EL PASO -- Curtis Ketchmark, a supervisor at American Buildings Co., doesn't think he did anything unusual as one of his employees, Jim Evans, prepared this summer for a deployment to Iraq.

But Evans, a sergeant in the U.S. Army Reserves now in Iraq, thinks his boss has done plenty. He nominated Ketchmark for a Patriotic Employer Award, which was bestowed on Ketchmark during a ceremony at their El Paso plant Wednesday.

"Of all the things a young soldier needs to think about while he's away, it's amazing that he'd stop to say, 'Hey, I want to recognize my boss,'" said retired Brig. Gen. Jay Sheedy, a volunteer with Illinois' Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve, a Department of Defense agency.

Sheedy honored both Ketchmark, of Minonk, and American Buildings during the ceremony, also attended by co-workers; city officials; Evans' wife, Deborah; one of his children, 2-year-old James Jr.; and his brother, Tony.

Deborah Evans said Ketchmark and the company, which designs and manufactures metal buildings and roofing systems, stayed flexible when her husband's training schedule changed in the months before his August departure. Ketchmark said his "door was always open" for Evans, and he helped facilitate the various administrative hoops Evans had to jump through before shipping out.

"I don't really feel that I've done anything that special, except treat people how they want to be treated," Ketchmark said.

Recognizing employers

About 14,000 Patriot Awards were given out last year, including more than 200 in Illinois, and nominations must come from soldiers or their families. The Patriot is just one level of awards the ESGR gives out, said Tom Murgatroyd, executive director for the state's ESGR committee.

In 2008, State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Cos. was one of 15 recipients of the Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award, the government's highest recognition given to employers who provide outstanding support to their employees.

Various laws protect Guardsmen and Reservists - who unlike full-time active duty soldiers often have civilian jobs - from losing their employment or other benefits while deployed.

Yet the absence of even one person can strain civilian workplaces. Supervisors at American Buidings, which has just under 100 workers in the plant where Evans works, said they'll feel his absence over the next year.

Evans, who's been at American Buildings around 20 years and also deployed to Iraq in 2004-2005, is a press operator who works in the trim shop on light metal fabrication, Ketchmark said. He's extra valuable because he's also a certified forklift operator, said Ketchmark, who gets weekly e-mail updates from Evans.

Sheedy said "it would be impossible for the Guard and Reserves to do their job" without the help of employers.