"I KNOW I CAN DO MORE"#ONWARDMLB
By Vivian LaMoore, Inaajimowin Editor
Carolyn Beaulieu is not new to working for Band members. She has been working for Band members for over two decades in one capacity or another since 1999. On July 9, 2024 she was sworn into office as the District I Representative and she is ready to “do more” by collaborating with all members of the Band Assembly and aligning with Chief Executive Virgil Wind to support and accelerate the #ONWARDMLB movement.
From her early days in 1999 as a black jack dealer to District I Representative, Beaulieu candidly and honestly speaks about her dedication for the people of the Mille Lacs Band and vast experience in areas of hospitality, gaming, business, and government; her educational journey; and her top priorities for the next four years.
Beaulieu began her career with Corporate Commission as an Executive Assistant to the Commissioner of Corporate Affairs in 2001 Since her four-plus years in that position, she has gone onward towards furthering her education and commitment to the Band and gaining experience in a vast array of positions in areas of business, gaming, hospitality, and government. A small sampling of her experience includes Associate Director of Band member Development for Grand Casino Mille Lacs and small businesses where she was able to help Band members through recruitment and mentoring them to move them through a job exploration program. “That was really a lot of fun!” she said. She had her goals set for moving up in her career so she began applying for other positions. “But I always got turned down because I didn’t have a college degree,” she said. So, she started taking college courses. “It took me a while, but I did it. It took about eight to 10 years, but I finally got my Associates degree in 2009, Bachelors in 2011 and Masters in 2013.”
While pursuing her degree she also explored other opportunities in casino gaming. But she said, “I got bored and started seeking out other positions at the government because I wanted to be more involved with the community and in the bigger decisions of the Band.” The late Chief Executive Marge Anderson then appointed her to the position of Assistant Commissioner of Administration in 2009 and eventually became Commissioner of Administration until 2012. From there she moved to Government Affairs where she focused on building community relationships. One of her focuses was working with East Central Library to share the “Why Treaties Matter” project.
Beaulieu is ambitious with an unwavering desire for suc- cess — not only for herself, but for all Band members. “I want better lives for all Band members. I always want to do more and I thought to myself ‘I know I can do more,’” she said. She ran and was elected for Secretary-Treasurer in 2014 and served four years in that position.
After her term ended, she spent time with family before she started back at Eddy’s as hotel supervisor in 2021. “That was right after COVID-19 and things were really slow. People were still under mask mandates and such-it was just a hard time for everyone,” she said
She moved back to the casino and worked in table games. “I always loved the table games,” she said, but the late hours were challenging for her family. “I missed out on birthdays and holidays often. I tried to sacrifice my sleep for my family, but that was just harder on the family.” When a position opened up in the Talent department, she applied for Talent Acquisition Manager and was offered the position in May of 2023. “And that was a day shift! So that was great!” Then, a position opened back up in Gaming as the Process Manager and she transferred there in January 2024.
Beaulieu made the decision to enter the race for District I Representative and she was successfully elected to the position in June 2024
Education
In 1999 she worked briefly for the late Rayna Mattinas (Churchill) and Bernida Churchill in Corporate’s Executive Office. “Rayna was pursuing her Masters degree at the time, and I was her Admin. I really admired her for that. And she said to me, ‘You should go to school, take some classes.’ And at the time I thought ‘I can’t, I have kids.’ But she put the bug in my head and I started thinking about it.”
Her education career took “baby steps” and she fondly remembers one of the first courses she took towards her Liberal Arts degree. The course was Interpersonal Communication in 2004. “Even to this day, I go back to what I learned from that class. I am not perfect by any means,” she said humbly. "But I can always use something that I learned from that first course." She continued her education obtaining her Bachelors degree in
Business Administration in 2011 and went on to fulfill her Masters degree in 2013. She was in the first cohort of the Master of Tribal Governance Administration program, at the University of Minnesota Duluth, developed by Tadd Johnson. She proudly exclaimed she was the first Mille Lacs Band MTAG student to be elected into a government position when she was elected as Secretary-Treasurer.
Beaulieu’s voice relaxed and her eyes softened as she reminisced of the Late Chief Executive Marge Anderson. “I always had so much respect for her. She was very level headed and determined to make the lives of Band members better. I always watched her. It was Marge who really inspired me to work in government. Between her and Art, it was their vision to provide better lives for Band members. I want to continue with their vision.”
Goals as District Representative:
First and foremost, she said, the District Office staff needed to be hired. Coleen Lueck is the District I Legislative Aide, and Raenelle Weyaus is the District I Community Center Coordinator. “I am excited for them to start. Our first District I community meeting is July 31.”
The community meetings will generally remain on the last Wednesday of each month, except for occassions when special events are planned. Band members will also notice other similarities between her and her predecessor. “I observed Virgil [Wind] for the last four years and I like what he has done and I am going to keep most of those things going.”
Beaulieu will then proceed with her number one goal which is to set up a Legislative Advisory Committee per Band statutes Title 3, section 9, (a)(2). This committee will be compiled of community members “within their respective districts for the purpose of aiding them in the performance of their legislative duties” according to the statute.
“This is something new to me. I want it to be effective. We will need to set goals, have objectives, and be able to measure our successes,” she said. Beaulieu has yet to determine the number of committee members.
The three major goals set
1) Community Revitalization. With the help of the advisory committee, and in collaboration with Community Development, Beaulieu intends to look at a number of priorities under the umbrella of community revitalization including but not limited to housing, parks and recreation, small businesses, and entrepreneurship. She will be exploring options of a home buyback program for people who want to upgrade, downgrade, or simply move; mortgage forgiveness for Elders who have paid at least two-thirds of their home mortgage; among other housing initiatives.
“We need a program where if I want to sell my home, and someone wants to buy it, we can do that under a fair and equi- table policy instead of on a case-by-case instance. So that anyone who has a mortgage can sell their home as life changes,”
CELEBRATION AND JUBILATION
Chief Executive Virgil Wind and District I Representative Carolyn Beaulieu share a congratulatory hug after the Swearing-In Ceremony. Congratulations to each newly elected and sworn-in offical.
Sworn into office officially on Tuesday, July 9, by the Honorable Chief Justice Rhonda Sam were Chief Executive Virgil Wind, District I Representative Carolyn Beaulieu, and three members to the Nay Ah Shing School Board: LeAnn Benjamin (Chairperson), Semira Kimpson (DI Board member), and Sami Thomas (DII Board member).
Beaulieu said citing the example of the need to move from a split-level home to single-level home. She is passionate about improving the turnaround time on boarded-up homes and has already begun working with Community Development.
2) Health Initiatives. Beaulieu will collaborate with Health and Human Services to explore options towards important health initiatives including the drug epidemic; mental health initiatives; Elder services enhancements; preventative care and pre-screening for disease and illness including diabetes and kidney dialysis; and explore the option of a study on life expectancy of Band members with a long term goal of increasing life longevity.
3) Tribal Employment Rights, Jobs, and Band member self-sufficiency. “This includes getting all able-bodied Band members working,” she said firmly. She emphasized the importance of Band member priority in jobs and training. “The Band member policy that falls under the Tribal Employment Rights statute needs to be beefed up and able to be enforced,” she said. She would like to collaborate with TERO, Aanjibimaadizing, and other band programs to promote and encourage training, hiring, and promotional opportunities for Band members. She is also passionate about employee appreciation and offering fair and competitive market wages. “I am excited!” Beaulieu said. “There is a lot we can do to improve the lives of Band members and I am excited to get started.”
In her spare time, Beaulieu said with a smile, “I am a homebody,” and she enjoys spending time with her family, going to concerts from all genres, and riding motorcycles.