Thirty finalists are in contention for the 2015 Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award, the highest honor the department can bestow to employers for exemplary support of their National Guard and reserve employees, according to a Defense Department news release issued yesterday.
A board composed of senior department and other officials, as well as representatives from prior recipient organizations will select the Freedom Award recipients, who will be honored at the 20th annual Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award ceremony at the Pentagon this summer, according to the release.
The Freedom Award program was established in 1996 and it’s managed by Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve, a DoD office, according to the organization’s website. ESGR was established in 1972 to promote cooperation and understanding between reserve component service members and their civilian employers and to assist in the resolution of conflicts arising from employees’ military commitments.
“Among thousands of employers across this great nation, these 30 employers have gone far above and beyond what is required to provide exemplary support to our military men and women as well as their families,” M. Alex Baird, the acting director of DoD’s Family and Employer Programs and Policy Office, said in the news release. “We are proud to formally recognize these outstanding employers as finalists for the prestigious 2015 Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award.”
2015 Freedom Award Finalists
The 2015 Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award finalists include:
-- Arlington Police Department, Arlington, Texas;
-- Central Mortgage Co., Little Rock, Arkansas;
-- Bio Tek Instruments Inc., Winooski, Vermont;
-- Black Hills Corporation, Rapid City, South Dakota;
-- Boise Fire Department, Boise, Idaho;
-- BP America Inc., Houston;
-- Cardinal Health, Dublin, Ohio;
-- Christ’s Church of the Valley, Peoria, Arizona;
-- Cigna, Bloomfield, Connecticut;
-- City of Glendale, Glendale, Arizona;
-- City of Shawnee, Shawnee, Kansas;
-- College of the Ozarks, Point Lookout, Missouri;
-- Columbus County Sheriff’s Office, Whiteville, North Carolina;
-- Cranston Public Schools, Cranston, Rhode Island;
-- CVS Health, Woonsocket, Rhode Island;
-- Devon Energy, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma;
-- Dr. Joe A. Jackson, MD, PLLC, Biloxi, Mississippi;
-- GlaxoSmithKline Research, Triangle Park, North Carolina;
-- Grandview Police Department, Grandview, Missouri;
-- Hope Valley Industries, North Kingstown, Rhode Island;
-- Kennebec County Sheriff’s Office, Augusta, Maine;
-- Lexmark International, Lexington, Kentucky;
-- Neil, Dymott, Frank, McFall & Trexler APCL, San Diego;
-- None Such Farm Inc., Buckingham, Pennsylvania;
-- Seattle Fire Department, Seattle;
-- Snell & Wilmer LLP, Phoenix;
-- State of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin;
-- T-Mobile USA, Bellevue, Washington;
-- Town of Hingham, Hingham, Massachusetts; and
-- Walt Disney Co., Burbank, California.
The finalists were selected from 2,960 nominations received from Guardsmen and reservists in recognition of their employers’ exemplary support, according to the release.