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Molenda is EVP of Del Norte Credit Union, Santa Fe, NM
SANTA FE, NM: The Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has announced that John Molenda, Executive Vice President of Del Norte Credit Union (DNCU), northern New Mexico’s hometown financial cooperative, has been named by the United States Secretary of Commerce to serve a three-year term on the Panel of Judges for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. The Baldrige Award is the highest honor for organizational innovation and performance excellence in the United States.
Molenda has been an examiner and judge in New Mexico and has served nationally over the past eight years. “We are proud that John has achieved this honor,” says Chuck Valenti, President and CEO of Del Norte Credit Union. “Our credit union has been pursuing a quality journey using the Baldrige Excellence Framework for a number of years, and John is our leader on that journey.”
Applicants for the Baldrige Award, which include corporations, non-profits and governmental agencies, are evaluated rigorously by an independent board of examiners in seven areas defined by the Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence: leadership; strategy; customers; measurement, analysis and knowledge management; workforce; operations; and results. The highest-ranking applicants are chosen for an on-site visit by a team of examiners to clarify questions and verify information in their applications. As one of 12 judges on the panel, Molenda will be responsible for selecting which applicants receive site visits, and ultimately, which applicants are recommended to the Secretary of Commerce as Baldrige Award recipients.
“Del Norte’s mission as a credit union is to improve lives, and the Baldrige Excellence Framework helps us better support and strengthen our key communities,” Molenda says. “In addition, my own personal goal is to figure how to get more organizations engaged with the Baldrige Framework through Quality New Mexico, as I believe it is the answer to improving the lives of youth in New Mexico. The more we ask ourselves how we use our organizations’ core competencies to strengthen our communities, the more we succeed as a state.”
Named after Malcolm Baldrige, the 26th Secretary of Commerce, the Baldrige Award was established by Congress in 1987. The Award promotes innovation and excellence in organizational performance, recognizes the achievements and results of U.S. organizations, and publicizes successful performance strategies. The 2016 winners are Don Chalmers Ford, Rio Rancho, N.M.; Momentum Group, Irvine, Calif.; Kindred Nursing and Rehabilitation–Mountain Valley, Kellogg, Idaho; and Memorial Hermann Sugar Land Hospital, Sugar Land, Texas.
NIST manages the Baldrige Award in close conjunction with the private sector.
For information on the Baldrige Performance Excellence Program and the Baldrige Award application process, call (301) 975-2036, send an e-mail to baldrige@nist.gov, or visit http://www.nist.gov/baldrige.
About Del Norte Credit Union
Chartered in 1954, Del Norte Credit Union is dedicated to improving lives by being the ideal partner for a better future. Today DNCU has six branches in northern New Mexico and serves more than 46,000 members throughout the state.
