Dec 09 Jan 10_ilesgr_newsletter

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Illinois Employer Support of the Guard and ReserveDecember 2009-January 2010

Dont forget mediain event planning

Whenever you are planning aStatement of Support signing,Patriot Award presentation,Briefing With the Boss or otherevent, dont forget to includethe local press.

Sending out a short mediaadvisory or making a call tolocal media ahead of timecould pay big dividends byhaving press show up to cover

your event. If the press comeout to cover the event, youshould still have someone onhand to take photos and sendout a press release with picturesafterward, especially in smallermedia markets where thechance of coverage is greater.

If you arent sure how towrite a press release or whatmakes a good photograph, con-tact Illinois ESGR Public Af-fairs Chair, Mike Holub, orExecutive Director, Lt. Col.Tim Franklin for tips or help.

OASD-RA McCarthy speaks to Illinois Chamber

Assistant Secretary of De-fense for Reserve Affairs,Dennis McCarthy visited Chi-cago Dec. 11 as the guestspeaker for the Illinois Cham-

ber of Commerce Board ofDirectors Luncheon at theMid-America Club.

McCarthy spoke to IllinoisChamber board membersabout the importance of sup-

portive employers to NationalGuard and Reserve memberswho serve their nation. Healso talked about the sacri-fices these employers makeon behalf of their employeeswho serve in uniform andchallenges that have emerged

because of more frequent de-ployments due to the transi-tion of the Guard and Reservefrom a strategic reserve to

an operational reserve.

Discusses key role

of employers in Guard,

Reserve success

GUEST SPEAKER: Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs,Dennis McCarthy, spoke to members of the Illinois Chamber ofCommerce Board of Directors at the boards December 11 meetingand luncheon in Chicago.

Illinois ESGR holds Annual Training Conference,

Employer Awards Banquet in Peoria Jan. 15-16

At the Department of De-fense we know that employersupport is critical to our na-tional security, McCarthytold the group.

see OASD-RA, page 3

Three Illinois companies -AT&T Illinois, Leo Burnett,and Motorola - signed corpo-rate Statements of Support atthe Illinois Chamber lunch-

eon.

ANNUAL EMPLOYER AWARDS BANQUET: Members and guests stand atattention as the 182nd Airlift Wing Color Guard, Illinois Air NationalGuard, posts the colors to open the 2010 Illinois ESGR Annual Em-ployer Awards Banquet held at the Hotel Pere Marquette in PeoriaJan. 15.

The Illinois Committee forEmployer Support of theGuard and Reserve gatheredat the Hotel Marquette Jan.15-16 for its Annual TrainingConference and EmployerAwards Banquet. The annual

conference and banquet gaveIllinois Committee leadersand volunteers the chance toget together and refocus onthe mission and goals ofESGR, while recognizing theoutstanding employers inIllinois over the past year.

The conference kicked offthe morning of Jan. 15 with awelcome from Field Chair,Michael Ayers, and remarksfrom acting ESGR ExecutiveDirector, Pauline Brunelli.

see APAC, pages 4-5

Inside this issue:

Message from the State Chair 2

Whiteys gets Above & Beyond 6

BNSF given Seven Seals Award 7

Sangamon County Recognized 8

PRESS COVERAGE: Include thelocal media in your ESGR eventplanning. Getting press coveragehelps tell our story to a wideraudience.


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Illinois Employer Support ofthe Guard and ReserveEXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

State ChairMichael Ayers

Employer OutreachTerri Bergagna

Military OutreachTerry McCollom

Ombudsman DirectorRon Bacci

AwardsGloria Guy

Public AffairsMichael Holub

North West ChairWilliam Glynn

North Central ChairTerry McCollom

Central East ChairTom Murgatroyd

South East ChairDayton Loyd

South West ChairClyde Jones

Central West ChairJohn Sheedy

North West ChairRick Pollack

FULL-TIME STAFFExecutive DirectorLTC Tim Franklin

217-761-3642

[email protected]

Program AssistantsJean Collier

217-761-3971

[email protected] Dibble

708-824-6010

[email protected]

MAILING ADDRESSIllinois ESGR

1301 N. MacArthur Blvd.

Springfield, IL 62702

Page 2 Illinois Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve

Message from the State Chair ...I would like to thank every-

one who was able to attendour Annual Training Confer-

ence and Employer AwardsBanquet in Peoria January 15and 16. The strong attendanceand participation was noted

by our guests from NationalESGR office. We were hon-ored to have NCESGR ActingExecutive Director, PolliBrunelli, along with othermembers of the nationalstaff. We were also honored

by our two major speakers,RADM Steven Day, U.S.Coast Guard Reserve, andCol. Scott Thoele, Com-mander, 33rd Brigade CombatTeam. They each reminded usof the importance of our com-mittees work.

For those who attended, Ihope you found the sessionsand networking opportunitieswith colleagues worth-while. The sessions were fo-cused on the need to worktogether to meet the goals andobjectives set both by the

National Committee and our-selves.

With the over 3,000 return-

ing National Guard and re-serve component membershaving returned from deploy-ments, the pace of our workhas picked up a bit. Thanksto each of you, we have metthe time and work de-mands. Thanks to the Om-

budsman volunteers for work-ing and closing cases in goodtime. Thanks to those whohave provided valuable workand participating in YellowRibbon Ceremonies and otherreintegration briefings and

support efforts.Your continued participa-

tion as an ESGR volunteer isa key to those efforts. Be-cause of you and thousands ofvolunteers like you across thecountry ESGR is able to reachout to tens of thousands ofemployers in building a net-work of support for the menand women of the Guard andReserve.

As noted during the AnnualTraining Conference, we havesome ambitious, but achiev-

able goals for the comingyear. Those are:

Increasing the number ofsigned Statements of Support

by 20 percent. Some continu-ing dialogue with NCESGRleadership will be necessaryto ensure the numeric goal setfor us, 1,482 signed SOSsfrom Civilian Employer In-ventory (CEI) database listedemployers is the right goal.

Contact and brief 100percent of National Guard and

Reserve units in Illinois. Close or refer Ombuds-

man cases within 14 days.

Recruit 21 new volun-teers onto the Illinois Com-mittee.

Again, these are ambitious,but achievable, goals. Wehave a great leadership teamin place that is focused onmotivating, engaging andrecognizing area volunteers tomeet these new goals. Pleaseknow the area and functional

chairs, full-time support staffand I are all there to help pro-vide you with the tools, train-ing and other support youneed to reach the milestonesweve set. Dont hesitate toreach out to any of the leader-ship for the support you need.

At a January 14 face-to-face meeting in Peoria, theExecutive Committee dis-cussed the possibility of con-ducting a second training con-ference during the year. Thisconference would be called toreview and discuss implica-tions of a soon-to-be ap-

proved new NCESGR Strate-gic Plan. The NCESGR lead-ership has been working tocomplete the new plan forsome time. It is our under-standing that a new, broadermission is contained in the

plan. This new mission willbring with it some new/revised objectives that will

have implications to the workwe do. Because of this antici-

pated change in emphasis, itwas decided we should bringus all back together to decidehow our plans and operationsas a state committee may bechanged. We will keep you

posted as we examine thefeasibility of second meeting.

Lastly, I want to noteNCESGR is conducting a

series of Volunteer Leader-ship Training Programcourses this year in a varietyof functional areas. New thisyear, we are able to nominateselect volunteers asemerging leaders to attendthese courses. If you wouldlike to take on a leadershiprole at some point with ourstate committee, please letyour area chair know. Whenthe course and registrationschedule is finalized, we willdistribute the information and

identify those to be sent to thetraining from our committee.

As always, thank you for allyou do for ESGR to supportthe men and women of the

National Guard and Reservesand the Illinois employers forwhom they work. I am hon-ored to be your State Chairand truly appreciate the com-mitment and enthusiasm you

bring to the job.

Michael Ayers

State Chair, Illinois ESGR


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Page 3Illinois Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve

OASD-RA:

Continued from page 1

By signing a Statement ofSupport, they are publicly ac-

knowledging the continuedimportance of service in the

National Guard and Reserve,McCarthy added.

While the AT&T and LeoBurnett SOS signings werenew, the one by Motorola wasa reaffirmation of a previoussigning made by the Illinois-

based company.

The support of employers iscritical to maintaining thestrength and readiness of the

National Guard and Reserve,

commented ESGR NationalChair, James Rebholz. OurGuardsmen and Reservistswould not be able to continueto serve in uniform if not forthe continuing support of greatemployers like AT&T Illinois,Leo Burnett and Motorola.

While a Statement of Sup-port is not a binding document,it is an important acknowledge-ment by an employer that:

They recognize, honorand enforce the Uniformed

Services Employment and Re-employment Rights Act(USERRA);

Their managers and su-pervisors will have the infor-mation and tools they need toeffectively manage their Guardand Reserve employees.

They recognize and sup-port their service members whoserve in uniform in the Na-tional Guard and Reserve.

AT&T SOS SIGNING: James Rebholz, ESGR National Chair (standing left), and Dennis McCarthy, AssistantSecretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs (right), look on as Patrick Venetucci, President of AT&T Illinois,signs an ESGR Statement of Support for the Guard and Reserve.

WELCOMING REMARKS: Chairman of the Illinois Chamber of CommerceBoard of Directors, Calvin Butler(above), introduces the DennisMcCarthy, Assistant Secretary ofDefense for Reserve Affairs, to theIllinois Chambers Board of Direc-

tors luncheon at Chicagos MidAmerica Club Dec. 11, 2009.McCarthy was the featured speakerat the luncheon.

PHOTO CENTER: Illinois ChamberBoard Treasurer, Bill Beck, asksa question following remarks byAssistant Secretary DennisMcCarthy.

PHOTO LEFT: Darcy Davidsmeyerof Motorola accepts a Statementof Support wall display from Den-nis McCarthy, Assistant Secretaryof Defense for Reserve Affairs,Dennis McCarthy.


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PHOTO ABOVE: Terry McCollom trains volunteers on the ESGR MilitaryOutreach Program during round-robin training sessions.

PHOTO RIGHT: Acting Executive Director of the National Committee forEmployer Support of the Guard and Reserve, Pauline Brunelli speaks tomembers of the Illinois ESGR Committee at the 2010 Annual TrainingConference.


APAC:

Continued from page 1

Training on day one of theconference included a

NCESGR update from Re-gional Deputy Director forCentral Region, Lt. Col. EricHill, as well as an overview onUSERRA trends from JoelSamaroo, Central Region Na-tional Case Manager.

The evening of Jan. 15 Illi-nois ESGR Committee mem-

bers, military and civilianguests honored the top Illinoisemployers for 2010 at the An-nual Employer Awards Ban-quet.

The committee recognized

three employers with the ProPatria Award, the highest statelevel ESGR Award. Pro PatriaAward winners for 2010 wereBrinks Hofer, Gilson and Li-one; Chicago Fire Department;and Northrop Grumman Infor-mation Systems.

Employers receiving theAbove and Beyond Awardwere Alfred Benesch and Com-

pany; American Buildings;Belleville Memorial Hospital;Berthold Electric; Health CareService Corporation; In-

sure.com; Joel Berman Archi-techture and Design; LaGrangePolice Department; Merck andCompany; Motorola; OfficeMax; Packer Engineering; Pala-tine Police Department; Villageof Midlothian; Winnebago

Sheriffs Department; and Illi-nois State Police.

The training conference re-sumed the morning of Jan. 16

with new member orientationand a presentation by Gary Cyrof National Guard Bureau onusing the Civilian EmployerInventory (CEI) database tomaximize employer outreachactivities.

BANQUET PROGRAM: Brig. Gen. Robert Pratt (right), Illinois Army National Guard, and other banquetguests listen to guest speaker, Col. Scott Thoele, 33rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team Commander,

talk about his experiences as brigade commander during the units recent deployment to Afghanistanwhere Illinois Guard Soldiers served as trainers and mentors to Afghan National Security Forces .


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PHOTO ABOVE: Bruce Weisseg of thelaw firm Brinks Hofer, Gilson andLione makes remarks after accepting

the ESGR Pro Patria Award at the2010 Illinois ESGR Annual EmployerAwards Banquet in Peoria Jan. 15.The Chicago firm was one of threePro Patria Award winners honored by

the Illinois committee for outstandingsupport to their employees who servein the National Guard and Reserve.

PHOTO LEFT: Col. Scott Thoele talksabout his experiences in Afghanistanas commander of the 33rd Infantry

Brigade Combat Team and deputycommander of Combined Joint TaskForce Phoenix VIII. Thoele preparedand led more than 3,500 33rd IBCTSoldiers on their mission to Afghani-stan in support of Operation EnduringFreedom. The mobilization and de-ployment of the Illinois Army NationalGuard infantry brigade was the larg-est call-up of Illinois Guard troopssince World War II. Eighteen IllinoisGuard Soldiers lost their lives in sup-port of the OEF mission.


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FT. BLISS, Texas The Illinois Committee for EmployerSupport of the Guard and Reserve recently presented WhiteysIce Cream of Moline with an ESGR Above and Beyond Awardin recognition of the ice cream companys support to our menand women in uniform.

The Above and Beyond Award recognizes employers whoprovide outstanding support and cooperation to members of theArmed Services, who like the Minutemen before them, haveanswered their nations call to serve, said Michael Ayers, Illi-nois ESGR Field Chair Supportive employers are critical tomaintaining the strength and readiness of the nations NationalGuard and Reserve.

Whiteys owners Jon and Jeff Tunberg donated a refrigeratedrail car of their distinctive camouflage ice cream to TexasArmy National Guard Soldiers training for mobilization at FortBliss, Texas.

Illinois ESGR Executive Committee member, Tom Murga-troyd, presented the Above and Beyond Award to the Tunbergs

at Ft. Bliss Nov. 20, 2009 in recognition of their support for theSoldiers training their in preparation for deployment to Af-ghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

The Above and Beyond Award recognizes employers whoprovide outstanding support and cooperation to members ofthe Armed Services, who like the Minutemen before them,

have answered their nations call to serve.Michael Ayers

Illinois ESGR Field Chair

ABOVE AND BEYOND AWARD: Tom Murgatroyd (right), Illinois ESGRExecutive Committee member and Central East Area Chair, pre-sented Whiteys Ice Cream owners Jon and Jeff Tunberg with theESGR Above and Beyond Award during a Texas ESGR Bosslift eventheld at Fort Bliss in November 2009. The Tunbergs donated a railcar of camouflage ice cream to Texas Guardsmen training at Ft.Bliss for a deployment to Afghanistan.

Moline company given Above

and Beyond for troop supportStatement of Support Signings

3M SIGNS SOS: Manager of the DeKalb 3M plant, Jim Bohlig, signs aStatement of Support Jan. 13 as a way to show support for theplants employees who serve in the National Guard and Reserve.Because the National Guard and Reserve make up more than halfof our nations military strength and capability, the continued sup-port of employers like 3M is critical to our security here at homeand around the world.

DEKALB WAL-MART SIGNS SOS: Illinois ESGR North West Area Chair,Rick Pollack (left), looks on as Sean Hamer, manager of theDeKalb Wal-Mart, signs a Statement of Support for the men andwomen who serve in uniform in our nations National Guard andReserve. The Statement of Support program is a way for employers

to publicly acknowledge their Guard and Reserve employees.


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SEVEN SEALS AWARD PRESENTATION: Illinois ESGR Employer Outreach Chair, Terri Bergagna, presentsthe ESGR Seven Seals Award to Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railroad officials Andrew Johnson(center) and Paul Nowicki (right) in Galesburg following the BNSF Holiday Express train trip for Illinoismilitary families Dec. 8, 2009. In addition to treating the families to the special holiday train ride,2009, BNSF presented a $10,000 check to the Illinois Military Family Relief Fund. The award of theSeven Seals recognized the railroads support to Guard and Reserve members and their families.

The Burlington Northern SantaFe received the ESGR SevenSeals Award during the holidayseason for their support to mili-tary families with a special trainride on their Holiday Express.

The Holiday Express is aunique vintage passenger trainthat BNSF runs each year to paytribute to members of the ArmedForces and honor the sacrificesthey and their families make inthe service of our nation.

In addition to being treated toa winter wonderland train ridethrough the Illinois countryside,military kids on the Holiday Ex-

press had a visit by Santa Clausduring the trip.

A winner of the Secretary ofDefense Freedom Award, BNSFhas demonstrated its commit-ment to its Guard and Reserveemployees by going above and

beyond the requirements of theUniformed Services Employ-ment and Reemployment RightsAct.

BNSF given ESGR

Seven Seals for

support to families


PATRIOT AWARD: Illinois ESGR Central West Area Chair, Jay Sheedy(right) presented a Patriotic Employer Award at State Farm Insur-ance in Bloomington, Nov. 4, 2009. The Patriot Award went to MistyVance, Director of Creative Services for State Farm. Vance wasnominated for the ESGR award by an Illinois Air National Guardmember from the 183d Fighter Wing in Springfield. Willie Brown(left), State Farm vice president, as well as 183rd FW Commander,Col. Mike Meyer (not pictured) also participated in the presentation.

Patriot Award Presentation

SUPPORTIVE EMPLOYER: Illinois ESGR North East Area Chair, BillGlynn, presented two Patriotic Employer Awards Nov. 13, 2009 toShirley Marx and her son, David Marx, of New World Van Lines.They were nominated for the awards because of their support of

the National Guard and Reserve members who work for the com-pany based on the northwest side of Chicago.


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Illinois Employer Support of the Guard and ReservePage 8

AWARDS PRESENTATION: Illinois Ad- jutant General, Maj. Gen. WilliamEnyart (left) looks on as MichaelAyers (right), Field CommitteeChair, Illinois Employer Support of

the Guard and Reserve, presented

Andy Van Meter, SangamonCounty Board Chairman, withESGR Patriotic Employer andSeven Seals awards at the Jan. 12Sangamon County Board meeting.Sangamon County was nominatedfor the Patriot Award by Col. An-

thony Libri, Illinois Army NationaGuard, who deployed to Afghani-stan in 2008-09 with the 33rdInfantry Brigade Combat Team.Based on Libris nomination, theIllinois ESGR Committee deter-mined award of the Seven Seals to

the country board was also appro-

priate. Van Meter also signed anESGR Statement of Support of theGuard and Reserve on behalf of

the county board. Photo by StaffSgt. April Hawes, Illinois National

Guard Public Affairs Office

FIRST LIGHT USA RECEIVES PATRIOT AWARD: Tom Murgatroyd (left), lli-nois ESGR Central East Area Chair, recently presented Jeremy Ross,Chief Executive Officer, First Light USA, Seymour, with the PatrioticEmployer Award for his support of members of his workforce whoserve in the Guard and Reserve. Ross was nominated for the awardby James Nayonis (right), who serves as a Sergeant 1st Class with

the Illinois Army National Guard.

Why logging your ESGR activities is important

There is a saying that goes,If a tree falls in a forest andno one is around to hear it,does it make a sound?

Logging and reporting yourvolunteer ESGR activities issomething like that saying.You can be doing all kinds ofthings with employers andservice members, but unlessyou complete the process byreporting your activities so thatinformation makes it up to the

National ESGR Committee,we dont receive credit for thegreat work you are doing.

Why is this important? Be-cause the work you do forESGR, whether its getting

employers to sign Statementsof Support, presenting PatriotAwards, briefing Guard andReserve units, or any of ourother activities ultimately con-tributes our funding bottomline.

As a committee, we reportour activities to ESGR Na-tional at the end of each quar-ter of the fiscal year. Thosemetrics are used in deter-

mining how much fundingwe receive for the next fiscal

year. The more we do, themore money we receive --but only if National knowsabout it.

If you arent sure whatinformation you should bereporting, contact ChristinaDibble of the full-time sup-

port staff, who can help you.She can be reached at (708)824-6010 or [email protected].

VOLUNTEER REPORTING: Keepingtrack of and reporting your vol-unteer activities is a key com-ponent in helping justify morefunding for the Illinois ESGRCommittee.

Dec 09 Jan 10_ilesgr_newsletter

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