ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Police Lt. Jeffrey Ferreira and police 1st Sgt. David Lewis, Maryland State Police Executive Protection Section, were both presented with Patriot Awards Oct. 14 by Jean Hulet, Maryland Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve state chair in recognition of extraordinary support of their troopers serving in the Guard and Reserve.
Ferreira and Lewis were nominated by Army National Guard Staff Sgt. Jeffery T. Middleton, a trooper assigned to the executive protection section team who is deploying with his National Guard unit this month.
“The Patriot Award was created by ESGR to publicly recognize individuals who provide outstanding patriotic support and cooperation to their employees, who like the citizen warriors before them, have answered their nation’s call to serve,” said Jean Hulet Maryland ESGR state chair. “Supportive employers like Ferreira and Lewis are critical to maintaining the strength and readiness of the nation’s Guard and Reserve units. Our National Guard and Reserve members could not perform their military duty without knowing their civilian employer supports them 100 percent.”
“Both Lieutenant Ferreira and First Sergeant Lewis are highly supportive of my service in the Maryland Army National Guard,” said Middleton. “They go above and beyond to make sure I am able to prepare for and report to all my military obligations.”
ESGR, a Department of Defense program, seeks to foster a culture in which all employers support and value the employment and military service of members of the National Guard and Reserve in the United States. For more information about ESGR outreach programs or volunteer opportunities, call (800) 336-4590 or visit www.ESGR.mil.
Photo Caption: Award recipients pose for a photo in the Maryland Governor’s House. Pictured left to right: Maryland State Police Executive Protection Section Troopers police Lt. Jeffrey Ferreira; Army National Guard Staff Sgt. Jeffery Middleton, Patriot Award nominator; police 1st Sgt. David Lewis; and Jean Hulet, Maryland ESGR state chair