    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2004, Book I)]
    [March 9, 2004]
    [Pages 344-346]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks at the Presentation of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality
    Awards in Arlington, Virginia
    March 9, 2004

        Congratulations. Good job. Thank you all. Go ahead and be seated.
    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.
        And I appreciate Secretaries Evans and
    Paige for joining me here. I 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 Awards. 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.
        Malcolm Baldrige served as the Commerce Secretary in the eighties,
    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.
        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 was
    violated. We took action to face all these challenges. Today, our
    economy is strong, and it is getting stronger.
        Think about the economic environment of 2003. Inflation is low.
    Interest rates are low. Manufacturing is up. Homeownership is at an
    alltime 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, in 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.
        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 outperform 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

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    working people. We've got the most productive workforce 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
    citizens.
        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. 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--I was wondering whether if we called it
    Pentecostal Hospitals, we'd be--[laughter]--Saint Luke's Hospital in
    Kansas City, Missouri. 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.
        In manufacturing, we have Medrad Incorporated, of Pittsburgh,
    Pennsylvania. 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]
        I'll tell you what I like about John's
    style. He spends a day each month on a frontline 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, as well as
    Boeing Aerospace Support of St. Louis, 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. And if the Nation's
    Armed Forces are happy, I'm happy. [Laughter]
        I love the fact that we're honoring the smallest business ever to
    win the Baldrige Award, Stoner, Incorporated. 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, 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.
        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

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    accomplishment. The teachers are great in that school. I'm told that
    from the classroom to the cafeteria, every employee is committed to a
    single goal: No child should be left behind.
        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] 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
    workforce, 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 workforces,
    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. Just listening to these speeches here
    confirms what I know: This country can meet any challenge.
        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.

     Note: The President spoke at 11 a.m. at the Crystal Gateway Marriott
    Hotel. In his remarks, he referred to former Secretary of Commerce
    Malcolm Baldrige's sister, Letitia Baldrige.