Maybe someday, there will be a new island formed just off the coast of Hawaii.When told their business has received an award, some employers express sincere disbelief.
Even when presented with an award from Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve, an agency of the Department of Defense, employers are still skeptical, said Elizabeth Ransom, program support specialist for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve Indiana Committee.
“Employers don’t get as many pats on the back as they should,” Ransom said. “They don’t believe us when we tell them they’ve won an award.”
But no matter whether employers believe them or not, Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve will award 15 businesses around the country the highest recognition for their “outstanding support” of employees who are involved in the National Guard or Reserve.
Huntington County Community School Corp. is one of three Indiana companies among the 131 semifinalists for the Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award.
The other Hoosier firms are Rolls-Royce and Perpetual Technologies Inc., both of Indianapolis. Each state committee can nominate three companies.
Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve works to improve relations between civilian employers and employees in the military.
In 1996, the Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award was created under the agency’s national committee.
A board of business leaders and defense officials will narrow the group of 131 semifinalists to 35 finalists.
The 15 ultimately chosen for the award will be announced in July. A ceremony on Sept. 17 in Washington, D.C., will recognize the businesses.
Huntington County School Corp. Superintendent Tracy Shafer said the corporation sets up policies regarding employees who are involved in the military.
The idea of “support” for them means enacting those policies and even having schools send direct support to military personnel overseas.
“Over time, we’ve done what we should do, because it’s the right thing to do,” Shafer said.
In the past, companies such as Chrysler, American Express and Sears have received the award.
Con-Way Inc., a freight transportation company, is the only company in Indiana to win the award so far, Ransom said. Con-Way won two years ago.
John Cleveland, Rolls-Royce development/system engineer, said he nominated Rolls-Royce because he received support from the company when he was deployed in 2004 and 2008.
In August 2007, he also took time off to attend Air Command and Staff College, which prepares students for higher leadership positions in the military and other government divisions along with teaching technical air and space skills.
Going back to school in 2007 and then being deployed to Asia in 2008 meant Cleveland was not at Rolls-Royce for an extended period. But Rolls-Royce still supported him.
“It speaks to the company’s understanding of being gone that long,” he said.
Norman F. Egbert, Rolls-Royce’s vice president of engineering and technology, and others were supportive and understanding of his involvement in the military, said Cleveland, a major in the U.S. Air Force Reserves.
Rolls-Royce also supported him, he said, with differential pay and other benefits that helped him manage both occupations. And, Cleveland said, his training at the Air Command and Staff College translated well into his work at Rolls-Royce.
Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve received more than 3,200 applications for the Freedom Award this year, according to the agency’s Web site.
If Rolls-Royce wins an award, Cleveland said he would “definitely” attend the ceremony in September – as a member of the military.
“I would go in uniform,” he said.
