Four City Employees to Receive “Patriot Award” from DOD Advocacy Group

Four city employees will be presented with a Patriot Award at 11 a.m. Mar. 20, for supporting a city firefighter during his active duty deployments with the Air National Guard. The presentation will be in the City Hall Council Chamber, 101 N. Main St., Winston-Salem.

        Fire Battalion Chief Sandy Sheppard, Fire Captain Alexander MacDonald, and Human Resources employees Sherri Gaither and Hilda Clark-Bell will be presented the award by Stephen Page, the area chairman for North Carolina Employer Support for the Guard and Reserve. The ESGR is an agency organized by the Department of Defense that works to gain and maintain employer support for members of the Guard and Reserve.

        The Patriot Award honors the efforts of workplace supervisors to accommodate the needs of members of the Guard and Reserve through a wide range of measures, including flexible schedules, time off before and after deployment, caring for families and granting leaves of absence when necessary. Firefighter Charles Allen, who has been called to active duty numerous times since 2005, nominated his co-workers for the award.