Press Releases

U.S. Senators, University of Maryland Announce
High-Performing Organizations in Maryland
Nine Win U.S. Senate Productivity, Maryland Quality Awards

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The University of Maryland, along with U.S. Senators Barbara Mikulski and Benjamin Cardin, today recognized nine high-performing organizations with the Maryland Performance Excellence Awards.

The awards, Maryland's highest distinction given for performance excellence, were presented at the 22nd Annual Maryland Performance Excellence Awards Conference and Awards Ceremony at the University of Maryland.

Baltimore-based Chimes won the prestigious U.S. Senate Productivity Award. Maryland Quality Awards were given to Asbury Communities and Asbury Methodist Village Inc., both in Gaithersburg, as well as Howard Community College, Salisbury-based Lorch Microwave, Mechanicsville Elementary School, Rockville-based Savantage Financial Services Inc., and Greenbelt-based SGT Inc. Crofton-based Household of Angels Assisted Living received a Certificate of Recognition.

"The U.S. Senate Productivity Award is given each year to an organization representing excellence in Maryland," said Senators Mikulski and Cardin in a joint statement. "It our pleasure to congratulate this year's winner--Chimes--whose mission focuses on deeds, not just words. Chimes, celebrating its' 60th Anniversary, is known for its outstanding service for meeting the needs of its customers--persons with disabilities. With this honor, it will also be widely recognized for its constant mission to do better, always assessing its best practices and for building on lessons learned."

Chimes is an international not-for-profit organization serving children, adults and senior citizens with disabilities, offering a range of services in education, residential, vocational and employment. Founded in 1947, Chimes was originally a school for children with moderate mental retardation. The organization now serves 12,000 people with special needs in Maryland, Virginia, District of Columbia, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, North Carolina and Israel.

"We are incredibly proud to receive this award," Stephen S. Kramer, Chimes board chair, said. "Today's recognition is only one of the many ways that Chimes strives for excellence. Last year, Chimes met the Better Business Bureau's Wise Giving Alliance stringent 'Standards for Charity Accountability.'We will continue to go the extra mile to earn the trust of all of our stakeholders."

To win the awards, applicants complete a rigorous self-examination and application process, after which teams of examiners spend up to 1,000 hours evaluating, scoring, and providing feedback using the National Institute for Standards and Technology's Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence.

"Incorporating quality into your organization improves bothefficiency and effectiveness, resulting in performance that exemplifies 'deeds not words,'" said Chimes Chief Executive Officer Terry Perl. Baldrige Criteria evaluate an organization based upon its: leadership; strategic planning; customer and market focus; measurement analysis and knowledge management; human resource focus; process management; and results.

"Award applicants set goals for themselves that are measurable against similar organizations within that same field," said LaWanda Burwell, chairperson for the Maryland Performance Awards Program's executive guidance board, which decides the award winners. "In business, that may be profit, in healthcare, patient outcomes, or in education, student achievement. So each applicant determines what it's trying to accomplish, as well as whom they want to be measured against. Award examiners then gauge how well the organization is performing within those parameters." While Chimes won the highest honor--the U.S. Senate Productivity Award--additional award recipients this year included:

• Asbury Communities received the Silver Maryland Quality Award. The private, not-for-profit organization delivers quality senior living and long-term care system, serving Maryland, Pennsylvania and Oklahoma. The organization's 2,000 employees are trained with the Continuous Quality Improvement philosophy to assure that patients receive quality care.

• Asbury Methodist Village Inc. received the Silver Maryland Quality Award for its services as a continuing care retirement community. Asbury Methodist Village provides a variety of senior healthcare and housing services to over 1,500 senior adult residents. The management uses a Wellness Model to focus attention on intellectual, physical, spiritual, vocational, emotional and social needs of its residents.

• Howard Community College received the Silver Maryland Quality Award for its success in providing quality education and services as a publicly funded two-year community college serving 22,000 students annually. Management continuously monitors the college's "Vital Signs" by surveying students and employees to ensure that everyone's efforts are well-aligned with the college's objectives.

• Lorch Microwave received the Bronze Maryland Quality Award. Lorch, a wholly-owned subsidiary of SMITHS Interconnect Inc., designs and manufactures custom Radio Frequency and microwave filters and assemblies. With 165 employees and a 37,000 square-foot facility, Lorch remains a leading supplier of military and commercial manufacturers worldwide, known for its outstanding customer support and satisfied employees.

• Mechanicsville Elementary School received the Bronze Maryland Quality Award. As a public school with 322 students and 41 staff members, Mechanicsville Elementary has adopted a motto of "Student success is our business." The school gauges its performance based on the Baldridge Criteria to ensure that problems are quickly addressed and resolved.

• Savantage Financial Services Inc. received the Bronze Maryland Quality Award for providing high-quality business solutions to its customers. Savantage provides accounting, information technology, financial systems and e-business solutions to federal government agencies, in addition to offering consulting services to customers. The company focuses on leadership, integrity, passion for learning, mutual respect and a drive for initiative, with management that provides a "hands-on" approach.

• SGT Inc. received the Bronze Maryland Quality Award for its success and high revenues of $100 million in 2006 with aerospace services. Having participated in the U.S. Small Business Administration's program for disadvantaged small businesses, SGT continues to improve to align with ISO and CMMI standards.

• Household of Angels Assisted Living received a Certificate of Recognition. Household of Angels provides two assisted living sites in Anne Arundel County, Maryland. With a mission "to create a lifestyle in an environment which provides choice, dignity, independence and security by extending a helping hand as needed," the organization strives to improve, using Baldrige Criteria and surveys to track success.

About the Maryland Performance Excellence Awards (www.mpea.umd.edu)
The Maryland Performance Excellence Awards Program recognizes and honors high-performing organizations in Maryland. Given since 1983 by Maryland's U.S. Senators and the University of Maryland, the awards foster process-based, measurable, continuous improvement that drives results, creating successful organizations that strengthen the Maryland economy.

About Chimes International and its subsidiaries - U.S. and Israel.
Established in 1947 at Maryland's first school for children with moderate mental retardation, Chimes has expanded to an international multi-service organization.This Maryland-based not-for-profit, its subsidiaries and related corporations deliver a wide range of programs, services and supports for more than 12,000 people of all ages and many levels of ability.Chimes assists people with disabilities including mental retardation and mental illness.One subsidiary specializes in securing large-scale work contracts through federal and state set-aside programs that promote the employment of people with disabilities.Chimes DC is active in Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Virginia, North Carolina, and the District of Columbia, with contracts for custodial and other services at such well-known facilities as the Library of Congress; Dover, Andrews Air Force Base, and Fort Bragg, the Social Security Metro-West and Fallon Federal complexes in Baltimore; as well as Baltimore Washington International Airport.

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