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Senator Baucus Highlights Defense Department Employer Support Freedom Award- Nominations Requested

Senator Encourages Guard and Reserve Members to Nominate Outstanding Montana Employers by January 16

Montana’s senior U.S. Senator Max Baucus is encouraging Montana’s Reserve and National Guard members to nominate their exceptional employers for the 2012 Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award. This award is the highest recognition given by the U.S. Government to civilian employers for their support of military employees who serve in the Guard and Reserve, and the Defense Department is currently taking nominations through January 16, 2012.

"Montanans is proud of our Reserve and National Guard service members who step up to answer the call of duty, and the employers that go above and beyond in supporting these men and women provide the bedrock to make their service possible. It is important to thank our outstanding Montana employers and use them as an example for other businesses to follow," Baucus said.

"We truly have great employer s in Montana. This is a super way for our Reserve Component members to recognize their employer," said Mike Flaherty, State Chair of the Montana Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR).

Reserve and National Guard members, or a family member on their behalf, can submit nominations at http://www.FreedomAward.mil. The 2012 award recipients will be announced by early summer and honored in Washington, DC during a special ceremony early next fall.

In 2009, Baucus signed the official statement of support for Montana’s ESGR http://www.esgr.org/site/News/tabid/73/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/304/Default.aspx . Baucus also worked to pass a tax credit http://baucus.senate.gov/?p=video&id=745 to help businesses hire recently discharged veterans and members of the National Guard and Reserve who have served in Iraq or Afghanistan, and he is sponsoring legislation http://baucus.senate.gov/?p=video&id=522 to support businesses owned by service-disable veterans.

Additional background:

The Freedom Award was instituted in 1996 under the auspices of Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve Agency (ESGR) to recognize exceptional support from the employer community. In the years since, 160 employers have been honored with the award. More information on the Freedom Award and the ESGR can be found here http://www.freedomaward.mil/HomeView.aspx .

To date, Montana has 8 employers nominated for the 2012 award.

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