CHARLOTTE, N.C., Sept. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- Bank of America card services Senior Vice President Brian King was recently awarded the United States Department of Defense's prestigious "My Boss is a Patriot" award in recognition of the bank's employment policies and practices supportive of their employees' participation in the National Guard and Reserve.
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King was nominated by Bank of America associate and Airman First Class Bill Bruns, a senior credit analyst with the bank's credit card services division in Maine, and received the award from Brigadier General Frances Auclair, Commander of the Maine Air National Guard. Since September 11, 2001 the Maine Air National Guard has been operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week supporting Air Force and NATO missions.
"I want to personally thank Brian King and the entire Bank of America management team for supporting Airman Bill Bruns so that he could serve our country during this time of conflict," Auclair said. "With your support, the women and men of the Maine Air National Guard can perform their jobs without the added stress of worrying about their civilian job."
Members of the National Guard and Reserve forces are eligible to nominate their employers for the "My Boss is a Patriot" Award certificate.
"I nominated Brian King because he made my choice to serve my country an easy one," Bruns said. "He supported me every step of the way, celebrated my successes, and treated me like I never left. With all the stresses I faced during training, I always knew that Brian King and Bank of America would support me."
Bank of America actively recruits and hires military personnel and veterans as part of an enterprise-wide initiative to bring strong leadership qualities, character and matrix management experience a military background provides.
"I am humbled and honored to receive such a prestigious award on behalf of Bank of America," King said. "It's great to work for a company that encourages and supports its associates in their efforts of serving our country through the National Guard and Reserve. The true accolades go to Bill Bruns and all of the other military veterans and reservists that have, and currently are, serving our country. Bank of America truly is the bank of opportunity."
The Maine Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) is a group of business members statewide that work with employers to provide education on National Guard and Reserve programs as well as to educate on federal laws that protect reservists.
Brent West, representing the Maine ESGR Committee, spoke about the stresses experienced by guard members: "Being in the National Guard is like a three-legged stool, one leg is your family responsibilities, one leg is your National Guard duties and the third leg is your civilian employment," said West. "Thank you to Brian King and Bank of America for providing that support to Bill Bruns."
To learn more about when Bank of America will be attending a military recruiting event in your area, please visit http://careers.bankofamerica.com/military . To learn more about the bank's military bank please visit bankofamerica.com/military.
Bank of America
Bank of America is one of the world's largest financial institutions, serving individual consumers, small and middle market businesses and large corporations with a full range of banking, investing, asset management and other financial and risk-management products and services. The company provides unmatched convenience in the United States, serving more than 59 million consumer and small business relationships with more than 6,100 retail banking offices, more than 18,500 ATMs and award-winning online banking with more than 25 million active users. Bank of America offers industry leading support to more than 4 million small business owners through a suite of innovative, easy-to-use online products and services. The company serves clients in more than 150 countries and has relationships with 99 percent of the U.S. Fortune 500 companies and 83 percent of the Fortune Global 500. Bank of America Corporation stock is a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
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