Parks Superintendent awarded as Patriotic Employer

Published on January 02, 2020

Mary McMurray with the Jackson County Parks + Rec Department was recently honored by the Office of the Secretary of Defense for her support of the National Guard and Reserve.

McMurray who is the Superintendent of Historic Sites and Outdoor Education was awarded the Patriotic Employer Award during her division’s Holiday Lunch, December 20. She was nominated by Mark Lewis, an interpreter at Missouri Town 1855 and a member of the Army National Guard.

“He wanted to recognize how supportive we are,” McMurray said. “Not only of his time away, but how we welcome him back as well. That we are all very supportive and willing to jump in to make sure the site is covered so he is never having to be worried about it.”

“Mark is a great member of the team and always goes above and beyond in his service at work and I am sure he does the same in his military duties,” she said.

McMurray said she was just following Jackson County’s policy, but is very honored and proud to receive the award.

“Due to Jackson County’s policy of supporting military service, we can make sure that staff members are able to leave and do their service and come back and not have any negative ramifications. Because of Jackson County’s support of military service we are able to get this,” she said.

She also thanked Parks + Rec Director Michele Newman for her support of the team. “Michele makes sure that we all get to live our lives very fully, while we also focus our attention on making the day of the people that are coming to the parks.”

According to the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve website, “The Patriotic Employer Award reflects the efforts made to support citizen warriors through a wide-range of measures including flexible schedules, time off prior to and after deployment, caring for families and granting leaves of absence if needed. They are awarded to individual supervisors, not to an entire staff or organization as a whole.”