Springfield firm receives federal employer award

SPRINGFIELD — A Springfield engineering and architecture firm is one of 15 recipients of the U.S. Defense Department’s highest employer award.

The Pentagon announced Thursday that Hanson Professional Services Inc. is a recipient of the 2011 Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award. The award is given for “exceptional support” of employees serving in the National Guard and Reserve.

Freedom award honorees will meet privately with Defense Secretary Leon Panetta in conjunction with a Sept. 22 ceremony in Washington, D.C.

Also attending are the workers who nominated their employers for the award.

Officials say since the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, more than 1.1 million Guard and Reserve service members have been deployed. They have made up almost half of the U.S. military strength.