Yerecic Label Awards Series: ESGR Freedom Award

Yerecic Label always does our best to support our troops that sacrifice so much to defend our freedoms. Our passion for supporting the armed forces goes back to our roots as our founder, Art Yerecic Sr., was a decorated Marine.

Because of our efforts to support our troops, we were honored by the Department of Defense with the 2010 Secretary Defense Employer Support Freedom Award on September 23, 2010 at the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, DC. Yerecic Label was one of the 15 employers nationwide to receive the award that year.

 

Who is ESGR?

ESGR, the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve, is a Department of Defense agency established in 1972. Their mission is to develop and promote employer support for Guard and Reserve service by advocating relevant initiatives, recognizing outstanding support, increasing awareness of applicable laws, and resolving conflict between employers and service members.

 

Recipients of the 2010 Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award get together for an award ceremony that recognizes 15 organizations across the nation who are honored for providing exemplary support of their Guard and Reserve employees. Photo by Johnny Bivera

What is the Freedom Award?

The Freedom Award is a Secretary of Defense award that was instituted in 1996 under the sponsorship of ESGR to recognize exceptional support from the employer community. It is known as the highest recognition given by the U.S. government to employers for their outstanding support of employees who serve in the National Guard and Reserve. Every year almost 2,500 nominations for the award are submitted by Guard and Reserve service members or their families from across the nation.

 

Our Nomination

Yerecic Label was nominated by our Vice President of Manufacturing, Brian Hurst, who is a retired Marine and very active in veteran initiatives such as Toys for Tots. The support for our Guard and Reserve team members includes full pay during deployment, continued support through care packages and follow-up with the family at home. Our president and owner, Art Yerecic, gives his personal phone number to families of deployed team members should they need any additional support.

Chief Financial Officer Robert Hale and Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs Dennis McCarthy presenting the award to Art Yerecic, our owner and president.