Colt Safety Fire and Rescue Logo |
Colt Safety Fire and Rescue, a small business made up of 13 employees, received the Secretary of Defense Freedom Award in 2004. At the time, two of the company’s 13 employees were Guard and Reserve members. One of the Reservists has worked for the company since 1996 and he was called up for duty to Scott Air Force Base in Illinois shortly after receiving a significant promotion within the company. At about the same time, Colt’s second Reservist was activated and was deployed to Baghdad. This left Colt to continue operations with a 20% reduction in staff.
As a general practice, Colt places heavy emphasis on cross-training all of its employees to perform the many vital tasks of the company. Every employee at Colt is trained to perform the many tasks needed in distribution, such as shipping and receiving, inventory cycle counts, sales, customer service, technical training and servicing of products. This practice provides the company with the ability to continue to operate successfully when a Guard and Reserve employee is placed on active duty.
For the two service members, they were easily able to transition back into their positions with the help of the company’s CEO, Christine Beirman, and their colleagues. Colt continues to provide full support for its Reserve member during his weekend duties, his annual three-week tour and by providing him time off to take care of all matters related to his military service.
Beirman says, “I feel it’s my duty as a citizen of this great nation to do my part in supporting those brave men and women who put their lives on the line every day to protect us and the freedoms we have in the USA.”
Colt proudly displays their Waterford Crystal Eagle complete with photographs from the 2004 Freedom Award ceremony on their company’s “Wall of Fame.” Customers, vendors and visitors to Colt admire the display and praise the company for its support of the nation’s Guard and Reserve members. A regular public speaker, especially to women-owned small businesses, Bierman makes it a point to discuss the importance of supporting Guard and Reservists and talks proudly about the company’s Freedom Award honor.
| 
Best Practices
