Vice President Mark Willey was honored to accept the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) Patriotic Employer Award on behalf of Pond.
This award, received through a nomination by Pond IT Manager and Georgia Air National Guard MSgt James Donnelly, recognizes employer dedication to Guard and Reserve employees through actions such as supporting families of deployed employees, allowing for flexible scheduling, and offering time off prior to and after deployment.
Donnelly, who has been the IT Manager at Pond since 2013, was active Air Force from 1997 to 2005 and joined the 224th Joint Communications Support Squadron (JCSS) of the Georgia Air National Guard in 2005, which he still serves.
“We always knew there was a chance James would be deployed and while he was away, the whole IT team worked together to tackle his responsibilities here at Pond and support his family,” said Willey.
While Donnelly was deployed for nearly 11 months of active duty, the IT group met regularly with Donnelly’s wife to make sure his family was taken care of and sent care packages to Afghanistan.
“I was constantly reassured and felt confident of my position at Pond upon my return, which allowed me to focus my job while deployed,” said Donnelly. “It was comforting to know that while I was deployed, my team met with my wife regularly to ensure that my family was doing well.”
Since his return from deployment in May 2017, Donnelly has resumed his role with the IT team working to support Pond staff with his unique cyber security training and tactical knowledge acquired during his reoccurring service with the Air National Guard.
“I have often referred to James as the glue that holds our group together,” said Willey. “I’m proud that our team was able to support James and his family during his deployment, and we’re happy to have him home.”
Pond is proud to be a patriotic and philanthropic employer. One of the four pillars of our causes is to honor Service Members in our community and nationally.
“It’s important to Pond to empower our supervisors to support our active Service Members,” said Pam Gower, Associate and Director of Human Resources. “The firm is humbled by this recognition and proud of our IT team for their heartfelt actions in support of James and his family.”