Recognition is the first thing that comes to mind, but the true value is in improving organizational performance through affordable consultation from industry experts.  Preparing an application itself can be used as a system of accountability for continual improvement.  The process involves work—writing an application report—but the rewards are a thorough assessment of priorities, goals and results…making sure everyone is on the same page.

Choose from four levels of award with different requirements at each level:

• Challenge
• Commitment
• Achievement
• Governor’s Award for Performance Excellence

At all levels of award you’ll receive a feedback report with strengths and gaps prepared by examiners, trained professional volunteers from across Arkansas.

We can help you write your application at Applicant Training workshops.  We use the Baldrige Excellence Framework, a set of 200 potential questions that set the highest benchmark for organizational excellence. All training is at the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce, 1200 West Capitol Avenue, Little Rock. Training dates for the 2020 award cycle are:

Tuesday – October 22, 2019  9 a.m. – 3 p.m.

Applicant Training I – Organizational Profile and Basic Baldrige Concepts (All Award Levels)

An Organizational Profile is required at all levels of award.  Learn how to write your Profile and discover the impact it has on everything your organization does strategically.  Applicant Training includes assessing your organizational maturity for processes and results.  This training is for applicants at all levels of award and is the requirement at the Challenge award level.

Click here to register. *You can use one registration form to register for all trainings.

Tuesday – November 12, 2019  9 a.m. – 3 p.m.

Applicant Training II – Identifying Key Processes for Success (Commitment Level)

In this workshop you will learn how to write a Commitment Award level application by assessing overall processes in the seven categories of Leadership, Strategy, Customers, Knowledge Management, Workforce, and Operations.  This training is for Commitment level applicants.

Click here to register.

Wednesday – November 13, 2019  9 a.m. – 3 p.m.

Applicant Training II – Identifying Key Processes for Success (Achievement/Governor’s Levels)

Identify key processes in your key work systems and assess their effectiveness through evaluation in the six categories of Leadership, Strategy, Customers, Knowledge Management, Workforce and Operations.  This training is for Achievement and Governor’s Award applicants.

Click here to register.

Tuesday – December 10, 2019  9 a.m. – 3 p.m.

Applicant Training III – Proving Success through Demonstrated Results (Commitment/Achievement/Governor’s Levels)

This workshop focuses on determining key measures, their metrics and how they are used to improve processes for greater output. This training is for Commitment, Achievement, and Governor’s Award applicants.

Click here to register.

So, recognition is important, but especially the recognition given to your employees for a job well done when you participate in the Governor’s Quality Award Program.  Sign up today!

LITTLE ROCK – Allen Engineering of Paragould was one of 20 organizations to receive an Arkansas Governor’s Quality Award during the 25th Annual Awards Celebration Thursday evening, Sept. 12 at the Marriott Ballroom.

More than 300 business and civic leaders from throughout Arkansas attended the celebration where Gov. Asa Hutchinson presented the awards. Allen Engineering received the highest-level award presented this year—the Achievement level award. The awards process includes four award levels with the highest-level Governor’s Award for Performance, followed by the Achievement, Commitment and Challenge Award levels. Seven organizations received the Commitment level and 12 organizations received the Challenge level. (See list below.)

Organizations self-assess and carefully review the award-level requirements before deciding at which level to apply. In addition to the award recognition, the greatest value for program participants is the in-depth evaluation and written feedback report citing strengths and areas for improvement. Only 26 Arkansas organizations have ever received the highest-level Governor’s Award for Performance Excellence.

The goal of the program is to encourage Arkansas organizations to engage in continuous quality improvement, which leads to performance excellence. Created as a not-for-profit organization, the program is dedicated to assist in building a strong infrastructure for Arkansas businesses. The award process aligns with the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality award and uses the Baldrige Excellence Framework.

The Governor’s Quality Award program is coordinated by the Arkansas Institute for Performance Excellence, a nonprofit organization affiliated with the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce.

2019 Commitment Level Recipients

Mercy Crest Assisted Living, Barling; Northwest Health, Springdale; Russellville Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, Russellville; Saint Mary’s Regional Medical Center, Russellville; Southridge Village Nursing and Rehab, Heber Springs; Welspun Pipes, Inc., Little Rock; and Window Mart, Inc., Royal

2019 Challenge Level Recipients

Arkansas Department of Transportation, Little Rock; Arkansas State Veterans Home, North Little Rock; Avenir Memory Care at Fayetteville; Avenir Memory Care at Little Rock; Dierks Health & Rehab, Dierks; Gassville Therapy and Living, Gassville; Home Instead Senior Care of Northwest Arkansas, Rogers; Hope’s Creek Assisted Living, Van Buren; Lee County Cooperative Clinic, Marianna; Lennox Commercial Industries, Stuttgart; Team CPR, Inc., Little Rock; and The Greenhouse Cottages of Poplar Grove, Little Rock.

by Roby Brock (roby@talkbusiness.net)

Business leader Randy Zook said negotiations between the U.S. and China won’t be resolved soon, but he believes the end result will be better for the American consumer.

Zook, president and CEO of the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce and Associated Industries of Arkansas, said he doesn’t see a quick resolution to the escalated trade war.

“This is a long game. We’re not going to get this done in the next six or 12 months. We may see progress, and boy I hope we do,” Zook said.

“I think the best thing that could happen in the near-term is passage of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, the replacement for NAFTA. That would be a big signal and a great move for the Congress to make, and we need them to do that as soon as possible. We’ve got a new agreement with Japan. There are other opportunities around the world, likely with the U.K. and South Korea,” he added.

Zook, a former manufacturing executive, said that decades of an imbalanced relationship with China needed to be corrected. He’s not sure if a different tactic could have jump-started a reset of the trade table.

“I don’t know of a different weapon or technique you could have used to move it in a way that would make them come to the table, so it probably has worked out to be pretty good,” he said. “And there are some realignments in supply chains all over the world that are taking place as a result of this. I think, long-term, they’re going to be more favorable to the U.S. and to the U.S. consumer.”

Zook also discussed immigration, the controversial topic that has divided the country over border control and workforce challenges.

The chamber chief said that an improved E-Verify system is crucial to improving the immigration process. Calling the current system “basically worthless,” Zook said that businesses should be held accountable if they allow illegal immigrants to work at their businesses.

“Absolutely,” he said of a recent raid on several factories in Mississippi. “They were clearly out on the fringe of abusing the system. But a working, accurate E-Verify system to make sure that the Social Security number you put down is indeed yours and not somebody who’s been gone for awhile, or somebody already still in the economy, would go a long way to give employers the tool they need to have some reasonable level of certainty that you’re okay to put to work.”

As to whether or not a solution to illegal immigration can be reached that would accommodate partisan positions, Zook said, “I think the root of it is political. It’s not economic, it’s political.”

BE PRO, BE PROUD
This past week, the State Chamber and its partners launched an upgraded initiative to boost workforce education across the state. Through a nonprofit consortium, the chamber has spearheaded the “Be Pro, Be Proud” campaign for several years. The 2.0 version of the program was revealed Thursday (Sept. 5).

It primarily involves a 18-wheeler that’s 53 feet long and tricked out with a variety of stations that include simulators, virtual reality headsets and educational videos.

The truck books stops at schools around the state to allow students who may not plan to attend a four-year college with the job possibilities that exist with high school degrees or two-year degrees. Many of those jobs are in the field of construction, utilities, transportation and manufacturing.

“The need is pretty simple, pretty straightforward,” Zook said. “Not enough young people, particularly, understand the full range of opportunities available to them to pursue high wage, high demand careers rather than just jobs.”

Zook said “Be Pro, Be Proud” is one-of-a-kind and he hopes that other states will borrow the idea.

“We had people from four states yesterday taking a look at it, and considering doing something exactly like it under a license from us. So it could become a national thing and certainly by then it needs to be more than the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce,” he said.

Measuring eventual outcomes is tough, Zook said, because there’s not a great tracking mechanism to see if “Be Pro, Be Proud” was the catalyst for a career choice for someone. However, he said there have been about 60,000 students who have moved through the original vehicle’s 250 stops since the initiative launched more than three years ago.

Sixty-four individuals from throughout Arkansas have been selected for Leadership Arkansas Class XIV, a program operated by the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce / Associated Industries of Arkansas.

The Underwriting Sponsor for the 2019-2020 Leadership Arkansas program is The Citizens Bank of Batesville.  The Presenting Sponsor is ARcare. Statewide Program Sponsors are Electric Cooperatives of Arkansas, Farm Credit Services of Arkansas, Nucor Steel Arkansas, Southwest Power Pool, and Walmart.

The members of Class XIV (by name, company and hometown) are:

Jeremy Adams – USAble Life – Little Rock

Stephanie  Alderdice – SixtyOne Celsius – Hot Springs

Rob Anderson – Arkansas Farm Bureau Foundation – Little Rock

Lindsey Bailey – Association of Arkansas Counties – Little Rock

Joe Baker – Southland Casino – Marion

Dr. Joyvin Benton – Winthrop Rockefeller Institute – North Little Rock

Stephanie Blevins – Office of Governor Asa Hutchinson – Rogers

Tori Bogner – Signature Bank of Arkansas – Fayetteville

Angela Bonds – Russellville Area Chamber of Commerce – Russellville

Joan Botts – Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort – Hot Springs

Dr. Josh Bright – North Arkansas Regional Medical Center – Harrison

Dewayne Cash – Nucor-Yamato Steel – Blytheville

Chanda Chacon – Arkansas Children’s – Little Rock

Shana Chaplin – Arkansas Department of Education – Maumelle

Sara Christie – Mainstream Technologies – Little Rock

Todd Clark – Arkansas State University – Jonesboro

Chris Cline – Riceland Foods – Little Rock

Michael Considine – Entergy Arkansas – Little Rock

Dr. Teri Cox – Cox Consulting – North Little Rock

Leslie Davis – Harbor Environmental and Safety – Little Rock

Angela DeLille – Cox Communications – Rogers

Ross Dunn – Tyson Foods, Inc. – Fayetteville

Corey Edwards – Cromwell Architect / Engineers – Bryant

Daniel Ellis – Crafton Tull – Bella Vista

Jennifer Emerson – Arkansas Economic Development Commission – Sherwood

Beth Franks – AGC Arkansas – Conway

Jeffrey Freiert – Citizens Bank – Batesville

Brandon Gentry – Cross County Bank – Wynne

Bradley Graham – Baldwin & Shell Construction Company – Greenbrier

Adrian Harris – Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corporation – Conway

Tron Hodges – Black Hills Energy – Springdale

Mel Hutchins – Citizen Bank – Maumelle

David Johnson – Central Arkansas Water – Little Rock

Dr. Chris Jones – Arkansas Regional Innovation Hub – Little Rock

Jordan Ligon – C. R. Crawford Construction – Fayetteville

Col. Tina Lipscomb – Arkansas Air National Guard – Cabot

Boyd Logan – Future School of Fort Smith – Fayetteville

Justin Loth – MISO Energy – Sherwood

Antoine Lucas – Southwest Power Pool – Little Rock

Jeff Marcussen – Nabholz – Little Rock

David Mitchell, Jr. – Rose Law Firm – Little Rock

Jamie Mobley – Simmons Bank – Searcy

Will Moore – ARcare – Little Rock

Eric Munson – Governor’s Council on Developmental Disabilities, State of Arkansas – Little Rock

Lesley Nally – Hot Springs Village – Hot Springs Village

Heather Nelson – Seal Solar – Jonesboro

Emily Reynolds – Walmart, Inc. – Springdale

Dr. Deaundra Rhodes – Webster University – Maumelle

John Scherrey – Centennial Bank – Conway

Brent Sharpmack – Hudson, Cisne & Co. – Cabot

Joan Shofner – University of Central Arkansas – Conway

Hayden Shurgar – Wright, Lindsey & Jennings – Scott

Bradley Smith – Farmers Bank and Trust – Magnolia

Charlie Spakes – Arkansas Grocers, Retailers and Merchants Association – North Little Rock

Sandy Straessle – Stone Bank – Little Rock

Tonya Villines – Junior Achievement of Arkansas – Benton

Ben Walters – Arkansas Economic Development Commission – Little Rock

Jacob Ward – Mitchell Communications – Fayetteville

Ryan Watley – Go Forward Pine Bluff, Inc. – Pine Bluff

Rodney West – Simmons Bank – Fort Smith

Adam White – Garver LLC – Fayetteville

Tina Winham – Swimways – Rogers

Todd Wooten – Dover Dixon Horne PLLC – Little Rock

Lary Zeno – Diamond State Vocational School – Little Rock

Leadership Arkansas Class XIV launches its activities with an Orientation Session on Sunday, September 29 at the Fairfield Bay Conference Center in Fairfield Bay.

The mission of Leadership Arkansas is to challenge, inform, inspire and engage current and future business and civic leaders to enhance the economies of – and the communities within – the state of Arkansas.  Leadership Arkansas’s vision is to work to build a strong and vibrant state by training skilled community leaders to recognize and capitalize on opportunities, motivate others to act to strengthen regions and communities, serve as ambassador for the potential and growth of the state, and promote the election and appointment of officials who understand the diverse aspects leading to growth of Arkansas.

Leadership Arkansas comprises a nine-month class program consisting of nine multi-day sessions held in different locations throughout the state. The sessions feature Arkansas leaders who represent a wide geographic base and who have diverse backgrounds and vocations.  The members are given broad exposure to the many social, political, geographic and environmental complexities of the state; on-site demonstrations and tours; unique cultural experiences; insight into the people, places and history that influence public policies; and fun and casual settings which foster new relationships and camaraderie.

Since its inception in 2005, Leadership Arkansas has educated and engaged nearly 700 alumni, who represent nearly every Arkansas county.

Leadership Arkansas Class XIV will kick off with an Orientation Session Sunday, Sept. 29 – Tuesday, Oct. 1 at the Fairfield Bay Conference Center. The session is sponsored by Gar-Bro Manufacturing Co.

Below are the other sessions:

Agriculture & Outdoor Life, Oct. 29 – 30, Stuttgart. Sponsored by Riceland Foods, Inc.

Education & Workforce, Nov. 18 – 19, Fort Smith. Sponsored by Cox Communications, First National Bank of Fort Smith, Gerdau and Stephens Production Company.

Government & Military, Dec. 10 – 11, Little Rock, North Little Rock & Jacksonville. Sponsored by CenterPoint Energy.

Natural Resources, Defense & Industrial Development, Jan. 13 – 14, El Dorado & Camden.

Economic Development & Infrastructure, Feb. 17 – 18, West Memphis & Blytheville. Sponsored by Southland Casino Racing.

Tourism, History & Revitalization, March 11 – 12, Hot Springs.

Regional Development, April 22 – 24, Northwest Arkansas. Sponsored by Cox Communications.

Leadership, Planning & Graduation, May 21 – 22, Little Rock.

The sponsors for Leadership Arkansas Class XIV are:

Underwriting – Citizens Bank

Presenting – ARCare

Statewide – Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corp., Farm Credit of Arkansas, Nucor, Southwest Power Pool and Walmart.

If your company or organization would like to help sponsor one of the Leadership Arkansas sessions, contact Bill Watson at bwatson@arkansasstatechamber.com or 501-802-1740.