CoLA, ELCO staffers receive awards for support of Guard & Reserves

The City of Lebanon Authority and Eastern Lebanon County School District each have received a Patriot Award recognizing their “extraordinary support” of employees serving in the National Guard and Reserve.

Pennsylvania Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR), an office of the Department of Defense, announced the awards in two press releases earlier this month. According to a release, Pennsylvania ESGR “is particularly proud to present employers with a Patriot Award for their strong and unwavering support of their employees serving in our nation’s Reserve forces.”

ESGR was established in 1972 to encourage employment of guardsmen and reservists, to inform service members and their employers about the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, to help mediate USERRA compliance issues, and to recognize employers for their support of service members when the service member nominates them for recognition, the release explains.

City of Lebanon Authority’s water treatment plant manager Darren Luciotti was nominated for the Patriot Award by Staff Sgt. Seth Kurtz, 201st Red Horse Squadron, PA Air National Guard, Annville.

Kurtz, in the release, said everyone at the plant “was supportive of me, and my family, while I was away for months of training. My fellow employees filled in and covered my duties while I was gone. Darren especially ensured that I need not be concerned about my job while fulfilling my military commitment.”

In Eastern Lebanon County School District, human resources director Darbe DeHaven, principal Jennifer Haas, and human resources payroll/benefits manager Cynthia Sholly were nominated for the award by Lt. Austin Kinney, who is a member of Pennsylvania Army National Guard’s 56th Stryker Brigade Combat Team Headquarters and Headquarters Company in Horsham.

In a statement, Kinney explained that “the principal, HR, and everyone at ELCO School District were very supportive of my military service and went above and beyond to make sure everything would go well when I deployed. Darbe DeHaven, and Cynthia Sholly, especially, provided insights on how to maximize my employee benefits and helped me navigate all the HR issues prior to my departure. I can’t thank them enough for all their support for me, my family, the PA National Guard and the US Army.”

Presenting the awards on behalf of ESGR was James Astor, a retired Air Force colonel and chairman for the Pennsylvania South-Central Area. “It’s critical and an honor to recognize and pay tribute to those employers that hire and support our Guard and Reserve forces. It would be difficult for those in the uniformed services to perform their mission without employer support,” he said in the release. “Today’s members of the Guard and Reserve are highly trained and skilled, they bring integrity, a global perspective and proven leadership to the civilian workforce.”

The City of Lebanon Authority and Easter Lebanon County School District join a cadre of Fortune 500 companies, state and federal agencies, and thousands of America’s employers in demonstrating support for our armed forces, the release said. Astor said both the authority and school district are “sending a clear message to (their) employees that while they are serving their country, they do not have to worry about their civilian jobs.”

ESGR asks all employers to look at their human resources policies to ensure they are supportive of Guard and Reserve employees.

More information about ESGR and the Patriot Award can be found online. For more information about ESGR outreach programs and volunteer opportunities, visit ESGR.mil/PA or call 1-800-346-4590.