NASHVILLE, Tenn.—Bristol Tennessee Essential Services (BTES) has earned the prestigious Excellence Award in the annual Excellence in Tennessee recognition program administered by the Tennessee Center for Performance Excellence (TNCPE). TNCPE is Tennessee's only state-wide quality program patterned on the Baldrige Performance Excellence Program, the national standard for recognizing organizational excellence. TNCPE will officially present BTES with the award at the 20th Anniversary Excellence in Tennessee Awards Banquet on February 20, 2013.
"BTES has been using the TNCPE and Baldrige framework for continuous improvement for over 20 years," said BTES CEO Mike Browder. "We are very proud to be recognized as an Excellence award winner."
Bristol Tennessee Essential Services is a municipally-owned electric utility that also provides high-speed Internet, telephone and cable television services over a fiber optic network.
Through an annual evaluation and assessment process, TNCPE recognizes high-performance organizations that exhibit continuous improvement and best practice processes.
"I want to thank Bristol Tennessee Essential Services for its commitment to improvement and excellence," Gov. Bill Haslam said. "For twenty years, TNCPE has been helping organizations become more efficient and effective, and BTES, in partnership with TNCPE, is doing its part to help build a stronger, better Tennessee."
This is the second time BTES has claimed the top award. Since the program was founded in 1993, only 22 organizations have attained the Excellence designation. The Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority will also receive the Excellence Award this year.
Organizations like BTES apply to the TNCPE program at one of four levels. As the levels increase, so does the depth and complexity of the application, which is based on the Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence. In addition to BTES and the Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority receiving the Excellence Award, nine organizations will be honored with the Achievement Award; 22 will receive a Commitment Award; and, to date, two will receive the Interest Recognition. They represent outstanding achievement in the following industry sectors: health care, manufacturing, service, education, government and nonprofit.
"This program helps organizations look at the big picture. But it's not easy—if it were, every organization in the state would be participating," said TNCPE President Katie Rawls. "Organizations like Bristol Tennessee Essential Services are truly passionate about performance excellence and have chosen TNCPE and the Baldrige framework to help them become the best-run organization they can be."
A full list of winners can be found on the TNCPE website www.tncpe.org
Established in 1993 as a public-private partnership by Governor Ned McWherter, TNCPE strives to promote economic development by helping companies and organizations grow more competitive in today's global marketplace. TNCPE is patterned after the Baldrige Performance Excellence Program, the national standard for recognizing organizational excellence. More than 1,200 organizations have participated in and benefited from the Tennessee Center for Performance Excellence Award Program, including those in the health care, service, manufacturing, not-for-profit, educational and government sectors. Four Tennessee businesses—Caterpillar Financial Services, Pal's Sudden Service, Eastman Chemical Company and Federal Express—have been honored with the prestigious Baldrige National Quality Award and the TNCPE Excellence Award.
