Currently serving term
09-01-10 through 09-01-13
Jack Giffen has 0 blog posts
Tribal Elder Jack Giffen Jr. is
serving his third three-year term on Tribal Council, having been elected in
2003, 2006 and 2010. He has served as Tribal Council secretary and on the
council’s Legal Committee.
His other service to the Tribe
includes being a Tribal Council delegate to the National Indian Gaming
Association, Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians, National Congress of
American Indians and Oregon Sports Authority. He also has served on the Spirit
Mountain Gaming Inc. Board of Directors and been a trustee on the Spirit
Mountain Community Fund Board of Trustees.
He is descended from Abraham Hudson
and Maude (Warren) Hudson, John Houck and Frances (Leno) Houck Porter, DeWalt
Houck and Arvella (Hudson) Houck, and Jack Giffen Sr. and Arlene (Houck) Giffen
(Beck).
He was
born in McMinnville, Ore., in 1951 and he and his wife Julie reside in
Willamina. They have three sons and six grandchildren. He first attended grade
school in a small two-room schoolhouse in Grand Ronde and in 1959, he and his
family moved to Brookings, where he graduated from high school in 1970.
He was
very active in high school athletics, playing baseball, football, basketball
and excelling in track, and he was a Boy Scout leader. In high school, Mr.
Giffen soon established a command in long distance running and competed with
well-known athletes such as Steve Prefontaine. Immediately following high
school, he attended the University of Oregon where he continued to be involved
in athletics and played
rugby.
Before being elected to Tribal
Council, Mr. Giffen was a maintenance technician at Spirit Mountain Casino,
foreman-service manager for Marlette Homes Inc. and owner and general manager
of East Side Auto Parts.
I
n the late 70s, he was a certified pressure vessel welder, which allowed
him to travel to Hawaii where he helped build many of the high-rise structures
on Waikiki Beach that exist today. His athletic talents emerged and he recalls
enjoying the opportunity to surf almost every day.
His hobbies include elk hunting,
cooking, riding his Harley-Davidson motorcycle and he is a passionate
University of Oregon Ducks football fan.