Nine Win U.S. Senate Productivity, Maryland Quality Awards

    COLLEGE PARK, Md., March 12 /PRNewswire/ -- The University of Maryland,
 along with U.S. Senators Barbara Mikulski and Benjamin Cardin, today
 recognized nine high-performing organizations with the Maryland Performance
 Excellence Awards.
     The awards, Maryland's highest distinction given for performance
 excellence, were presented at the 22nd Annual Maryland Performance
 Excellence Awards Conference and Awards Ceremony at the University of
 Maryland.
     Baltimore-based Chimes won the prestigious U.S. Senate Productivity
 Award. Maryland Quality Awards were given to Asbury Communities and Asbury
 Methodist Village Inc., both in Gaithersburg, as well as Howard Community
 College, Salisbury-based Lorch Microwave, Mechanicsville Elementary School,
 Rockville- based Savantage Financial Services Inc., and Greenbelt-based SGT
 Inc. Crofton- based Household of Angels Assisted Living received a
 Certificate of Recognition.
     "The U.S. Senate Productivity Award is given each year to an
 organization representing excellence in Maryland," said Senators Mikulski
 and Cardin in a joint statement. "It is our pleasure to congratulate this
 year's winner -- Chimes -- whose mission focuses on deeds, not just words.
 Chimes, celebrating its 60th Anniversary, is known for its outstanding
 service for meeting the needs of its customers -- persons with
 disabilities. With this honor, it will also be widely recognized for its
 constant mission to do better, always assessing its best practices and for
 building on lessons learned."
     Chimes is an international not-for-profit organization serving
 children, adults and senior citizens with disabilities, offering a range of
 services in education, residential, vocational and employment. Founded in
 1947, Chimes was originally a school for children with moderate mental
 retardation. The organization now serves 12,000 people with special needs
 in Maryland, Virginia, District of Columbia, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New
 Jersey, North Carolina and Israel.
     "We are incredibly proud to receive this award," Stephen S. Kramer,
 Chimes board chair, said. "Today's recognition is only one of the many ways
 that Chimes strives for excellence. Last year, Chimes met the Better
 Business Bureau's Wise Giving Alliance stringent 'Standards for Charity
 Accountability.' We will continue to go the extra mile to earn the trust of
 all of our stakeholders."
     To win the awards, applicants complete a rigorous self-examination and
 application process, after which teams of examiners spend up to 1,000 hours
 evaluating, scoring, and providing feedback using the National Institute
 for Standards and Technology's Baldrige Criteria for Performance
 Excellence.
     "Incorporating quality into your organization improves both efficiency
 and effectiveness, resulting in performance that exemplifies 'deeds not
 words,'" said Chimes Chief Executive Officer Terry Perl.
     Baldrige Criteria evaluate an organization based upon its: leadership;
 strategic planning; customer and market focus; measurement analysis and
 knowledge management; human resource focus; process management; and
 results.
     "Award applicants set goals for themselves that are measurable against
 similar organizations within that same field," said LaWanda Burwell,
 chairperson for the Maryland Performance Awards Program's executive
 guidance board, which decides the award winners. "In business, that may be
 profit, in healthcare, patient outcomes, or in education, student
 achievement. So each applicant determines what it's trying to accomplish,
 as well as whom they want to be measured against. Award examiners then
 gauge how well the organization is performing within those parameters."
     While Chimes won the highest honor -- the U.S. Senate Productivity
 Award -- additional award recipients this year included:
     * Asbury Communities received the Silver Maryland Quality Award. The
       private, not-for-profit organization delivers quality senior living and
       long-term care system, serving Maryland, Pennsylvania and Oklahoma. The
       organization's 2,000 employees are trained with the Continuous Quality
       Improvement philosophy to assure that patients receive quality care.
     * Asbury Methodist Village Inc. received the Silver Maryland Quality Award
       for its services as a continuing care retirement community. Asbury
       Methodist Village provides a variety of senior healthcare and housing
       services to over 1,500 senior adult residents. The management uses a
       Wellness Model to focus attention on intellectual, physical, spiritual,
       vocational, emotional and social needs of its residents.
     * Howard Community College received the Silver Maryland Quality Award for
       its success in providing quality education and services as a publicly
       funded two-year community college serving 22,000 students annually.
       Management continuously monitors the college's "Vital Signs" by
       surveying students and employees to ensure that everyone's efforts are
       well-aligned with the college's objectives.
     * Lorch Microwave received the Bronze Maryland Quality Award. Lorch, a
       wholly-owned subsidiary of SMITHS Interconnect Inc., designs and
       manufactures custom Radio Frequency and microwave filters and
       assemblies. With 165 employees and a 37,000 square-foot facility, Lorch
       remains a leading supplier of military and commercial manufacturers
       worldwide, known for its outstanding customer support and satisfied
       employees.
     * Mechanicsville Elementary School received the Bronze Maryland Quality
       Award. As a public school with 322 students and 41 staff members,
       Mechanicsville Elementary has adopted a motto of "Student success is our
       business." The school gauges its performance based on the Baldrige
       Criteria to ensure that problems are quickly addressed and resolved.
     * Savantage Financial Services Inc. received the Bronze Maryland Quality
       Award for providing high-quality business solutions to its customers.
       Savantage provides accounting, information technology, financial systems
       and e-business solutions to federal government agencies, in addition to
       offering consulting services to customers. The company focuses on
       leadership, integrity, passion for learning, mutual respect and a drive
       for initiative, with management that provides a "hands-on" approach.
     * SGT Inc. received the Bronze Maryland Quality Award for its success and
       high revenues of $100 million in 2006 with aerospace services. Having
       participated in the U.S. Small Business Administration's program for
       disadvantaged small businesses, SGT continues to improve to align with
       ISO and CMMI standards.
     * Household of Angels Assisted Living received a Certificate of
       Recognition. Household of Angels provides two assisted living sites in
       Anne Arundel County, Maryland. With a mission "to create a lifestyle in
       an environment which provides choice, dignity, independence and security
       by extending a helping hand as needed," the organization strives to
       improve, using Baldrige Criteria and surveys to track success.
 
     About the Maryland Performance Excellence Awards (http://www.mpea.umd.edu)
     The Maryland Performance Excellence Awards Program recognizes and
 honors high-performing organizations in Maryland. Given since 1983 by
 Maryland's U.S. Senators and the University of Maryland, the awards foster
 process-based, measurable, continuous improvement that drives results,
 creating successful organizations that strengthen the Maryland economy.
     About Chimes International and its subsidiaries -- U.S. and Israel
     Established in 1947 at Maryland's first school for children with
 moderate mental retardation, Chimes has expanded to an international
 multi-service organization. This Maryland-based not-for-profit, its
 subsidiaries and related corporations deliver a wide range of programs,
 services and supports for more than 12,000 people of all ages and many
 levels of ability. Chimes assists people with disabilities including mental
 retardation and mental illness. One subsidiary specializes in securing
 large-scale work contracts through federal and state set-aside programs
 that promote the employment of people with disabilities. Chimes DC is
 active in Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Virginia, North Carolina, and
 the District of Columbia, with contracts for custodial and other services
 at such well-known facilities as the Library of Congress; Dover, Andrews
 Air Force Base, and Fort Bragg, the Social Security Metro-West and Fallon
 Federal complexes in Baltimore; as well as Baltimore Washington
 International Airport.
 
 

SOURCE Maryland Technology Enterprise Institute