Gavin Johnson presented Lory Steinmetz with the Patriotic Employer Award.
The Employee Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) has honored Lory Steinmetz, Supervisor of the Mycology/Mycobacteriology Laboratory, with a Patriotic Employer Award.
Steinmetz was nominated by Clinical Laboratory Technologist Gavin Johnson, who serves as Captain Chemical Officer in the 34th Combat Aviation Brigade of the 34th “Red Bull” Infantry Division in the Minnesota National Guard.
Johnson’s nomination of Steinmetz included the following:
I have worked in the Mayo Clinic Mycology and Mycobacteriology Lab for 1.5 years, and my supervisor team of Lory, with her Assistant Supervisors Sharon Deml and Brian Connelly, have been highly supportive of my service. Coordinating time off for long drill weekends and annual training has been seamless, and they have accommodated to short notice changes due to military training requirements.
Steinmetz received the award in a surprise ceremony on November 20 from Minnesota’s ESGR representative, Retired Colonel Tom Simonet.
From left: Tom Simonet, Gavin Johnson, and Lory Steinmetz.
According to Johnson, Simonet shared in his presentation that teamwork is key when Johnson is away on military duties.
“Every worker in our lab chips in to work just a little bit harder when I step away for military service to ensure that testing continues and the patients’ results are delivered without delay,” Johnson wrote in an email.
As his nomination of Steinmetz points out, this couldn’t be done without her leadership. During the presentation, Steinmetz elaborated on Simonet’s sentiment by tying it to Mayo Clinic’s primary value, “The Needs of the Patient Come First.”
About the Award The ESGR grants multiple awards to recognize employers who support their Guard and Reserve employees. According to the website, “Our nation has relied heavily on Guard and Reserve Service members since entering continuous operations more than 14 years ago. Employer support enhances retention rates in the Armed Forces and, in the end, strengthens our national security.”
Molly Dee
Molly Larsen is the Web Content Coordinator at Mayo ClinicLaboratories. She is responsible for internal and external communications pertaining to the website and information technology, as well as editing content on MayoClinicLabs.com. She has worked at Mayo Clinic since 2015. Outside of work, Molly enjoys working out, reading, Harry Potter trivia, and spending time with her family and friends, including Seamus, the labrador/mastiff puppy.
