WASHINGTON, D.C.-President George W. Bush and Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez honored five organizations that received the 2007 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, the nation’s highest Presidential honor for organizational performance excellence. For the first time in its 20-year history, the Baldrige Award was bestowed onto nonprofit organizations.

The 2007 Baldrige Award recipients are:

• Pro-Tec Coating Co., small business
  
• Mercy Health System, health care
  
• Sharp HealthCare, health care
  
• City of Coral Springs, nonprofit
  
• U.S. Army Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center, nonprofit

“I am pleased to join President Bush in congratulating the five outstanding organizations that have been named to receive this year’s Baldrige Award,” said Secretary Gutierrez. “The organizations we recognize today have given us superb examples of innovation, excellence and world-class performance. They serve as role models for organizations of all kinds striving to improve effectiveness and increase value to their customers.”

The 2007 Baldrige Award recipients were selected from a field of 84 applicants. All of the applicants were evaluated rigorously by an independent board of examiners in seven areas: leadership; strategic planning; customer and market focus; measurement, analysis and knowledge management; workforce focus; process management; and results. The evaluation process for the 2007 Baldrige Award recipients included about 1,000 hours of review and an onsite visit by teams of examiners to clarify questions and verify information in the applications.