William Enloe, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Los Alamos National Bank

Mr. President, Mr. Secretary, Ladies and Gentleman. It is an honor to represent the directors and employees of Los Alamos National Bank as one of this year's recipients of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. Over the last couple of months, I have had the pleasure of working with Spicer Driveshaft, OMI and Karlee. These companies are the epitome of the best in U.S. business and serve as role models for their industries. It has been an uplifting experience to be associated with companies that have accomplished so much. Congratulations to all of you on this well deserved recognition.

The traditions that brought LANB to this podium started 38 years ago when a group of individuals established a bank to serve the needs of a young community in northern New Mexico. As our organization matured it became apparent that for us to continue to live up to the expectations of our customers and employees, we needed to develop a better management system. The Bank's decision to embrace the Malcolm Baldrige criteria has not only improved our organization, it has made us excel. We have emerged as the largest independent Bank in New Mexico, currently employing 185 individuals. This growth has been achieved while providing better service for our customers. Customer decisions are now based on solid facts not on what we think our customers want or need. In our last market survey 88% of our customers rated our service as "very satisfactory."

Without loyal, committed and talented individuals you cannot be a great company. We are fortunate to have an abundance of these outstanding people working for Los Alamos National Bank. Employees that year after year have produced exceptional results: Bank asset growth has increased more than 15% annually over the past five years, earnings have increased over 60%, and our stock value has increased 170% over this same period. They have accomplished this and still found the time to serve in over 133 organizations that make the communities we operate in a better place to live. Los Alamos National Bank appreciates these people and we strive to make this a company where they can receive personal and professional fulfillment. In our 2000 employee survey, LANB scored higher than our peer group and out performed the 1999 survey results in every category.

We are particularly pleased to be representing small business and the banking industry. Small companies have provided most of the job growth and innovation in the United States over the past decade. Unfortunately this growth has generally occurred in the population centers of our nation, as we have watched our rural communities disappear. The tools provided by the Malcolm Baldrige program can serve as a blueprint for the resurgence of our rural communities. As Los Alamos National Bank and many other small companies have demonstrated, the effective use of the Baldrige criteria can provide the competitive edge necessary to compete in the world economy. The economic restraints that have historically required businesses to locate in metropolitan areas have drastically changed with the arrival of the information-based economy.

The adoption of performance excellence in city governments, schools and businesses will help small communities take advantage of these changes to attract and retain more companies.

I would like to thank the members of the Malcolm Baldrige Foundation, the NIST staff, the panel of judges and the examiners for the many hours they have contributed to recognize and foster business excellence. If the other participants in this program have received the same level of value that Los Alamos National Bank has from our feedback reports and training for our employees, this is the best private-public partnership in existence.