A special honor for Assemblyman Angelo Santabarbara at the State Capitol: Santabarbara received the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve Patriot Award Tuesday.

The award honors employers supportive of National Guard and reserve employees.

The assemblyman served in the U.S. Army Reserve and also employs a member of the New York National Guard in his Schenectady district office who was recently deployed. Santabarbara says he knows what it can be like to know your job might not be there when you get back. 

The Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve is a Department of Defense program established in 1972.