PORT OF SEATTLE

MEMORANDUM

COMMISSION AGENDA

Item No.

Date of Meeting

March 1, 2011

DATE: February 22, 2011

TO: Tay Yoshitani, Chief Executive Officer

FROM: Brad Benson, Aviation Project Management Group, CDD

Rick Jenkins, Veterans Fellow, Office of Social Responsibility

SUBJECT: Special Order of Business – Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve

The FREEDOM AWARD is the most prestigious level of national recognition from the Employer

Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR). The Freedom Award is presented annually by the

Secretary of Defense to the Nation's most supportive employers. The Secretary recognizes up to

fifteen employers annually with this award at ceremonies held at the Pentagon in Washington D.C.

The fifteen employers selected come from the public sector and large and small private sector

companies. In 2010, there were thirty public sector employers nominated for the Freedom Award,

and the Port of Seattle was one of the nominees. ESGR has recognized the Port as a semi-finalist for

the Freedom Award—one of twenty-nine semi-finalists across the country.

Major criteria for employers recognized by this award include but are not limited to the following:

 Supports service in the National Guard and Reserves;

 Publicly acknowledges the contributions of Reserve Component Employees to our Nation’s

defense;

 Supports Guard & Reserve employees beyond Uniformed Services Employment and

Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) requirements; and

 Supports Guard & Reserve employees’ families during mobilizations.

WA State Chair of ESGR, Mr. Jim Shephard, WA State Vice-Chair, Mr. Bob DeWald, and King

County Area Chair, Mr. Larry Kirchner will attend to present a certificate to the Port recognizing our

selection as a national semi-finalist for this award.