Saint Louis, MO (October, 2009)—St. Louis based Concordia Publishing House (CPH) has been named a recipient of the 2009 Missouri Quality Award. Recognized as one of the strongest state-level quality award programs in the country, the award honors excellence in areas such as organizational performance, leadership, customer service and satisfaction.  In the midst of lackluster economic times, the news offers a definite up-note for the St. Louis business community.

“I am proud of you,” said President and CEO, Dr. Bruce G. Kintz to a packed house at an employee town hall meeting called within minutes of his receiving the news. “What we do at CPH matters. Our mission matters. Quality performance isn’t really about the award; it is what we are called to give in service to our mission and within our community. This award testifies to that spirit at CPH.”

Concordia Publishing House is a not-for-profit publishing company that offers more than 8,000 products for use in Christian congregations, schools, and homes. It is one of the longest-established businesses in the city of St. Louis and employs 300 people. The company has resided in the South St. Louis area at the corner of Miami and Jefferson for 140 years, providing a center of stable employment, business commitment, and community involvement.

It was under Kintz’s leadership that CPH began its “quality journey” in 1999, launching the significant process of aligning its business practices at every level with the rigorous criteria for performance excellence established by the Foundation. The company received its first site visit from the Foundation in 2008, but did not land the final prize. Awarded a second site visit in 2009, the recent achievement, according to Kintz, is “a testament to the many years of dedicated work at all levels of the organization.

 “Achieving this recognition requires a company to operate with the very best processes and practices, and what that means for our customers is that CPH is serious about its mission to serve them. We strive to be excellent stewards of the resources that they entrust to us as we develop and produce premier resources to strengthen the work of the church.”

2009 has been a banner year for CPH. The company was named a 2009 Best Christian Workplace, and received certification as a Center of Excellence by Benchmark Portal and the Purdue University Center for Customer-Driven Quality. The CPH mission is to provide products and services that are faithful to the Holy Bible and the Lutheran teachings of the Christian faith. 

The Excellence in Missouri Foundation, a not-for-profit educational organization, administers the Missouri Quality Award program. The award will be presented Nov. 19 during the Missouri Quality Award Banquet at Tan-Tar-A resort at Lake of the Ozarks, Mo. Other winners of the 2009 Missouri Quality Award include the Park Hill School District in Kansas City, MO, and St. Mary's Health Center in Jefferson City.

Links:

Concordia Publishing House: http://www.cph.org

CPH Media Room: http://cph.mediaroom.com/

Excellence in Missouri Foundation: http://www.mqa.org

The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod: http://www.lcms.org

Concordia Publishing House is a not-for-profit publishing company and the publisher of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. The company offers more than 8,000 products for use in Christian congregations, schools, and homes. Visit CPH on the Web at http://www.cph.org.

Media Resources:

Listen to a podcast featuring CPH President and CEO, Dr. Bruce G. Kintz http://bit.ly/2z6mHV

View videos about CPH products and services: http://www.youtube.com/ConcordiaPublishing  

View images from the MQA Announcement: http://www.flickr.com/photos/concordiapublishing/sets/72157622647562100/

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