In honor of International Women’s Day yesterday, Choctaw Casinos & Resorts have highlighted seven female associates who have worked in gaming for over two decades. Choctaw emphasized that these seven women had initiated change in their respective communities and workplaces.
The women honored by Choctaw are: Christy Chaser; Amy Davis; Janie Dillard; Shannis Goodson; Heidi Grant; Shelley Lance; and Lila Tucker.
Chaser joined Choctaw Nation in 1994 and was a part of the team that opened the Bingo Hall in Pocola, Oklahoma, over 20 years ago. She started as a bingo clerk and cage cashier before climbing up the ladder to the position of General Manager in 2005.
Dillard started in the industry even further back than Chaser, setting her roots in the gaming industry in 1987. She worked as floor manager before being speedily promoted to director of Choctaw’s first bingo destination in southeastern Oklahoma.
By 2001, she had established herself as the Executive Director of Gaming and was in charge of managing the Tribes’ gaming compact with the state of Oklahoma. She also opened four Choctaw casinos including its flagship property Choctaw Casino & Resort in Durant and now serves as Head of the SEO Division of Commerce.
The list of accomplishments is a long one for all seven women; for instance, Davis received a Rising Star Award for developing business strategies for the Choctaw casinos in Broken Bow and Idabel. She now works as the General Manager of these two casinos.
Chaser commented: “Women in leadership roles in the gaming industry are much more common than when I started in the ’90s. Choctaw has always embraced women in leadership roles; it’s probably one of the reasons that Choctaw has been so successful in gaming. I am so proud and grateful that I have had the opportunity to be a part of that.”
