Johanna Pettey, the store manager of Umpqua Bank in La Grande, displays the Patriot Award she received from the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve program on Wednesday, May 18, 2022. Pettey is shown with Jack Johnson, right, chair of Area Six of the Oregon Committee of Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve, and Capt. Troy Bagnoll, a senior staff member of La Grande’s 3rd Battalion, 116th Cavalry.

ISLAND CITY — A civilian making sacrifices to boost La Grande’s National Guard unit, the 3rd Battalion, 116th Cavalry, is being saluted by a Department of Defense agency.

Johanna Pettey, the store manager of Umpqua Bank in Island City, was presented with the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve program’s Patriot Award on Wednesday, May 18. The award recognizes employers and their managers whose help make it possible for people to be employed and serve in the National Guard or another reserve branch of the Armed Forces.

Pettey was nominated by Pfc. Eduardo Bedolla, a member of La Grande’s National Guard unit. Bedolla, in his letter asking that Pettey, his supervisor, be given the ESGR Patriot Award, praised her for making it easier for him to take leave from his position at Umpqua Bank to fulfill his military commitments.

“Johanna has been an awesome boss. She really understands that my military obligations come first, and she tries her best to help with any question regarding my military leave from Umpqua Bank,” he wrote.

Bedolla also said that at times he feels bad about leaving but that Pettey always reassures him that she understands and that his job will be there for him when he returns.

“Johanna has been great to work with and her support means so much,” wrote Bedolla.

The Patriot Award was presented to Pettey by Jack Johnson, chair of Area Six of the Oregon Committee of Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve. Johnson said Bedolla is currently out on a military mission.

“I know that this places additional stress on his supervisor and the total workforce at Umpqua Bank,” Johnson said.

The ESGR is an agency within the Department of Defense, and Johnson is one of its 100 volunteers in Oregon

Johnson was accompanied at the award presentation by Capt. Troy Bagnall, a senior staff member of La Grande’s National Guard unit. Bagnall said the significance of help from employers like Umpqua Bank cannot be underestimated in terms of what it means to the National Guard.

“This is a huge deal,” Bagnall said.