1:08 p.m., Feb. 9, 2009----The Delaware Quality Award Executive Council and the University of Delaware honored recipients of the Delaware Quality Awards during an event held Feb. 5 at Clayton Hall.

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The State of Delaware's Division of Corporations and the Speakman Company both were presented the W.L. Gore Award of Excellence, the highest-level award in the state and one named in honor of the late W. L. (Bill) Gore, founder of W. L. Gore & Associates.

Bayhealth Child Care and Early Learning Center was awarded the Delaware Quality Commitment Award.

A keynote address by Terri Kelly, president and chief executive officer of W. L. Gore & Associates and a University of Delaware graduate, preceded the awards ceremony. Kelly spoke on the topic, “Nurturing a Vibrant Culture for Innovation.”

“We're all about innovation,” Kelly said. “If we're not making products that make a difference, that are solving some of these very demanding challenges in the world, then we're not successful.”

After Kelly's speech, the award winners were introduced by Delaware Lt. Gov. Matthew Denn.

Brenda Kibler, director of the Bayhealth Child Care and Early Learning Center, and Laurie Reel, a teacher at the center, accepted the Delaware Quality Commitment Award.

“We take our childcare center very seriously,” said Kibler. “Bayhealth is extremely committed to its children, its employees and its family, and we're very honored to receive this today.”

Accepting the W. L. Gore Award of Excellence for the Division of Corporations were Delaware Secretary of State Jeffrey Bullock, Richard J. Geinsenberger, assistant secretary of state, Robert Mathers, corporations administrator, and Harriet Smith Windsor, former secretary of state.

“This is such a special day, and I'm honored to be here,” Windsor said. “When I traveled around the world or across the country and people asked, 'Why incorporate in Delaware?' we always said that it was a package deal. But now when I tell that story, the part that I will forever put first is the fact that we have customer service in the Division of Corporations that makes it work on a daily basis.”

Rod Ward, president and chief executive officer of the Speakman Company, accepted the W. L. Gore Award of Excellence along with Mark Puzzo, supply chain manager, and Kenneth Czajkowski, quality assurance manager.

“What this Delaware Quality Award means to us is really looking into the future. We look and continually say, 'How can we improve?'” Ward said. “We look at this event as just a stop on our journey and it's a way to take a measurement and say, 'You know what? We're doing OK.'”

After the awards were presented, Mica Corradin, Delaware Quality Award program manager, and Bill MacLachlan, of the executive council, recognized the Delaware Quality Award board of examiners and judges panel for their efforts.

The Delaware Quality Award was established in 1992 as a public-private partnership to promote and recognize performance excellence throughout the state. The top Delaware award honors W. L. (Bill) Gore for his effort in promoting excellence, innovation, and a positive working environment at the company that bears his name, W. L. Gore & Associates.

As one of 37 state award programs based on the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, Delaware Quality Award applicants are evaluated rigorously by an independent board of examiners in seven areas: leadership; strategic planning; customer and market focus; measurement, analysis and knowledge management; workforce focus; process management; and results.

The evaluation process for each of the recipients included from 500-1,000 hours of review and an on-site visit by a team of examiners to clarify questions and verify information in the applications.

The Delaware Quality Award is a program of the University of Delaware's Division of Professional and Continuing Studies, which is housed at the UD Downtown Center at 8th and King streets in Wilmington.

Article by Adam Thomas

Photos by Ambre Alexander