Two Comcast employees in Mid-Michigan share a tighter bond than just co-workers.
They both served their country, before going on to serve customers.
For years, Francis McNamara has helped veterans transition from military life and thrive in their jobs at Comcast, but on Tuesday, McNamara was the veteran receiving all of the support.
After five years in the military, McNamara began his career with Comcast in 1994.
But throughout these 25 years with the company, he has always made time to help out other vets, like Daniel Schulte who started working at Comcast four years ago.
Those efforts never went unnoticed, and Schulte went out of his way to nominate McNamara for the Patriot Award, which he received Tuesday morning.
"He's a big mentor here at Comcast. He does look out for the smaller people at Comcast. I myself am just a technician at Comcast, and he has been a mentor for me answering several questions that I have and trying to develop myself and grow my career here at Comcast," Schulte said.
"It was a surprise, but it's very enlightening and it was great to be nominated and actually win this award because being in the military and giving back, and seeing how I could carry that information back to somebody who works for us here at Comcast was just a great honor all the way around," McNamara said.
And this award is also an honor for Comcast, which the veterans say is a company that offers a lot of support for employees who serve in the National Guard and Reserve.
McNamara's Patriot Award is one of only a few the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve program hands out nationally each year.
The ESGR was established by Congress years ago to help promote cooperation and understanding between civilian employers and military members.
