“We have a motto: we all serve. And we all do,” said Jack Grams, Minnesota state awards director of the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) as he paid a Veteran’s Day visit to the headquarters of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota.

The ESGR is a Department of Defense program that promotes cooperation and understanding between Guard and Reserve members and their civilian employers. Grams’ comments referred not only to the sacrifices made by service members and their families, but to the efforts of employers who do their best to support them.

Gram was at Blue Cross to present the company with the ESGR Extraordinary Employer Support Award for sustained employer support of National Guard and Reserve service. Blue Cross had previously received the Minnesota ESGR Pro Patria Award in 2019 and Above and Beyond Award in 2021.

 

Event speakers include CEO and Blue Cross associates

Keynote speaker Avery Harrington, a Blue Cross associate and U.S. Marine Corps veteran, drew similarities between serving in the corps and working at Blue Cross. In Harrington’s experience, he saw both as mission-driven organizations that understand the importance of being part of something bigger than yourself.

“We at Blue Cross Blue Shield work to serve our members, and the military serves us all,” said Harrington, who helped launch the Allies of the Military ARG and helped to get Blue Cross recognized as an ESGR Beyond the Yellow Ribbon company in 2016.

Blue Cross President and CEO Dana Erickson was also on hand to thank both veteran associates and active military associates for their service. She also referenced the enhanced military leave policies that Blue Cross implemented over the summer, which included supplemental pay continuity during activation, deployments and required trainings.

“This financial support ensures their total pay equals their associate base pay for the time they serve, enabling our military reservists and members of the National Guard to continue to serve our nation,” Erickson said.

Additionally, the Blue Cross military policy established:

• Pre-and post-deployment paid leave periods
• Enhanced job protections
• Continuity of benefits during active service

Since the start of 2022, Blue Cross associates have been activated for various missions around the state and throughout the world. Collectively, they have received direct compensation for more than 600 hours spent away from work.