What the Commerce Secretary Said at This Year’s Baldrige Award Ceremony

As the sun set over the Baltimore harbor waterfront Sunday evening, leaders of four high-performing American organizations officially received the 2016 Baldrige Award crystals that symbolize their status as national role models. 

“This year’s recipients each exemplify the very best this country has to offer,” said U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross, speaking of Don Chalmers Ford (a small business in New Mexico), Momentum Group (a small business in California), Kindred Nursing and Rehabilitation Center–Mountain Valley (a health care organization in Idaho), and Memorial Hermann Sugar Land Hospital (a health care organization in Texas). Secretary Ross highlighted results and practices of each award recipient, as follows.

Don Chalmers Ford:

• “Representing Ford Motor Company in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, the dealership has received the highest national recognition for customer satisfaction and market share 13 times.”
• “Each new employee is mentored by a senior employee, instilling within them the company’s culture and core values. This has given them a nearly unmatched retention rate.”
• “Total sales for the dealership increased from $109 million to $126 million in 2015, while the gross profit increased by 13 percent.”

Momentum Group:

• “Over the past 20 years, Momentum Group’s sales have increased over 400 percent, while the company has grown to include offices in North Carolina, Michigan, Illinois, New York, and Texas.”
• “All of this was accomplished because management created an atmosphere in which employees can voice their opinions and take risks, no matter where on the corporate ladder they reside.”

Kindred Nursing and Rehabilitation Center–Mountain Valley:

• “They have received a five-star rating from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for seven straight years.”
• “Since 2013, the 68-bed facility has been given a 100 percent ‘very good’ or ‘extremely good’ satisfaction rating from each resident or family member of a resident.”

Memorial Hermann Sugar Land Hospital:

• “Memorial Hermann Sugar Land ranks among the top 10 percent nationally in several health care performance metrics, including emergency room discharge time, compliance with regulations to reduce medication errors, and radiology and laboratory result turnaround time.”
• “Employing over 600 local residents, Memorial Hermann Sugar Land operates with a revenue of $135 million.”

“Each of these honorees is deserving of their place among the select club of Malcolm Baldrige Award winners,” said Secretary Ross, before calling for a round of applause for the award recipients’ “successful efforts to improve themselves and their industries.” He also stated, “We in government can create the right conditions, but it is American excellence in the private sector that will create and sustain job growth and economic opportunity. And so I hope that tonight’s recognition of these companies will show others what American businesses can achieve.”

The ceremony began with the Presentation of Colors by the United States Joint Armed Services Color Guard and included remarks by Baldrige Foundation Chair George Benson, Department of Commerce Acting Under Secretary for Standards and Technology and National Institute of Standards and Technology Acting Director Kent Rochford, Don Chalmers Ford President and Dealer Principal Gary Housley, Momentum Group President and Chief Executive Officer Roger Arciniega, Kindred Nursing and Rehabilitation–Mountain Valley Executive Director Maryruth Butler, and Memorial Hermann Sugar Land Hospital Chief Executive Officer Greg Haralson.

The event was streamed live and recorded for public viewing; watch the video on the NIST Facebook page.

Also visit the Baldrige Program’s home page for the related news story that includes ceremony photos, links to the full remarks of award recipient leaders, and information about the official release of the Baldrige Cybersecurity Excellence Builder.