Baldrige National Quality Program Director to speak in Columbia, MO

Columbia, MO -

MidwayUSA and the Baldrige Performance Excellence Group (BPEG)-Columbia Chapter are pleased to announce Dr. Harry Hertz,Director of the Baldrige National Quality Program at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) will appear in Columbia, MO on Tuesday, August 24, to speak at the Columbia Chapter of the BPEG monthly meeting.

"It's an honor for Dr. Hertz to speak at our August luncheon," said Deanna Herwald, Columbia BPEG President. "We're pleased a national figure like Dr. Hertz would recognize our local chapter and hope this recognition encourages other local communities to establish their own chapters to focus on performance excellence."

Dr. Harry Hertz is responsible for the Baldrige National Quality Program that administers the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. Prior to becoming Program Director in 1996, he served as the Program's Deputy Director from 1992-1996. Dr. Hertz has been with the National Institute of Standards and Technology since 1973 and has a keen interest in change management and the evolving definition of quality.

The Columbia Chapter of the Baldrige Performance Excellence Group was founded in 2010 to promote 'performance excellence' in all sectors of the community – education, health care, small business, manufacturing, service and non-profit. The chapter supports the Excellence in Missouri Foundation and the Baldrige National Quality Program. It encourages local organizations to apply for the Missouri Quality Award and/or the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. Key benefits for organizations participating in the Baldrige Award process or the Missouri Quality Award process include: accelerating improvement efforts, energizing employees, gaining an outside perspective on your organization, learning from the feedback process and focusing on results.

"Everyone recognizes the importance of quality in our businesses and our community and Baldrige is the organizational model to make this happen. We appreciate Harry's recognition of the effort to establish Columbia, MO as a community of excellence," says Larry Potterfield, Founder and CEO of MidwayUSA.

For more information about NIST or the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, please visit www.nist.gov/baldrige.

For more information about the Columbia Chapter of the Baldrige Performance Excellence Group, please visit Baldrige Performance Excellence Overview.pdf or find BPEG on LinkedIn.com