In a show of support for America’s service members, the Jefferson City Area Board of REALTORS® welcomed Brig. Gen. Craig McCord to their May meeting where they signed a Statement of Support with Missouri’s Committee for the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve program.

Board President, Alan Mudd, said the Jefferson City Area REALTORS® are leading the state as the first local board to recognize publicly the need for REALTORS® to support their military employees during training and deployments.

“Being so close to the National Guard’s state headquarters, we know the role that Guardsmen and reservists accept both at home and overseas,” Mudd said.

Mudd credited board member David Doering, of Jefferson City, with proposing the signing ceremony. Doering said he has been active with the employer support program since he visited Whitman Air Force Base to observe Airmen during a weekend drill.

“With almost half of our service members in combat coming from a reserve force, it is important to show that as employers we are taking a lead in supporting our Guardsmen and reservists,” said Doering, who currently employs two reservists as vice president of Missouri Property Appraisal Inc.

Program Support Specialist, Steve Vanderhoof, said that signing a Statement of Support is more than a symbolic gesture. He said that by displaying the statement customers and employees know the business has a depth of commitment to service members.

“For a collective group of employers to make this affirmative demonstration, sets an exceptionally high standard for how Citizen-Soldiers will be treated by this group,” Vanderhoof said. “These are the military-friendly employers that Guard and reserve members love to work for.”

Doering said he found that seeking military members as employees has brought his company benefits beyond a sense of patriotism.

“I would hire a service member over any candidate,” said Doering. “They are motivated and dedicated the first day they show up for work and that kind of work ethic is hard to find.”

The Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve is a Department of Defense resource established to help employers understand how they can better assist service member’s commitment to national defense.


The Statement of Support reads as follows:

"We recognize the National Guard and Reserve are essential to the strength of our nation and the well-being of our communities.

In the highest American tradition, the patriotic men and women of the Guard and Reserve serve voluntarily in an honorable and vital profession. They train to respond to their community and their country in time of need. They deserve the support of every segment of our society.

If these volunteer forces are to continue to serve our nation, increased public understanding is required of the essential role of the Guard and Reserve in preserving our national security.

Therefore, we join other employers in pledging that:

• We fully recognize, honor and enforce the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA)
• Our managers and supervisors will have the tools they need to effectively manage those employees who serve in the Guard and Reserve
• We will continually recognize and support our country's service members and their families in peace, in crisis, and in war. "