ESGR honors Saipan employers

Employer awardees pose for a photo with ESGR officials on Wednesday night at the Saipan World Resort?s Royal Taga Ballroom. (Thomas A. Manglona II)

“When service member employees leave for long periods of time to train or deploy to where the President requires them to go, a heavy burden is placed on their employers to hold down the fort,” according to David J. Sablan, state chair of the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve for Guam and the CNMI. That means employers have to adapt when those service member employees are away for long periods of time.
On Wednesday night, the ESGR hosted its annual Employer Awards dinner at the Saipan World Resort to recognize supportive employers of the CNMI’s Guard and Reserve members.

The CNMI has approximately 130 service members primarily in the U.S Army Reserve. Sixteen of the guardsmen from the CNMI returned last year after a 10-month deployment to Afghanistan.

Wednesday night’s event recognized employers such as the CNMI Public School System, Commonwealth Healthcare Corp., and Commonwealth Utility Corp. The awardees were nominated by current service member employees and their spouses who felt that their employers deserve to be recognized for their service and support.

The CNMI Public School System received the most Supportive Employer Award.

Education Commissioner Dr. Rita A. Sablan said that PSS has a total of 32 reservists under its “Heroes to Teachers” program, which began in 1998.

“They are very committed when these individuals work with us,” she said. “We are really fortunate to have these committed service members. The program is called ‘Heroes to Teachers’ but they definitely remain heroes.”

Other than bringing these reservists within the school system, the program offers them the opportunity to earn their degree and become highly qualified, Sablan said.

Six other employers were also honored and presented with the State Chair’s Above and Beyond Award. The award is given to those who have gone above and beyond the requirements of the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act. The recipients stand out by signing Statements of Support, educating employees on the law, ensuring employees returning from military service are afforded missed opportunities, recognizing the military service of its employees, and communicating with deployed employees and families to ensure needs are met.

The recipient employers are the Commonwealth Utilities Corp., CNMI PSS-Hopwood Junior High School, Department of Finance, Division of Customs, Delta Management Corp., and IT&E.

CUC executive director Alan Fletcher told Saipan Tribune that it is important not only for the community but for the country to hire guardsmen and reservists.

“We are glad to have a structure to do what we can as employers. It is critical to have the employer support. We are glad to help out whenever we can,” he said.

Flight surgeon John Tudela said that working at the Commonwealth Health Center gives him the support he needs. “It is a good feeling to come back and know that your job is still there and people still care about what you did.”

CHC Department of Medicine chair Dr. Joel Smith said the more he gets to learn about the employees, the more admiration he has for them.

“I am very supportive of the service members. I am happy to have them do both their military service and medical service. The community needs them,” he added.

Maj. Josephine Blas, Guam Air National Guard member and Program Administrator for the ESGR Guam-CNMI Committee Office, said the event is a way for the organization to say thank you to all service members who fought and continue to fight for our freedom. “If it were not for employers’ commitment and devotion to the duty of the people in uniform we would not be able to enjoy our way of life,” she added.

The ESGR is an office within the U.S Department of Defense under the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs. Its mission is to elicit the support of employers and the community in general for service members, especially those in the Guard and Reserve. The organization also promotes and encourages the employment of guardsmen and reservists. A total of 2,700 guards and reservists are currently in Guam and the CNMI.

According to Sablan, 16 percent of them are unemployed—a number more than double than the national average. ESGR also has a “Heroes 2 Hire” program and website that helps connect service members and employees.