Employer Support Of The Guard And Reserve: The Patriot Award

“Our military veterans bring with them a strong work ethic and incredible leadership skills. Their loyalty, dedication, and reliability to our organization and the task at hand are unmatched” states Nick Gioconda, Director of HR/Learning and Development, MD Logistics.

In an effort to foster constructive relationships between active service reserve members and their civilian employers, the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve‘s (ESGR) mission is to promote understanding and resolve conflict as reserve members are called away from their civilian jobs for military commitment. At MD Logistics, our management team recognizes how important it is for active reserve members to be successful at both their job and their military training. This understanding fostered acceptance and support when Manager of Pharmaceutical Operations, Lee Mejean, was called away from his civilian job for periodic reserve training in the first half of 2017.

“Lee is a tremendous leader and has a natural ability to work with and lead people in our operation,” states Cad Hodges, Director of Pharmaceutical Operations, “Our culture at MD Logistics, at its very root, supports employee empowerment. It was important to me to support Lee’s reserve status because it was important to him.”

The ESGR recognizes those individuals who not only support their reserve members but provide understanding in regards to flexible spending and granting leaves of absence allowing them to complete their calls to service. Reserve members who feel their supervisors deserve recognition for their support have the opportunity to nominate them for the Patriot Award. In response to the acceptance of the proposed training schedule, a nomination for this award seemed fitting. “When I was away for time spent with the Guard, Chad stepped in to act as both Director and Operations Manager to make sure my team had everything they needed until my return,” explained Lee, “While training, I never had to worry about checking my emails or following up with my departments because I knew Chad would assist my team as needed. This allowed me to focus on my training and developing the skills I would need if I were to ever be called away.”

Indiana ESGR Representative, Clyde Stringer, made a presentation (pictured above left) to Hodges, thanking him for his support of Mejean while he fulfilled his obligation to the military, and praised MD Logistics for hiring active and non-active military members and supporting their transition into the civilian workplace.

The unique culture at MD Logistics has created support and understanding of our active duty reserve members when they are called away for training. “With the help of several of our military veterans and active reserve members, we’ve been lucky as an organization to continue to hire several individuals with a military background,” states Nick Gioconda.

If you are a veteran interested in a career in the logistics industry, please send your inquiry to [email protected]