Today, Howard Malcom Baldrige Jr. was born. Son of a Senator from Nebraska, he graduated from Yale and wanted to be a Cowboy, winning several awards as a team roper on the Rodeo circuit. In fact, he died in a rodeo accident while still Secretary of Commerce, having served for nearly 7 years. As an advisor to then President Reagan, Malcom Baldrige, reduced the departments budget by 30% and slashed staff by 25%. He pushed quality and backed the Quality Improvement Act of 1987. After his death, Congress named the award given to the organization who promotes quality and achieves new levels of quality by effectively managing, measuring, and promoting their findings after Mr. Baldrige. This is the only award giving by the President of the United States that recognizes quality. The last 10 winners have been (according to Wikipedia.com):

• PRO-TEC Coating Co. Leipsic, Ohio

• Mercy Health System Janesville, Wisc.

• Sharp Healthcare San Diego, Calif.

• City of Coral Springs Coral Springs, Florida

• U.S. Army Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center (ARDEC) Picatinny Arsenal, N.J.

• MESA Products, Inc. Tulsa, Okla.

• Premier Inc. San Diego, Calif.

• North Mississippi Medical Center Tupelo, Miss.

• Sunny Fresh Foods, Inc. Monticello, Minn.

Congratulations to these companies for making better products and providing better services for us all.