President Commends Recipients of Malcolm Baldridge Awards
Crystal Gateway Marriott
Arlington, Virginia
11:00 A.M. EST
THE PRESIDENT: Congratulations. Good job. (Applause.) Thank you
all very much. Welcome. I'm really glad to be invited back to this
annual event to recognize excellence and to bestow an honor named for a
great American.
This year, the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award goes to
seven outstanding recipients. Each set ambitious goals; each
organization worked hard to achieve them. You're setting such a good
example as a beacon of excellence. You represent the great strength
and the entrepreneurial spirit of the American economy. I congratulate
you for a job well done. (Applause.)
And I appreciate Secretaries Evans and Paige for joining me here,
and thank them for their service to our country. I thank Dr. John
White, the University of Arkansas Chancellor. I appreciate the fact
that he didn't bring up the Arkansas-Texas football score.
(Laughter.) I thank Letitia Baldrige for being here, Mac's favorite
sister -- only sister? Yes. (Laughter.) I want to thank those of you
involved with the Baldrige Award. I want to thank you for keeping the
spirit alive. I want to thank you for focusing on quality; thank the
judges and the foundation members.
I appreciate the members of Congress who are here today. I'm glad
you all have taken time to come to honor the recipients. I want to
thank the U.S. Army Band for providing quality music. (Applause.)
Malcolm Baldrige served as the Commerce Secretary in the '80s, at a
time when many questioned whether America could remain the world's
strongest economy. He was an optimistic guy. He dedicated himself to
proving the skeptics wrong. That kind of confidence in America's
economic strength was justified in his day, and it is justified in our
day. (Applause.)
Think about what this economy has been through the last several
years. In 2000, the stock market began a steady decline. By early
2001, the nation was in a recession. Then we got attacked on September
the 11th. We had to face the consequences of that attack. We saw
scandals in corporate boardrooms in which the trust of workers and
investors were violated. We took action to face all these challenges,
and today our economy is strong, and it is getting stronger.
(Applause.)
Think about the economic environment of 2003. Inflation is low;
interest rates are low; manufacturing is up. Home ownership is at an
all-time high. Stock prices are up. The stock market wealth has risen
by more than $3 trillion since the beginning of 2003. The unemployment
rate today is lower than the average rate in the 1970s, the 1980s, and
the 1990s. Thanks to our productive workers and the entrepreneurial
spirit of this country, the fastest growing, major industrialized
economy in the world is the United States of America. (Applause.)
As our economy moves forward and new jobs are added, some are
questioning whether American companies and American workers are up to
the challenge of foreign competition. There are economic isolationists
in our country who believe we should separate ourselves from the rest
of the world by raising up barriers and closing off markets. They're
wrong. If we are to continue growing this economy and creating new
jobs, America must remain confident and strong about our ability to
trade in the world. Given a level playing field, America will
out-perform the competition, and America will continue to be a world
leader.
We've got great advantages here in this country. We've got the
world's hardest-working people. We've got the most productive work
force in the world. We have an attractive climate for our businesses
to expand. We have innovative, dynamic companies which are producing
world-class products and services. America's best companies are
emphasizing quality and service, and developing world-class methods for
production. By selling good ideas and good products in markets not
only here, but across the world, we're creating jobs -- good,
high-paying jobs for the American citizen.
Each recipient of today's award earned it. When I say we need to
be confident about our future, I'm confident because I just heard the
stories of great success. (Applause.) They got their best ideas from
all kinds of places, whether it be from their workers, or their
customers. They listened.
In the health care category, we have two winners: Baptist
Hospitals in Pensacola, Florida -- (Applause.) I was wondering whether
if we called it Pentecostal Hospitals, we'd be -- (Laughter and
applause.) Saint Luke's Hospital, in Kansas City, Missouri. These
hospitals -- (applause) -- these hospitals have focused on serving
patients and their families better. That's what they focused on. They
got their employees fully involved in measuring performance. Because
of their excellence, both of these winners are saving lives. It must
make you feel good to work in an industry in which you save somebody's
life. (Applause.)
In manufacturing, we have Medrad Incorporated, of Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania. (Applause.) A maker of medical imaging devices,
Medrad's commitment to excellence runs from the top, from the CEO, John
Friel, who, by the way, said we -- I put my knee under one of his
devices. (Laughter.) I said, "I appreciate the diagnosis. You just
hadn't figured out the cure for old age." (Laughter and applause.)
I'll tell you what I like about John's style; he spends a day each
month on a front-line job. Here's a fellow who is the CEO who mops the
floors, who's taken phone calls, who's heard customer complaints, who
works on the assembly line. He's built a culture where everyone at the
company has a voice in the way things are done.
Caterpillar Financial Services, of Nashville, Tennessee --
(applause) -- as well as, Boeing Aerospace Support, of St. Louis,
provides -- (applause) -- provides maintenance and other services.
These are good companies. Both companies have set up teams of
employees to focus on quality. And as a result, both have a lot more
happy customers.
In the case of Boeing Aerospace Support, one of their happy
customers happens to be the nation's Armed Forces. (Applause.) And if
the nation's Armed Forces are happy, I'm happy. (Laughter and
applause.)
I love the fact that we're honoring the smallest business ever to
win the Baldrige Award, Stoner Incorporated. (Applause.) Today is
vacation day. (Laughter.) The whole company is here. (Laughter.)
This company, which is in Quarryville, Pennsylvania, makes specialized
cleaners, lubricants, and coatings. They have an interesting goal, an
easy goal to understand -- I like clear speakers -- (laughter) -- never
lose a customer. And that focus has translated to company-wide
quality.
And then we've got educational excellence. It's an amazing story
you just heard -- the Community Consolidated School District 15 --
(applause) -- Palatine, Illinois -- faces challenges common to many of
the school districts across America. But it achieves uncommon
results. These people don't make excuses for failure, see? They do
what I call "challenging the soft bigotry of low expectations." They
expect the best. They believe every child can learn. (Applause.)
It's easy to say, we can't achieve excellence because one-third of
our students come from low-income homes. It's easy to say, we can't
achieve excellence because English is not the primary language in the
homes of another third of our students. Yet, because of rigorous
testing and evaluation, and a commitment to high standards, the belief
that every child can learn, 84 percent of the second graders read at or
above grade level. It's a fantastic accomplishment. The teachers are
great in that school. (Applause.) I'm told that from the classroom to
the cafeteria, every employee is committed to a single goal: no child
should be left behind. (Applause.)
I appreciate the example this school district has set. I
appreciate the example all the companies here have set, as well.
You're now what we call quality experts, which means you're going to
get calls from other companies or organizations to find out how you
won, what you did to achieve such good success. And I hope you share
your knowledge. The country is better off when you're willing to share
how you achieved excellence with those who will want to accomplish the
same goals.
Anyone looking for an easy answer, though, is going to be
disappointed. It may sound easy in the speeches. It's hard to win
this award. (Laughter.) This isn't one of these deals where everybody
gets a blue ribbon. (Laughter and applause.) You have to work hard.
You have to be totally focused and committed to excellence. It has to
be a part of your culture, your very being.
A good product, of course, is essential. It's hard to be
successful if you don't make something somebody doesn't want to buy.
You've got to have a good business plan. But the most important
ingredient is a great work force -- people who live and work by the
principles of excellence and fairness and team work and personal
responsibility.
That's really what we're honoring today, isn't it? Great work
forces, people who are willing to strive for something greater than
themselves. The Baldrige Award winners are showing one of the greatest
strengths of this nation and our economy. Whether the challenge comes
from a competitor across town, or from a competitor across the ocean,
American workers are up to the job. (Applause.)
Just listening to these speeches here confirms what I know: This
country can meet any challenge. (Applause.) I want to congratulate
the award winners, congratulate the companies. May God bless you and
your families. May God continue to bless this great nation. Thank you
for coming. (Applause.)