Award represents highest honor for employers supporting National Guard and Reserve employees
Earlier this month, U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis announced that Comcast NBCUniversal was among the 15 recipients of the 2017 Secretary of Defense Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) “Freedom Award,” the highest honor the Department of Defense awards to employers for support of their National Guard and Reserve employees.
“Comcast NBCUniversal has made a company-wide commitment to hire 10,000 veterans, National Guard and Reserve members, and military spouses by the end of 2017, and the Comcast Keystone Region team is thrilled to be part of this company wide commitment to the military community,” said Christine Whitaker, Senior Vice President, Keystone Region. “Receiving this recognition from the Department of Defense is about more than just our company’s support of our Guard and Reserve employees, but the mutual support our local community here in Pennsylvania and the Ohio Valley provides for all of our military community members.”
The ESGR Freedom Award was first awarded in 1996 as a way to recognize exceptional support of National Guard and Reserve members from the employer community. With this year’s announcement of 15 employers, only 250 employers have received the award in 21 years. Additionally, more than 17,000 nominations have been received since 2011.
“This honor is meaningful to us at Comcast NBCUniversal, because it truly is a grassroots-level award,” said Carol Eggert, Comcast NBCUniversal Senior Vice President of Military and Veteran Affairs and retired U.S. Army brigadier general. Nominations of employers can only be made by Guard and Reserve employees or a family member acting on their behalf, and in 2017, Comcast NBCUniversal received more than 30 such nominations.”
On March 24, the Comcast Keystone Region joined the Pennsylvania ESGR and members of the Pennsylvania National Guard and other local military units to host the ESGR Statement of Support ceremony.
The 2017 Freedom Award recipients will be honored in a ceremony with Secretary Mattis at the Pentagon on August 25.
