For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
April 6, 2001
Remarks by the President During 2000 Malcolm Baldrige Awards
Crystal Gateway Marriott Hotel Crystal City, Virginia
1:52 P.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Thank
you. Mr. Secretary. Mr. Secretary, thank you very
much for that kind introduction, and thank you for agreeing to serve
your country once again. My friend, Don Evans, couldn't make
it, but we have a pretty darn good replacement with Norm Mineta.
Dr. Wood, thank you very much, sir, for your
leadership. You may wonder why Dr. Wood has got such white
hair. My mother's on his board. (Laughter and
applause.) And if she were here, she would say she has white
hair because of me. (Laughter.)
I'm thrilled to see the Baldrige
family. Thank you all for being here, and than you for
staying with this award. They tell me you never miss, Midge,
and that's important.
I want to congratulate the winners who are
here, the CEOs, the leaders, the employees, the rowdy
Texans. (Laughter.)
AUDIENCE: (Cheers and whistles.)
THE PRESIDENT: I rest my
case. (Laughter.) It's an honor to be
here. Before I begin, I would like to update you on the
situation in China. Earlier this morning, I talked with
General Sealock who, once again, visited with our crew for about an
hour today and reports that they are doing just
fine. (Applause.)
They are housed in officers' quarters and they
are being treated well. We're proud of these young men and women who
are upholding the high standards of our Armed Forces. We
know this is a difficult time for their families, and I thank them for
their patriotism and their patience. We're working hard to
bring them home through intensive discussions with the Chinese
government, and we think we're making progress.
And now, to the business at
hand. It's an honor to be here, to be a part of an award
ceremony that has stood the test of time. And the reason why
is that it's based on principles, such as high standards, quality, and
excellence.
The philosophy of Malcolm Baldrige and the
Baldrige Awards make clear that everyone in an organization has a
voice, a philosophy which trusts everyone with
responsibility. Quality comes from giving people the tools
and training their jobs require, the authority they need to do their
work the way they think is best; the dignity that comes with knowing
that their views matter. To do good work, we need great
workers and great companies, such as those represented here, treat
great workers with respect and fairness.
The Baldrige way is good
business. The Hypothetical Baldrige Index, a stock market
index composed of the shares of those Baldrige winners that are
publicly traded, has outperformed the S&P; 500 for seven years in a
row. As the example of Los Alamos National Bank shows, caring for our
communities is a form of quality as well. And that quality
will be rewarded with customer satisfaction and customer loyalty.
The Baldrige quality message is coming to
health care and to education. Health care and education were
added as categories in 1999. I realize there are no winners
yet, but 25 organizations applied in '99 and 19 more in the year
2000. I look forward to presenting the first Baldrige Award
in these categories soon.
We thank the Baldrige Foundation, the
examiners, the judges, the foundation members, all the volunteers who
work so hard. And thank you for your devotion to the highest
ideals of American business.
These efforts do justice to the memory of an
extraordinary man, Malcolm Baldrige, one of this country's outstanding
public servants. He served as Commerce Secretary at a time
when many doubted that American goods could compete in world
markets. He dedicated himself to proving the doubters
wrong. He succeeded, and America is stronger thanks to him
and the award established to honor him.
Thank you for having
me. (Applause.)
END 2:00
P.M. EDT
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