The Department of Defense recently announced that Fulton Bank of Lancaster was one of 15 recipients of the 2024 Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award, which is the highest U.S. government honor to employers for support of National Guard and Reserve employees.

The recipients include small and large private and public sector employers nominated by a National Guard or Reserve Component Service member employed in the organization.

Fulton was nominated for the award by Brett Gagnon, chief enterprise architect for the bank and a colonel in the Pennsylvania Army National Guard. Prior to receiving the Employer Support Freedom Award, Fulton Bank received Above and Beyond Awards from the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) for three consecutive years.

The Freedom Award began in 1996 under the auspices of ESGR to recognize exceptional employer support, with 355 honorees to date.

This year, ESGR received 1,758 nominations for employers throughout the 50 states, Guam-CNMI, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the District of Columbia. The recipients distinguished themselves by going far beyond the requirements of the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) to support their National Guard and Reserve employees.

For more information about the Freedom Award, visit www.freedomaward.mil. More information about ESGR, a program of the Defense Family Office, is available at http://www.esgr.mil.