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The South Carolina Quality Forum names the Budget and Control Board's Division of the State Chief Information Officer (CIO) as a recipient of the Governor’s Quality Award at the Bronze level.
 
The South Carolina Governor’s Quality Award is awarded to organizations who demonstrate excellent performance through their quality management system based on the Baldrige criteria. Organizations may be recognized in one of three ways:

• A Gold Achiever Award for outstanding progress toward implementing the Baldrige criteria
• A Silver Achiever Award for significant progress toward implementing the Baldrige criteria
• A Bronze Achiever Award for progress worthy of recognition toward implementing the Baldrige criteria

“I want to sincerely thank all employees for their commitment to excellence. This award is a testament to the hard working people who relentlessly strive to serve our customers and the citizens of this great State at the highest level possible. The award belongs to each of you,” remarked State CIO Jim Bryant, during an employee gathering.
 
Bryant added, “the CIO has spent an enormous amount of focused energy and work on developing the application for the South Carolina Governor’s Quality Award. Through the inspirational leadership of our Executive Director, Frank Fusco, the CIO started on a journey that best can be described as a ‘passion for excellence.’ This passion exudes into customer-centricity, employee well-being and the return on investments that our customers demand.”
 
Organizations seeking to win the award were asked to submit an “intent to apply” to the South Carolina Quality Forum in January 2007. Following this submission, a written application including a complete business overview and a description of the organization’s quality management system was submitted for review. This onerous task was completed with the help of a team comprised of employees representing every section of the CIO.
 
The CIO’s Governor’s Quality Award application was then reviewed and scored by a team of examiners, who recommended that a site visit be conducted to validate the performance level within the organization. This site evaluation was conducted over a period of three days in August and involved employees throughout every level of the CIO. A written feedback report from the team of examiners will be provided highlighting our organization’s strengths and areas for improvement.
 
Award recipients from all categories will be recognized at the annual South Carolina Governor’s Quality Award Conference to be held on Oct. 24, 2007, at the Columbia Conference Center in Columbia, S.C. 
 
Bryant continued, “the CIO’s passion for excellence means that our grasp will always exceed our reach. We will strive to the next levels of quality and pursue the South Carolina Governor’s Award as a Gold Recipient.”