On July 10th, members of the Massachusetts Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (MA-ESGR) joined with Sun Life Financial employees to conduct a Statement of Support signing. Terri Vellante Ham, AVP, Employer Relations, signed the Statement on behalf of the Company, pledging that military members who are Sun Life employees need not worry about their positions with the company while they are serving with the military.

  The signing was the culmination of a chance meeting between ESGR Member eastern area chair John Pelose and Sun Life’s Senior Buyer, and retired Army Reservist Lee Dingee. Other employees that are current members of the reserves and that participated in the signing were Walter Papsedero, a facilities Administrator and member of the U.S. Naval Reserve and 1LT Landon Mavrelis, Assistant Claims Administrator in Stop Loss and member of the Massachusetts Army National Guard. 1LT Landon has been deployed to both Afghanistan and Iraq and was able to speak first hand on the importance of having employer support from the time he needed to notify his employer that he was being called to active duty through the time that he reported back to work.

  The Massachusetts Committee for ESGR invites all to go to its national website at www.esgr.mil to view the employers that have signed statements of support for their employees. We also encourage all members of the Guard and Reserve to talk with their employer about joining their colleagues and a signing a statement at their place of business.

  Shown in the photo at Sun Life Financial headquarters in Wellesley Hills are (front) AVP Terri Vellante Ham, surrounded by (left to right) MA-ESGR John Pelose, 1LT Landon Mavrelis, MANG, 2nd Class Petty Officer Walter Papsedero and Lee Dingee.