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Chief Standing Bear appoints new Gaming Enterprise Board member

By

Benny Polacca

The Osage Nation Gaming Enterprise Board has a new board member due to the recent resignation of Dawn Pratt Harrington.

On June 15, Principal Chief Geoffrey Standing Bear issued an executive message to the Fifth ON Congress stating he appointed Tulsa businesswoman Susan Traci Phillips (Osage/Cherokee) to the five-member gaming board. Standing Bear said Phillips will serve out the remainder of Harrington’s term.

According to her professional resume, Phillips is CEO of Natural Evolution Inc., which is a certified electronics recycling company that has recycled over 30 million pounds since its 2003 inception. The company has grown to have two NEI locations in Tulsa and Albuquerque, N.M., thanks to a joint venture LLC with the Isleta Pueblo Business Corp.

Phillips also serves on the Solid Waste Management Advisory Council for the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality; President of the Oklahoma Recycling Association; and as a 2014 American Indian Chamber of Commerce State Board member and Tulsa Chapter Chairwoman. Phillips also holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Marketing from Northeastern State University.

According to a draft copy of the June ON Gaming Commission board meeting minutes, Harrington has moved to a Compliance Department position within Osage Casinos. Harrington was first appointed to the gaming board in 2014 after Standing Bear took office and served as vice chairwoman.

Other current gaming board members are Mark Simms (chairman), Mark P. Revard, John “Trey” Goldesberry III and Susan Proctor Kneeland.

Phillips took her oath to serve on the gaming board on July 7 at the ON tribal courthouse with Trial Court Chief Judge Marvin Stepson presiding. Like other board members, Phillips will also be subject to Congressional confirmation consideration for a full board term.


Original Publish Date: 2016-07-19 00:00:00

Author

  • Benny Polacca

    Title: Senior Reporter

    Email: bpolacca@osagenation-nsn.gov

    Instagram: @bpolacca

    Topic Expertise: Government, Tribal Government, Community

    Languages spoken: English, basic knowledge of Spanish and French

    Benny Polacca (Hopi/ Havasupai/ Pima/ Tohono O’odham) started working at the Osage News in 2009 as a reporter in Pawhuska, Okla., where he’s covered various stories and events that impact the Osage Nation and Osage people. Those newspaper contributions cover a broad spectrum of topics and issues from tribal government matters to features. As a result, Polacca has gained an immeasurable amount of experience in covering Native American affairs, government issues and features so the Osage readership can be better informed about the tribal current affairs the newspaper covers.

    Polacca is part of the Osage News team that was awarded the Native American Journalists Association's Elias Boudinet Free Press Award in 2014 and has won numerous NAJA media awards, as well as awards from the Oklahoma Press Association and SPJ Oklahoma Pro Chapter, for storytelling coverage and photography.

    Polacca earned his bachelor’s degree from Arizona State University and also participated in the former American Indian Journalism Institute at the University of South Dakota where he was introduced to the basics of journalism and worked with seasoned journalists there and later at The Forum daily newspaper covering the Fargo, N.D. area where he worked as the weeknight reporter.

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Benny Polacca
Benny Polaccahttps://osagenews.org

Title: Senior Reporter

Email: bpolacca@osagenation-nsn.gov

Instagram: @bpolacca

Topic Expertise: Government, Tribal Government, Community

Languages spoken: English, basic knowledge of Spanish and French

Benny Polacca (Hopi/ Havasupai/ Pima/ Tohono O’odham) started working at the Osage News in 2009 as a reporter in Pawhuska, Okla., where he’s covered various stories and events that impact the Osage Nation and Osage people. Those newspaper contributions cover a broad spectrum of topics and issues from tribal government matters to features. As a result, Polacca has gained an immeasurable amount of experience in covering Native American affairs, government issues and features so the Osage readership can be better informed about the tribal current affairs the newspaper covers.

Polacca is part of the Osage News team that was awarded the Native American Journalists Association's Elias Boudinet Free Press Award in 2014 and has won numerous NAJA media awards, as well as awards from the Oklahoma Press Association and SPJ Oklahoma Pro Chapter, for storytelling coverage and photography.

Polacca earned his bachelor’s degree from Arizona State University and also participated in the former American Indian Journalism Institute at the University of South Dakota where he was introduced to the basics of journalism and worked with seasoned journalists there and later at The Forum daily newspaper covering the Fargo, N.D. area where he worked as the weeknight reporter.

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