Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve, a Department of Defense Agency, will honor 15 employers from across the nation with the 2008 Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award. 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 annual awards will be presented on Thursday, September 18, 2008 at 7:30 p.m. at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center.
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 National Guard and Reserve. This year's honorees range from a small family owned transportation business in Utah to large businesses including Chrysler and Dominion Resources to the City of Austin, Texas, a public sector employer.
Award recipients, including Chrysler CEO Robert Nardelli and Chief of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma Gregory Pyle, will be honored by Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, Dr. David Chu and the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs, Thomas Hall during the 2008 Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award ceremony.
The ceremony will also be attended by members of Congress, senior military officials and the National Guard and Reserve members who nominated the recipients for the award. More than two thousand National Guard and Reserve members or their families from across the country nominated their employers for their exceptional support. The Freedom Award honorees will meet privately with President George W. Bush, Vice President Richard Cheney and Deputy Secretary of Defense Gordon England.
WHAT: |  | 2008 Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award |
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WHEN: | Sept. 18, 2008, Reception: 6:30 p.m., Ceremony & Dinner: 7:30 p.m. | |
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WHERE: | The Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C. |
This year's recipients include:
|  |  |  |  |  | Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma - Durant, OK |
Chrysler 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 |
Media Notes: To attend the event, please contact Beth Sherman at 703-380-9717 or by email at Beth.Sherman@osd.mil.
