TUMWATER, Wash. – Dr. Colby Cockrell, co-owner and Dentist, at Tranquility Dental Wellness, received the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve Patriot Award recently for the extraordinary support he provides his employee Washington National Guardsman Sgt. Kelsey Smith. The award was presented by Ohad Lowy, Washington ESGR south sound co-area chair.
“The Office us highly supportive of military personnel from patients to employees,” said Smith. “They understand and respect what I do and have never given me a hard time about my military service. They have also been very thoughtful of seeing if I need time off to recover from a long drill weekend.”
“The Patriot Award was created by ESGR to publicly recognize individuals who provide outstanding patriotic support and cooperation to their employees who have answered their nation’s call to serve,” said Lowy. “By valuing the military service of their Guard and Reserve employees, employers are directly supporting the readiness and retention of our All-Volunteer Force, and our national defense.”
“They continue to support and hire other national guard personnel because they prefer hiring reserve component employees because they know how hard working and squared aware reserve component employees typically are,” said Smith. “I work with an all-around extremely support staff and they have made my life easy to a part-time soldier.”
ESGR is a Department of Defense program that develops and promotes supportive work environments for service members in the National Guard and Reserve through outreach, recognition, and educational opportunities that increase awareness of applicable laws. ESGR also provides assistance in resolving conflicts between Service members and their employers. This year, ESGR celebrates 50 years of excellence in support of the Reserve Components and their civilian employers. For more information about ESGR outreach programs or volunteer opportunities, call (800) 336-4590 or visit www.ESGR.mil/WA.
Photo caption: Dr. Colby Cockrell (middle), co-owner and Dentist, at Tranquility Dental Wellness, received the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve Patriot Award recently for the extraordinary support he provides his employee Washington National Guardsman Sgt. Kelsey Smith (far right). The award was presented by Ohad Lowy (far left), Washington ESGR south sound co-area chair.