Press Release

Vice President and Commerce Secretary Present Baldrige Awards to Six Organizations

WASHINGTON—In a ceremony today in Washington, D.C., Vice President Dick Cheney and Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez presented six U.S. organizations with the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, the nation's highest honor for performance excellence and quality achievement.

"With innovative practices, a strong commitment to excellence, and visionary leadership, the 2005 Baldrige Award recipients represent the best of American business, education, and health care," said Commerce Secretary Gutierrez. "Since 1988, the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award program has gained world-wide recognition for the vital role it is playing in helping organizations achieve and sustain excellence."

The 2005 Baldrige Award recipients are: Sunny Fresh Foods, Inc., Monticello, Minn. (manufacturing); DynMcDermott Petroleum Operations, New Orleans, La. (service); Park Place Lexus, Plano, Texas (small business); Richland College, Dallas, Texas (education); Jenks Public Schools, Jenks, Okla. (education); and Bronson Methodist Hospital, Kalamazoo, Mich. (health care).

This is the first time that a community college, an automotive dealership and an oil industry business have received a Baldrige Award. Sunny Fresh Foods is a two-time Baldrige Award recipient; it received the award in the small business category in 1999. Baldrige Award recipients can reapply after five years.

Following a six-month evaluation process, including an on-site visit by a team of examiners, the 2005 Baldrige Award recipients were selected from among 64 applicants. An independent board of examiners evaluated them in seven areas: leadership; strategic planning; customer and market focus; measurement, analysis and knowledge management; human resource focus; process management; and results.

The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, managed by the Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in conjunction with the private sector, promotes organizational quality, recognizes performance excellence achievements of U.S. organizations and publicizes these organizations' successful performance strategie. As a non-regulatory agency, NIST promotes U.S. innovation and industrial competitiveness by advancing measurement science, standards and technology in ways that enhance economic security and improve our quality of life.

Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award Background

The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award was established in 1987 to improve performance in U.S. organizations. Awards are made to organizations that have substantially benefited the economic or social well-being of the United States through improvements resulting in performance excellence. Awards can be given in five categories: manufacturing, service, small business, education and health care. Starting in 2007, non-profit organizations--including charities and government agencies--can apply for the award.

The application process is rigorous and thorough. Applicants for the award submit up to 50 pages of details showing processes, improvements and results in seven areas, including leadership, customers and markets, human resources and strategic planning. Each applicant receives more than 400 hours of review by an independent board of business, education and health care experts and a detailed report citing strengths and opportunities for improvement. Since 1988, 64 organizations have received the Baldrige Award.

The Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence are used worldwide by thousands of organizations to assess and improve their overall performance. Annually, more than 500,000 copies of the criteria are downloaded from the Baldrige program's Web site and more than 50,000 copies are mailed.

Each Baldrige Award recipient receives a Steuben crystal stela encasing a gold medallion engraved with the Presidential seal and the words, "The Quest for Excellence." The award is named after Malcolm Baldrige, Secretary of Commerce from 1981 until his death in a rodeo accident in July 1987. Baldrige was a proponent of quality as a key to this country's prosperity and long-term growth and helped draft the act establishing the award program. The act was signed into law by President Reagan in August 1987.

Further information on the Baldrige National Quality Program is available at http://www.baldrige.nist.gov/