CRANBERRY TWP — Jeff Walker often gets called away from his day job, sometimes at short notice, to serve in the Pennsylvania Army National Guard.

Some employers could see his absences as an inconvenience. However, Joel Kennedy of Continuum in the township has the opposite reaction, and he often works with Walker to give him flexibility in his work schedule.

That’s why Kennedy, 41, recently was nominated by Walker and received the Patriot Award, given to supervisors who support service members by giving them flex time before and after deployment, among other benefits like leave of absences.

Walker presented Kennedy with the award at a company Christmas party in early December.

Continuum is a nationwide information technology company with its regional headquarters in Cranberry.

Kennedy is the director of technical account management at Continuum, while Walker is a technical account manager.

For his part, Kennedy said he doesn’t feel like he’s doing anything that deserves an award. He’s only trying to make life a little easier for someone who sacrifices his time and energy for such a good cause.

“He’s out there performing an important service for our country, for all of us,” Kennedy said. “I’m not doing anything extraordinary, and I don’t think I deserve an award for being accommodating.”

Regardless, Kennedy said he’s humbled to receive the award, which included a plaque and certificate.

Walker said that he’s worked at Continuum for nearly three years and has never once had a conflict between his day job and military service.

“It’s something that requires some flexibility,” he said. “I’ve had to leave on short notice due to changes in our training schedule, or other things like that. Joel has always been very accommodating of that.”

Walker surprised his boss by giving a presentation at the Christmas party and completely caught him off-guard with the award.

His military obligations take him away from the area about four times a year, Walker said, which is no small scheduling change for his employer.

Walker lives in Ohio and commutes to Cranberry, while Kennedy lives in Lawrence County.

Fred Fair, the vice chairman for Pennsylvania’s branch of the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve, said the Patriot Award that his group sponsors is a crucial element in helping soldiers give thanks for employers’ leniency.

Some soldiers are redeployed four or five times during their service, Fair said, which can take a toll on employers.

“A lot of employers do a lot of great things for our troops, and that needs to be recognized,” Fair said.

Fair said the ESGR is primarily a volunteer-based organization that gives support to anyone in the military in regards to employment issues. He said the organization has been in existence for more than 40 years.

There are more than 100 volunteers in Pennsylvania who routinely travel to places of employment to talk about ESGR’s programs and principles, Fair said.

Part of that includes presentations about the Patriot Award and how military members can honor their employers.

“We want to thank local employers as much as possible,” Fair said. “Some employees go five years off and on in their (military) service so their employees have to suck it up and replace them or try to get along without them. It’s a problem for them and we want to show that we understand.”

Anyone who wants to learn more about the project can visit www.esgr.mil.