October—November 2009 Illinois Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve
Ayers appointed Chair of Illinois ESGR committee
2010 Freedom Award
nominations begin
The nomination period for
the 2010 Department of De-
fense Employer Support
Freedom Award began on
November 2. As you conduct
your Military Outreach ac-
tivities, please take advan-
tage of any opportunity to
encourage Reserve Compo-
nent members to nominate
employers for the Freedom
Award if they have gone
above and beyond the re-
quirements of USERRA.
There are many employers
throughout the nation deserv-
ing of the award, but it all
starts with a service or family
member nomination.
Nominations will be ac-
cepted at www.Freedom
Award.mil through January
18, 2010. The Freedom
Award is the highest recogni-
tion given by the U.S. Gov-
ernment to employers for
their outstanding support of
their employees who serve in
the National Guard and Re-
serve.
This year is the 15th anni-
versary of the Freedom
Award. Information on the
nomination process, is avail-
able at www.Freedom
Award.mil.
Michael Ayers, Executive with ESGR was Illinois Em-
Vice President of the Illinois ployer Outreach Chair.
Chamber of Commerce, was
recently appointed Chairman Ayers earned his Doctor of
of the Illinois Committee for Philosophy in Economics
Employer Support of the from the University of Okla-
Guard and Reserve. homa, and served honorably
as a non-commissioned offi-
Ayers takes over chairman- cer in the Texas Army Na-
ship of the committee from tional Guard. He and his wife,
John Scully, who led the com- Ruth Ann, reside in Spring-
mittee for the past six years. field.
He will serve a three-year
term as Illinois ESGR State James Rebholz, National
Chair. Chairman for the National
Committee for ESGR con-
In addition to his Chamber gratulated Ayers on being
position, Ayers is Professor selected for his new position
Emeritus of Economics, Uni- as State Chair of the Illinois Michael Ayers
versity of Illinois at Spring- committee and said Ayers State Chair, Illinois ESGR
field; Advisory Board mem-
ber, Lincoln’s Challenge
“has the ability and responsi-
bility to reshape the Illinois Announcement of Ayers
Academy; board member of ESGR Field Committee to appointment to the State
the Illinois National Guard meet the challenges of in- Chair position was made in
and Militia Historical Society; creased National Guard and June and he officially took
and member of the Spring- Reserve mobilizations and the over responsibility of the Illi-
field Military Affairs Com- renewed focus on ESGR Em- nois ESGR committee on
mittee. His previous position ployer Outreach Programs.” Sept. 29.
Scully honored for service as Illinois ESGR State Chair
John Scully, outgoing State
Chair of the Illinois Commit-
tee for Employer support of
the Guard and Reserve, was
recognized at a banquet Sept.
29 for his service to Illinois
employers and Reserve Com-
ponent service members dur-
ing two terms as chair of Illi-
nois ESGR.
For his outstanding leader-
ship as Illinois ESGR State
Chair, Scully received the
Secretary of Defense Medal
for Outstanding Public Ser-
vice. James Rebholz, Na-
tional Chairman for the Na-
tional Committee for ESGR, SCULLY HONORED: James Rebholz, National Chairman for the Na-
presented the award during tional Committee for ESGR, presents outgoing Illinois ESGR State
the banquet honoring Scully Chair, John Scully, with the Secretary of Defense Medal for Out-
held at Great Lakes Naval standing Public Service.
Training Station.
Scully served as chairman September 2009, during leaders and professionals to
of the Illinois ESGR Commit- which time he energetically become volunteers with the
tee from January 2004 to recruited prominent business Illinois ESGR committee.
Page 2
Message from the State Chair ...
I am honored to have been
chosen to serve as Chair for
the Illinois Employer Support
Illinois Employer Support of of the Guard and Re-
serve Committee and look
the Guard and Reserve forward to working with all of
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE you during the coming three
years.
State Chair
Michael Ayers
Employer Outreach “Our success is tied to
Terri Bergagna your continued strong
Military Outreach commitment to the
Terry McCollom
mission and vision of
Ombudsman Director
ESGR. Clearly, without a
Ron Bacci
strong volunteer base like
Awards
Gloria Guy we have in Illinois, we would
Public Affairs not be able to provide the
Michael Holub needed support to our
North West Chair
employers and troops.”
William Glynn Michael Ayers
North Central Chair Chair, Illinois ESGR
Terry McCollom
Central East Chair
Tom Murgatroyd On behalf of the Committee
South East Chair I again want to thank outgo-
Dayton Loyd ing State Chair, John Scully,
South West Chair for his leadership, commit-
ment and dedication to ESGR
Clyde Jones and our important mis-
Central West Chair sion. John has left us a great
John Sheedy base of volunteers and sense
North West Chair of direction that makes
our volunteer jobs much eas-
Rick Pollack
ier.
FULL-TIME STAFF
I also want to commend
Executive Director Tom Murgatroyd for his great
LTC Tim Franklin service as executive director
217-761-3642 while Lt. Col. Tim Franklin
tim.franklin@us.army.mil
was deployed with the 33rd
Brigade Combat Team. If
Program Assistants you have an opportunity to
Jean Collier speak with either John or
217-761-3971 Tom, please let them know
jean.collier@us.army.mil how much we appreciate their
great service. Through this
Christina Dibble
newsletter I would like to
708-824-6010
christina.rivera@us.army.mil
say: Welcome back Tim. We
are happy to have you
safely home in our ranks.
MAILING ADDRESS
Illinois ESGR I would also like to identify
the Committee leadership
1301 N. MacArthur Blvd.
team for the next few years. I
Springfield, IL 62702 am very pleased that Terry
Illinois Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve
McCollom will be continuing
as Military Outreach Chair
and Mike Holub has agreed to
continue as Public Affairs
Chair. In addition, Terri Ber-
gagna has agreed to step into
the Employer Outreach Chair
position. We have recruited
Gloria Guy, Vice President
for Business Services for the
Illinois Chamber to serve as
Awards Chair going forward.
On the Area Chair front,
Bill Glynn and Rick Pollack
have graciously agreed to
continue as Chairs in the
North East and North West
Areas. Jay Sheedy, recently
retired Assistant Adjutant
General for the Illinois Air
National Guard, has agreed to
join us as the Central West
Area Chair while Tom Mur-
gatroyd has agreed to join our
volunteer ranks as Central
East Area Chair. Clyde Jones
will continue as the South
West Area Chair and Dayton
Loyd will rejoin us as the
South East Area Chair. We all
welcome Capt. Loyd home
from his tour with the 33rd
BCT as well. Dayton, we’re
glad to have you back.
On another front, at the end
of September the Executive
Committee met at Great
Lakes Naval Training Station
to map strategies and tactics
that will guide our efforts in
accomplishing the goals set
for us by NCESGR and those
we have chosen for our-
selves. We will be working
into the first quarter of 2010
to lay a solid groundwork to
increase the number of unit
briefings, signed Statements
of Support and other impor-
tant activities to support Illi-
nois employers and Guard
and Reserve members.
We are now in the process
of discussing how best to
reach those goals. We will
ask your participation in forg-
ing ahead during our Annual
Michael Ayers
State Chair, Illinois ESGR
Training Conference that is
now scheduled for January 15
-16, 2010.
Our success is tied to your
continued strong commitment
to the mission and vision of
ESGR. Clearly, without a
strong volunteer base like we
have in Illinois, we would not
be able to provide the needed
support to our employers and
troops.
Please mark your calen-
dars. The full-time staff is
working with contracting
to identify and secure a con-
ference hotel. We have in-
vited Senator Richard Durbin
to be our dinner speaker. We
will share more details on the
2010 training conference as
they become available.
I would be remiss in ending
this note without thanking
Jean Collier and Christina
Dibble for a great job in sup-
porting our volunteer efforts. I
look forward to working with
each of you. Please do not
hesitate to contact me if you
have thoughts or ques-
tions about the Committee’s
organization, operations and
goals or if you would simply
like to chat.
Illinois Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve Page 3

Navistar Defense SOS signing demonstrates Guard, Reserve support

Pauline K. Brunelli, Executive Director, National Committee
for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve, was joined
recently by Illinois ESGR members for an early morning as-
sembly at the Navistar Defense Headquarters. Dozens of Navis-
tar Defense employees lined balconies and stairways to observe
Brunelli present the ESGR Statement of Support to Navistar
Defense, LLC.
Merritt Becker of Navistar Defense served as Emcee for the
ceremony and welcomed the attendees and spoke about the cru-
cial role of Navistar in our nation’s defense. He then introduced Caption describing picture or graphic.
the guests, which included Brunelli, Brig. Gen. John Hughes,
Assistant Adjutant General–Air, Illinois National Guard; Col.
Gary Brinner, Human Resource Officer, Illinois National
Guard; and Illinois ESGR committee members Michael Ayers,
Terry McCollum, Ron Bacci, and Michael Holub. Many of the
Navistar Defense management team were also present for the
occasion.
Ayers explained the role of ESGR and the significance of the SOS PRESENTATION: Pauline K. Brunelli (right), Executive Director, Na-
Statement of Support. He then introduced Brunelli, who tional Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve,
thanked Navistar Defense for their fine support of their Na- presents a Statement of Support to Navistar Defense at a recent
tional Guard and Reserve employees, recognizing that Navistar ceremony at the company’s Illinois headquarters.
also has many employees who have served our Armed Forces.

Governor signs Statement

of Support on behalf of State
Illinois Governor Pat Quinn
recently appeared on the Jona-
than “Johnny B” Brandmeier
Show (WLUP–FM) and during
the live broadcast signed new
legislation enhancing entitle-
ments for Illinois Guard and
Reserve members. While on the
Chicago radio show Quinn also
signed the ESGR Statement of
Support on behalf of the State of
Illinois.
The bill Quinn signed expands
the reasons for which public
employees who are also mem-
bers of the United States Armed
Forces may be granted leave of
absence or compensation from
their employer. The bill takes
effect January 1, 2010 and clari-
fies that any training or duty
required by the United States
Armed Forces is included in the
States' current Military Leave of
Absence Act.
Long known as a supporter of
veterans and members of the
Armed Services, Quinn was then
presented with a SOS by Illinois
ESGR Public Affairs Director,
Michael Holub. “Johnny B,”
host of the show, read the State-
ment of Support on-air “live” as
the Governor signed it during
the morning drive-time broad-
cast.

PHOTO LEFT: Michael Holub (right), Public Affairs Chair for the Illinois Com-
mittee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve, looks on as Illi-
nois Governor, Pat Quinn (D-Ill.) signs a Statement of Support for the
National Guard and Reserve on behalf of the State of Illinois. Quinn
signed the SOS recently during the Chicago “drive-time” Johnny B radio
Show. Signing a Statement of Support is a public acknowledgement by
an employer of the critical role service members in the Reserve Compo-
nents play in our national defense.
Page 4 Illinois Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve

Deere & Company headquarters signs Statement of Support

Deere & Company signed a
Statement of Support for the
National Guard and Reserve at
its Moline corporate headquar-
ters on October 13, joining
with the other Fortune 500
Corporations and thousands of
employers in pledging to fully
recognize, honor and enforce
the Uniformed Services Em-
ployment and Re-Employment
Rights Act.
“This is the right thing to do
and the right time to do it”
said David L. McGinnis, Prin-
cipal Deputy Assistant Secre-
tary of Defense for Reserve
Affairs. “I am asking all of the
Fortune 500 to re-affirm that
their current human resource
policies are a leading example
of compliance with the spirit
and the letter of the Uni-
formed Services Employment
and Reemployment Rights
Act.”
“A Statement of Support
serves two very vital func-
“By signing this Statement
of Support, John Deere
shows its commitment
to employees who
serve our country.”
Mert Hornbuckle
Deere & Company
tions,” McGinnis added.
“First, it publicly demon-
strates the strong level of sup-
port for our Guard and Re-
serve. Secondly, it sends a
clear message to the service
DEERE & COMPANY: David McGinnis (from left), Principal Deputy Assis-
members that, while they’re
serving their country, they do tant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs, joins Mert Hornbuckle,
not have to worry about their Deere & Company; Maj. Gen. William Enyart, The Adjutant General of
civilian jobs. Illinois; and Michael Ayers, Illinois EGSR at a recent SOS signing.
“Deere & Company has a ployees who serve our country Deere & Company provides
long history of providing sup- and honors those employees advanced products and ser-
port to its employees in the who are in the National Guard vices for agriculture, forestry,
military. By signing this State- and Reserve,” said Mert Horn- construction, lawn and turf
ment of Support, John Deere buckle, Vice President of Hu- care, landscaping and irriga-
shows its commitment to em- man Resources. tion.

Jacksonville company receives Patriot Award

EnviroVac Waste Transport Systems of Jacksonville was re-
cently honored with an ESGR Patriotic Employer Award in rec-
ognition of their extraordinary support of an employee who
serves in the Air Force Reserve Command.
The award publicly recognizes employers who provide out-
standing patriotic support and cooperation to their employees,
who have answered their nation’s call to serve. The Patriotic
Employer Award is presented after ESGR receives a nomination
from a Guardsman or Reservist currently serving.
Blake Corley, a driver for EnviroVac and a Technical Sergeant
in the Air Force Reserve, recognized his company with a nomi-
nation in August 2009.

PHOTO LEFT: Brian

Dyche (right) of Envi- ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY SIGNS SOS:
roVac Waste Trans- Gary Hannig of Litchfield, Illinois Secretary of Transportation, signs
port Systems is pic- a Statement of Support with the Illinois Employer Support of the
tured accepting the Guard and Reserve Committee in Springfield at Illinois Depart-
Patriotic Employer ment of Transportation on Oct. 21. This signing by IDOT reaffirms
Award from Illinois that the jobs of Illinois National Guard and Reservists who deploy
ESGR member, Tom are protected. It means that when Guard and Reserve members
Murgatroyd at a re- return from deployment or other military duty, they can be confi-
cent award presenta- dent their job is waiting for them. Photo by U.S. Army Sgt. Aleah
tion ceremony in Castrejon, Illinois National Guard Public Affairs
Jacksonville.