125 New York National Guardsmen and Reservists nominated their employers to receive the 2009 Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award. The award is the U.S. Government’s highest recognition given to employers for exceptional support of their employees serving in the Guard and Reserve. The Freedom Award is particularly significant because only members of the National Guard and Reserve or their family members are eligible to nominate their employers for the award.

New York nominees include the following:

Adirondack Medical Center	Saranac Lake	New York
AJA Beverages	Brooklyn	New York
Albany Police Department	Albany	New York
Allied Aviation/JFK Airport	Jamaica	New York
Allied Barton Security Services	NYC	New York
American Express	New York	New York
Austin's Excavating and Paving	Waverly	New York
AVNI and FOGEL CPAS PC	New Hyde Park	New York
Bank of New York Mellon	New York	New York
Bassett Healthcare	Cooperstown	New York
Batavia Home Depot	Batavia	New York
BMP America Inc	Medina	New York
Boies Schiller and Flexner LLP	Armonk	New York
Broadway Sports Center	Buffalo	New York
Broome County Legislature	Binghamton	New York
Buffalo Police Department	Buffalo	New York
Cablevision Systems Corporation	Bethpage	New York
Capgemini	New York	New York
Chartwells	Plattsburgh	New York
Chittenango Central School	Chittenango	New York
City of Albany NY Police Department	Albany	New York
City of Auburn	Auburn	New York
City off Buffalo Division of Water	Buffalo	New York
City of Ithaca	Ithaca	New York
City of Ithaca Fire Department	Ithaca	New York
City of Rochester - Fire Department	Rochester	New York
City of Syracuse Police Department	Syracuse	New York
City of Yonkers	Yonkers	New York
CNA Insurance	New York	New York
CNYRTA/CENTRO	Oswego	New York
Command Security Corporation	Rockville Centre	New York
Cool Life Systems	Montgomery	New York
Council on Foreign Relations	New York	New York
County of Suffolk	Yaphank	New York
CSU Industries	Cedarhurst	New York
Delacy Ford Inc	Elma	New York
Deloitte Tax LLP	New York	New York
Department of Veteran Affairs	Canandaigua	New York
Depositary Trust Clearing Corp	New York	New York
East Fishkill Police Department	Hopewell Jct	New York
Entre Computer Services	Rochester	New York
New York City Fire Department	Brooklyn	New York
Federal Bureau of Prisons MDC Brooklyn	Brooklyn	New York
FOX News Channel	New York	New York
General Electric	Schenectady	New York
Greenman-Pedersen Inc	Albany	New York
Harris Corporation, RF Communications Division	Rochester	New York
Haun Welding Companies	Cheektowaga	New York
Henry Marine Service inc	Staten Island	New York
IBM Corporation	Armonk	New York
Intech21 Inc	Port Washington	New York
International Business Machines Corporation	Armonk	New York
John Betlem Heating and Cooling	Rochester	New York
JPMorgan Chase and Company	New York	New York
Keystone Associates LLC	Binghamton	New York
Lake Placid Police Department	Lake Placid	New York
Lewis County Community Mental Health Center	Lowville	New York
Lifetime Health Medical Group Pharmacies	W Seneca	New York
Lockheed Martin Systems Integration - Owego	Owego	New York
Lockport City School District	Lockport	New York
Maracap Construction Ind. Inc	College Point	New York
Mechanicville Police Department	Mechanicville	New York
Mid-State Correctional Facility	Marcy	New York
Morgan Stanley	New York	New York
Nassau County Police Department	Mineola	New York
New York City Department of Education	Brooklyn	New York
New York City Police Department	New York	New York
New York State Comptroller	Albany	New York
New York State Court System	Mineola	New York
New York State Department of Health	Albany	New York
New York State Office of Homeland Security	Albany	New York
New York State Police	Albany	New York
Niagara County Sheriff’s Department	Lockport	New York
Niagara Falls Police Dept.	Niagara Falls	New York
Niagara Lasalle Corporation	Buffalo	New York
Novartis Pharmaceuticals	Suffern	New York
NYC Dept of Corrections	New York	New York
New York State Dept. of Transportation	Newark	New York
Oakfield Alabama CSD	Oakfield	New York
O’Brien and Gere	East Syracuse	New York
Oneonta Block Company	Oneonta	New York
Onondaga County	Syracuse	New York
Onondaga County Sheriff's Office	Syracuse	New York
Optimum Lightpath	Jericho	New York
Pepsico Inc	Purchase	New York
Pfizer Animal Health	New York	New York
Pfizer Inc	New York	New York
POMCO Group	Syracuse	New York
Ponds and Beyond	North Chatham	New York
PS 46	Bronx	New York
Rockefeller University	New York	New York
Rome Research Corporation	Rome	New York
Seebald Security, LLC	East Aurora	New York
Smithsonian Institution	New York	New York
SPRINT / NEXTEL	Garden City	New York
State Farm	Ballston Spa	New York
Stratton Medical Center Dept of Vet Affairs	Albany	New York
Stony Brook University Student Affairs	Stony Brook	New York
Sullivan and Cromwell, LLC	New York	New York
Syracuse Police Department	Syracuse	New York
The Ayco Company	Saratoga Springs	New York
The Bank of New York Mellon	New York	New York
The City of Mount Vernon Police Department	Mount Vernon	New York
The College of Westchester	White Plains	New York
The McGraw-Hill Companies	New York	New York
The Raymond Corporation	Greene	New York
Time Warner Cable	New York	New York
Town of East Greenbush	Rensselaer	New York
Town of Woodbury	Highland Mills	New York
United Uniform Inc	Buffalo	New York
Unites States Secret Service	Chappaqua	New York
US Customs and Border Protection	Jamaica	New York
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement office of investigations	Buffalo	New York
Utica Police Department	Utica	New York
VA Police Department NYHHCS	Brooklyn	New York
VAMC	Bath	New York
Vanacore DeBenedictus DiGovanni and Weddell LLP	Newburgh	New York
Verizon Communications Inc	New York City	New York
Village of Liberty Police	Liberty	New York
Vormittag Associates Inc	Ronkonkoma	New York
WABC-TV	New York	New York
Wackenhut	Ontario	New York
Waste Management	Rochester	New York
Wegman's Food Markets	Rochester	New York
West Irondequoit Central School District	Rochester	New York

More than 3,200 National Guard and Reserve members from across the country nominated their employers for their outstanding support. Many employers, for example, provided continued benefits, differential pay, family assistance and additional support. A national selection board comprised of senior defense officials and business leaders will select up to 15 recipients for this year’s award. The Department of Defense will announce the 2009 Freedom Award recipients this summer. The 2009 Freedom Awards will be presented at a ceremony in Washington, D.C., September 17^th at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Center.

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. We recognize outstanding support, increase awareness of the law, and resolve conflicts through mediation. For more information, please visit www.esgr.mil.

About the Award

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, the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, Sears, Home Depot, the State of Tennessee and the Winner School District of South Dakota. For more information, please visit www.FreedomAward.mil.