FRANKFORT, Ky. –
The Flemingsburg Police Department today received the Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award, the highest recognition of employers for their support of their employees who serve in the National Guard and Reserve.
The award was made to Police Department Chief Brian Bowling by Governor Andy Beshear on behalf of the Department of Defense in a ceremony at the state Capitol.
“The Freedom Award is the highest U.S. government honor to employers for support of National Guard and Reserve members, and the Flemingsburg Police Department was selected out of more than 2,700 nominations,” Gov. Beshear said. “I am so proud of their extraordinary dedication to our state and country, which they live out every day serving their community in law enforcement and through their commitment to support employees in the National Guard and Reserve. Employers like the Flemingsburg Police Department are crucial to ensuring our Guard and Reserve are ready to protect the nation in critical missions overseas and within our local communities in their time of greatest need, as they’ve done in Kentucky throughout the pandemic and following the historic tornadoes and flooding.”
According to Philip Miller, chairman of the Kentucky ESGR committee, the Flemingsburg Police Department’s treatment of its employees who are members of the Guard or Reserve is superlative by any measure. The department provides its citizen soldiers time off for their military duties, supports their families when away for training or duty, and has policies that provide full compensation for any wages missed due to any military service up to several weeks per year.
The nomination for the award was made by Police Department member Timothy Smith, who is a chief warrant officer in the Kentucky Army National Guard. Smith and his family received absolutely extraordinary support during his recent three- year long deployment, said Miller.
We are delighted that Chief Warrant Officer 3 Smith’s nomination resulted in the Flemingsburg Police Department receiving the Freedom Award,” said Maj. Gen. Haldane (Hal) B. Lamberton, adjutant general of the Kentucky National Guard. “It is a prime example of our Kentucky National Guard’s partnership with businesses, large and small, and public sector Throughout the Commonwealth.”
The Flemingsburg Police Department is one of 15 national recipients selected this year from more than 2,700 nominations submitted by National Guard and Reserve members from across the United States and its territories. To-date, only 325 employers have received this award since its inception in 1996.
The Kentucky ESGR Committee provides employers and Guard and Reserve personnel in the Commonwealth with answers to employment and military duty questions. It is an office of the Department of Defense established in 1972 whose mission is to gain and maintain employer support for Guard and Reserve service by recognizing outstanding support, increasing awareness of the law, and resolving conflicts through mediation.