Employers and supervisors play a crucial role in fostering a supportive work environment by working together to take care of each other’s well-being, ensuring both professional growth and personal balance.
And when the employee is part of the National Guard or Reserve service and deploys for months in support of national defense, it becomes even more critical.
Maurice Williams, St. Stephens Powerhouse Project Manager, was recognized as a Patriotic Employer recently, by the Office of the Secretary of Defense’s Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) organization.
“This is a great honor to be recognized for taking care of my people,” said Williams. “Charleston District is a ‘special place’ and the care especially continues when our folks are downrange,” said Williams.
ESGR, a Department of Defense office, was established in 1972 to promote cooperation and understanding between Reserve Component Service members and their civilian employers and to assist in the resolution of conflicts arising from an employee’s military commitment.
Don Tretola, a ESGR Chair Emitrtus, presented the award to Williams, February 19, 2025 at the St. Stephens Powerhouse.
Williams was nominated by Ed Davis, the St. Stephen Hydro Power Plant senior electrician, who was deployed with the 169th Civil Engineer Squadron as a fire fighter to Saudi Arabia, September 2023 until April 2024.
“My supervisor helped me during the pre-deployment process to ensure all my civilian paperwork was good to go and he routinely checked in with my family,” said Davis.
Serving the country for more than 50 years, ESGR is supported by a network of nearly 2,300 volunteers in 54 committees located across all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam-CNMI (Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands), Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Volunteers, hailing from small business and industry, government, education, and prior military service bring a vast wealth of experience to assist in serving employers, Service members, and their families. Together with Headquarters ESGR staff and a small cadre of support staff for each State Committee, volunteers work to promote and enhance employer support for military service in the Guard and Reserve.
“We foster a culture in which all employers support and value the employment and military service of members of the National Guard and Reserve in the United States,” said Don Tretola, ESGR Senior Emeritus. “This is an important national program that allow our civilians who become warfighters to be taken care of by their employers.”
“My boss single-handedly made my first active-duty deployment an easy transition,” said Davis.
When employers step up to support those who serve, they embody true leadership. That kind of dedication fosters a culture of loyalty and care—something that sets the Charleston District apart.