WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Department of Defense honored the top 15 outstanding employers of National Guard and Reserve members with the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve's (ESGR) 2006 Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Awards dinner in Washington at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center on Sept. 21. Locally, SkyLine Membership Corporation of West Jefferson was among the honorees that included MGM MIRAGE, Starbucks and DuPont and public agencies such as the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the State of Vermont.
SkyLine Chief Executive Officer (CEO) John Dixon, Human Resource (HR) Manager Angie Miller and Field Services Technician and National Guardsman Joe Taylor represented the cooperative at the ceremony in Washington.
"I simply cannot tell you how important your support is to our service members when they are deployed and serving in harm's way," said Vice Chief of Staff for Army and keynote speaker General Richard Cody to honorees at the awards ceremony. "I've been on the front lines, and I've seen it myself - our men and women in uniform are truly fighting for you. They are serving for each of us so that future generations of Americans will know the same freedoms and unique American way of life that we enjoy today."
Hundreds of National Guard and Reserve members from across the country nominated their employers for their exceptional provision of continued benefits, differential pay, family assistance and additional support to ease their transition from civilian employees to active military personnel and back. From those nominations, ESGR selected the 15 most exemplary employers from organizations large and small, public and private. A handful of nominators were in attendance to help ESGR honor and award their employers for going above and beyond federal law requirements in providing support.
"SkyLine is happy to support its employees who serve in the Guard because their service to our country allows the rest of us here at home to enjoy those freedoms that we all cherish, but too often take for granted," said John Dixon, SkyLine CEO.
SkyLine was nominated by Joe Taylor, one of two employees who served with the National Guard in Iraq and were deployed from January 2004 till May 2005. In his nomination, Taylor praised SkyLine for the extraordinary support the company and its employees provided to him and his family. "When we were given orders to be deployed, our management team made sure we understood that we have nothing to worry about while we were gone," Taylor said. "Our jobs were secure, plus our package of benefits would be taken care of, and we were assured that if our families needed anything, SkyLine would be the first ones there to help."
SkyLine held a parting reception for Taylor, his wife Julie, and fellow Guardsman Tim Stamper and his wife Lisa, with their fellow employees. Here, they were honored for their "courageous spirit," and where employees gave words of encouragement and parting gifts, such as a devotional journal. Employees wrote frequently to the two men, sending large care packages of items - from snacks and personal items to recorded CDs with their favorite music, books and magazines.
The one item that may have helped these two men the most was a cabin cot, purchased for each of the 44 men and women in their platoon (of the 1450th Transportation Company). "When a few of our employees attended a Family Support Group meeting, Lisa Stamper told us that Tim and the others were having to sleep outside and were subject to the elements of weather, insects and sandstorms," said Angie Miller, SkyLine HR Manager. "Our company and Project Teamwork, SkyLine's employee-supported crisis relief fund, pooled monies to purchase portable cabin cots for additional protection and shipped them to Iraq within a matter of days."
During the men's deployment, SkyLine maintained their salaries by paying the difference between their military and civilian pay checks, provided health insurance for family members and made them eligible for promotions and pay increases.
Project Teamwork also sponsored a benefit motorcycle run to raise money for the Family Support Group of the 1450th Transportation Company. At that event, employees, family and friends had the opportunity to videotape messages to the soldiers. SkyLine maintained close communication with the Family Support Group during this period, and it was part of the county-wide effort in organizing a homecoming parade for the 1450th upon its return to the area in April 2005.
Earlier this year, SkyLine was among 64 North Carolina employers to receive the "Above and Beyond" award from the North Carolina ESGR. The "Above and Beyond" award is presented to the top 10 percent of employers who hire Guardsmen and Reservists in North Carolina. Selection is based on information supplied by Guardsmen or Reservists who work for selected companies. The North Carolina ESGR Committee is tasked to promote understanding of the National Guard and Reserve with both Public and Private Sector employers.
Receiving the Freedom Award was a great honor for SkyLine and the surrounding community, according to Dixon. "SkyLine was not alone in its support of our local National Guard unit while they served. Employees came together to send letters and care packages, many people contributed to our fund-raising efforts for the family support group, and the entire community worked hand in hand to welcome these men and women home after their tour had ended," he said.
Other 2006 award recipients were:
AgCountry Farm Credit Services - Fargo, ND
Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America - Minneapolis, MN
Baptist Health - Little Rock, AR
BNSF Railway Company - Ft. Worth, TX
Cardi's Furniture Superstores - Swansea, MA
Commonwealth of Massachusetts - Boston, MA
Computer Sciences Corporation - El Segundo, CA
DuPont-Wilmington, DE
Fred Fletemeyer Company - Colorado Springs, CO
MGM Mirage - Las Vegas, NV
South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks - Pierre, SD
Starbucks Corporation - Seattle, WA
State of Vermont - Montpelier, VT
Sun Valley General Improvement District - Sun Valley, NV
The Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve is an agency within the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs. The committee was established by Presidential Executive Order in 1972 to promote cooperation and understanding between Reserve component members and their civilian employers and to assist in resolution of conflicts arising from an
employee's military commitment. Today ESGR operates through a network of more than 4,500 volunteers in 55 committees located in each state, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and Europe.
Secretary of Defense William Perry instituted the Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award in 1996 under the auspices of the National Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve. The award publicly recognizes employers, who were nominated by their employees who voluntarily serve in the National Guard and Reserve, for exceptional support above the requirements of federal law. This prestigious award is the highest in a series of DoD employer awards that include the Patriot Award, the ESGR Above and Beyond Award, and the Pro Patria Award.
Previous Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award recipients include Adolph Coors Company, American Express, Bank One Corporation, Colt Safety Fire & Rescue, General Electric, Harley-Davidson, The Home Depot, The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, The State of Minnesota, Northrop Grumman Corporation, One Source Building Technologies, Saints Memorial Medical Center, Strategic Solutions Incorporated, Sprint Corporation, and Wal-Mart.
As the 1.2 million members of the National Guard and Reserve continue to perform an increasing number of unique missions that require extraordinary actions on the part of everyday citizens, ESGR continues to be the informational agency for the employers of America's Patriots.
SkyLine is a member-owned cooperative, providing a variety of telecommunications services to its members in Alleghany, Ashe, Avery and Watauga counties in North Carolina, and Johnson County in east Tennessee. Along with its current focus of building a fiber-to-the-premise (FTTP) network, SkyLine is committed to enhancing the quality of life across the region through various charitable,
educational and economic development programs and initiatives. Its wholly-owned subsidiary, SkyBest Communications, offers de-regulated products and services, including local calling services, business systems and network solutions, broadband Internet services and long distance. |
