Middletown >> Jose “Moke” Simon III, rancheria chairman and county supervisor candidate, was one of two recipients of the Wendell Chino Humanitarian Award presented during the National Indian Gaming Association’s gathering in Phoenix, Arizona.
Simon and Quapaw Tribe Chairman John Berrey of Oklahoma were honored at the humanitarian award banquet.
“I’m humbled to receive the association’s most prestigious award and am energized to accomplish even more for the Rancheria and the community we’re a part of,” Simon said. “Working together, the people of Lake County remain positive and focused on recovering from the devastation caused by the Valley Fire.”
“We applaud chairman Simon and his community for their humanitarian efforts in such trying times. Despite the enormous devastation they were faced with, chairman Simon provided the courage, leadership and strength needed to bring the community together,” National Indian Gaming Association Chairman Ernie Stevens, Jr. said.
Middletown Rancheria chairman since 1997, Simon was lauded for his leadership in some of the most challenging times for the tribe and Lake County. Simon was heavily involved with the community during the Valley Fire, the third most destructive in California history, and its aftermath.
Among other things, he set up temporary housing for tribal members and employees, and provided 260 beds for people from the community displaced by the fire.
“His ongoing leadership has brought the Middletown Rancheria even closer together with its non-Indian neighbors to weather one of the worst disasters in the state on record,” John Hess, a volunteer with Simon’s campaign to run for Lake County District 1 supervisor, said.
The annual event brought together some 4,700 gaming professionals and 326 exhibiting companies in a forum for progress, tribal sovereignty, education and industry celebration.
