Geneseo, Il- At 9:00am April 8th, 2011, Robert Schwieder, a volunteer for the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR), presented Larry Collinson, Springfield Armory Production/ QA Manager, with a certificate of appreciation for his role as a "Patriotic Employer."

(ESGR) is a Department of Defense agency that seeks to develop and promote a culture in which all American employers support and value the military service of their employees with ESGR as the principal advocate within DoD. It does so by advocating relevant initiatives, recognizing outstanding support, increasing awareness of applicable laws, and resolving conflict between employers and service members.

Mr. Collinson was nominated for the award by Spc. Mike Anthony on January 14th, 2011. Spc. Anthony wrote, "I feel very lucky to have a supervisor like Larry Collinson backing me up 100% with my military duties. He has never penalized me, even when some orders had come with such short notice. Upon my return from an extended annual training exercise, he made me feel as if I had never left."

While receiving the award, Mr. Collinson said, "I don't feel like I did anything special; people like Anthony are the ones that deserve recognition. He's out there protecting our freedoms, and we should do whatever we can to help people like him return to their daily lives as easily as possible."

Mr. Schwieder also presented Cindy Griffin, Head of Operations for Springfield Armory, with a certificate recognizing Springfield Armory's commitment to the protection of the employment of the Guard, and the Reserve.