Minister of the Interior Herbert Reul awarded the sponsorship plaque for employers at a ceremony on Wednesday, 13 September 2023. The award goes to private employers from North Rhine-Westphalia who provide special support to emergency services personnel in their voluntary work in the volunteer fire brigades, the THW and recognised aid organisations. Ten companies from North Rhine-Westphalia received the award. The award ceremony took place at the Ministry of the Interior.
Interior Minister Herbert Reul: "Volunteers in the fire service and disaster control are the foundation of our society. To prevent this from crumbling, employers must provide a stable foundation. That is why we would like to thank employers. They set a good example and support their employees in this important voluntary work. I hope that many more companies in the country will follow in their footsteps.
The state of North Rhine-Westphalia wants to recognise and promote support for voluntary work in fire and disaster protection by private employers. For this reason, the sponsorship plaque was presented to particularly committed companies for the 15th time this year.
These are the award-winning companies: Werkstatt für Menschen mit Beeinträchtigung Alexianer Werkstätten GmbH from Cologne, Busch-Jaeger Elektro GmbH from Lüdenscheid and Bad Berleburg, ELHA-Maschinenbau Liemke KG from Hövelhof, ESC Electronics from Altenbeken, Heizung- und Sanitärbetrieb Anneliese und Siegfried Fuchs GbR from Übach-Palenberg, Heinz Steens Radio und Fernsehen from Havixbeck, Jost Gebäudetechnik GmbH from Essen, Kunkel + Partner Ingenieure GmbH from Siegen, Mahr und Söhne GmbH from Aachen, Mettallverarbeitung Schuhl und Co. GmbH from Winterberg.
The winners were selected by a jury of representatives from the Ministry of the Interior, aid organisations, employers' associations, local authority associations, the Association of Fire Services in NRW and the Federal Agency for Technical Relief. Prior to this, the municipalities, the aforementioned associations or other aid organisations were able to submit nominations. This year there were 59 nominations.
The selection criteria include the generous release of volunteers, the waiver of statutory compensation, material support and the provision of company premises for training purposes.
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