2012: Building a State of Excellence

2012 Excellence in Tennessee Presenters

Keynote Speakers

Robert F. Pence, P.E., President and CEO, Freese and Nichols
"Leadership: Leadership Sustains an Organization"

President and CEO since 2002, Bob has led Freese and Nichols into a productive expansion despite current economic challenges. In 2010, Freese and Nichols became the first architecture/engineering firm to receive the Malcolm Baldrige Award for Performance Excellence. Named CEO of the Year by the Fort Worth Business Press, Bob joined Freese and Nichols as an engineer in 1978. Throughout his time with the company, Bob has championed corporate support for professional education, fostered an atmosphere of open communication throughout the company and focused on involvement in company-wide community service projects. In 2011, CE News recognized Freese and Nichols as the Best Civil Engineering Firm to Work For in the nation among large firms.

Dr. Michael Perich, Consultant, Systemwide Continuous Improvement Montgomery County Public Schools (Maryland)
"Strategic Excellence"

Dr. Michael Perich has been in public education for forty-three years and during that time has served in various leadership positions including fifteen years as an elementary and secondary school principal.  While in Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS), he served as the Director of System-wide Continuous Improvement.  Dr. Perich directed the development and implementation of a Baldrige-guided school improvement planning process that utilizes the Baldrige Education Criteria for Performance Excellence.  All 200 schools in MCPS are using the process.  In addition MCPS offices, departments, and divisions are using the same format for their strategic planning.  He was also responsible for establishing three Baldrige Quality Academies that trained approximately 8,000 teachers to use the Baldrige principles with students in their classrooms.  He was instrumental in the development of a handbook for teachers and one for principals to use as a resource at the school level.  In 2010 he led the development of the national Baldrige application resulting in MCPS being named one of seven national Baldrige award winners for 2010.  MCPS is seven times larger than the next largest school district to ever receive the award.

Gary A. Meyer, President & CEO, Schneck Medical Center, 2011 Baldrige Recipient
"Small Town Touch, Big City Innovations and World Class Aspirations"

Gary Meyer became President and Chief Executive Officer of Schneck Medical Center in August 2001. In this capacity, he serves as ex-officio of the Schneck Medical Center Foundation Board of Directors and President of Health Development Corporation and Coordinated Health, a subsidiary of Schneck. Under Meyer's leadership, Schneck, while remaining steadfast in its mission to provide quality healthcare, commenced a dynamic transformation. Highlighted by a $60 million expansion and renovation project completed in 2009, which includes a state-of-the-art Cancer Center and Outpatient Care Center and Emergency Department, Schneck has secured a reputation for quality medical care and leadership in patient-centered initiatives.

Schneck is a recipient of the Indiana Chamber of Commerce Best Place to Work in Indiana 2009 and 2010 and Modern Healthcare's Best Place to Work in Healthcare 2009. Meyer's engagement as a healthcare leader extends beyond Schneck. He has been instrumental in the community by serving on the Boards of numerous organizations including president of the Jackson County Industrial Development Corporation, president of Southeastern Indiana Health Organization Foundation, vice president of the Indiana Healthcare Reciprocal Risk Retention Group, vice president of Jackson County Ambulance Service, secretary of Southeastern Indiana Health Organization (SIHO), and Secretary of Joseph and Luella Abell Charitable Trust Scholarship.

Conference Speakers

Bob Hutchins, Founder/Owner, Buzzplant
"Customer Communication in the Digital Recommendation Age"

Bob Hutchins runs Buzzplant, a 10-year-old Internet marketing agency based in Franklin, Tennessee. His team was an integral part of the online campaign for Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ, The Chronicles of Narnia, and Soul Surfer. His client/partner roster includes Time-Life, General Motors, Twentieth Century Fox, INO Records, Disney, Warner Brothers, Thomas Nelson Publishers and Zondervan. He is has been featured on Fox News, MSNBC, in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, INC Magazine, Fortune Magazine, American City Business Journals, Dallas Morning News, and on various television/radio media. He is the co-author of Faith Based Marketing published by John Wiley and Sons, and his latest book, The Recommendation Age. His latest book serves as the course curriculum for a Social Media class he is teaching at Belmont University's MBA program.

Evan Owens, CEO, Centresource Interactive Agency
"The R.O.W.E—The Future of Life-Work Balance"

Evan Owens is the CEO of Centresource Interactive Agency. Founded in 2003, Centresource helps their clients merge technology and marketing strategies to produce measurable results in the areas of growth, retention, efficiency, training and analytics. Throughout his career, he has helped a broad base of organizations such as Adobe, Healthways, Singer Sewing, Mapco, and SESAC revolutionize their marketing and technology strategies. Under his leadership, Centresource has expanded to a national client base and is privileged to be named in the INC 5000, the Hottest 100 Companies in TN and the Inner City 100 Fastest Growing Companies in the US lists. Also in 2010, Centresource was selected as a finalist for the .NET Design Agency of the Year. Evan holds a Bachelor's Degree in Music from Belmont University. Outside of Centresource, he is the co-founder of Reboot Combat Recovery, a non-profit dedicated to helping service members heal from the spiritual wounds of war such as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and combat trauma. "

Debbie Cardello, RN, MSN, Coach with Studer Group*
"Focus, Align and Accelerate Your Baldrige Journey"

Debbie Cardello is a Registered Nurse and the former Chief Operating Officer of Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in Hamilton, New Jersey, the 2004 winner of the prestigious Malcolm Baldrige Quality Award. She is recognized for her strong results orientation, her demonstrated expertise in service and operational excellence, and her experience of 20 years as a healthcare leader. Debbie is a trained examiner for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. Under her leadership, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital achieved bottom line results in the nation's top 10 percent in quality outcomes as well as patient, employee and physician satisfaction. Debbie earned her Masters of Science Degree from Widener University in Chester, Pennsylvania and her Bachelor of Science degree from Felician College in Lodi, New Jersey. She is a graduate of Hackensack Hospital School of Nursing. She previously held the positions of Chief Nursing Officer and Emergency Department Director. Debbie is a published author of Improving Patient Satisfaction With a Bit of Mystery and Monitoring Daily Staffi ng Variances, Productivity, and Length of Stay in the Emergency Department, both in Nursing Management, and Implementation of a One Hour Fast Track Service; One Hospital's Experience in the Journal of Emergency Nursing. As a Baldrige recipient, examiner and Studer Group Coach, Debbie is able to help hospitals focus, align and accelerate their performance excellence journey.

Eric Franks, Manager for Technology and Quality Assurance, PRO-TEC Coating Company*
"Surviving in a Tough Economy"

Eric Franks is the Manager for Technology and Quality Assurance at PRO-TEC Coating Company in Leipsic, Ohio, 2007 Malcolm Baldrige Quality Award Recipient. Eric joined PRO-TEC in September of 1991 as a member of the development team for the green-field design and startup. Since 1997, he has held the position of Technology and Quality Assurance Manager. Eric holds an MBA from the University of Findlay, is an ASQ Senior Member & Certified Manager of Quality/Organizational Excellence, and has served as an examiner for the Ohio Partnership for Excellence for nine years & the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award since 2005.

Sonja Wulff, Vice President, Poudre Valley Health System's Center for Performance Excellence*
"Advanced Application Writing Workshop" (pre-conference)
"Pay for Performance – Satisfying the Patient" (break-out)

Sonja Wulff, MA, CLM is Vice President of Poudre Valley Health System's Center for Performance Excellence. After a decade in scientific and technical communications, Sonja joined Poudre Valley Health System in 2004 to write the organization's last four Baldrige National Quality Award Applications, which earned four site visits. She also played a key role in operationalizing the Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence and coordinating process improvement across the organization. During her tenure with the organization, Poudre Valley Health System became the only two-time recipient of the Colorado Performance Excellence Peak Award and received the 2008 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award for Health Care. In her current role as Vice President of the Center for Performance Excellence, she consults with organizations across the country with services including training, executive-level facilitation, organizational assessment, gap analysis, process design, and application writing and editing. A Senior Baldrige Examiner and Certified Lean Master, Sonja holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Biology and Chemistry from St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota, and a Master of Arts Degree in Journalism from the University of Colorado, Boulder.

David McClaskey, President, Pal's Business Excellence Institute*
"Managing Operational Excellence: What World-Class Companies Look For"

David is President and co-founder (with Thom Crosby) of Pal's Business Excellence Institute (BEI). Each year hundreds of leaders and managers from all types of businesses come to Kingsport from all over the country and Canada. They learn from BEI how to improve their organizations based on Pal's Baldrige-based, world-class performance excellence practices and see one of the best managed companies in the country.

David McClaskey is a nationally known Baldrige expert who trained the initial Baldrige Board of Examiners in 1988. He created much of the assessment protocol that is still in use today. He is one of the few individuals to have the privilege of assisting seven companies to win eight Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Awards (about 10% of the total winners): K&N Management (2010); Poudre Valley Health Care (2008); University of Northern Colorado Monfort College of Business (2004 winner); Pal's Sudden Service (2001 winner); OMI (2000 winner); The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company (1999 and 1992 winner); and Eastman Chemical Company (1993 winner). His Baldrige track record is at 100% for companies that have worked with David for 2 years or longer. He also assisted one company, Florida Power and Light, to be the first company outside of Japan to win Japan's National Quality Award, the Deming Prize. He has assisted 3 companies to win 4 Level 4 Excellence Awards. David served as one of nine Judges for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award from 1999-2002. This is the panel of experts, appointed by the Secretary of Commerce, which selects the national Baldrige winners. In addition to having served as a Baldrige Judge, he has also served as a Judge for the Tennessee Quality Award (1993-1998; 2004-2009).He has taught over 5,000 leaders, in the U.S. and internationally, how to understand and use the Baldrige criteria to improve.

Some of David's recognitions include: 2011 Ned R. McWherter Leadership Award presented annually by TNCPE to the person who has significantly contributed to help companies learn and apply performance excellence; 1998 recipient of ASQ's prestigious international E. L. Grant Award for the development and presentation of meritorious educational programs in quality management; 1993, Distinguished Service Award from the University of Florida's College of Engineering; 1989, Certificate of Appreciation from the U.S. Department of Commerce for "outstanding service to the nation".

Doug Brock, Business Development Manager, Kendall Electric
"Boost Your Marketing and Sales Through Baldrige"

Doug is a business development manager with Kendall Electric in Chattanooga, specializing in high-tech industrial products and services. His experience includes a variety of positions in marketing, sales, and performance improvement for Rockwell Automation, system integration firms, and wholesale distribution companies. Doug holds a BS in Electrical Engineering from the University of Tennessee and an MBA from Capella University. He is a member of the 2011 TNCPE Board of Examiners and participates on the marketing committee as an Associate Board Member for the TNCPE.

Paul Grizzell, President/Baldridge Coach, Core Values Partners, Inc.
"Baldrige and TNCPE: Much More Than an Award Application"

Paul Grizzell and Core Values Partners help their partners focus, align, and accelerate their improvement efforts through effective deployment of the Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence. He has led and deployed integrated Baldrige, Six Sigma, Lean, and other results-oriented performance excellence initiatives in multiple industries.

Paul is a volunteer Senior Alumni Examiner on the Department of Commerce Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award Board of Examiners where has led multiple site visits and helps train Baldrige Examiners and Senior Examiners. He is a Judge for both the Minnesota Council for Quality and the Baldrige-based U.S. Army Communities of Excellence Award. He is a past Judge of the Illinois Lincoln Quality Award. Paul serves on the Juran Fellows Selection Board for the Juran Center for Leadership in Quality at the University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management.

Paul is a co-author of ""Insights to Performance Excellence in Healthcare,"" and a contributing author to ""Insights to Performance Excellence, An Inside Look at the Baldrige Award Criteria,"" both published by the American Society for Quality.

Choo Lee, Principal North Highland Company
"Creating a Balanced Scorecard"

Choo Lee is a Principal with The North Highland Company's Nashville office with 20+ years experience in management consulting and information technology. Choo's areas of expertise include Program and Project Management, Business Intelligence, Data Warehousing, Application Development and IT Strategy. He has a solid background and proven ability to build highly effective teams, manage all levels of the project lifecycle, quickly identify project requirements, streamline business applications, and deliver top quality products on time and within budget. Prior to joining The North Highland Company, Choo was with IBM Business Consulting Services and PwC Consulting.

Josh Ettinger, President/CEO, Magellan Institute
"Innovation: Simple, Clear, and Actionable for Everyone"

Josh H. Ettinger is President and CEO of the Magellan Institute, a consultancy specializing in enabling health care organizations discover, develop, and leverage Intelligent Innovation as a core competency and cultural attribute to create greater value for all stakeholders. He is also Executive Vice President of Category One, advisors to businesses focusing on performance excellence, strategy, and integration of the Baldrige Framework.

Mr. Ettinger has held positions in health care organizations that are distinguished for their pioneering contributions in application of the principles of performance excellence, redesign, and innovation. His health care experience has included insurance, quality improvement, and hospital operations.

He is the primary author of "Pursuit of Performance Excellence" Textbook of Critical Care, Fifth and Sixth Edition, 2005 & 2011 and the second author of "Redefining Excellence: It's something more than mediocre", Leadership Excellence, 2006.

He was both the youngest examiner and youngest senior examiner elected to the Baldrige Program for Performance Excellence Board of Examiners in the history of the Program.

Mr. Ettinger has earned a BS in Health Policy and Administration and a Masters of Business Administration.

Steve Burgess, Chief Executive Officer, Guidant Partners
"Discovering the Cloud"

Steve Burgess, founder and CEO of Guidant Partners, has over 25 years of experience providing Information Technology (IT) services to small and medium sized businesses. Steve's diverse career in IT began with over 12 years of designing medical software for physician practices across the United States. Steve understood that over time, nearly every business would become dependent on IT. In 1988, Steve founded an IT services firm called TCS Technologies, now named Guidant Partners. Guidant Partners has designed and managed the IT infrastructure of businesses in 10 states, and serves clients in 6 different industries, including two of the largest privately owned physician practices in America.

His proactive approach to IT has saved business owners millions of dollars in IT expenses through proper design and management of their IT infrastructure. Steve is widely regarded as an expert in IT Risk Aversion and Disaster Planning. He has been showcased in several publications, and did a feature on Fox17 about Disaster Planning and Data Backup Recovery following the devastating Nashville flood in May of 2010. Steve's company has been acknowledged by Inc. Magazine as one of the Fastest Growing privately held companies in America for two consecutive years. Steve is a man devoted to God and family. He and his wife Michelle have been happily married for 25 years. They are the proud parents of two children, both of whom attend Stamford University.

Pat Sciarappa, Organizational Development Director Florida Sterling Council
"Baldrige for Beginners – An Introduction to the Criteria"

Pat Sciarappa joined the Florida Sterling Council in 2001 as the Organizational Development Director. The Florida Sterling Council is a not-for-profit public/private organization whose purpose is to promote the adoption and use of performance excellence principles in all organizations throughout Florida. Since joining the Sterling staff, Pat has worked extensively as a leadership coach and process improvement trainer for organizations in both the public and private sectors and has facilitated numerous strategic planning retreats for leadership teams. One of her most recent projects has been development of the Business Blueprint workshops for large and small businesses and not-for-profit organizations. She is also responsible for Sterling's strategic plan and metrics, assessment pipeline management, and quality assurance in the Sterling examination processes. Pat has made presentations and conducted workshops at a variety of quality and education conferences.

Before joining the Council, Pat worked in public education for 31 years in Pinellas County, Florida, where she taught English and Critical Thinking. She began working with the application of quality concepts at the school level and in the classroom in 1993 and led a pilot team in redesigning the structure and operation of 9th grade based on continuous improvement principles. In 1998 she joined the Quality Academy at the district office as a trainer/consultant working with districts, schools, and classrooms in Pinellas and across the nation to facilitate change. She served her last five years with the district in the role of Executive on Assignment to Sterling. Pat is a graduate of University of South Florida.

Marva Doremus, Administrator TN Department of Labor and Workforce Development Adult Education
"Engaging the Workforce to Achieve Success"

Marva Doremus serves as Administrator for the Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Division of Adult Education. This division serves approximately 45,000 adult students in all 95 counties throughout the year who are working on basic skills upgrades, preparation for the GED Exam and English Language and Civics skills.

She began her career in Adult Education in 1989 as a part-time instructor in Sumner County and was hired as Sumner County's first full-time AE teacher in 1990. She became the coordinator of the 1000+ AE program in 1994 and joined the state staff in 1999 as a consultant. She has worked in every aspect of AE including: teaching, supervising, teacher and tutor training, curriculum design, and recruiting. She has presented at numerous state and national conferences.

She is the co-author of a 90-book series called "Reading for Adults," which was published by McGraw Hill in 2000. This series of low-level readers is based on adults' real-life experiences – getting a job, losing a job, dealing with children, stress, and family issues among others. She holds a master's degree in Curriculum and Instruction with a concentration in Adult Education.

Patricia Weiland, CEO Tricor (Tennessee Rehabilitative Initiative in Correction)
"Engaging the Workforce to Achieve Success"

Patricia Weiland is the Chief Executive Officer of the Tennessee Rehabilitative Initiative in Correction (TRICOR). Since joining TRICOR she has transformed the organization into a model offender reentry initiative focusing on cognitive behavioral development, job skill training and business best practices. She led TRICOR through its reorganization as an independent entity governed by a Board of Directors and implemented its first Performance Based Pay System. Under her leadership the Tennessee Offender Workforce Development Initiative was created receiving national certification. She has also lead TRICOR's involvement in the Tennessee Center for Performance Excellence Board of Examiners Program focusing on organizational excellence using criteria from the Baldrige National Quality Program.

Ms. Weiland is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin at Whitewater. She is also a graduate and member of the Tennessee Government Executive Institute and serves on the LEAD Tennessee Executive Leadership Council. Ms. Weiland serves as the Chairman of the Correctional Industries National Task Force on Offender Reentry. She is also the former Chairman and Past President of the National Industry Association Board of Directors.

Charles Hagood President & Founder President & Founder, Healthcare Performance Partners (HPP), Inc
"Lean Principals" (pre-conference)
"Lean Hospital Design" (break-out)

Charles has overseen the introduction and implementation of Lean, Quality Improvement, and Process Improvement systems in numerous organizations. His work in healthcare organizations include some of the largest non-profit hospitals, national systems, small critical access hospitals, clinics, physician practices, and large for-profit systems in the USA, Canada, and Europe. His firm, HPP was a pioneer and one of the first organizations that successfully translated Lean manufacturing and the Toyota Production System (TPS) to the healthcare industry. Charles is also the founder of Lean Healthcare Exchange, the top ranked web site by Google, serving as the site for all things Lean, Quality, and Efficiency in Healthcare.

Charles has worked with Fortune 100 companies throughout the world (GE, Tyco, Frigidaire, American Greetings, Cessna, Ball Corp and many others) in their Lean transformation, quality, and process improvement initiatives as founder of his former company, The Access Group (TAG). In Architectural Design, Charles has also overseen the application of Lean/TPS methodologies into the planning, design, and construction phases of a wide range of clinical and hospital renovation and construction projects as Founder and former Managing Principal of TAG Design Services, LLC.

Charles received his M.B.A. from Belmont University's Massey School of Business and is the founding faculty member of the Belmont University Lean Healthcare Certificate Program."

Bobby Jones, Project Manager, John Deere Power Products
"Guiding Principles that Shape Culture"

Bobby has worked for John Deere Power Products (JDPP) for 15 years. His current assignment is Project Manager, John Deere – Quality & Production System. In his time with the company, Bobby has worked in many different areas, including: manufacturing, welding, safety, quality, material flow, material control, shipping, and receiving. He has experienced JDPP's transformation from a small assembly plant with less than 100 employees to a World Class manufacturing facility. JDPP is a past recipient of the TNCPE Business Excellence Award and a 2011 recipient of The Shingo Prize. This is quite an honor, as The Shingo Prize was only awarded to 3 companies worldwide, in 2011.

Bobby holds an MBA from East Tennessee State University, where his 19 year old son is a sophomore. He also has a 17 year old daughter, who is a senior in high school. In his spare time, Bobby enjoys hiking, camping, fishing, and is an avid Chess player.

Tammy Dye, VP Clinical Services, Schneck Medical Center *
"We Grow More Than Corn in Indiana"

Tammy Dye, RN, MSN is the Vice President of Clinical Services at Schneck Medical Center in Seymour, Indiana. A primary outcome of her role is to build and support a 'patient first' culture that maintains clinical excellence, develop an infrastructure for managing clinical quality and cost improvement, and implement a measurement system to assure patient and operational outcomes are consistently measured against national norms (public reporting, pay for performance). Tammy came to Schneck in 1998 as the Director of Women and Children's Services and has been in her current position since 2004.

She started her nursing career as a CNA over 20 years ago and currently holds a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Southwest Baptist University and a Master of Science in Nursing Administration from Indiana University. She is a current member of the IHHI Council on Quality and Patient Safety, Sigma Theta Tao National Honor Society, American Society for Healthcare Risk Management, National Association for Healthcare Quality, American College of Healthcare Executives, American Organization of Nurse Executives, the Indiana Organization of Nurse Executives and a National Baldrige Examiner.

Dr. Susan G. Williams, Professor of Management, Jack C. Massey Graduate School of Business, Belmont University
"Let's Make a Deal: Hone Your Negotiation Skills"

DR. SUSAN G. WILLIAMS is a professor of management in Belmont University's Jack C. Massey Graduate School of Business. Her teaching interests include negotiation, decision making, continuous improvement, and strategic thinking. Susan came to Belmont in 1989 and has served the university in several capacities, most recently as Vice President of Administration and Planning before returning to the classroom full-time in 2001.

Susan holds BS and MA degrees from East Tennessee State University; her Ph.D. is from the University of Georgia. After receiving her Ph.D., Susan taught in the University of Georgia system and at East Tennessee State University. She was a business owner and entrepreneur in Nashville for several years before coming to Belmont.

*denotes Malcolm Baldrige Quality Award Recipient