The Neenah Joint School District received the prestigious Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award for its support of employees serving the nation in a military reserve capacity. The award is the highest recognition given by the U.S. Government to employers for their outstanding support of employees serving in the Guard and Reserve.

The Neenah Joint School District was one of nine statewide recipients of the “Above and Beyond Award” and one of three public sector employers honored by the Wisconsin Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve. The recipients were honored at an awards banquet in Elkhart Lake on March 30.

Neenah High School teacher and boys cross country coach John Morgen, a colonel in the Army Reserve who recently completed a one-year deployment in the Middle East, nominated the School District for the award.

“During my 26 years of military service the Neenah Joint School District has always been supportive of my obligations as an officer within the Wisconsin Army National Guard,” Morgen wrote. “During multiple periods of annual training, numerous missions to Japan, Korea, and two deployments in Southwest Asia each exceeding over nine months, the Neenah Joint School District has stood by my side. I have never felt passed by professionally or punished because of my commitment to the Armed Services but rather have been honored for that service by the school community within which I live.”

Morgan added that the District has held events over the years to support the people and schools in the areas in which he and other staff members have been deployed. The District has also provided employees assistance with health care benefits during deployments.

“We often talk about the sacrifices that families and soldiers make, but too often we fail to recognize the sacrifices made by the employer,” Morgen added. “The Neenah Joint School District is an employer that has gone out of its way to support me in my military commitments and endeavors with unwavering support.”

Other Wisconsin public sector employers who received the award were the Sparta Police Department and Greenfield Fire Department.