Rancho Mirage, Calif. (February 9, 2017) – The Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR), an Office of the Department of Defense, presented both a Patriot Award and a certificate of Employer Statement of Support on January 31, 2017 at Agua Caliente Casino Resort Spa in Rancho Mirage.
Colonel (Ret.) Greg Peck on behalf of the ESGR presented the Patriot Award to Daniel Hartzler, Operations Accounting Manager for Agua Caliente Casino Resorts. Hartzler was nominated for this honor by his direct report, Robert Harper, who is a Revenue Audit Supervisor with the casinos and also serves as an SSG, Staff Sergeant in the U.S. Army Reserves.
Harzler was nominated to receive the Patriot Award for his dedication and cooperation during Harper’s deployment, and for working around his reserve obligations with flexibility and understanding.
The Patriot Award presentation was immediately followed by the presentation of a Statement of Support for the Guard and Reserve certificate to Agua Caliente Casino Resorts. The statement was accepted and signed by Chief Operating Officer C.J. Graham.
“We are honored to support the efforts of the ESGR and our team members who serve in our Nation’s Guard and Reserve,” Graham said, “with sincere appreciation for the role we as an employer are able play in helping maintain their strength and readiness.”
“With fifty-one percent of our military now serving in the guard and reserve, employer support is critical,” Peck said. The Statement of Support Program is the cornerstone of ESGR’s effort to gain and maintain employer support for the Guard and Reserve.
The first Statement of Support was signed December 13, 1972, in the Office of the Secretary of Defense by the Chairman of the Board of General Motors. President Richard Nixon was the first President to sign a Statement of Support, and in 2005 every Federal Cabinet Secretary and all Federal agencies signed a Statement of Support to signify their continuing efforts to be model employers. Since its inception, hundreds of thousands of employers have signed Statements of Support, pledging their support to Guard and Reserve employees.
Agua Caliente Casino Resorts is made up of Agua Caliente Casino Resort Spa, a AAA Four Diamond property in Rancho Mirage, and Spa Resort Casino in downtown Palm Springs offer the hottest slots, a variety of table games, and high-limit gaming, plus fine dining and shopping, all in a gorgeous resort setting. Agua Caliente Casino Resort Spa is also home to The Show, the premier concert theater in Southern California featuring headliners like Willie Nelson, Theresa Caputo, Alan Jackson and Sting. Agua Caliente Casino Resort Spa and Spa Resort Casino are owned and operated by the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians, which also owns the world-renowned Indian Canyons and Tahquitz Canyon hiking trails, and Indian Canyons Golf Resort.