Jennifer Miller-Yancey was recently recognized for being a "patriotic employer" for her support of the Nore family during Matt Nore's deployment with the National Guard. From left to right: Richard Smith, Miller-Yancey and Edna Nore.
Edna Nore and Kemberly Green with a certificate recently given to Green for being a "patriotic employer." Green was recognized for her support of the Nore family during Matt Nore's deployment with the National Guard.
This past week two Wrangell residents were recognized as "patriotic employers" by the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve program. The ESGR is a Department of Defense program, according to their website, whose goal is to promote cooperation and understanding between civilian employers and their National Guard or Reserve employees.
Richard Smith, on behalf of the ESGR, came to Wrangell on Jan. 8 to present Patriot Awards to Kemberly Green of Tongass Federal Credit Union, and Jenn Miller-Yancey of Evergreen Elementary School. The credit union employs Edna Nore, wife of Guardsman Matt Nore. Evergreen Elementary employed Matt Nore himself as a kindergarten teacher, before he left for deployment to Kuwait back in February of 2019.
"I was totally taken aback, I would like to think that any employer would support the military and their families but that's not always the case, I guess," Green said. "I was totally surprised by this."
On the certificate given to each employer, members of the Nore family had printed statements of why they had been nominated for the award. Edna Nore wrote that Green had been very understanding when she needed to leave work early to care for her children when daycare fell through, allowed her to take time off when needed, and tried to make her husband's deployment as stress-free as possible.
Matt Nore wrote on Miller Yancey's certificate that she has checked in on his kids while he has been gone to make sure they were okay, was very helpful in processing his leave requests, and has been a mentor to him as a teacher.
According to the ESGR website, members of the Guard or Reserve, or their spouses, can nominate individual employers for the support they have provided that service member or their family. The Patriot Awards reflects the efforts made by the recognized employer to support the service members and their families through things like flexible schedules, time off before or after deployment, granting leaves of absences, or generally supporting families of those deployed.
"This is an amazing thing, I'm so appreciative," Miller-Yancey said. "We are looking very forward to his [Nore's] return."
To learn more about the ESGR, visit their website at http://www.esgr.mil.
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