BISMARCK, N.D. — North Dakota National Guard’s Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve, or ESGR, will host a “Lunch with the Boss” at 11:30 a.m. Monday at Basin Electric Power Cooperative’s Board Room in Bismarck. Lt. Gov. Drew Wrigley, Col. David Thiele, and Mr. Andrew M. Serri, Basin Electric Power Cooperative CEO and general manager, will speak at the event. 

The luncheon is a local celebration of Basin Electric having been selected as a winner of the 2012 Secretary of Defense Freedom Award.  That award was presented in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, Sept. 20.  The Freedom Award was instituted in 1996 under the auspices of ESGR to recognize exceptional support from the employer community. Since then, only 160 employers have received the award. The selection board was comprised of senior DoD officials, business leaders and prior awardees.  The only other North Dakota Freedom Award winner was Ag Country Farm Credit Services, of Fargo, N.D., in 2006.

Kadrmas, Lee and Jackson also reached the “finalist” list for the Secretary of Defense Freedom Award meaning that this employer was considered among the top 10 employers nationwide in the Small Private Sector Employer Category of more than 1,000 nominations made nationwide in the category.

In addition, the Bismarck Police Department and Jobbers Moving and Storage will be honored with the ESGR’s Pro Patria Award.  The Pro Patria Award is presented annually by each state’s ESGR Committee to very select employers who have provided the most exceptional support of our national defense through leadership practices and personnel policies that support their employees who serve in the National Guard and Reserve.

The U.S. military would not be able to respond to floods, forest fires, war-time mission and peacekeeping operations without the generous contributions of the employers of members of the National Guard and the Reserves. Employers are an integral part of America’s defense.

ESGR is a Department of Defense organization that seeks to promote a culture in which all American employers support and value the military service of their employees. ESGR’s mission is to gain and maintain employer support for members of the National Guard and Reserve by recognizing outstanding support, increasing awareness of the law, and resolving conflict through mediation.

WHAT: Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) Luncheon Event

WHEN: 11:30 a.m. on Monday, Sept. 24, 2012

WHERE: Basin Electric Power Cooperative, 1717 E Interstate Ave, Bismarck, ND 58503

COORDINATION: Media is welcome to attend, and no pre-coordination is required.   (Lunch for employers is by invitation only).

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Since the 2001 terrorist attacks on America, the North Dakota National Guard has mobilized nearly 3,900 Soldiers and more than 1,800 Airmen in support of the Global War on Terrorism. About 70 percent of all members serving today have joined since that time. Currently, more than 100 North Dakota Guardsmen are serving overseas while more than 4,000 remain in the state for emergency response and national defense. For every 10,000 citizens in North Dakota, 65 serve in the North Dakota National Guard, a rate that’s more than four times the national average.