April Stovall: A champion of sustainability

April Stovall always wanted to be a part of something great. As a child she loved roller skating and told herself that someday she would join a roller derby team. And why not? She was tough and could do anything she set her mind to.

“I took great pride in developing my roller-skating abilities,” Stovall said. “I used the activity to get fit and stay healthy.”

A self-described Marine Corps brat who moved around a lot as a child, Stovall learned the importance of being an active participant in supporting the health and wellness of the community. It helped her establish roots and foster friendships. She regularly searched for opportunities to get involved and be active. She learned how to work hard and crush obstacles. Her motto? “If you’re not falling down, you’re not trying hard enough.”

Staying true to her roller derby passion, in 2015, Stovall joined the Arizona Roller Derby, the country’s second oldest roller derby league. Three years later, she transferred to the Casa Grande Roller Derby and found her home. During this time, Stovall really grew as a skater. The league’s mission statement of empowering women and giving back to the community made her feel like it was the perfect fit.

Stovall (or April May Dismember, as she’s known on the circuit) also leads the team’s volunteer efforts. She is a vocal champion for the advancement of women, especially in roles that are not traditionally held by women.

While community is an integral part of Stovall’s personal life, her choice to work for Harrah’s Ak-Chin Casino also aligned with her need to give back and make the world a better place.

“While roller derby is known for powerful women, my start as a security officer in the hospitality industry 23 years ago was just the opposite,” Stovall said.

In a field dominated by men, Stovall conquered new responsibilities and moved quickly up the ranks. Today, as director of facilities and surveillance, she is responsible for the safety and security of the physical property and hundreds of guests each day. She also oversees the technology, construction and environmental services departments.

“Caesars Entertainment is committed to sustainability. Our program, CodeGreen, is our public pledge to employees, guests and the community-at-large that our organization will consistently explore and implement new ways to reduce the environmental footprint.”

Many of the property’s CodeGreen initiatives were inspired by the Ak-Chin Indian Community’s deep roots in farming, agriculture and passion for protecting and sustaining land, air and water. In addition to its focus on reducing the property’s carbon footprint, efforts also focus on energy-savings, water consumption and recycling.

“CodeGreen introduces real solutions to the world’s environmental and sustainability challenges we face today,” Stovall said. “We can do our part here at Harrah’s to encourage others to do their part.”

Among the many ways the company is committed to sustainability includes:

• Investing in sustainable practices that increase energy efficiency and water conservation.

• Commitment to measurable reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.

• Promoting recycling and waste reduction throughout the property, including the casino, hotel and restaurants.

“I’ve been a Harrah’s Ak-Chin Casino team member since 1999,” Stovall said. “The organization’s ongoing commitment to community and the environment is more than lip service. We do what we say and put action behind our words. I’m proud to lead the effort.”

Harrah’s Ak-Chin Casino is part of Clean the World, a global health initiative committed to improving the quality of life for vulnerable communities. In addition to recycling soap and supporting the effort to distribute it in order to prevent unnecessary deaths from hygiene-related diseases, the property also organizes CodeGreen community sustainability events that include building hygiene kits for veterans and the homeless population.

And recycling doesn’t stop with soap; Harrah’s Ak-Chin Casino also recycles thousands of pounds of cooking oil every year to be turned into biofuel for transportation, heating and electricity.

“Conservation is at the core of our hotel’s energy management system,” Stovall said. “We conserve energy in unoccupied spaces by resetting air conditioning to 75 degrees. In the hotel rooms, refrigerators are set to low when rooms are unoccupied, and showers are installed with low-flow shower heads and faucet aerators to help decrease water consumption on the property. Housekeeping also conserves electricity and water by changing sheets and towels upon request.”

And on the gaming floor, Harrah’s Ak-Chin Casino has an enhanced focus on improving air quality through cold plasma ionization bars that kill viruses, bacteria, and mold and UVDI purification units that improve the quality of air and keep guests healthy through multistage filtration.

Whether she is assisting her teammates at the rink or assisting her teammates at the property, for Stovall, when purpose and the end game align with your personal mantra, there is nothing quite like it.

This article appears in Apr 13-19, 2023.