COLUMBIA, MO – In an unprecedented move to promote excellence in Missouri schools, Larry and Brenda Potterfield announced on October 5 that they have made a restricted gift to the Foundation for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award in the amount of $1 Million. The gift is to be awarded to the first Missouri K-12 public school to apply for and receive the Baldrige National Quality Award.
“Learning and applying the leadership and management principles from Baldrige has significantly affected the performance of MidwayUSA,” said MidwayUSA Founder and CEO Larry Potterfield. “We believe Baldrige can do the same for education, so this is our way of sharing our success and giving something back – in support of public education.”
The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award is given by the President of the United States to businesses, education, health care and nonprofit organizations that apply and are judged to be outstanding in seven areas: leadership; strategic planning; customer focus; measurement, analysis, and knowledge management; workforce focus; process management; and results. The Potterfield family gift is the first of its kind in establishing a monetary prize for an award winner.
“We know the Baldrige criteria can drive excellence in public schools, just as it does in business,” said Kellie Glenn, Major Gifts Director at the Foundation for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. “This gift will help create awareness of the significant opportunities that exist through the application of the Baldrige criteria within Missouri’s public school systems.”
School districts interested in learning more about the Baldrige Performance Excellence Program may contact Kellie Glenn at (202) 285-1334 or kglenn@baldrigefoundation.org. About the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award:
Named after former U.S. Secretary of Commerce Malcolm Baldrige, Congress established the award program in 1987 to recognize U.S. organizations for their achievements in quality and performance and to raise awareness about the importance of quality and performance excellence as a competitive edge. Three awards may be given annually in each of these categories: manufacturing, service, small business, education, health care and nonprofit. MidwayUSA received the award in 2009 in the small business category.
The U.S. Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) manages the Baldrige National Quality Program in close cooperation with the private sector. About MidwayUSA: Both country kids from Missouri, Larry and Brenda Potterfield turned their passion for shooting sports into a career by opening a small gun shop in 1977 that would eventually become MidwayUSA (www.midwayusa.com). They instilled family values like honesty, integrity and respect for others into the business, and strive to maintain this culture with each Employee added to their growing team. For over 36 years, MidwayUSA has offered JUST ABOUT EVERYTHING® for Shooting, Reloading, Gunsmithing and Hunting with an unyielding focus on Customer Satisfaction.
For more information on MidwayUSA, visit www.midwayusa.com/general/press-release, find them on Facebook (www.facebook.com/OfficialMidwayUSA), or follow them on Twitter (www.twitter.com/midwayusa).
