 |
| Home > Features > Feature - Employer Support: It’s flying high at Delta Air Lines and a host of other companies |
|
|
| |
| Photos | |
 |
Delta pilot and recently retired Reserve Lt. Col. Tom Timberlake nominated Delta for the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve Freedom Award for the company’s unwavering support of its employees who are members of the Guard and Reserve. Shown here with Timberlake at the award presentation are Steve Dickson, Delta’s senior vice president of flight operations (left), and James Rebholz, ESGR’s national chairman.
|
Download HiRes
|
|
|
|
Employer Support: It’s flying high at Delta Air Lines and a host of other companies
Posted 9/27/2012 Updated 9/27/2012
Email story
Print story
by Bo Joyner
Headquarters Air Force Reserve Command
9/27/2012 - Citizen Airman/Oct. 2012 -- Before retiring as a lieutenant colonel a few months ago, Tom Timberlake served his country for 23 years in the Marine Corps, Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve. For 11 of those years he did so with a great deal of support from the people at Delta Air Lines.
That's why Timberlake, a first officer flying Boeing 737s out of Atlanta, led a host of other Reservists and Guardsmen who work for Delta in nominating the company for the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve Freedom Award this year.
"The people of Delta have supported me and my fellow military colleagues unwaveringly in the past," said Timberlake, who was an individual mobilization augmentee assigned to Readiness Management Group Det. 3 at MacDill Air Force Base, Fla., when he retired. "We all know it is a challenge for Guard and Reserve service members to wear the 'two hats' of military and civilian occupations, but it is also a challenge for employers as well. Delta consistently met and exceeded this challenge supporting me and my family when I was deployed and welcoming me back upon return."
Timberlake said Delta supported him during overseas deployments by ensuring travel, health care and retirement benefits were available to him upon his return.
More than 25 percent of Delta's pilots are veterans or people currently serving in the Guard or Reserve, and the company has pledged to hire more veterans by 2020 as part of the 100,000 Jobs Mission. A number of leading U.S. companies launched the 100,000 Jobs Mission in March 2011 with a goal of collectively hiring 100,000 transitioning service members and military veterans by 2020.
Timberlake said he was very pleased when he heard that Delta was one of 15 companies chosen to receive the Freedom Award this year.
"My fellow military colleagues and I who are employed by Delta have nominated the company in years past, but to find out that Delta has actually won the award is very satisfying," he said. "All the people at Delta are very deserving of this award."
Delta is one of 15 companies selected to receive the Freedom Award. Representatives from each of these companies were scheduled to be honored at the 17th annual Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award Ceremony in Washington, D.C., Sept. 20.
"The Freedom Award is the DOD's highest recognition given to employers for exceptional support of Guard and Reserve employees," according to an ESGR press release. "These employers distinguished themselves from the 3,236 nominations received from Guardsmen and Reservists or family members acting on their behalf."
"The Freedom Award is a great honor and even more special because Delta was nominated by a co-worker and Air Force Reservist," Delta CEO Richard Anderson said in a press release. "Supporting the 3,000 Delta people who serve our nation has long been part of our culture and is one of many ways we strive to make Delta a great place to work. Our commitment extends to the millions of servicemen and women who fly with us throughout the year and to our veterans. Delta will always be there to support you."
"On behalf of the Secretary of Defense, I thank the 2012 Freedom Award recipients for taking such exceptional care of the Guard and Reserve members they employ," said Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs Jessica L. Wright. "Our military could not meet today's national security demands without the Guard and Reserve, who in turn could not provide such dedicated service without the cooperation of their employers at home. These Freedom Award recipients have distinguished themselves nationally for their remarkable efforts, and we greatly appreciate their unwavering support."
In addition to Delta, the other recipients of the 2012 Freedom Award are:
* Basin Electric Power Cooperative
* Caterpillar Inc.
* Citi
* Crystal Springs United Methodist Church
* Gary Jet Center
* Iostudio
* Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety
* L-3 Communications
* Nyemaster Goode
* Port of Seattle
* Siemens Corp.
* Tennessee Valley Authority
* Uniform Color Co.
* Verizon Wireless.
For more information about the Freedom Award, including information on how you can nominate your employer, visit www.FreedomAward.mil. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
