New year’s resolution: nominate your patriotic employer for an ESGR award

Master Sgt. Mike R. Smith

National Guard Bureau

 

(12/30/09) - Providing pay and benefits during deployments, sending care packages to deployed employees, allowing time off, and celebrating military service with send-off and homecoming ceremonies are just a few commitments that the Guard and Reserve’s top employers are honored for each year. And officials here are asking Guard and Reserve servicemembers to begin 2010 with a resolution to speak out and honor their patriotic employers.

 

“With ongoing global operations, support from employers for Guard and Reserve service is more critical now than ever,” said officials with the Employer Support for the Guard and Reserve (ESGR).

 

The ESGR’s mission is to gain and maintain employer support for Guard and Reserve service by recognizing outstanding support. It also increases awareness of the laws governing Guard and Reserve service and resolves conflict through mediation.

 

Guard and Reserve leaders continually stress how critical the support of families, communities and employers are to the defense of the nation.

 

“If you added up all of your family members and all the employers you touch, we have over a million people that directly know what we do with the National Guard of the United States," said Air Force Gen. Craig R. McKinley, chief of the National Guard Bureau, speaking to thousands of Guard leaders during a conference in November.

 

But officials said honoring employers depends on nominations by Guard and Reserve members.

 

“All employer recognition and awards originate from nominations by individual reserve component members,” said ESGR officials.

 

Filling out two online forms and writing a few words about your employers is all it takes to honor them. Here’s how:

 

Patriot Award

 

• Go online to www.esgr.org and click on the Patriot Award link and fill out the nomination form.
• This award recognizes all employers with a certificate and accompanying lapel pin and are considered for other awards and recognitions based on their level of support.
• Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award
• Go online to http://www.freedomaward.mil/ and fill out the nomination form.

This award is the highest in a series of employer recognition awards given by the DoD. The deadline for nominations is Jan. 18.

 

Officials said the award was created to “publicly recognize employers that provide exceptional support to their National Guard and Reserve employees.”

 

More than 3,200 nominations for awards were submitted to ESGR this year. Fifteen employers, ranging from mega-corporations to small businesses, local firehouses and police departments were honored in Washington by the nation’s top elected officials, celebrities and Guard and Reserve leaders.