PORT OF SEATTLE 
MEMORANDUM 
COMMISSION AGENDA               Item No.       4b 
Date of Meeting   September 11, 2012 
DATE:    August 30, 2012 
TO:     Tay Yoshitani, Chief Executive Officer 
FROM:    Mary Gin Kennedy, Director of Commission Services 
SUBJECT:  Special Order of Business  Acknowledgment of Representative Adam
Smith's Recognition of the Port of Seattle for Receiving the 2012 Secretary of Defense
Employer Support Freedom Award 

Representative Adam Smith (D-WA-9th) congratulated the Port for receiving the 2012
Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award and inserted his statement into
the August 3, 2012, Congressional Record.
The Port is one of fifteen employers from across the country selected to receive the award 
out of over 3,000 nominations from Guardsmen, Reservists, and their family members.
First instituted in 1996, the Freedom Award is the highest recognition an employer can
receive from the U.S. Government for exceptional support of employees who serve in the
National Guard and Reserve. As of 2011, it is estimated that 20 percent of the Port's
employee base are veterans or are still on active duty. The Port established a Veterans
Fellowship Program to help military personnel transition from active duty to civilian
employment. 



OTHER DOCUMENTS ASSOCIATED WITH THIS SPECIAL ORDER: 
Representative Smith's statement inserted in the August 3, 2012, Congressional
Record 
August 9, 2012, letter to Chief Executive Officer Tay Yoshitani from
Representative Adam Smith