18 Delaware 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 Delaware 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:

American Tree Company LLC	Bear
Kent County Levy Court	Dover
Chesapeake Utilities Corporation	Dover
Red Clay School District Transportation	New Castle
JP Morgan Chase Private Bank	Newark
DPL Federal Credit Union	Newark
Seaford School District	Seaford
Nuclear Electric Insurance Limited	Wilmington
Richards Layton and Finger	Wilmington