Kenneth Ramirez, who served five terms as tribal secretary for the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, was sworn in Tuesday as the Southern California tribe’s new chairman.
Ramirez replaces Lynn Valbuena, who served three consecutive terms as the tribe’s chairman beginning in 2014.
Valbuena has held elective positions both with San Manuel and nationally for nearly 30 years. In 2015, she was the first female tribal leader to be inducted in the American Gaming Association’s Gaming Hall of Fame.
“I am deeply humbled and honored by this opportunity to serve as chairman, and give my commitment to serve diligently to enhance the rights, opportunities, and expectations for all San Manuel Tribal Citizens, our families, and our community,” Ramirez said in a statement.
Ramirez currently serves on the tribe’s education committee and promotes access to universal healthcare and education through his work with Loma Linda University Health and other nonprofit partners in the Inland Empire region.
Ramirez also leads the operating committee for First Nations Experience (FNX), the nation’s first Native American and World Indigenous Peoples television channel.
“We have the privilege of extending a positive presence throughout the region with the benefits of the Tribe’s economic impacts, our intergovernmental partnerships, and our strategic philanthropy,” Ramirez said. “These are all made possible because we heed the call to Yawa’, and act on our beliefs.”
The tribe’s flagship San Manuel Casino in San Bernardino County – roughly 60 miles from downtown Los Angeles – is undergoing a $550 million expansion to create a full-scale resort that includes a 450-room hotel tower, a 3,000-seat events center, new restaurants, and other non-gaming attractions.
San Manuel added a high-limit gaming area last year, and the property primarily draws customers from the populous Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino, and Riverside counties.
In February, the San Manuel tribe donated $9 million to the University of Nevada, Las Vegas – $6 million to the William F. Harrah College of Hospitality and $3 million to the William S. Boyd School of Law. The gift provides UNLV with funding to create educational programs related to tribal gaming operations and Indian gaming law.
The donation continued to solidify the Southern Nevada presence of the San Manuel tribe, has a marketing and sponsorship deal with the NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights that includes San Manuel Casino signage on boards along the ice inside the T-Mobile Arena.
San Manuel recently signed on as a “founding partner” of Las Vegas’ $2 billion Allegiant Stadium, which opens later this year and will serve as home to the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders. The tribe will also be a Raiders sponsor.
Other business committee members who sworn in by San Manuel Chief Justice Claudette White were, Latisha Casas, who was re-elected tribal treasurer, Johnny Hernandez, Jr., who was re-elected to the business committee as an at-Large member for a second term, and Alexis Manzano was elected vice chair of the judiciary committee.
Howard Stutz is the executive editor of CDC Gaming Reports. He can be reached at hstutz@cdcgaming.com. Follow @howardstutz on Twitter.
