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| George Nami, an ESGR representative, shakes hands with Mike Aspland |
Second Lieutenant Bethany Mitchell, who serves in the Army Reserves, and is the IHS administrative associate nominated Aspland for the award.
“Mike has been beyond supportive from my first day in this department,” Mitchell said. “He has voiced his support and expressed it through encouraging words, beneficial advice, challenging leadership scenarios and by acknowledging my training requirements.”
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| Bethany Mitchell and Mike Aspland |
Aspland says it’s an honor to receive the award but believes the entire IHS team deserves the recognition.
“This award is a reflection of the group,” Aspland said. “It’s about recognizing that we continuously strive to equip everybody to help them achieve their goals. This award validates what we’re trying to do.”
In addition to the institute’s mission to provide innovative, valuable knowledge to protect critical infrastructure and support commerce, Aspland says his personal mission is to provide opportunities for his employees to reach their career objectives.
“Throughout my career, I’ve always felt a sense of duty to my team to help them reach their goals,” Aspland said. “I feel it’s the responsibility of leaders to know your team, to understand where their interests lie and what they want to set in terms of goals for their future career.”
Mitchell says that philosophy is one of the many reasons she was compelled to nominate Aspland for the ESGR Patriot Award.
“Having an employee who has a contractual obligation to the military can come with challenges,” Mitchell said. “Employers risk potentially losing an employee for an extended period of time when they hire a reservist or a guardsman. Everyone can’t be Mike Aspland but I hope that other employers can strive to make workplace environments more supportive of our troops.”
For more information about the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve, click here to visit their website.
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This article was originally published by Today@Sam on Sam Houston State University's website. To view the original article post, click here.
