[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 14]
[Senate]
[Page 19328]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 RECOGNIZING CONCORDIA PUBLISHING HOUSE

 Mrs. McCASKILL. Mr. President, I rise today to recognize and 
congratulate St. Louis-based Concordia Publishing House on their 2011 
Baldridge Award and overall commitment to excellence.
  Founded in 1869, Concordia Publishing House, CPH, serves as the 
publishing arm of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, LCMS, and 
provides members of the LCMS community with resources for Christian 
worship and education. Throughout its history, CPH has grown both in 
size and scope while providing the very best products and services to 
customers around the world.
  CPH's successful customer-focused business model distinguishes their 
business as one of the best in the industry and has earned noteworthy 
praise. With a near-perfect customer satisfaction score, CPH's customer 
call center was ranked a center of excellence by a Purdue University 
study for 3 consecutive years. CPH pairs their outstanding customer 
care with state-of-the-art products and technology. From being one of 
the first St. Louis companies to utilize an IBM online data filing 
system, to delivering eProducts on iPhones and iPads, the company has 
always embraced the latest technology in service of their clients. 
CPH's rank as one of the ``Best Christian Workplaces in the United 
States'' in 2009, 2010, and 2011, illustrates their focus on employee 
satisfaction and well-being.
  Named after the 26th U.S. Secretary of Commerce, Malcolm Baldridge, 
the Baldridge Award was established by Congress in 1987 to enhance the 
competitiveness and performance of U.S. businesses. It is the highest 
Presidential honor for business performance. Recipients serve as role 
models not only for their peers in the nonprofit and business sectors 
but for every American organization that strives for a higher standard 
of performance and overall excellence.
  The 2011 Baldridge Award winners were selected from a field of 69 
applicants. Applicants were evaluated based on seven areas defined by 
the Baldridge Criteria for Performance Excellence: leadership; 
strategic planning; customer focus; managements, analysis and knowledge 
management; workforce focus; operations focus; and results.
  Mr. President, 142 years after its founding, Concordia Publishing 
House continues to fulfill their mission to provide the LCMS community 
with the best possible products and services. Concordia Publishing 
House is an exemplary model of a customer-focused, quality-driven 
business that provides important resources to its community. It is my 
pleasure to recognize Concordia Publishing House for their well-
deserved 2011 Baldridge Award.

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