From an Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve News
Release
ARLINGTON, Va., March 27, 2014 – Employer Support of the
Guard and Reserve, a Defense Department office, received 2,864 nominations from
Guardsmen and reservists for the 2014 Secretary of Defense Employer Support
Freedom Award.
The Freedom Award is the department’s highest recognition
honoring employers who support employees serving in the military’s reserve
components. Up to 15 award recipients will be announced this summer and honored
at the Pentagon in September, officials said.
ESGR officials said the Freedom Award honors employers who
not only safeguard the positions of their military employees while they perform
military duty or are deployed, but also establish exceptional and generous
initiatives that accommodate and care for those employees and their families.
"These employers exemplify the true spirit of
patriotism," said ESGR National Chair Paul E. Mock. "By supporting
their National Guard and Reserve employees, the 2014 Freedom Award nominees
demonstrate what it means to serve our nation’s citizen-warriors."
Last year, recipients met with President Barack Obama, who
praised them for the exceptional support provided to their Guard and Reserve
employees. Recipients also met with senior Defense Department leaders as part
of the award recognition.
This year’s nominees represent employers large and small
from nearly every industry, including airlines, grocery store chains, national
retail brands and information technology companies, as well as small businesses
and state and local governments. ESGR received nominations from Guard and
Reserve members in all 50 states, Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern
Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the District of
Columbia. Semifinalists will be announced later this spring. A complete list of
nominees is available on the Freedom Award website.
The Freedom Award was instituted in 1996 under the auspices
of ESGR to recognize exceptional support from the employer community. In the
years since, 190 employers have been honored with the award.
ESGR develops and maintains employer support for Guard and
Reserve service, advocating relevant initiatives, recognizing outstanding
support, increasing awareness of applicable laws, and resolving conflict
between service members and employers.
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