I love a good surprise, and that is definitely what I received at our last staff meeting. The first surprise was seeing Staff Sergeant Paul Rankin, one of our senior copywriters at L&S, dressed in full uniform. The second, and greater surprise, was being honored with the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve Patriotic Employer Award from the Department of Defense and the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve organization.
I am honored to have a member of the Army Reserve on staff, and I’ve been proud to have a number of staff members serve in National Guard and Reserve units throughout the years. Continuing to support employees who choose to serve our country and sacrifice time away from their family is the least we can do as an organization.
Staff Sergeant Rankin is a member of the C Company, 2-377th, 95th Division of the Army Reserve. Over the past four years as an L&S employee, Rankin has taken time away from his day job on several occasions to conduct Initial Entry Training, better known as boot camp, as an Army Reserve component Drill Sergeant at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. He has also attended an Advanced Leader’s Course and competed in the 108th Training Command’s Drill Sergeant of the Year competitions.
Here are a few thoughts Paul shared with me about why he nominated Lawrence & Schiller to receive the award:
“It’s one thing for a company to do the bare minimum, follow the letter of the law and give Guard and Reserve soldiers needed time off to train. Lawrence & Schiller, as you’d expect, goes the extra mile. They make it as easy as possible to take the time off, and we even have people willing to help out my wife and family when I’m gone for extended periods,” says Rankin. “It’s simply a good feeling knowing that my employer has my back. L&S doesn’t treat Guard or Reserve duty as a burden; they truly support our mission.”
My thanks go out to Paul for serving our country and our team at Lawrence & Schiller for supporting his service.
