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CBP gets ESGR’s ‘2021 Most Supportive Employer’ award
Officers of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection share a photo after CBP was given the “2021 Most Supportive Employer” award by the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve yesterday. CBP officer and staff sergeant in the U.S. Army Reserve Tanya Songsong-Diaz nominated her employer for the award. Holding the award is Port Director for the CNMI Jeffrey M. Hofschneider. (Joshua Santos)
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection in the CNMI received the “2021 Most Supportive Employer” award Tuesday from the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve, in honor of CBP’s “exemplary support of National Guard and Reserve member employees.”
ESGR CNMI Area Committee chair Dr. Rita Sablan and ESGR CNMI area chair emeritus in charge of employer outreach Rose Igitol visited the CBP office at the Francisco C. Ada/Saipan International Airport Tuesday to present the award to Port director for the CNMI and Tinian son Jeffrey M. Hofschneider.
CBP officer and staff sergeant in the U.S. Army Reserve Tanya Songsong-Diaz nominated her employer, CBP, for the award.
Songsong-Diaz said she nominated Hofschneider and CBP for the award for being supportive of the demands that come with being a reservist. She said there have been many times where she had to leave on short notice, and CBP has continued to accommodate her.
“Since the beginning of my career, my employer has always been supportive of me. There were numerous times that I’ve had to leave on short notice, and [CBP has] never had any issues with that; they’ve always been supportive [of] all my military missions that come up at the last moment,” said Songsong-Diaz.
Songsong-Diaz has been working at CBP since 2018, and has been a reservist for about 23 years now. Songsong-Diaz added that there are three other reservists working at CBP: one is part of the U.S. Coast Guard Reserve, one part of the U.S. Air Force Reserve, and one is part of the U.S. Army Reserve.
Hofschneider said he and CBP have been nominated and awarded the ESGR “Patriotic Employer” award before, and this additional ESGR award “speaks volumes” of how his employees who are also reservists think of him.
“I am honored to receive this award, and the fact that my employees feel that I’m deserving of this award in itself is an award to me,” said Hofschneider.
Sablan shared with Saipan Tribune that CBP and Hofschneider were supposed to receive the award during an “Employer Awards Ceremony” in Guam last year, but the event was cancelled for COVID-19 safety reasons.
