The Inspiring Story of Rochester's Quality Movement

The phrase “Rochester Made Means Quality” was coined in 1908, in recognition of the area’s ability to manufacture products of higher quality than were made elsewhere. Rochester’s major companies, Bausch, Eastman Kodak, Delco, Stromberg Carlson, IBM, Ritter, and later on Xerox, make up the core of a rich industrial history.  More recently, healthcare organizations have become major employers and drivers of cutting-edge innovation in that industry. Finally, local colleges and universities continue to be centers of world-class research and instrumental in developing technical and business leaders that have served this community.

At several critical points in local history, visionary leaders have recognized the need to take community-wide approaches to quality, and have come together to start new organizations to drive that focus across all sectors in the region.

Leo Braun and Edison Grizer take us for a walk through Rochester’s rich quality history, including the 1944 founding of the organization that became ASQ-Rochester Section and the beginnings of Greater Rochester Quality Council in the 1990’s. As you hear about the visions that motivated the community leaders who started these initiatives, we believe that you will find renewed inspiration for championing quality in your own lives, and some timeless ideas that are applicable across generations.

About our speakers

Leo Braun co-founded GRQC with the help of an amazing group of like-minded individuals. During GRQC's formative years, Leo represented two of the five original Steering Team organizations: American Society for Quality-Rochester Section (ASQ-RS) and Greater Rochester Area Council for Excellence (GRACE). Leo also chaired two GRQC community-wide conferences involving all five economic sectors as well as individuals and neighborhood groups, which were the first two real contributions to the community. As they say, the rest is history.

Leo has a BS degree from Canisius University and an MBA from Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). He has enjoyed a fulfilling career in the quality profession and has certifications as an ASQ Certified Quality Engineer (CQE), and as an ASQ Certified Quality Auditor (CQA). While he doesn’t expect to ever fully retire, Leo enjoys as much family time as possible with two beautiful grandchildren.

Edison Grizer has served as the Historian of the Rochester Section of the American Society for Quality (ASQRS) for over 40 years.  He worked at Eastman Kodak for 40 years, most recently as Manager, Photofinishing Quality Services.  Ed has numerous professional certifications, including CQM (Certified Quality Manager) and PMP (Project Management Professional).

Ed has a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering (BSEE) from the University of Akron and a master's degree in Applied Mathematics and Statistics from the Rochester Institute of Technology.  In his spare time, he is an avid golfer and gearhead.

JOIN US FOR THIS FREE WEBINAR

• Date: Wednesday, September 25
• Time:  12:00 - 1:00 pm EDT
• Location:  On-line, via Zoom
• Cost:  Free to GRQC members and non-members
• Registration:  Click below to register.  Note:  Registration may not work with Internet Explorer; please use a currently supported browser.

If you require special accommodation, please let us know by September 16.

Please direct questions to events@grqc.org.

Greater Rochester Quality Council events, programs and initiatives are supported in part by the Greater Rochester Chamber Foundation.