Mary Anne Stevens attributes her decision to let Utah studies teacher Deborah Gatrell attend a military exercise to simply “doing the right thing”.

But to Deborah, and the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve, it means a lot more than that.

In recognition of her support for a Service Member, Mary Anne received the Patriot Award from ESGR representative Richard DeWolf during a surprise mini-ceremony in her office.

The Patriot Award reflects the efforts made to support employees serving in the National Guard or Reserve through flexible schedules, time off prior to and after deployment, caring for families, and granting leaves of absence if needed.

Deborah spent two weeks of December in Washington State as part of a bi-lateral military exercise between the U.S. Army and Japan Ground Self-Defense Forces. The exercise simulated an invasion of Japan.

“My group participated in the simulation over a computer network at Fort Lewis,” she said. “As an aviation unit we provided battlefield movement and surveillance that helped higher level decision makers.”