Drive-up Thanksgiving meals provided by Tribe 

The Ute Mountain Casino Hotel (UMC) presented tribal members and government employees with a full thanksgiving dinner for the second year in a row, including all the side dishes to kick off the 2021 holiday season.  More than 2,000 meals were prepared and packaged by UMC team members at a drive-up distribution of the seasonal meal.  

What started originally as a humble way to help Ute Mountain tribal members has expanded into an annual distribution of thanksgiving meals to provide holiday cheer to others including tribal government workers who help the local community. 

“I am tremendously proud to be able to give during the holiday season, especially when we are still impacted by the pandemic,” said Ute Mountain Ute Tribal Chairman Manuel Heart. “This annual tradition warms not only our hearts but also helps brighten our community with some much-needed holiday cheer.” 

Led by the Director of Food and Beverage, Charles Gewlas, the staff put together individually wrapped dinners for all tribal member and government employees to enjoy. Over 100 UMC and tribal government employees helped cook, prepare, and distribute over 2,000 meals. 

“We are grateful to our Chairman that we can be in a position to provide some goodness to our tribal members and our community,” Rick Scheer, General Manager of Ute Mountain Casino Hotel. “The outpouring of teamwork to prepare these meals together was amazing and I applaud our team members for stepping up to do so.”