President Bush Honors City Of Coral Springs

Published May 8th, 2008

By Nicol Jenkins
Editor

The city of Coral Springs has recently received the highest honor from the President of the United States.

President George W. Bush has honored the city of Coral Springs for winning the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, a Presidential honor that recognizes U.S. companies for organizational performance excellence.

Coral Springs Mayor Scott Brook, Vice Mayor Vince Boccard and City Manager Michael Levinson received the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award in Washington D.C. at the April 23 recognition ceremony held at the White House.

The City of Coral Springs is the first state or local government in the nation to receive the coveted Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award.

President George W. Bush personally congratulated City Manager Michael S. Levinson, Mayor Scott J. Brook, and Vice Mayor Vincent M. Boccard at the White House for meeting the extraordinary standards required by this prestigious award for performance excellence.

After the Presidential recognition, City staff, the City Commission and local representatives attended the awards ceremony at the Hilton Washington honoring all five 2007 Baldrige recipients. Secretary of Commerce Carlos M. Gutierrez presented the Baldrige Award to the City of Coral Springs.

“Quality, innovation and competitiveness are essential to America’s global leadership. Each of the five recipients we honor here today has developed an innovative approach to performance excellence that benefits their organization, their community and our nation,” Gutierrez said.

The city’s long history of commitment to quality and customer satisfaction goes back fifteen years, when the city first adopted the Baldrige criteria as a guide to providing best-in-class services to local residents and businesses at the lowest possible price.

“I’m often asked ‘Why Baldrige?’” Levinson said, as he delivered the acceptance speech. “The answer is simple: exceptional customer satisfaction ratings and performance results, and our ability to sustain these results in the best of times and the worst of times.”

Levinson added, “Our culture dictates that we never rest on our laurels. We strive to meet our customers’ needs and expectations in the most responsive and fiscally responsible manner possible.”

The local business community made the Baldrige application feasible by underwriting the cost of the evaluation process. Therefore, no tax dollars were used toward applying for the Malcolm Baldrige Award.

“I think it’s an honor to be part of the commission that’s receiving this award,” Boccard told the Our Town News.

“I’m ecstatic about representing the city in receipt of the recognition of this coveted award for excellence,” Mayor Brook told the Our Town News.
The city is the first state or local government in the nation to receive the coveted award. This is the first year non-profit organizations could apply for the award, after testing a pilot program in 2006. Of 84 total applicants, Coral Springs was one of 13 non-profits to apply and one of only four to receive a site visit in its category.

“It’s what I call a 14 year journey,” Boccard said. “The city manager has brought us into the corporate world, running the city like a major Fortune 500 company. It is what makes us unique from other cities.”

Boccard added, “We’re the only city in the history of Malcolm Baldrige to ever receive a site visit and to win the award. It’s an honor to be recognized by national government.”

Mayor Brook credits the award to “tremendous planning, incomparable attention to detail, and we always put our citizens first.”

The City Commission and some city staff attended a banquet following the ceremony. The Secretary of Commerce honored the Commission and staff at the banquet. Only three members of the city were allowed to attend the White House ceremony due to security issues, according to city staff.

This past week, the House and Senate in Tallahassee also recognized the city of Coral Springs for winning the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award.

For more information or to view the Malcolm Baldrige Award Ceremony, visit www.coralsprings.org/baldrige.