ESGR News:

SANTA FE – Twenty-one New Mexico businesses and public entities were honored last week for their support of members of the New Mexico Guard and Reserve.

The New Mexico Chapter of the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR), hosted the lunchtime event April 11 at the National Guard Armory Aviation Support Facility in Santa Fe.

ESGR works to assist and educate employers about working with employees who are members of the National Guard or Reserve Units.

Larger businesses honored are Los Alamos National Security, Chugach Management, Fresenius Medical Corp., Honeywell, Lovelace Women’s Hospital, Sandia National Labs, T Mobile and the United States Postal Service.

Public entities honored are Bernalillo County Parks and Recreation, City of Albuquerque Fire Department, Department of Indian Affairs, Las Cruces Fire Department, New Mexico Attorney General’s Office, New Mexico Department of Public Safety, Questa Fire Department and the USDA Forest Service.

Smaller businesses honored are Hospice de la Luz, the New Mexico Military Institute (NMMI), U.S. New Mexico Federal Credit Union and Village Mercantile.

National ESGR Chairman James Rebholz attended the luncheon.

Three entities honored April 11 will compete on a national level for the Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award, which 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.

The three intities include Sandia National Laboratories, City of Albuquerque Fire Department and Hospice de La Luz.

Nominations for the organizations honored 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.

All States and Territories screen their nominations and enter the most deserving nominations into the National competition in Washington D.C.

The Freedom Award is presented annually to the nation’s 15 most supportive employers, five winners in each category. They are recognized during a special ceremony hosted by the Secretary of Defense in Washington D.C, in September of each year.