ARLINGTON, VA –The Department of Defense has announced the recipients of the 2009 Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award, the highest recognition given by the U.S. Government to employers for their outstanding support of their employees who serve in the National Guard and Reserve.  The 2009 recipients are:

AeroDyn Wind Tunnel LLC – Mooresville, NC
AstraZeneca International – Wilmington, DE
Cambridge, MA Fire Department – Cambridge, MA
Consolidated Electrical Distributors, Inc. – North Charleston, SC
First Data Corporation – Greenwood Village, CO
FMC Technologies – Houston, TX
Jackson Parish Sheriff’s Department – Jonesboro, LA
Marks, O’Neill, O’Brien & Courtney, P.C. – Wilmington, DE
Microsoft Corporation – Redmond, WA
Mid America Kidney Stone Association – Kansas City, MO
NetJets – Woodbridge, NJ
Ohio Department of Public Safety – Columbus, OH
Perpetual Technologies, Inc. – Indianapolis, IN
Santa Ana Police Department – Santa Ana, CA
TriWest Healthcare Alliance – Phoenix, AZ

A record 3,200 National Guard and Reserve members or their family members from across the country nominated their supportive employers for the Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award.  A national selection board comprised of senior Defense officials and business leaders selected the recipients for this year’s award.  The Freedom Award will be presented to these employers during a formal ceremony Thursday, September 17, 2009 at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, D.C.  

"In the eight years our nation has been at war, America's employers - almost universally - have done an outstanding job of supporting their Citizen Warrior employees”, said Dennis M. McCarthy, assistant secretary of defense for reserve affairs.  "These fifteen employers are the 'best of the best' this year. They reflect the powerful synergy that exists between the men and women of the National Guard and Reserve, and their employers."
The Freedom Award was instituted in 1996 under the auspices of the National Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) to recognize exceptional support from the employer community.  Previous honorees include American Express, Chrysler, Sears, The Home Depot, the State of Tennessee and the family owned Augustine & Sons farm in Rose Hill, IA.   
More information about the Freedom Award is available at www.FreedomAward.mil or by calling the ESGR office at (800) 336-4590.

About ESGR
Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) is a Department of Defense agency established in 1972 that seeks to promote a culture in which all American employers support and value the military service of their employees. ESGR recognizes outstanding support, increases awareness of the law, and resolves conflicts through mediation. More information is available at www.esgr.mil.