2008 DOD Employer Support Freedom Award Recipients

Department of Defense Announces 2008 Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award Recipients

Fifteen Employers Nationwide Receive Top Honor for Guard and Reserve Support

ARLINGTON, VA –The Department of Defense has announced the 2008 Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award recipients.  The Freedom Award is 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 Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award is the highest recognition given by the U.S. Government to employers for their support of their employees who serve in the National Guard and Reserve.

Nominations must come from a Guard or Reserve member who is employed by the organization they are nominating, or from a family member.  The award was created to publicly recognize employers who provide exceptional support to their National Guard and Reserve employees. It is the highest in a series of employer recognition awards given by the Department of Defense.

Almost one-half of the U.S. military is comprised of the National Guard and Reserve. The Department of Defense shares these citizen warriors with their civilian employers, many of whom provide significant support to their employees who serve in the Guard and Reserve. This award recognizes employers who provide the most outstanding support for their National Guard and Reserve employees and is presented annually by the Secretary of Defense.  

The 2008 recipients include:

• History of the Award The Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award was instituted in 1996 under the auspices of the National Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR). ESGR is a Department of Defense agency established in 1972 whose mission is to gain and maintain employer support for Guard and Reserve Service by recognizing outstanding support, increasing awareness of the law and resolving conflicts through mediation. Secretary of Defense William Perry authorized the first award in 1996 and presented it to Schneider National, McDonnell Douglas, United Parcel Service Central Florida District, Tektronix, Inc. and National Life of Vermont. In the years since, over 100 employers have received this prestigious award. Today, 15 awards are presented each year to employers in three categories, big business, small business and the public sector. The nomination process is open to all Guard and Reserve personnel and their families and applications are submitted online to ESGR. A national selection board comprised of senior Defense officials and business leaders select the award recipients.

  Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma – Durant, OK

• Chrysler Motors, LLC – Auburn Hills, MI
• City of Austin – Austin, TX
• Coastal Windows, Inc. – Waipahu, HI
• Dominion Resources, Inc. – Richmond, VA
• Jersey City Fire Department – Jersey City, NJ
• Lochinvar Corporation – Lebanon, TN
• Oakland County Sheriff’s Office – Pontiac, MI
• Oshkosh Corporation – Oshkosh, WI
• Regional Emergency Medical Services Authority – Reno, NV
• Robinson Transport, Inc. – Salina, UT
• State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. – Bloomington, IL
• Union Pacific Corporation – Omaha, NE
• Winner School District – Winner, SD
• Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, PLLC. – Winston-Salem, NC

A record 2,199 National Guard and Reserve members or their family members from across the country nominated their employers for their outstanding support.  A national selection board comprised of senior Defense officials and business leaders selected the recipients for this year’s award.  The Freedom Award will be presented to these employers during a formal ceremony Thursday, September 18, 2008 at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, D.C.  

“These employers have provided exceptional support to the men and women serving in our National Guard and Reserve and now, more than ever, we appreciate and thank them for doing much more for these employees than the law requires,” said Dr. L. Gordon Sumner Jr., Executive Director of the National Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR.) 

Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) is a Department of Defense agency established in 1972. Its mission is to gain and maintain employer support for Guard and Reserve service by recognizing outstanding support, increasing awareness of the law and resolving conflicts through mediation.  More information about ESGR is available at www.esgr.mil.

The Freedom Award was instituted in 1996 under the auspices of the National Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) to recognize exceptional support from the employer community.  Previous honorees include American Express, General Motors, Sears, The Home Depot, the State of Tennessee and the family owned Augustine & Sons farm in Rose Hill, IA.   

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