Mack Defense senior vice president Tom Kelly recently received the My Boss is A Patriot Award for his support of colleague Ryan Werling, Mack Defense director of defense sales and programs and Army Reserve Major, during his six-month tour of Iraq.
Kelly and his team at Mack Defense, a division of Mack Trucks Inc., stayed in frequent contact with Werling and his family via phone and e-mail. They also sent several care packages with Mack merchandise, gift certificates and food to Werling’s wife and their two young children. Werling received his own comfort package with food and supplies that he shared with his fellow soldiers.
“We wanted to let Ryan and his family know he was still a part of the Mack team, even though he had another job to do during that time,” says Kelly. “We also knew it would be hard on Ryan’s family to have him away for so long, and in this small way we could let them know how much we appreciated their sacrifice.”
In recognition of his support to Werling, the North Carolina Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve presented Kelly with the My Boss is A Patriot Award during a ceremony at Mack headquarters.
“I am truly indebted to the Mack team for the compassion and support they showed to me and more importantly to my wife and our two small children,” Werling wrote in the award nomination. “As a former active duty soldier, I have been in many tight and cohesive units. I would put my Mack experience against any of my active duty experiences with regard to how well my company took care of my family.”
While deployed, Werling served as an operations officer with the Defense Logistics Agency support team in Iraq. It was his second Iraq tour; the first was in 2003 while on active duty with the Army.
