ESGR Thanks Employers at 'Breakfast with the Boss' (UNCLASSIFIED)

 
 


 
ESGR Thanks Employers at 'Breakfast with the Boss' 
 
 
FARGO, N.D. - North Dakota's Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve
 or ESGR, thanked area employers today during
 a "Breakfast with the Boss" event. The 7 a.m. gathering recognized 13
 businesses and organizations with the Patriot Award
. 
 
 
 
"Employers in this area are very patriotic," said Kevin Iverson, of Bismarck,
 North Dakota's ESGR director. "They get the need for military service, and we
 appreciate that. ... We wanted to take an opportunity to thank employers with
 recognition for the outstanding support they provide their service member
employees."
 
 
 
Lt. Gen. Harry M. Wyatt III, Air National Guard director, Maj. Gen. Raymond
 W. Carpenter, acting Army National Guard director, and Maj. Gen. David
 Sprynczynatyk, North Dakota adjutant general, also were at the event to thank
 the employers. 
 
 
 
"As you know, our Soldiers and Airmen have been tremendously successful over
 the years at adding value to our state and communities, but that wouldn't be
 possible without you," Sprynczynatyk said. "... We're all citizen-Soldiers,
 citizen-warriors, citizen-Airmen and most of us have another job within the
 community."
> 
 
 
For the award, ESGR committee members presented a framed certificate and
> lapel pin to the employers, who were nominated by an employee who serves in
> the National Guard or Reserve. 
 
 
 
"We cannot recognize an employer without the participation of that employee
 service member," Iverson said.
> 

 
Businesses awarded today included the City of Fargo Street Department, which
 was nominated by Army National Guard Sgt. Travis Kane; the City of West
 Fargo, nominated by Air National Guard Chief Master Sgt. Michael Reitan;
 Express Employment Professionals, nominated by Army National Guard Sgt. Jacob
 Payson; Fargo Jet Center, nominated by Air National Guard Staff Sgt. Mandi
 Hagen; Fargo Police Department, recognized by Air National Guard Capt. Joseph
 Anderson; West Fargo Public Schools' Sheyenne 9th Grade Center, nominated by
 Air National Guard Master Sgt. Rollin Swedberg; MeritCare Cardiac
 Rehabilitation, nominated by Army National Guard Staff Sgt. Nathan Nieman;
 American Family Insurance, nominated by Air National Guard Master Sgt. Bruce
 Karevold; Cass County Sheriff Paul Laney, nominated by Army National Guard
 Spc. Shane Spieker; CATCO Parts & Service, nominated by Army National Guard
 Spc. Bernard Fischer; Industrial Builders Inc., nominated by Army National
 Guard Spc. Kevin McKenzie; Magnum Companies, nominated by Sgt. Bryan Hovland;
 and Union Storage and Transfer, nominated by Army National Guard Master Sgt.
 Kyle Heidenreich. 
 
 
 
Many of the Soldiers who nominated their employers are currently deployed
 overseas and were not able to attend with their organization.
 
 
 
The West Fargo Police Department and Fargo Park District also were recognized
 today for their continuing support of service members. Both were nominated
 for the 2010 Freedom Award. 
 
 
 
Each Patriot Award recipient will now be considered for a higher award from
 ESGR, the highest of which including the Employer Support Freedom Award,
 which is given by the secretary of defense. 
 
 
 
ESGR is a Department of Defense volunteer-based organization that seeks to
 promote a culture in which all American employers support and value the
> military service of their employees. ESGR's mission is to gain and maintain
 employer support for members of the National Guard and Reserve by recognizing
 outstanding support, increasing awareness of the law, and resolving conflict
 through mediation.