coesgr newsletter july

8/6/2019 COESGR Newsletter July

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July 2011

Welcome to Colorado ESGR. Our purpose is to have an informative newsletter that will edu-cate, inform, and promote service by and to ESGR while fulfilling our mission of supporting

Employers, Guard/Reserve members, and COESGR Volunteers.

National Site News andInformation

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Colorado

COLORA DOS THREE DAY MILITARYand VETERANS EMPLOYM ENT EXPO

A RESOUNDING SUCCESS.

The three day Military and Veterans Employment Expo held atthe Jefferson County Fairgrounds on Monday, Tuesday andWednesday, May 23, 24 and 25, was a resounding success,according to the over 300 evaluations turned in at the event bythe many veterans as well as from the some 75 employers whoparticipated.

We are now in the process of compiling accurate data as to how

many military and veterans who attended the three day Expo

actually have been hired, reported retired Rear Admiral Dick

Young, ESGRs State Chair, as we want to determine if the ap-

proach we used is the way of the future for future efforts.

Inside this Issue

Employment Expo. 1

COESGR Awards Banquet. 4

Freedom Award Recipient.....5

Unit Highlight.........4

Patriot Awards Ceremonies....9

ESGR Brief Presentation Douglas....

County Governments......10

Employment Expo Cont........11

Colorado ESGR Events/Contacts.12
http://www.facebook.com/pages/ESGR-Employer-Support-of-the-Guard-and-Reserve-Colorado/141464719244437?v=wall&ref=tshttp://www.scribd.com/doc/54278297/COESGR-Newsletter-Mayhttp://www.facebook.com/pages/ESGR-Employer-Support-of-the-Guard-and-Reserve-Colorado/141464719244437?v=wall&ref=tshttp://www.facebook.com/DoD.ESGRhttp://twitter.com/ESGRhttp://esgr.org/http://twitter.com/CO_ESGRhttp://www.facebook.com/people/Colorado-Esgr/100000734059637http://mvee.org/participate.htmlhttp://mvee.org/schedule.htmlhttp://esgr.org/


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July 2011Employment Expo

This Expo was unique in more than several ways.

First, it was a collaborative effort. Over 30 governmental entities, chambers of commerce,and non profit groups came together to plan and to organize this effort. Rather than eachstepping on the others toes, by merging the talent and effort of these groups we had much

better efficiency and effectiveness, Young stated.

Second, the EXPO was aimed to a greatextent at preparing the veterans to get a

job. Some 250 veterans completed theclass offerings and the individual mentoringsessions available to them during all ofMonday and Tuesday of the EXPO. ElaineEdon of the Colorado Department of Laborand Employment organized and found theleading instructors for the seven classesoffered and they were extremely wellattended. Brian Bartony with the SouthDenver Chamber of Commerce led theefforts to find and organize more than thethirty professional mentors, all volunteers,

who spent Monday and Tuesday individually counseling the many military members whoavailed themselves of this help.

Third, the EXPO permitted only employers with ac-tual jobs available to participate in the third day whenthe veterans went into the huge hall to talk to theemployers, some 75, that were there looking for em-ployees. Mark Simonson of the Employer Partner-ship of the Armed Forces headed this effort alongwith strong support from the Colorado Department ofLabor and Employment.


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Employment Expo... July 2011

And last, the participating groups, from the four original entities that launched this effort,

Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve, the Colorado Department of Labor and

Employment, the U.S. Department of Labor (VETS), and the Colorado National Guard, to

the many other governmental entities chambers of commerce and non-profit groups that helped

immensely, are now in the process of very carefully and accurately measuring the results. Andfrom that analysis they can then plan, refine and schedule the next Employment EXPO for

military and veterans located in other parts of the state.

While this analysis should not be that unusual, there are basically no valid statistics availableon how effective the hundreds of job fairs are that are put on throughout Colorado by myriadorganizations, from government sponsored ones to those put on by for profit groups that maketheir profit off the fees charged to attend or participate.

Young concluded that the results would become available and distributed in about two months.On page 10 of this newsletter are some of the preliminary results of our success.

The Committee is following though to count the number of jobs attendees obtained from thisEXPO. This process will take several months to accurately determine as a number of compa-nies require more than one interview, some have testing procedures, etc. But from theanecdotal responses received already, it appears that many jobs were offered and acceptedfrom this EXPO.

Go to

Facebook by

clicking the

Icon for more

pictures of the

Expo.

Thanks to Geneva Templeton

for the pictures of the Expo.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/ESGR-Employer-Support-of-the-Guard-and-Reserve-Colorado/141464719244437


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July 2011CO ESGR Awards Banquet

Our country, since its inception, has always relied on its citizen soldiers to fight our countrys wars,from the Revolutionary War of 1776 to the horribly different struggles of today in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Here in Colorado we have some 13,400 of our neighbors, friends, family members, and our fellowworkers who serve our country, truly twice the citizen as praised by Winston Churchill.

The Annual CO ESGR Awards Banquet washeld on June 11th at the Marriott DenverSouth. It is a time to thank and honor theemployers of the brave men and women whoserve our country. Employers who, often atsignificant expense, go above and beyond tohelp their dedicated and patriotic Guard andReserve employees and their families.

The evening began with a Presentation of theColors by the U.S. Marine Corps Color Guard, Ma-rine Air Control Squadron 23. The four MarineCorps members of the Color Guard have beendeployed some nine times to the Middle East. Thiswas followed by a beautiful rendition of the NationalAnthem by Amanda Vonholtum, a member of theColorado National Guard and a full time employee

of the Colorado Department of Labor andEmployment.

L to r;Brigadier General Catherine Chilton, U.S. Air Force Academy, and Command Sergeant Major KenBerube, Colorado Army National Guard were the keynote speakers. Mr. Rick Crandall, station managerof KOSI and known throughout Colorado as the key supporter of many veteran efforts, was our Master ofCeremonies.


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July 2011Freedom Award Recipient

Denver based Qwest -- acquired by CenturyLink, Inc., in April -- is one of 15 em-ployers to win the Department of Defenses highest recognition given to employersfor exceptional support of their employees serving in the Guard and Reserve. The15 recipients stood out from a field of 4,049 nominations submitted by Guard andReserve service members or their families.

Qwest and CenturyLink are both huge supporters of our military, said Kenny

Wyatt, Region President of the Regional Markets Group at CenturyLink. Its agreat honor to receive this recognition, but its a refection of the service ofour military employees. Were happy to accept it on their behalf.

In Colorado alone, CenturyLink has 24 employees serving in the National Guardor Reserve, 10 of who are currently on military leave.

When its employees are deployed, CenturyLink provides continuation of their pay and benefits. Theysend care packages including personalized letters from the family members and in-demand, hard-to-come-by items such as toiletries, food, movies and reading material. When employees return from deployment,CenturyLink allows them up to three months paid leave to reunite with their families. The company alsohas the People Care Team, a comprehensive human resource tool that serves as a central point ofcontact to answer questions and resolve issues for Guard and Reserve employees and their families.

CenturyLink also provides employees two weeks military leave that is separate from paid time off.Our overall policy is to do whats right for the employee, Wyatt said.

CenturyLink employee and Navy Reserve Lieutenant Christopher Lewis experienced this support first-hand when he was deployed to Iraq, Kuwait and Qatar for 13 months in 2007-2008.

Most people think that getting shot at is the mostdangerous part of deploying, Lewis said. It is danger-ous, of course, but for many of our Reservists not hav-ing the support of their employers is dangerous, too.

Many of the Navy Reservists working under Lewisstruggled with divorce, deaths and financial issues while

deployed and did not receive support from their civilianemployers. But since Lewis knew he had his employerssupport, I was able to focus completely on mydeployment.

The support he received encouraged him not only to submit his employer for ESGR recognition, but alsoto become an ESGR volunteer.

Qwest has an impressive record of supporting its Guard and Reserve employees and has received everystate-level ESGR award including:

21 Patriot Awards, which honor individual supervisors for their superior support to Guard and Reserveemployees.

The Above and Beyond Award, which is the second level of ESGR employer recognition awards and

is selected and presented by ESGR field committees.The Pro Patria Award, which is presented annually by each ESGR field committee to employer who

has provided the greatest support to Guard and Reserve employees through their leadershippractices and personnel policies.

[CenturyLink] and many other employers throughout the state are providing vital assistance tothe more than 13,000 citizen soldiers and their families living in Colorado, said Richard Young, re-tired Navy Rear Admiral and Colorado ESGR chair. We applaud the efforts of these companies andurge other employers to join them by signing ESGR Statements of Support.

The 2011 honorees will be recognized Sept. 22 in Washington, D.C. at the 16th annual Secretary of DefenseEmployer Support Freedom Award Ceremony.

L-r, Kenny Wyatt, Tom Mills, Christopher Lewis.


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July 2011Colorado ESGR Awards

The "Above and Beyond Award" recognizes employers at the local level who have gone above and

beyond the legal requirements for granting leave and providing support for military duty by their employees.

The ESGR Seven Seals Award is presented at the discretion of the ESGR State Chair in recognition of

significant individual or organizational achievement, initiative or support that promotes and supports the

ESGR mission.

A Seven Seals Award is symbolic of the seven services that comprise the Reserve components

The following organizations have earned this award for their exceptional support of the Military and Veterans Em-ployment Expo (MVEE), held in May 2011. These organizations partnered with ESGR to create MVEE in order toaddress unemployment among National Guardsmen, Reservists and Veterans, and to provide training on jobhunting skills and a job fair featuring over 75 employers from throughout Colorado.

The "Pro Patria Award" is presented annually by each ESGR Committee to the one employer in their stateor territory who has provided the most exceptional support of our national defense through leadershippractices and personnel policies that support their employees who serve in the National Guard and Reserve.


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Each year, National Guard and Reserve employees, or their family members, have the opportunity tonominate their employer for the Freedom Award. The ESGR field committees review nominations andsubmit one recommendation in each of the three categories: small employer, large employer and publicsector. A national selection board comprised of senior DoD officials and business leaders selects 15employers to receive the Secretarys prestigious award.

More information on the Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award is available atwww.FreedomAward.mil .

2011 Colorado Freedom Award Nominees
http://www.freedomaward.mil/http://www.freedomaward.mil/http://www.freedomaward.mil/


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July 2011Colorado ESGR Awards Banquet

Pro Patria

Above and Beyond

Seven Seals

Employers not present at banquet to receive their

Award but deserving of our Congratulations!

Lockheed MartinBoulder County Sheriffs Office

L-Mike Piper - Martin/Martin Consulting,

Tom Mills, Maj Andre Schlappe USARThomas Deany - Ball Aerospace,

Tom Mills

Edwin Kohl, Rufus Rosser - Xerox

Tom Mills

Robert Brazell - Return 2 Work

Tom MillsTom Mills, Josh McDaniel - U.S Dept of

Labor/Vets

Patricia Gheen - U.S. Dept of Veterans Affairs

Health Administration Center, Tom MillsAwards in these pictures

presented by Tom Mills,Brig Gen USA

Tom Mills, John Brackney -

South Metro Chamber of

Commerce

Thanks to Tony Giambrone

for the pictures of the Banquet

and Awards presentations.


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News- Patriot Award July 2011

Chief Tade presented Patriot Award by nominator TSgt Sam Gillan and

James Garrett, Colorado ESGR

Robert Grieves, owner and operator of Nylund'sCollision Center of Englewood, was presented aPatriot Award from the Employer Support of theGuard and Reserve (ESGR) by Adam Smithrecognizing his outstanding support of valuedemployee, Operations Manager ChristopherHudson, Staff Sergeant, US Army Reserve whonominated him for the award.

The Patriot Award is awarded exclusively to employers nominated by employees who arealso active members of the Guard or Reserve.

Click on the

picture to openthe Channel 9

News video of

the

presentation.

SSgt Hudson Robert

Adam Smith,

Colorado ESGR

Carol Grieves

SSGT Hudsonwas called toactive duty be-fore the end ofhis first year.Not only didGrieves keephis positionopen, he keptin contact dur-ing the SSGT's

deployment, asking, What can I do for you?. Healso kept in touch with the family, took care of minorrepairs to the wife's vehicle, and presented Hudsonand his family with a plaque upon his return to work.

Grieves admitted it wasn't easy to manage whileHudson was gone. The Operations Manager overseesand coordinates everything from the time a vehicleenters until all work is finished. He said he shuffledthe deck, moved people around, promotedpeople, and that everyone, including himself, took onextra work.

I did this out of friendship, because of the finework that he does for us, and as a 'thank you forwhat you do'--your military service, said Grieves.Hudson smiled. That's the kind of supportive bosshe is. Absolutely fantastic. I couldn't ask forbetter.

The Denver Fire Department has several activeor reserve members spread throughout thebranches of our armed forces. Under thecontrol of former administrations, the militarymembers of the Denver Fire Dept faced somehardships concerning deployments andreintegration into civilian life. Working directlyfor Eric Tade as a company officer (Captain) hetook noticeable interest in the hardships I facedwhile deployed in Iraq. Upon his promotion to

the Chief of the Department, Chief Tadeassembled a human relations committee

including our military members to have a direct impact on our policies to better support our military brothers and sis-ters. This is the most significant step this organization has taken in quite a long time regards to its military person-nel. In addition Chief Tade recognizes the value of military firefighting experience and has hired three of our guards-men in the most recent academy for the Denver Fire Department. Finally, Chief Tade is a veteran with service as adiver in the U.S. Navy.

Chief Tade is presented with ESGR Patriot Award by TSgt Sam Gillanand James Garrett, Colorado ESGR. Other Guard and Reservemembers attended the ceremony along with Dep. Chief Bower

and Div. Chief Garrod.
http://www.9news.com/video/default.aspx?bctid=997600288001


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July 2011

SSgt Hudson Robert

Grieves

Adam Smith,

Colorado ESGR

Carol Grieves

ESGR Intro to Partnership of Douglas County Governments

Lorin Ricker and Bob Rotruck, Employee Outreach Co-Chairs for Douglas County, spoke at themonthly meeting of the PDCG which is attended by Mayors, Commissioners, Council Members, andvarious other official county entities. In addition to providing all of the attendees with a coffee mug or

travel cup, Lorin gave presentation on ESGR and why it is important for all governmental groups toparticipate in the Statement of Support program. Lorin charged them with a Call to Action during thepresentation -- to not only commit their own organization to a Statement of Support, but to:

Assist us in carrying ESGR's message and mission into their business communities,

Helping us identify both private and public enterprises who can and will also sign an SOS

Introducing and recommending ESGR with their positive influence in support of our Guard andReserve personnel and their families.

*This event was hosted monthly at the Phillip S. Miller Public Library in Castle Rock and promoted byDouglas County Library Director, Jamie LaRue and his staff. Douglas County Libraries were one ofthe first organizations in the county to sign the ESGR Statement of Support. Following the

presentation, several people came forward to ask how to schedule the SoS event. David Casiano,Mayor of Parker asked enthusiastically how soon we could come to the Town of Parker offices to signthe SoS. Doug Debord, DC Government Manager asked if we could help them review their militarypolicies with their Human Resources personnel to bring them up to date. It was a very successfulintroduction of ESGR and the USERRA Law and a great marketing opportunity for Colorado ESGR inDouglas County.

*The Partnership meetings are normally held in a monthly rotation at different memberorganizations' facilities.

Lorin Ricker speaks to members of thePartnership of Douglas County

Governments

Picture by Bob Rotruck.


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NationalReserve Components

July 2011

Growing circulationCurrently this Newsletter reaches more than 5600 National Guardsmen and 1000 employ-ers from our supporters list, 140 volunteers of Colorado ESGR, and our social network websites like Facebook.

564 military members and veterans pre-registered,170 registered during the event.

Gulf war veterans comprised 14% OIF-OEF comprised some 40% Vietnam veterans 17%.

250 of the Attendees completed the courses offeredduring the first two days.

There were approximately 500 individual mentoringsessions, some attendees having more than onesession.

315 plus evaluations of the three day event were by militarymembers and veteransOn a scale of 1 (low) to 4 (highest), practically withoutexception participants graded the Expo with a 4.Typical written comments:

Was a great opportunity to me;A very informational three days. I now have a far more complete picture of how to find em-

ployment;

These were some of the best 3 days. I learned a lot;Nice to see all employers were actively hiring and not just making a showing;Very good and organized-your organization is doing a great service for our vets; this job

Expo was a class act. Thank you, Im impressed:Tis the best job fair I have ever been to;I left with a positive feeling of potentially being contacted by these employers;Much better than other job fairs. Entered and left with a positive attitude.

Of those evaluations it was indicated that at least 20 of the attendees were offered jobs at the Expo, andanother 130 were interviewed there on Wednesday or have scheduled follow-up interviews with an em-ployer.

Of the 60 evaluations that were turned in by employers, all but 7 gave the EXPO the highest rating(those 7 gave it the next highest rating).

While the Committee thatorganized, structured andran the Employment Expo,have started to evaluatethe three day event andmeasure its effectiveness,certain statistics havealready been verified andare most favorable,indicating that the EXPOwas extremely effective.

Employment Expo...

We plan on holding additional events throughout the state and ask you, the employer, toconsider supporting these events.


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State ESGR ChairRichard E. Young, RADM, USN(Ret)[email protected]

COLORADO ESGRDIRECTORS

Military OutreachMark [email protected] [email protected]

Employer OutreachTom [email protected]

Ombudsmen

Bill [email protected]

TrainingLynn [email protected]

Special ProgramsKip Cherouteskcheroutes@ Emgacommuni-cations.com

Speakers BureauMartin [email protected]

Public AffairsIris [email protected]

STAFF AND CONTACT INFORMATION

Pat OFlaherty Staff Director

[email protected]

Kathleen Dorram Program Support [email protected]

720.250.1195 FAX: 720.250.1199

Chandra Hance Program Support [email protected]

720.250.1189 FAX: 720.250.1199

COESGR Business Office12200 East Briarwood Avenue, Suite 160

Centennial, Co 80112

ESGR National Office1555 Wilson Blvd., Suite 200

Arlington, VA 22209

1-800-336-4590 www.ESGR.com

State ESGR Vice ChairTom Mills, Brigadier General,CONG (Ret)[email protected]

EMPLOYER OUTREACHAREA CHAIRS

Colorado SpringsWillie [email protected]

Douglas County AreaLorin [email protected]

Bob Rotruck

[email protected]

Fort CollinsRobert [email protected]

Grand JunctionLou Brackett

[email protected]

PuebloHarry [email protected]

MILITARY OUTREACHAREA CHAIR

Colorado Springs

Vacant

NEWSLETTER EDITORSJames [email protected]

Colorados ESGR Electronic Newsletteris published not only for the information and benefit of the members of the ColoradoESGR 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 [email protected]

EVENTS CALENDARJULY

14-17 Emerging Leadership Course,San Diego16 157th Field Artillery Employer

Day, Guernsey, Wyo19 Senior Ombudsman Class,

Centennial, CO21-24 Basic Ombudsman Training

Course, Seattle, WA

AUGUST4-7 Advanced Ombudsman Course,

Boston

9 Western Slope EmployersLuncheon, Grand Junction11-14 Emerging Leadership Course,

Chicago25-28 Emerging Leadership Course,

Boston

SEPTEMBER28 SHRM Colorado State Conference,

Keystone

July 2011

June 22 marked the 39th anniversary of

the establishment of Employer Support

of the Guard and Reserve.
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.esgr.mil/http://www.esgr.mil/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.esgr.mil/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]

coesgr newsletter july

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