Senate, House present joint resolution plaque honoring ESGR and volunteers

The Senate and House of Representatives held Monday a joint presentation of a plaque recognizing and acknowledging the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve and the Guam-CNMI State Committee and their volunteer members, for their exceptional service and commitment to service men and women.

The plaque, which contains House Joint Resolution 22-9 that was authored by Rep. Vicente C. Camacho (D-Saipan), also recognizes the week of Aug. 16 to 20 as Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve Week.” The Senate and House adopted the resolution.

House Speaker Edmund S. Villagomez said they do the joint presentation every year, showing support for the ESGR.

Present to receive the plaque were Dr. Rita Sablan, who was recently designated chair for the ESGR CNMI area Committee, and Rose Igitol, chair emeritus for the ESGR CNMI area in charge of employer outreach. Also present were Joann Aquino, an ESGR volunteer who serves as CNMI area ombudsman; Mike Sablan, who is the civilian aide secretary of the Army and an executive of Triple J; and other ESGR members and volunteers.

Sablan said they’re really excited for the opportunity to meet with the lawmakers and to receive the very special joint resolution.

ESGR is the Department of Defense’s volunteer organization for 49 years now.

“As we celebrate ESGR week, not only do we recognize the volunteers for the work that they do in the community, but we’re also very pleased and honored to always have employers out there supporting the Guards and Reserve,” Sablan said.

The Guards and Reserve, she said, not only have jobs as weekend warriors, but are also always ready to perform when called for duty.

“In addition to that, there’s a great sacrifice on their part, especially their families, as they see them off to go to their military obligation,” Sablan said.

She noted that sometimes those obligations can last a year or so.

She said ESGR week is about recognizing employers who value the support, work, and effort of the service members that contribute back to the community within their organization as employees.

“ And of course we also want to recognize our Guard members, our service members because of the double sacrifice or all the sacrifice that they do,” Sablan said.

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, major ESGR events such as the lunch with the bosses have been suspended.