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Tahlequah, OK -The Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma (CNO) gets a little more friendly on May 15. That's when a new customer service and information center called Cherokee FIRST will open in the lobby of the W.W. Keeler Complex.

Cherokee FIRST is designed to help visitors access information and services. "The FIRST stands for Friendly Information Referral Service Team," said Chad Smith, Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation. "We want people to walk into our building and feel welcome."

Cherokee FIRST staff will greet visitors and assist them with their needs. "If someone needs to get to registration, we'll have someone there to walk them to where they need to go," said Mary Mead, one of the organizers of Cherokee FIRST. "We want to cheerfully help people find the services they need."

Staff and volunteers will be available to assist visitors that are trying to find public information and fill out forms. Each program will have a Cherokee FIRST ambassador to facilitate access to that program in a friendly, personal way.

The center will have all of the Cherokee Nation's public documents available for tribal members, researchers or whoever else walks in the door. The center will feature computers, and staff can help members fill out electronic forms from various Cherokee Nation programs.

"We're trying to have all the information available in one place, so people don't have to hunt all over to find what they need," said Mead.

Cherokee FIRST will be operational on May 15, but there will be a formal grand opening planned for a later date.