Welcome to Colorado ESGR. Our purpose is to have an informative newsletter that will educate, inform,

and promote service by and to ESGR while fulfilling our mission of supporting Employers, Guard/Reserve

members, Military and Veteran Employment Initiatives and our COESGR Volunteers.

January 2015

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Fred Rodgers Hobbs, broadcaster, public relations executive and educator, was born April 21, 1932 in Denver. He graduated from the University of Colorado School of Journalism and Mass Communication with a B.A. degree in 1954.

Hobbs began his broadcasting career as a teenage student disc jockey on KFEL-FM in Denver (the first FM radio station in the city) in 1948. During his college days, he worked at KBOL-AM in Boulder, where he eventually became program director. From 1954-1956, Hobbs served in the US Army as a disc jockey and feature reporter on the American Forces Network's station in Berlin, Germany. He returned to KBOL following his military service.

During the 1960's, he was news director and morning on-air personality at KDEN-AM. In 1966, he joined KLZ-AM/KMGH-TV, Channel 7, becoming a reporter and anchor. In 1975, he was appointed news director at KWGN-TV, all in Denver. In between those broadcasting positions, from 1972 - 74, he was media relations director at the University of Colorado and later became an adjunct professor at the CU School of Journalism and Mass Communication teaching public relations and TV news courses.

In 1989, Hobbs founded Public Relations Associates, a full service public relations agency which he headed until entering semi-retirement in 2000. He was a member of the Radio Historical Association of Colorado, the Lions Club of Denver, the Denver Press Club and served as president of both the Colorado chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists and the Broadcast Professionals of Colorado.

April 21, 1932 -

December 4, 2014

Resided in Denver, CO

Colorado ESGR lost one of its phenomenal volunteers last month. He was a very involved and valuable member of Colorado ESGR’s Public Affairs Directorate.

Fred, though long retired, joined ESGR in 2009 as he was a long time friend of Dick Young, Colorado ESGR Chairman, and ESGR needed Fred for the knowledge and radio and television experience he brought with him. Over the next five years, he was an integral part of Colorado ESGR’s Public Affairs Directorate and wrote many news releases. While with his age, he gradually slowed down, he remained committed to ESGR and could always be counted on to take on any assignment, attend all appropriate ESGR meetings and events, and was always upbeat and ready to take on any assignment. He will be sorely missed.

This Newsletter is Dedicated in Memory of Fred Hobbs

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National Lincoln Award Recipients Honored at All Star National Lincoln Award Recipients Honored at All Star

Concert At the Kennedy Center For Performing ArtsConcert At the Kennedy Center For Performing Arts

The Lincoln Awards: A Concert for Veterans and the Military Family, featuring an All-Star

concert, was the first of its kind to recognize outstanding achievement and excellence in

providing opportunities and support to our nation’s veterans and military families. The concert and awards were

presented at the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts Concert Hall in Washington D.C. by The Friars

Foundation, the charitable arm of the legendary Friars Club. The filmed concert is being packaged for national

PBS primetime broadcast to coincide with the March 4, 2015, 150th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s landmark

Second Inaugural Address, where he stated America’s commitment “to care for him who shall have borne the

battle and for his widow and his orphan.”

Kicking off the jam packed concert was Dr. Jill Biden, the wife of our country’s Vice President. She thanked the

veterans and their families, and then explained: “As a military mom, there is nothing more special to see –

and to recognize - than a community of people coming together for our nation’s veterans. And not just

to support veterans, but to inspire others to go to their strengths, and find ways that they, too, can make

a difference in the lives of these heroes.”

The concert hall, attended by many dignitaries from the Department of Defense, the U.S. Department of Veterans

Affairs and others, was filled with veterans and their families to hear an All-Star Concert and to recognize the ten

Lincoln Award winners for 2015.

Among the 10 National Lincoln Award recipients was retired Rear Admiral Dick Young,

currently the Colorado State Chair of Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve, a

Department of Defense agency. He was honored, receiving the Standard Bearer Award,

for outstanding lifetime achievement and excellence by a veteran in exemplifying selfless

service.

The other recipients were: Justin Constantine (recognizing outstanding achievement and

excellence by a veteran in providing aid and opportunities to other veterans); Ken Fisher

(recognizing outstanding service and support to veterans by a private citizen); Jackie Garrick

(recognizing outstanding achievement and excellence in providing opportunities and support to veterans by a

government employee); Dean Kamen (recognizing outstanding service to veterans by a member of the medical

or scientific community); Britnee Kinard (recognizing outstanding achievement and excellence in providing care

to veterans); Bruce Springsteen (recognizing outstanding achievement and excellence in supporting and giving

back to veterans by a performer); Kayla Williams (recognizing outstanding achievement and excellence in

portraying the veteran experience through the arts, film, or literature); Team Rubicon (recognizing outstanding

achievement in providing opportunities and services to veterans by a not-for-profit company or organization); and

Walmart (recognizing outstanding achievement and excellence in providing opportunities and services to

veterans by a company or organization.

During the evening’s performance, each of the awardees was introduced and recognized. And before the All-Star

concert, the ten awardees, along with key members of the Friars Club and some 200 guests, were treated to a

banquet during which time each recipient was recognized and addressed the assembled guests.

The Honorable Tommy Sowers, visiting faculty member at Duke’s Sanford School of Public Policy and a 11 year

Army veteran with two combat tours in Iraq as a Green Beret, was the Event Chairman, and pointed out to all

that: ”We are here tonight to honor their accomplishments. It is through the Lincoln awards we hope to

shine a light on those who, as we veterans would say, demonstrate “what right looks like.”

Continued next page…….

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The Honorary Event Chairman was Leonard A. Wilf, a longtime member of the Friars Club and a Director of the Friars Foundation, which was responsible for creating the Lincoln Awards and putting on the event.

Participating in the evening were such notables and Brian Williams, Jerry Lewis, Arturo Sandoval, Gavin DeGraw, Harvey Keitel, Larry King, Miss America Kira Kazantsev, Aloe Blacc, Whitney Cummings, Rhiannon Giddens, The Lone Bellow, J.R. Martinez, Gregory Porter, and Bob Riggle. Alec Baldwin was the Narrator.

The Lincoln Awards: A Concert for Veterans & the Military Family was produced by Cappy McGarr and Michael B. Matuza.

These recipients had been selected from the hundreds of nominations received by a very distinguished Lincoln Awards selection committee, which included: Paul “Buddy” Bucha, Executive leader, Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient; Rajiv Chandrasekaran, Washington

Post National Editor; Gen. Peter W. Chiarelli, retired United States Army General who served as the 32nd

Vice Chief of Staff of

the U.S. Army; Hon. Max Cleland, former Veterans Affairs Administrator; Hon. Scott Gould, former Veterans Affairs Deputy

Secretary; Dr. Vivian Greentree, SVP, First Data Corporation and co-founder of Blue Star Families; Michael Gyure, Executive

Director, Friars Club and Friars Foundation; Dr. Anthony Hassan, Director, USC Center for Innovation and Research on Veter-

ans and Military Families; Dr. Michael Haynie, Executive Director, Syracuse Institute for Veteran and Military Families; Jerry

Lewis, Academy Award-winning director, producer, writer, actor and philanthropist; Admiral Clyde Marsh, President, National

Association of State Directors of Veterans Affairs; Hon. Jim Peake, MD, former Veterans Affairs Secretary; Ned Powell, former

Veterans Affairs Deputy Secretary (Acting), Former President and CEO, USO; Hon. Anthony Principi, Former Veterans Affairs

Secretary; and Nancy Youssef, McClatchy National Security Correspondent.

Friars Abbot, Jerry Lewis, congratulates Lincoln Award recipients along with Event Chairman Tommy Sowers, Producer Cappy McGarr and Leonard Wilf who made funding possible for this wonderful event a t t h e K e n n e d y C e n t e r . (Photo by David Alan Kogut)

ht tp : / / the l inco lnaw ards .org /aw ard -categories/

http://thelincolnawards.org/2015-recipients/

h t t p s : / / w w w . f a c e b o o k . c o m /thelincolnawards

http://www.friarsclub.com/the-friars-foundation/

Orion Test Flight

On December 5th the Orion spacecraft lifted off from Kennedy Space Center at Launch Complex 37 on a Delta

IV Heavy launch vehicle. The spacecraft orbited the earth twice, traveling more than 60,000 miles reaching an

altitude of 3,600 miles which was about 15 times higher than the orbit of the Space Station. The flight test

lasted under 4.5 hours with the objective to test the heat shield and thermal tiles during a reentry from the

moon and test the electronics in a radiation environment past the Van Allen belt. The spacecraft successfully

splashed down 400 miles west of La Paz, Mexico, in the Pacific Ocean. The flight test demonstrated significant

milestones paving the way to take astronauts deeper into space.

Launch of Exploration Flight Test Darrel Williamson being interviewed by FOX at 1 on a Delta IV Heavy from LC37 the Denver Museum of Nature and Science at Kennedy Space Center

Darrel Williamson, a volunteer with the ESGR, was the Lockheed Martin vehicle manager for the flight test article. He was the spokesperson at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science on 4 December and was interviewed by all the local news channels. Colorado was a major contributor to the development and assembly of Orion with Lockheed Martin as the prime contractor along with contributions from Ball Aerospace and many machine shops in the state.

Orion spacecraft being recovered by the US Navy

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Troops to Teachers

What is Troops to Teachers?

Troops to Teachers is a US Department of Defense (DoD) agency that helps members or honorably

discharged former members of the Armed Forces (including the US Coast Guard and US Coast Guard

Reserve) – whether currently serving on active duty, retired, honorably separated, or serving in the

Guard or Selected Reserve components – to transition into rewarding careers as K-12 educators in

America’s public schools, public charter, and private schools (not college or adult education

instructors).

Who is eligible to register for Troops to Teachers?

Anyone currently serving, or who has ever honorably worn the uniform of the Armed Forces, is

eligible to register for Troops to Teachers, regardless of educational level attained or time in service.

Recent changes to federal law have eliminated minimum time-in-service requirements. Members or

honorably discharged former members of the Armed Forces (including the US Coast Guard and US

Coast Guard Reserve), whether currently serving on active duty, retired, honorably separated, or

serving in or retired from the Guard or Selected Reserve components, are all eligible for and

encouraged to register with Troops to Teachers at any time during the service member’s career.

How do I register for Troops to Teachers?

Register for Troops to Teachers online at www.proudtoserveagain.com. Your initial registration is

fast and easy, taking only a few minutes. Registering does not obligate you to commit to pursue a

career in teaching. Once you register, you may be asked to submit additional supporting documents,

such as copies of your college transcript, DD-214 (Member Copy 4), or record of Yearly National

Guard or Reserve service, so the national Troops to Teachers office can determine your eligibility for

financial benefits. If you encounter technical difficulties while attempting to register online, call the

national Troops to Teachers office in Florida at 800-231-6242 during Central Time Zone business

hours and ask for help-desk assistance with online registration.

Troops To Teachers Recruitment – Mountain Pacific Region

1625 Ellis Street Bldg 1218, Room 221 Ft. Carson, Co 80903

Phone: 800.438.6851

0800-1700 Mountain Time Zone, Monday – Friday

Email: info@troopstoteachers.net

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The Patriot Award honors supervisors for their superior support of Guard and Reserve employees. Nominations must come from a Guard or Reserve member or a family member. Nominated employers receive a certificate of recognition and a lapel pin.

Monte Vista, CO - On Tuesday, January 6,

2015, Martin and Bobbie Hatton, Owners of Valley

Performance Auto Repair, were presented with the

Employee Support for Guard and Reserve (ESGR)

Patriot Award by ESGR volunteer, Dan Powell. The

award nominator, Sgt Martin M. Velasquez, United

States Army Reserve spoke of Mr. Hatton’s

outstanding support as follows: “I would like to

recognize Marvin Hatton because we never have had a

conflict over the time I needed to take off work to

complete my reserve training. Even when the notice

was last minute he is very supportive and willing to

allow me the time off to fulfill my military duties. He

also makes it a point to recognize my service not only as an employer but also to

the customers that come in. The co-owner Roberta Hatton, Marvin's wife, even

took the extent to check on my family while I was away doing my annual training

because my wife just had a baby, which made me feel better about being away

from my family because someone else showed concern for their well being,

which allowed me to be able to concentrate on my training. They treat you more than just an

employee getting a paycheck.”

Valley Performance owner Marvin Hatton, right,

receives the award of “Patriotic Employer” from

Municipal Judge Daniel Powell, who is also an

Ombudsman for the Defense Department for Employer

Support of the Guard and Reserve. Photo by John

McEvoy.

Pictures and information courtesy of the Monte Vista Journal

@ http://www.montevistajournal.com/v2_news_articles.php?

heading=0&page=72&story_id=4301

SoS presentation to Rogers Concrete. This is a third generation business [as noted in the sign, they have been in business since 1920]. Reid Rogers, left, operates the company along with his dad. Statement of Support presented by Mark Craig, ESGR

Colorado’s Supporting Employers

SOS presentation to JoAnn

Elston, General Manager at the

JW Marriott Denver-Cherry

Creek. Statement of Support

presented by Rick White,

ESGR

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Click on pictures or links for websites

STAFF AND CONTACT INFORMATION

Brent Hamilton - Program Support Technician

720-250-1176 brent.l.hamilton2.ctr@mail.mil

Chandra Hance – AST-Administrative Support Technician 720.250.1189 chandra.l.hance.ctr@mail.mil

Becky Small - Employment Coordinator 720-250-1188 rsmall@a-teamsolutions.com

https://www.ebenefits.va.gov/ebenefits/jobs

COESGR Business Office

12200 East Briarwood Avenue, Suite 160

Centennial, Co 80112 FAX: 720.250.1199

State ESGR Vice Chair Tom Mills, Brigadier General,

CONG (Ret).

EMPLOYER OUTREACH AREA CHAIRS

Boulder/Longmont Brad Gallup

Tonia Martinez

Colorado Springs John Schutt Bob Landry

Cortez Area Robert Valencia

Denver Area Bruce Erek Rick White

Douglas County Area

Bob Rotruck

Estes Park Area Chair Open

Fort Lyon/Tri County Leanne Wheeler

Larimer/Weld County Jeanie & Brian Hand

Grand Junction Lou Brackett

David Popham

Montrose Emily Smith

Fred Fusselman

Pueblo Harry Vogel

Jon Brude

Steamboat Springs Jim Stanko

State ESGR Chair Richard E. Young, RADM, USN (Ret)

COLORADO ESGR DIRECTORS

Military Outreach

Mary Miller - Director Miles Montgomery - Dep. Dir.

Employer Outreach Bev Skinner - Co-director

Dave Pruett - Co-director

EO Coordinators, Major

Corporations-

Pamela Martis

Jeff Brodeur

Ombudsmen

Bill Belz - Director

Martin Cobb - Co- Director

Aaron Lechner - Dep. Dir.

Lara Makinen - Coordinator

Training Lynn Albi

Paula Kauffman - Dep. Dir.

Special Programs

Kip Cheroutes - Director

National Guard Liaison Liz Kelpis

Public Affairs

Sandy Tiegen - Director James Garrett - Newsletter Editor

Employer Initiatives Robby Castle - Director

Paul Dunbar - Deputy

Mentors Coordinator - Zach Jacobsen

Job Fairs Coordinator - Chase Dinkler

MVEE Coordinators - Jason Shireman

Elaine Edon

Bosslift Coordinator - Brian Bartony

National Site News and Information Join Facebook and Twitter

Become a fan of Colorado ESGR

COESGR Twitter COESGR LinkedIn

2015 Events Calendar

Colorado’s ESGR Electronic Newsletter is published not only for the information and benefit of the members of the Colorado ESGR but most importantly to our Guard and Reserve members and their employers. The contents of this newsletter highlight activities and events conducted by Colorado ESGR.

Send comments regarding this publication to the Newsletter Editor: James Garrett at ESGRcolorado@yahoo.com

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State page on ESGR.mil

Colorado ESGR on Facebook

20 January - Freedom Award nomination closes

31 January - Ombudsman Refresher Course

27-28 February - CO ESGR Leadership Academy

24-26 March - Denver MVEE

19-21 May - Colorado Springs MVEE

12-13 June - ESGR Employer Awards Banquet and Volunteer Training