
got you know, charging stations for ev vehicles. We recycle
all our cardboard, big recycling programs. April Stovevall on my team,
(24:13):
she's our director of Facilities and Surveillance, is extremely passionate
about it and it has been recognizing the company for
all the wonderful things we do around code green on property.
Speaker 1 (24:22):
How about guests can they get involved in helping out
some of these initiatives they can.
Speaker 4 (24:26):
We just had a we just had a lightly used
tennis shoe drive on property to help a cancer organization
for children. And I want to say, we got something
like five hundred pairs of shoes and we had drop
boxes in the casino so so so guests could come
in and drop the shoes off along with employees and
(24:48):
it was actually pretty popular. We also have on our
on our nrts throughout the property where you can cash
out your tickets, that sort of thing. When you're cashing
out those tickets, you can donate the change, so say
you get back twenty dollars and eighty three cents. You
can choose to donate that eighty three cents and we
have like four or five charities on there. You can
pick which one it goes to. We've raised quite a
bit of money for that. Last year, our guests donated
(25:08):
more than fifty five thousand dollars WOW to the highlighted
charities against Abuse, American Cancer Society, Boys and Girls Club
of America, f or Americopa, Caesar's Cares, and Meals on
Wheels of Penel County.
Speaker 1 (25:20):
I mean, I want to think that people are generous
and they want to help out with causes. If you
make it easy for them to do that, which this
sounds like a perfect way to do that. When they're
cashing out with their ticket, then they will. But also
I wonder if there's some people that donate because they're like,
maybe this will give me a little bit better luck
on the slot machine.
Speaker 3 (25:36):
We definitely hear that, I'll take it.
Speaker 4 (25:38):
I think I could get the superstitions, and I tend
to be a superstitious guy. With the superstitions that you
see in the casino with people, you know, how they
sit in their chair, they reb the machine for luck,
don't touch the machine. Their little trinkets they bring with
them are at the table. Yeah, it's a lot of fun.
Speaker 1 (25:52):
In the thirty years of Arozocchin in Americopa and you're
almost nineteen years, what's just some of the best memories
you have of the way the the community and the
casino have come together.
Speaker 4 (26:03):
Well, you know, every year the auction community celebrates their birthday.
Speaker 3 (26:09):
It's called mazik Tash. It happens in early December every year.
Speaker 4 (26:12):
They have a big carnival, rodeo and concert festivals and
it's right before the anniversary. And the anniversary's December twenty seventh,
So December is a big month for us when we
get to celebrate and that masaic Tash event the community.
Last year they had Midland out and Midland liked it
so much and marked the lead singer as a u
of a guy, so he's he Actually they reached out
to us and they're coming back this year New Year's Eve.
Speaker 1 (26:34):
I will be there New Year's Eve. That's how I'm
bringing in the new Year.
Speaker 3 (26:37):
It's gonna be amazing.
Speaker 4 (26:38):
And Tribal Council Council mc garcia, they're huge Midland fans.
Speaker 3 (26:42):
They love it.
Speaker 4 (26:42):
They've been they've been asking us for years get them out,
So it's amazing it's coming out this year. New Year's Eve,
its gonna be the place to be. It'sn be a
huge party. New Year's Eve is a lot of fun anyway,
But December for us, it's a lot of fun. Mask tash,
the rodeos, the carnivals where the property and our employees
and our guests and the community gets come together.
Speaker 3 (26:58):
Really it's a special time.
Speaker 1 (26:59):
Well, congrats to you and commend you on all the
fine work that harrazak Chen and of course Caesars do
within the community within uh Maricopa, and a lot of
fun things coming. I know that dog Star is the
Keanu Reeves band is going to play at the Events
Center in September.
Speaker 3 (27:16):
That's right.
Speaker 4 (27:17):
Yeah, so little little John Wick or Yeah or Neo
or however you remember him from Bill or Bill and
Ted's whatever far back you go with Bill and Yes
Reves Movies.
Speaker 1 (27:28):
That's we have some.
Speaker 4 (27:28):
We have some we have some guests, and we have
some employees that are super excited about Keanu Reeves going
to be in the building.
Speaker 1 (27:33):
So it's a great venue to see an act I
saw Chris Young there and it almost has It's about
the size of our secret shows, you know. Yeah, it's
more intimate than a giant arena. So Midland's going to
be a lot of fun, and I'll look forward to
being down there for that. Well, appreciate everything you guys
are doing and continued success and enjoy the more of
the thirtieth anniversary celebration.
Speaker 3 (27:54):
Tim, thanks so much, and we'll see on New Year's Eve.
Speaker 1 (27:57):
For iHeart Communities, Phoenix. I'm Tim Hatrick.
I'm Tim Hatrick from one O two five Knix. This
is iHeart Communities. Coming up, I'll chat with Mike Kentner,
Senior vice president and general manager of Harrah's ac Chin
as they celebrate their thirtieth year in Maricopa. We'll hear
about the innovative ways they've integrated a culture of giving
back to their communities, involving both their employees and their guests.
(00:23):
But first, there's a great need for volunteers who serve
a specific and vital role in the lives of foster
care children right here in our community. Every day in
Maricopa County, thirty children enter foster care. Between the group
home or family providing that care and the court system
is a volunteer known as a COSA. Tiffany Hunter has
(00:46):
been a COSA for several years. In addition to a
busy professional career, she's a wife and mom who volunteers
her time to help foster kids in our county. Tiffany welcome,
and what exactly is a.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
CASA appointed Special Advocate And so basically what we're doing
as AKSA, it's a volunteer situation. It's through the courts
and you go in and as I say in a nutshell,
you're a voice for kids in foster care. There are
way too many children out there that they don't have
someone to advocate for them. So as a volunteer, you
(01:20):
come in. You are going to be a part of everything,
whether it be schooling, their placement, whether like you had said,
there's foster homes, there's group homes. There's so many different
situations for these kids. But there are kids that they
just need someone that is going to be there for
them and be a constant for them.
Speaker 1 (01:37):
And what kind of things are you doing with and
for the kids you're assigned to as a kassa.
Speaker 2 (01:42):
You get to see them a couple times a month,
but you can go to parent teacher conferences, You get
to go and and just I don't know, be there
in the best ways possible for these kids. And then
in the end the judge, you're going to court on
their behalf, where the judge is really truly going to
be listening to what Akasa has to say because they
are the ones that are in the trenches with those
(02:04):
kids and know what really might be best for their
their well being.
Speaker 1 (02:08):
So a foster child in Arizona is a minor child
who a judge is determined cannot live in their home
because it's unsafe for the parents who are unfit for
a variety of reasons. So then they are entered through
the court system into foster care. What is the difference
between what the people in the group homes or a
foster family does for a child and what a costa
(02:30):
volunteer does for a kid in foster care.
Speaker 2 (02:34):
So for the foster parents or a group home, basically
they're bringing children into their actual homes and doing the
day to days, making sure they're getting to school and
taking care of in that environment. AKASA is coming in
and there being that voice to make sure whether it
be something that they're trying to reunite, reunite them with
their families, or whatever the situation might be for each child,
(02:57):
to make sure educationally the different things that might be
kind of being lost, they get lost in the cracks.
You know, you don't want that to be happening. So
you've got a CASA that is truly just doing that.
It's as a volunteer situation and it's only so many
hours a month that they're being a part of this,
but they're not having the kids in their home they
(03:18):
are going and taking them out and just getting to
know the kids and letting the kids know that they're
there for them to be that constant. And the other
thing is a big difference is you might have situations
where in some of my cases, they've gone to multiple
different foster homes, they've had different social workers along the way,
but you are their constant. You're the one that's going
to be with them every time they have a new placement.
(03:40):
If it doesn't work out, you're still there, and those
kids really learn to rely on you. And it's I mean,
I'm not gonna lie, it fills my cup. I mean
it is amazing because you're getting to do something for
a kid and just even seeing for me, I've been
a COSSA for ten years and what I've actually seen
of even my very first case and the kids, one
(04:01):
of them just graduated from high school and is going
on to college, and it's just amazing just to see
what they've become and feel like maybe I had a
little bit to help get them in a better situation.
Speaker 1 (04:11):
The county needs more KASA volunteers, Yes we do. How
does somebody become a KASA a court appointed special Advocate?
Speaker 2 (04:20):
Well, Yeah, so you're going to end up going through training,
and I want to say it's roughly three days basically
is what I ended up doing. There's a certain amount
of hours that you're going to go through the training,
and then there's going to be the background check. Of course,
you know that you're going to go through the screening
through the courts. But then once you're done with the
training and all the background you get to actually pick
your own family. There might be something where you feel
(04:42):
like you might connect more with elementary age or babies
or high schoolers, whatever it may be, and you get
guided as to okay, here's all the cases, because there's
roughly we're in the hundreds only for casses, and think
of the thousands of foster kids, and it is it's
heartbreaking to see how many cases there are out there.
But you can go in with a family and I know,
(05:04):
like for me, I started out with two kiddos in
my first case. Then it went to three, then four
and it's siblings and you're there for them, but you
can kind of decide what is the best fit for
me and where can I be, you know, the most
productive for these kids and be the best advocate in
what my time would allow.
Speaker 1 (05:19):
How many cases or kids really do you advocate for
at any given time.
Speaker 2 (05:24):
So I usually, and I know they always encourage just
take on one case. Now I each case it was siblings,
so I wouldn't take on multiple cases. Most of my
cases the kids would be in the same home, but
there were cases where it would be in two different homes,
and so then the same thing. I was able to
get all the siblings together because they might not get
to see each other as much. And that's a big deal.
(05:45):
You know, these kids, they get pulled out of their homes,
it's traumatic, and now they're away from their siblings as well.
So it's wonderful to be able to be that person
they can go and get them together and be able
to just spend a little bit of time.
Speaker 1 (05:58):
Let's talk about the time commitment. How much time are
you typically spending with a kid in any visit or
in total, like in the month, what's the time commitment.
Speaker 2 (06:09):
Like, Well, typically you're spending anywhere from I want to say,
ten to fifteen hours a month, is what the commitment
really is. And it's gonna same thing. It's going to
vary where you want at least see them every other week, Like,
that's the ideal that you can set that up. And
there's been cases where I like to see them every week.
If I have that time, then I love that I
can see it. But no matter what, it's the kids
(06:31):
knowing and I love that no matter whether it was
a foster parent group home or whatever, I would always
get there and they're like, oh, they've been counting down
the hours. You know, they get so excited for me
to get there just because they know it's just normalcy.
I get to take them out and they just get
to do I.
Speaker 1 (06:46):
Think the term advocate might be a little intimidating at
first for people, because you do have to represent this child,
for instance, before the judge in court, or speak to
a doctor on their behalf, maybe a school teacher. But
you do also get to have fun with these kids.
Speaker 2 (07:04):
Right exactly. And I know when you talk about it
with a judge, there's court reports that you have to do,
and people will get very intimidated by it. But we
have coordinators. There's so many people that can make it
so easy to be a CASA and it is it's
so rewarding, and I know there's so many people out there.
I literally saw a commercial one day and that's what
made me pick up the phone and say, oh yeah,
(07:25):
I want more information. And so if people have a
love for kids and want to volunteer and do something good,
I mean, this is like the ultimate thing to do.
I mean, like I keep saying, it fills my cup.
It is something. It's so rewarding that you can do
something for these.
Speaker 1 (07:40):
Kids, Tiffany. A lot of kids in foster care have
been through some terrible stuff, abuse, trauma, neglect. Consequently, many
have behavioral issues or at least could be very hard
to connect with. How big a factor is that and
is part of being a CASA dealing with those kinds
of ish they do?
Speaker 3 (08:01):
And it does.
Speaker 2 (08:02):
There's been certain ones that it takes a little bit
more time, but it's the same thing of just knowing
they might rebel a little bit in a certain situations,
but it's knowing that, oh my gosh, I'm going to
get them the help that they need so that we
can build these relationships. And then when they see that
you're not just abandoning them, it's easier to build those.
(08:23):
But every kid is going to be different.
Speaker 1 (08:25):
So, as Akasa, you are representing the interests of this
foster child. Give me a menu or a range of
all the kinds of things and ways you might advocate
for any given foster child.
Speaker 2 (08:37):
Yeah, I was going to say, it's everything. Like I said,
I've done. I've been in where you do parent teacher
conferences where if they have any of the psychologists or
anybody that they might need to see, just regular doctor's
visits that you're able to go to. Whether it be,
there's just different there's foster care boards that you can
(08:58):
go to, they have review boards there, there's going into
court itself. They do have a lot of them have
what's called a gl so it's their attorney. So there's
just different people that you're going to be in kind
of in the trenches with you and you're just it's
being a whole support. It's like a community that you've
kind of built to make sure you're there for the
kids and everybody involved is there for the kids.
Speaker 1 (09:20):
Is it ever hard to be objective on their behalf?
Speaker 2 (09:23):
Sometimes I'm not going to lie, it is hard, But
when you look at it, it's like, Okay, what is
truly in the best interest? Because it's easy when you're
looking at whether they be returned to their parents or
where they're being staying, where they're staying put. You can
look at it and see, Okay, this is where I
truly believe is going to be the best for this kid.
(09:44):
The child might not believe that, but when you really
step back and look at it, you know it's you
just have to be objective about it.
Speaker 1 (09:51):
You said, this really fills your cup. So I can
imagine that you must get very close to some of
these kids.
Speaker 2 (09:58):
Oh yeah, you do definitely get attached. But at the
same time, I know there's certain cases and it's not
the norm A lot of times. Once your case is done,
you're done, you know, and you just have to know, hey,
I did something good for these kids, and They're going
to completely go on and I'm just gonna believe that
they have success. And then there's some that will choose
(10:19):
to try to stay in touch.
Speaker 1 (10:21):
Is there a story about one kid in particular that
kind of exemplifies what it's like to be akasa?
Speaker 2 (10:28):
I know, like for me just even talking about my
very first case, having a couple of boys and they
were just these little things and just you could just
tell scared and traumatized, and there were a lot of
teacher conferences that I had to go into because they
might have been getting a little bit of trouble at school,
and it was amazing that I was just getting so
(10:49):
much from them that they would talk to me and
just open up. And even the foster parents were just
impressed that they just started opening up and just kind
of breaking down those walls. But then you fast forward,
this happens to be a family that did want to
keep in touch. The boys ultimately got adopted, and the
one graduating from high school and he's like, you have
(11:11):
to come up and see my college and you know,
and I'm like, okay, you know, I'm like, okay, apparently
I'm invested for life, you know. But it's it's just
that feeling of knowing that I was able to get
through some of these really hard traumatic times with their kids,
and knowing, you know, whether they have an ie, IEP
or five before. There's so many different learning disabilities that
(11:33):
come with a lot of these kids, and so knowing
that I could go in and help and try to
come up with a path for those those kids, it
just it was just nice. It's just nice to see.
And then you're looking at the end and yes, it's
ten years later, but going, wow, look at this, you know,
and now it's like he's six foot five and graduating
and he was just like this. He was like to
(11:55):
my waist, and now I was like, I'm looking up
to him, and he thinks that's quite funny, you know.
Speaker 1 (11:59):
But I have two sons yourself, I do, And is
it ever tricky? You know, you're out advocating for kids
you basically don't know, and also having to balance advocating
for the two kids you brought into this world.
Speaker 2 (12:13):
I will admit one of my boys was a little
bit more of a challenge, and there was a lot
of the learning disability, and it gave me that insight
of oh, hey, if I can advocate for my kid,
why can't I go advocate for somebody else.
Speaker 1 (12:24):
I got to say first, I think this is a
tremendously noble thing to do with your time and essential
to the well being of kids in foster care in
our county. Is it fair to say, though, that this
takes a certain type of person. Yeah, when you consider
that there are hundreds of KASA volunteers right now in
mera couple county, but many thousands of kids in foster care.
(12:47):
What could you say to somebody out there who who's
listened to this and thought, you know, I think I
might be well equipped to do this. Why should that
person consider becoming a KASA.
Speaker 2 (12:57):
Well, the why is a given. I mean, if you
want to give back and do something truly for a kid,
I mean just knowing that if you can even just
touch one kid, help one kid, it's so worth it.
We've got a nonprofit it's called Voices for Costed Children,
and we are very big on trying to give info, sessions,
and just anything else that you can possibly give to.
(13:17):
Let anybody that might even just be thinking about it
and wants more information, that's where you want to contact,
and that's the Voices for Costa Children dot org.
Speaker 1 (13:27):
Voices is a nonprofit. It's a third party organization that
supports the causas with additional training and such, and also
things like tickets to the zoo or museums.
Speaker 2 (13:38):
Right, Oh my gosh, yeah, So Voices is amazing. I'm
not gonna lie. They do so much because they really
support the causes who are supporting the foster kids. So
it's they are there for so many different whether it
be education purposes, because a lot of times you might
feel a little overwhelmed coming in, so voices is there
to help with so many different aspects of being a KASA.
Speaker 1 (13:59):
To find out more about becoming a Court appointed Special
Advocate for foster Kids in Maricopa County, visit az Coourts
dot gov slash CASA CASA, or you can get more
information at Voices for KASA Children dot org. Tiffany Hunter,
thanks for the time, and I commend you for this
(14:20):
noble work that you do with foster kids as a
KASA volunteer here in our county.
Speaker 2 (14:25):
Well, thanks for having me.
Speaker 1 (14:47):
You're listening to iheartcommunities. I'm Tim Hatrick. My next guest
is Mike Kentner, Senior vice president and General manager of
Harrah's Aucchin Casino and Resort in Maricopa. Mike, I was
just telling you that it's been a while since I've
been to America, and I took a trip there earlier
this year and I thought i'd accidentally pulled into the
Emerald City. It was so new and shiny and impressive,
(15:07):
and a lot has happened there recently.
Speaker 4 (15:10):
Yeah, Maricope is growing and still growing. It's getting really big.
If you haven't been in a while. You should definitely
come down and check us out. We're on the south
part of town, Harrazak Chin and it's been there. In
December this year will be thirty years.
Speaker 1 (15:25):
Thirty years of which you've been almost two decades.
Speaker 3 (15:28):
Right, that's right, Yeah, nineteen years.
Speaker 4 (15:30):
I started back in October two thousand and five coming
back to Arizona from California when I came back, and
it's just been amazing the growth and all the things
we've done in those last nineteen years.
Speaker 1 (15:41):
Well, and the casino and resort is very much connected
to the community of Maricopa and also the Auction Indian community.
You have many different programs to give back to the
community you're part of, so let's talk about some of those.
Speaker 4 (15:54):
We do absolutely, yeah, So I work for Caesars Entertainment.
We manage the business for the Auction Indian community, and
they are wonderful people to work for.
Speaker 3 (16:04):
They are proud farmers.
Speaker 4 (16:07):
It's about an eleven hundred member tribe, half of them
under the age of eighteen, so pretty young tribe and
fairly small. A relatively Hilo River, for example, I believe
is north of twenty eight thousand members, so eleven hundred members,
a little bit smaller, pretty young. I believe President Taft
established the reservation back in nineteen twelve, so and hundred
(16:29):
and twelve years ago. But it really it's like a family,
family business, family style atmosphere. The auction people wonderful people
to work for. Like I said, I've been there almost
nineteen years, and I feel like a rookie. We have
more than a dozen employees that have been there since
day one, thirty years, and I think that speaks to
our culture and how it is is to work there.
You know, I was told when I joined Caesar's a
(16:50):
lot younger and you know, wanting to grow my career,
that if I really wanted to grow my career, I
have to move every eighteen months. And that was happening
in our business at the time. You know, I really
liked it, and I really wanted to stay put and
work for for the auction Indian community, and uh it
was significant for me to stay. Had many opportunities to leave,
wanted to stay and uh and work for these uh
these great uh, these great folks because you get to
(17:14):
see the fruits of your labor every day, go right
back into the community to build homes, for their members,
elder centers, pre schools, to reinvest in our business so we.
Speaker 3 (17:22):
Can all have pretty cool jobs and do fun stuff.
So we do.
Speaker 4 (17:26):
We do give back to the community. It's a big
part of of what we do. And we have an
organization in our company called Hero where we give back
to the community and we really try to support the
local you know, Americo Pocassa Grand So Against Abuse, Women's
Shelter fo R, Americopa Food Opportunity Resources or really give
back and those are our primary focuses. Do a lot
of things around, uh, cancer research and supporting those and
(17:50):
the cancer walks and that sort of thing.
Speaker 1 (17:51):
I think something I like about it. As an Arizona kid, Uh,
this is a Maricopa is a small town. This is
a small Indian community. It has that small town feel.
But this big impressive casino and resort is there that
is part of the Caesars family, so it's connected to
one of the biggest in the world. But it does
have that local feel so that everything you do to
(18:12):
raise money and awareness or whatever for the community really
does show up. There's evidence of it right there in
front of you.
Speaker 3 (18:18):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (18:18):
One of our values at Caesars entertainment is is family
style service. So and really how we you know, we
work hard so you can play hard, right, And our
motto at Hero's Action is played for all. We like
to get everybody to come down and relax and have
a good time. We don't take ourselves too seriously and
we we like to like to have a lot of fun.
It really is like a small small town feel, small
town vibe. Everybody remembers COVID, the pandemic. Hate to bring up,
(18:40):
you know, bad memories. But one of the things when
I think about the auc Chin community and again why
they're so special to work for and that that family
style feel. When we close down that property for eight
weeks through the last seasons, resort to close and the
first one reopen, actal a little aggressive with it. It
was important to them because it was scary. It was
scary for them, main economic driver, main revenue stores for them.
(19:01):
But they paid all of our employees the entire time
we were closed.
Speaker 1 (19:05):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (19:06):
And if you're a beverage server and you're making eight
bucks scenario like Mike, that's great, right, I make all
my money on tips.
Speaker 3 (19:11):
They had us go back and look.
Speaker 4 (19:12):
At the tips for the previous eight weeks average amount,
and we grossed it up and we paid everybody kept
them hold during the entire time we were closed. And
again that's just one example of the many of what
the Aucchen Indian community is, what they do and how
they are for people to work for.
Speaker 3 (19:25):
So it really is, it really is family.
Speaker 1 (19:27):
How many people are employed for the casino and resort.
Speaker 4 (19:30):
We have approximately we sit right now about seven hundred
employees a full time equivalentce SO and but we're still growing.
Speaker 3 (19:37):
We've gone through many expansions.
Speaker 4 (19:39):
So when the casino first opened, there wasn't a hotel, right,
so then they added the resort rooms one hundred and
fifty rooms, beautiful pool for a long time, I think
they used to like we used to like the brag.
I think it was before me, but it was like
the only swim up bar in Arizona.
Speaker 3 (19:53):
That the unheard of now. But that's kind of what
we were known for sure.
Speaker 4 (19:56):
But beautiful resort rooms still some of it, they've been
remodeled very recently and still some of the most coveted
rooms on property. Then we added in twenty eleven of
five story, one hundred and fifty room hotel tower and
then in twenty eighteen added another twelve story tower to
bring us up to five hundred and twenty nine rooms.
Speaker 1 (20:13):
So in terms of economic development for that area, looks
like it rivals the resorts and casinos you might find
around the valley.
Speaker 4 (20:21):
Well, for our customers, you know, like we talked about
Caesars Entertainment a little bit, we have more than fifty
properties across the US, So the real value for them
and value nowadays is.
Speaker 3 (20:30):
A big deal. Right, everybody's looking for that value.
Speaker 4 (20:32):
You hear people talking about bringing value back in our
current environment. The value for our customers is Caesars rewards.
So we have a loyalty program. It's often it's been
recognized for I don't know, it's probably in ten years
in a row. It's recognized as the top loyalty program
in casino gaming, and it's well recognized among just loyalty
programs in general. But we have a lot of our
(20:53):
customers will drive sixty seventy eighty miles past two or
three competitors that come down and see us because the
great service we give in because of rewards. So when
they play there, they get offers and rewards, not just
at harrazoc Chin, but a properties all across the US,
from Las Vegas to Chicago and New Orleans to Atlantic
City to Florida, California and everywhere in between. So with
those fifty properties, it really does allow us to provide
(21:15):
that value to our customers who like to play.
Speaker 1 (21:19):
All right, so let's get back to the Hero program.
This is for your employees to help out different things.
What are some of the fun events you do? What
are some of the ways that you help out through
different events throughout the year.
Speaker 4 (21:29):
My favorite one, and I've done this for I think
about ten ten or more years or so. We were
talking just before this, I'm of u of a guy,
which isn't the most popular thing up here in the valley,
But my favorite thing about ASU, besides the chalkbox, is
the Pat Tilman Race. And if they ever get rid
of the Chalkbox, I don't know, just I'll only have
the Pat Tilman Race that they have every year, which
(21:51):
is a great organization and race that we pay for
our as many employees as would like to attend and
run in that we run as a group. We usually
have fifty to sixty folks out there get to run
it with my boys every year and putting in that
four point two and thinking about what a great human
being pat someone was and in this community that sort
of thing, and it's, uh, it kind of brings together,
you know, the auction Indian community, they're pretty split, like
almost fifty to fifty U of A versus a s
(22:13):
U and right.
Speaker 3 (22:15):
So territorial cup time they have.
Speaker 4 (22:17):
They have basketball tournaments and share volleyball tournaments and it's
all competing against each other and it's a it's a
lot of fun.
Speaker 3 (22:22):
And so we do fun things like that.
Speaker 4 (22:25):
We the other ones we're gonna do, you know, Feed
my starving children is always a fun one because you're
there and you really feel like you're making an impact
and you're doing something. You're active, building those those uh
those those food packs for people. So we get our
families involved, I get the team together and you know,
a lot of a lot of pride in that.
Speaker 1 (22:40):
Is there a benefit to an employee to participate in
these types of events? Do they get any perks for
being a part of this hero program?
Speaker 4 (22:47):
So we check our hero hours and we so, you know,
and giving back to the community. We have a strong
culture of giving back there at Harro's auctionin and and
you know the majority of our employees live I think
eighty percent of our employees approximately live it either in
marri cop or Cassi Grand in that area down in
Panal County.
Speaker 3 (23:06):
So so we do a lot of stuff with fo.
Speaker 4 (23:07):
R Americopa and against Abuse like I said, and people
people just want to get involved. And we tell folks
at the property if you if there's a if there's
something you're you're passionate about or something you care about,
bring it to us and then we try to get
involved and try to support it. Whether it's it could
be you know, local you know, high school sports teams,
or it could be when they need help, or it
could be you know the local animal shelter in a
lot with that taking blankets out for the dogs or
(23:29):
having you know, adoption things on the property. But but yeah,
we we I want to say we did. Our Hero
Committee last year gave me more than fifty thousand dollars
and did more than ten thousand hours in community service.
Speaker 1 (23:41):
That's great. Yeah, the auction community as a as you said,
a farming based community that there are things that are
through green initiatives that are you're also involved with, right.
Speaker 3 (23:51):
Yeah, co Green.
Speaker 4 (23:52):
It's sustainability and then you know, working with the auction community,
it's something that they they haven't. They celebrate Earth Day
every year and we definitely get involved in that. We've
got you know, charging stations for ev vehicles. We recycle
all our cardboard, big recycling programs. April Stovevall on my team,
(24:13):
she's our director of Facilities and Surveillance, is extremely passionate
about it and it has been recognizing the company for
all the wonderful things we do around code green on property.
Speaker 1 (24:22):
How about guests can they get involved in helping out
some of these initiatives they can.
Speaker 4 (24:26):
We just had a we just had a lightly used
tennis shoe drive on property to help a cancer organization
for children. And I want to say, we got something
like five hundred pairs of shoes and we had drop
boxes in the casino so so so guests could come
in and drop the shoes off along with employees and
(24:48):
it was actually pretty popular. We also have on our
on our nrts throughout the property where you can cash
out your tickets, that sort of thing. When you're cashing
out those tickets, you can donate the change, so say
you get back twenty dollars and eighty three cents. You
can choose to donate that eighty three cents and we
have like four or five charities on there. You can
pick which one it goes to. We've raised quite a
bit of money for that. Last year, our guests donated
(25:08):
more than fifty five thousand dollars WOW to the highlighted
charities against Abuse, American Cancer Society, Boys and Girls Club
of America, f or Americopa, Caesar's Cares, and Meals on
Wheels of Penel County.
Speaker 1 (25:20):
I mean, I want to think that people are generous
and they want to help out with causes. If you
make it easy for them to do that, which this
sounds like a perfect way to do that. When they're
cashing out with their ticket, then they will. But also
I wonder if there's some people that donate because they're like,
maybe this will give me a little bit better luck
on the slot machine.
Speaker 3 (25:36):
We definitely hear that, I'll take it.
Speaker 4 (25:38):
I think I could get the superstitions, and I tend
to be a superstitious guy. With the superstitions that you
see in the casino with people, you know, how they
sit in their chair, they reb the machine for luck,
don't touch the machine. Their little trinkets they bring with
them are at the table. Yeah, it's a lot of fun.
Speaker 1 (25:52):
In the thirty years of Arozocchin in Americopa and you're
almost nineteen years, what's just some of the best memories
you have of the way the the community and the
casino have come together.
Speaker 4 (26:03):
Well, you know, every year the auction community celebrates their birthday.
Speaker 3 (26:09):
It's called mazik Tash. It happens in early December every year.
Speaker 4 (26:12):
They have a big carnival, rodeo and concert festivals and
it's right before the anniversary. And the anniversary's December twenty seventh,
So December is a big month for us when we
get to celebrate and that masaic Tash event the community.
Last year they had Midland out and Midland liked it
so much and marked the lead singer as a u
of a guy, so he's he Actually they reached out
to us and they're coming back this year New Year's Eve.
Speaker 1 (26:34):
I will be there New Year's Eve. That's how I'm
bringing in the new Year.
Speaker 3 (26:37):
It's gonna be amazing.
Speaker 4 (26:38):
And Tribal Council Council mc garcia, they're huge Midland fans.
Speaker 3 (26:42):
They love it.
Speaker 4 (26:42):
They've been they've been asking us for years get them out,
So it's amazing it's coming out this year. New Year's Eve,
its gonna be the place to be. It'sn be a
huge party. New Year's Eve is a lot of fun anyway,
But December for us, it's a lot of fun. Mask tash,
the rodeos, the carnivals where the property and our employees
and our guests and the community gets come together.
Speaker 3 (26:58):
Really it's a special time.
Speaker 1 (26:59):
Well, congrats to you and commend you on all the
fine work that harrazak Chen and of course Caesars do
within the community within uh Maricopa, and a lot of
fun things coming. I know that dog Star is the
Keanu Reeves band is going to play at the Events
Center in September.
Speaker 3 (27:16):
That's right.
Speaker 4 (27:17):
Yeah, so little little John Wick or Yeah or Neo
or however you remember him from Bill or Bill and
Ted's whatever far back you go with Bill and Yes
Reves Movies.
Speaker 1 (27:28):
That's we have some.
Speaker 4 (27:28):
We have some we have some guests, and we have
some employees that are super excited about Keanu Reeves going
to be in the building.
Speaker 1 (27:33):
So it's a great venue to see an act I
saw Chris Young there and it almost has It's about
the size of our secret shows, you know. Yeah, it's
more intimate than a giant arena. So Midland's going to
be a lot of fun, and I'll look forward to
being down there for that. Well, appreciate everything you guys
are doing and continued success and enjoy the more of
the thirtieth anniversary celebration.
Speaker 3 (27:54):
Tim, thanks so much, and we'll see on New Year's Eve.
Speaker 1 (27:57):
For iHeart Communities, Phoenix. I'm Tim Hatrick.
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