45 Colorado Guard and Reserve service members nominated their employers for the 2010 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 Guard and Reserve. The Freedom Award is particularly significant because only members of the Guard and Reserve or their family members are eligible to nominate their employers for the award.

See below for a list of Colorado employers nominated for the Freedom Award, or visit www.FreedomAward.mil.

Nearly 2,500 Guard and Reserve service members, or their families, from across the country nominated their employers for outstanding support. Nominated employers, ranging from small to large businesses and public sector employers, demonstrated support by providing continued benefits, differential pay, and family assistance. A national selection board comprised of senior defense officials and business leaders will select up to 15 recipients for the 2010 award. The Department of Defense will announce the 2010 Freedom Award recipients this summer. Recipients will be presented the Freedom Award at a ceremony in Washington, D.C. on September 23, 2010.

About ESGR & the Freedom Award

The Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award was instituted in 1996 under the auspices of Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR). ESGR is a Department of Defense agency established in 1972 whose mission is to gain and maintain employer support for Guard and Reserve Service by recognizing outstanding support, increasing awareness of the law and resolving conflict through mediation. Since 1996, only 130 companies have been presented with the prestigious Freedom Award. Previous honorees include Microsoft, the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, Sears, Home Depot, the State of Delaware, the Santa Ana, California Police Department and the family owned farm Augustine & Sons in Rose Hill, Iowa. For more information, please visit www.FreedomAward.mil

The following employers were nominated for the Freedom Award:

Merrick and Company	Aurora
Ball Aerospace and Technologies Corporation	Boulder
Adams County Sheriff's Office	Brighton
Air Harness Mfg	Broomfield
Colorado Department of Corrections	Buena Vista
Folkestad Fazekas	Castle Rock
Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office	Centennial
Sky Research	Centennial
Boeing Co.	Colorado Springs
Centennial Elementary	Colorado Springs
Local Census Office 3122	Colorado Springs
Walsh Environmental Scientists and Engineers LLC	Colorado Springs
SAIC	Colorado Springs
Infinity Systems Engineering	Colorado Springs
Hewlett Packard	Colorado Springs
Infinity Systems Engineering	Colorado Springs
El Paso County Sheriff's Office	Colorado Springs
Colorado Technical University	Colorado Springs
Department of Education	Denver
U-haul	Denver
JCB Partners	Denver
AmerisourceBergen Corporation	Denver
New Tech Machinery	Denver
King Soopers	Denver
Qwest Communications Inc.	Denver
Medical Simulation Corporation	Denver
Charles Schwab Private Client	Englewood
Fort Carson Police Department	Fort Carson
Securitas USA	Fort Collins
National Telecom Services and Operations USDA	Fort Collins
RAVCO	Glenwood Springs
Simplicity Solar LLC	Grand Junction
JGMS Inc.	Grand Junction
Hilltop Community Resources	Grand Junction
Hensel Phelps Construction Co.	Greeley
Benjamin West	Lafayette
Corrections Corporation of America	Las Animas
Sundance	Lone Tree
Crocs Inc.	Niwot
Denver Southeast Suburban Water and Sanitation District	Parker
McGehee Davis and Associates	Wheat Ridge