DoD Announces 2009 Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Awards

The Department of Defense announced today the 2009 Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award recipients.

The award represents the highest recognition given by the U.S. government to employers for their outstanding support of their employees who serve in the National Guard and Reserve.

The 2009 recipients are:
AeroDyn Wind Tunnel LLC – Mooresville, N.C.
AstraZeneca International – Wilmington, Del.
Cambridge, MA Fire Department – Cambridge, Mass.
Consolidated Electrical Distributors, Inc. – Westlake Village, Calif.
First Data Corporation – Greenwood Village, Colo.
FMC Technologies – Houston, Texas
Jackson Parish Sheriff's Department – Jonesboro, La.
Marks, O'Neil, O'Brien & Courtney, P.C. – Philadelphia, Pa.
Microsoft Corporation – Redmond, Wash.
Mid America Kidney Stone Association – Kansas City, Mo.
NetJets – Woodbridge, N.J.
Ohio Department of Public Safety – Columbus, Ohio
Perpetual Technologies, Inc. – Indianapolis, Ind.
Santa Ana Police Department – Santa Ana, Calif.
TriWest Healthcare Alliance – Phoenix, Ariz.

"In the eight years our nation has been at war, America's employers - almost universally - have done an outstanding job of supporting their Citizen Warrior employees, said Dennis M. McCarthy, assistant secretary of defense for reserve affairs. "These fifteen employers are the 'best of the best' this year. They reflect the powerful synergy that exists between the men and women of the National Guard and Reserve, and their employers."

A record 3,200 National Guard and Reserve members or their family members from across the country nominated their employers for the Freedom Award this year. A national selection board comprised of senior Defense officials and business leaders selected the recipients. The Freedom Award will be presented to these employers during a formal ceremony Sept. 17, 2009 at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, D.C.

The Freedom Award was instituted in 1996 under the auspices of the National Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve to recognize exceptional support from the employer community.

More information about the Freedom Award is available at http://www.FreedomAward.mil or by calling the ESGR office at (800) 336-4590.