Jacob Shalack, facilities manager in the Office of Research, recently was honored with a Patriot Award from the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve, a federal office that promotes cooperation between U.S. National Guard members and reservists and their civilian employers.
The award recognizes Shalack’s willingness to accommodate the service obligations of National Guard member Brendan Manley, one of his former research technicians at the UGA Marine Institute on Sapelo Island while Shalack served as the Marine Institute’s assistant director for operations and a research professional for the Georgia Coastal Ecosystems Long-term Ecological Research project. To keep Marine Institute activities flowing smoothly during Manley’s service periods, Shalack instituted a flexible working schedule and cross training for his team, allowing both Manley and other team members to handle each other’s duties during absences.
“Sometimes we would be asked to report on short notice, for example during COVID,” said Manley, a 21-year military veteran who now works full time for the Florida Air National Guard as a combat weather forecaster. “I’d get a call, ‘Be here tomorrow,’ and Jacob was always very understanding.
“You can always tell the good supervisors from the ones who are OK or just don’t care [about service commitments],” Manley said. “Jacob was one of the good ones.”
Shalack received the award in a short ceremony held Jan. 31 in the Coverdell Center. Retired First Sergeant Thomas “Randy” Hardin, vice chair for ESGR’s Georgia office, presented Shalack with his award certificate near the U.S. Senate medallion embedded in Coverdell’s lobby. Also attending were Chris King, interim vice president for research, and Merryl Alber, professor of marine science and Marine Institute director.
“I am honored to receive this recognition from the ESGR,” Shalack said. “Although the award goes to the direct supervisor, it is really indicative of the work by the entire team. From Merryl’s leadership to the flexibility and dedication of Brendan and the other technicians, it was a group effort to make it so successful.
“Overall, cross-training makes the team more robust anyway,” Shalack said. “It was a good thing in more ways than one. Brendan and the other techs made this work easy. They were all super flexible and hardworking.”
The Patriot Award is given to civilians who have been recommended by a National Guard member or reservist due to extraordinary service provided to the nominating service member and their family. It “reflects the efforts made to support citizen warriors through a wide range of measures,” according to the ESGR website.
“We are grateful to have Jacob Shalack on our team — previously at the UGA Marine Institute on Sapelo Island and now with our facilities team here in Athens,” said King. “We’ve very proud of Jacob and delighted to see him receive this award.”
