SALEM, Ore. – With over 2,300 volunteers from all U.S. States and territories, the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve announced their 2024 regional Volunteers of the Year (VOTY) award recipients on Feb. 10, 2025. After being nominated by committees from each state, three Oregon volunteers serving in key program functional areas were selected in the Military Outreach, Training, and Operations categories.

In total, the ESGR regions are broken into four groups: Northeast, Southeast, Central, and West, with six program functional areas evaluated in each of the regional designations. Oregon was the only state to garner three VOTYs, with these winners now being advanced for overall national consideration.

“Our state chairman, retired brigadier general [Oregon Air National Guard Commander] Jim Cunningham, wrote and submitted the nominations to the national board for review, which were then evaluated by a couple of different committees at various levels that determine the (four) regional winners,” said Cecil Owens, Oregon ESGR Military Outreach Director, who was one of the award recipients for 2024. “Some of the basic criteria used in the selection processes included weighing in factors that are associated with ESGR’s overall mission and the management of the specific functional programs.”

Although ESGR is a volunteer organization, there are still training requirements based on performance standards for all volunteers. Owens said ESGR volunteers are required to meet certain Department of Defense training requirements and that “volunteers receive training in cyber, security, privacy act and USERRA (Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act) requirements that all applicants must go through.”

“Rich Thibodo accepted the position of training director just over two years ago and has developed a hybrid training program where we provide training both in person and virtually, just to make it easier for our volunteers to complete their training requirements,” Owens said.

With over 50 volunteers living as far away as Medford, Ashland, Scappoose, and Cove, Owens said the new training plan has improved the training completion rate for all volunteers. “Our annual percentage of training went from the mid 30 percent to now just two years later to about 93 percent compliant.”

Volunteer coordinator Greg Malkasian took regional top honors as the Military Outreach Volunteer of the Year, ensuring that ESGR has coverage at every event requested by the Oregon National Guard. This includes unit mobilizations, Yellow Ribbon, and other Soldier Readiness Checks (SRC).

“Every soldier that goes through an SRC receives a group briefing and a general overview from HR (Human Resources),” Owens explained Malkasion’s role in Oregon. “The service members get more than a one-on-one personal brief, we want them to fully understand their rights and responsibilities under USERRA.”

For Owens himself – he’s been a volunteer since 2018, and this award marks his first Volunteer of the Year award for over seven years of service to ESGR. He retired from the Oregon National Guard in 2013 with thirty years of military experience.

“I started as a military coordinator and then moved to outreach director and have worn several hats,” Owens stated regarding his work with ESGR. “I frequently speak at business events, including chamber of commerce meetings, Rotary Clubs, and various conferences. It’s essential to educate the community about our presence; we have nearly 10,000 reservists and National Guard members in Oregon, and many people don’t realize how large we are as a total military force reserve component.”

Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve is a Department of Defense office established in 1972. It is dedicated to fostering strong cooperation and understanding between Reserve Component Service members and their civilian employers. ESGR is committed to effectively resolving any conflicts that may arise from an employee’s military commitments, ensuring a supportive environment for both service members and businesses.