By ALEX GIMARC
Given the increasingly chummy relationship between the Eklutna Tribe, its casino operation, the Assembly and the Suzanne LaFrance administration, my interest was piqued by an announcement out of the Muni earlier this week of a casino-themed Annual Employee Incentive Awards Night, Nov 1 at the Dena’ina Center. The announcement was sent out to all Muni employees via e-mail.
The thing that makes you go “Hmmm” was the note that “Guest must be 18+.”
There are a few things that would limit attendance to those of legal age (over 18). These include most adult pastimes, some would refer to as vices, most legal, some not, starting the old standby of sex, drugs, and rock and roll. Gambling would be on that list, as would adult beverages and tobacco.
The theme of the get together is Casino Royale at a time when the LaFrance Administration and the Assembly are up to their armpits in greasing the skids for the new casino operation by the Eklutna tribe, so the question is obvious.
I asked it in the following e-mail to the HR Director on June 4 at 1323:
Howdy –
Probably ought to log this as an official press inquiry.
I am looking into your announcement of the Annual Employee Incentives Awards Night scheduled Nov 1. The announcement lists the event as an 18+ event, meaning no families with youngsters can attend. What is the reason for this?
The only two things I can think of are either gambling or alcohol, as the Muni doesn’t typically traffic in sex. If it is gambling, is the Eklutna Casino or people involved with it involved in any way? If so, how? If not, precisely what is going on that requires such a prohibition?
I am preparing a piece in Must Read Alaska for the weekend on the event. Your additional information would go a long way to making sure I am accurate in what I am attempting to report. That being said, I need a response by COB Friday.
Thank you for your assistance. I look forward to hearing fr pm from you. Cheers – AG
I received the following from the Human Resources director on June 5:
Thank you for your question regarding the Municipality’s employee awards ceremony and event.
The Annual Employee Incentives Awards is planned and organized by a committee of municipal employees, and the theme, style, and location changes year-to-year. Results of an employee survey last spring indicated that many staff members would like this year’s event to be a more formal-style occasion held at the Dena’ina Center.
The annual event is held to celebrate our municipal employees and is a way to strengthen our team and bring staff together for a fun social event. Fostering a positive and supportive work environment at the Municipality is essential for promoting employee retention and delivering the best possible services to our community.
This event will be a plated dinner and is scheduled to run into the late evening at the Dena’ina Center. The cost to attend is $50 per person, and it is an optional event for municipal employees. There will be a no-host bar on site serving alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, with bartenders performing I.D. checks.
The event is casino-themed, with tokens and games, and there will be no gambling of actual money. The gaming theme offers a way to hold a fun and engaging event in a lighthearted and interactive atmosphere. This event aims to promote team building and camaraderie among our different departments. The Native Village of Eklutna is not involved.
I certainly appreciate the quick response which seems to answer all my questions. Should be an interesting event especially if entertainment changes a bit over the course of the next four months. I look forward to hearing what goes on afterwards.
One of the lessons learned over the last decade dealing with the Assembly and those connected closely to them (Mayor LaFrance, for instance), is trust but verify.
We are well into the verify part of the discussion today.
Alex Gimarc lives in Anchorage since retiring from the military in 1997. His interests include science and technology, environment, energy, economics, military affairs, fishing and disabilities policies. His weekly column “Interesting Items” is a summary of news stories with substantive Alaska-themed topics. He was a small business owner and Information Technology professional.
Have you nothing but contempt and disdain for Municipal employees? Are you jealous of their employment benefits, resentful that your property taxes are used to pay them, or do you just throw shade on them because they can’t fight back? That’s so on brand for MAGA, and MRAK.
The next time you need your road plowed, your sewer cleared, or your homeless camp abated, remember, it’s done by these folks. Try to show some appreciation, please. They deserve it.
Have you nothing but perpetual fawning praise and worship for anyone and anything connected to government, a.k.a. institutionalized coercion?
Most everyone I see in these pages has something close to “perpetual fawning praise and worship for anyone and anything connected to government”. The only difference I see comes down to which group of individuals should benefit.
I am reminded of trying to train a cat not to shred a couch many years ago. The lesson I was trying to send was that shredding a couch is bad. The lesson the cat learned was that shredding a couch while being watched was bad.
I have nothing but respect for Muni employees. OTOH, my contempt for their political masters (Mayor and Assembly) grows daily, which is why we are well into Trust but Verify land. Cheers –
Alex – I remember you as a highly skilled IT professional at the muni when we were just learning computers. Glad to see you on this forum and glad to see that we are like minded.
SS – thank you for your kind words. Some day you’re gonna have to let me know who you really are. Cheers –
Will do. I grew up in Anchorage, was graduated 17th in my class at West High School, and had 25 great years with the MOA, plus 12 years with the federal government (mainly FAA), and another 6-7 years in the private sector. I always appreciated your expertise when you worked for the MOA. My heart was in the performance of my job, as is yours. I just turned 80 last month, so I’m definitely retired. It is sad for me to see the deterioration of standards and values in the workplace today. I need to SNORT on this forum to vent my disappointment at the downturn of this once great city. That’s all. Thank you.
Thanks Alex …. interesting.
Is the Muni still giving out extra cash for employees that show up on time?
(as opposed to firing ones who don’t?)
I remember when Begich started this wasteful give away because the union’s don’t allow slackers to be fired.
Annual employee incentive awards night? So to get their award, the municpal employee will have to pay $50 each and leave the kids behind with a babysitter that will cost them more than their $50 spent? Sounds fishy to me. Is this a special slush fund of taxpayer money to be spen on this casino-themed awards night?
Why not a free award certificate/pin or whatever passes for an “incentive award” given to the employee by supervisor during an all hands conferene call/meeting? That is how it was done in my state organization. I did not even get an Alaska-Pizza pizza party in my honor when I got my 5 year, 10 year, 20 year award certificate and “pin”.
Agree – I received my pin for each 5 years of service and a nice letter from the Mayor back in the day. Snort!
So, if there are a bunch of gaming machines as pictured, who is providing them? I wonder.
Welp. Employees pay for a $50 dinner. What about the facility rental, set up, service staff, take down, cleanup, and other necessities like audio, etc. Who pays for that? Why the taxpayers of course, unless there’s a big pocketbook we don’t know about! SNORT!
Besides, what’s in a $50 a plate catered dinner these days? If it’s ribs and chicken and hot dogs and hamburgers plus sides – no thanks. Paper plates and plastic tableware?
On the other hand, king crab, salmon, petite filets and sides might be appealing to those not interested in fruits, nuts, and flakes, for an evening of fake gambling. The optics for a casino night with a catered plated dinner on the Muni’s/taxpayers’ dime are disgusting.
Better think about a potluck. SNORT!
I would like the Muni to identify the “nuisance properties” they’d like me to donate my dump pass to clean up.
And I’d like to know why we don’t have the funds to clean up nuisance properties -actually, let’s just start with having the Muni define exactly what qualifies as a “nuisance property” when our mayor continues to tell us she’s not going to enforce our laws to clean up the camps and illegal dump sites that continue to crop up all over town.
I know, I know: It’s complicated. Sigh.
Now back to our regularly scheduled programming.
Thank you Alex for the heads up. I was a Municipal Employee for a number of years in th 80’s and early 90’s. I do not ever remember an ‘awards night’. When did that start? Add also the Casino night theme is offensive and a bit of an insult to taxpayers as the whole Eklutna casino debacle was shoved under the radar with no citizen input considered. The assembly communist cabal just does whatever they want, ethical or not. The whole forced casino mess is a shame and the theme is shameful.
Henry. Two for one sale on pearl strings at Freddy’s today and tomorrow.
Elizabeth Henry: I totally agree. This event would be shameful and embarrassing and a slap in the face to taxpayers. Manny, sorry about the pearl strings – they haven’t been stylish since the 60s, nor have been pointy toe high heels and bell bottom jeans. SNORT.
Elizabeth, we may have crossed paths back in the day when muni staff was given ethics training. It is certainly appropriate now! Godspeed.
OMG and it’s at the Dena’ina Center, the place named for the first people of Anchorage, there definitely is a conspiracy going on with this event. LOL 😂 give me a break like there’s not more important “News” to report on.
So fun to see retired Muni employees, who are probably now enjoying the bounty of their pensions, slag off the current generation of MOA workers. You’d think there would be a little pride and esprit de corps, but I guess not. The boredom of retirement apparently breeds nothing but disrespect and contempt.
I see no reason why these employees should not be entitled to and enjoy events such as this, which are commonplace, and even expected, in the private sector.
And if you object to any of your property taxes being used for this affair, please consider how much of your federal tax dollars are used to transport your Orange King to wrestling matches in New Jersey, frequent golf outings to who-knows-where, to private dinners and galas at Mar-a Lago, and to a whole range of other wasteful and profligate affairs. Now there’s real waste, fraud, and abuse.
Wow, a “plated dinner”!
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Ruling Class get a “plated dinner” while bums and children under 18 starve and die in the streets?
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Juicy target for memesters, no?
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Might be fun to see what happens when hungry bums show up.
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Says a lot about Anchorage’s bureaucrat culture, “a committee of municipal employees” wants their casino-gambling theme more than they want their children under 18 present at “a fun social event”.
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Maybe they have a point. Little kids, like voters, might see or hear something they’re not supposed to see or hear, ask embarrassing questions, take pictures, blab to the world about it. Probably not good for real “team building and camaraderie”, no?
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Thanks for the heads-up, Alex. May your dinner, and your cat’s dinner, always be plated.