30th Anniversary of GRQC!

 

As the Greater Rochester Quality Council celebrates its 30th year of supporting the quality community, here’s its history.

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Featuring notes from

Leo Braun: Founding member of first steering committee for GRQC

Dr. Robert Panzer: Former Chairperson and most extended tenured active board member of GRQC.

 

It started in the executive boardroom of Kodak, on the 14th floor. A meeting was scheduled with the proverbial “who’s-who” of Rochester’s community to discuss the possibility of a new group, focused on making Rochester a community of excellence. In attendance were representatives from Kodak, Xerox, the Rochester Chamber of Commerce, RIT’s Center for Quality and Applied Statistics, the Center for Governmental Research, the Industrial Management Council (IMC), and fledgling quality organizations GRACE (Greater Rochester Area Council for Excellence) and ASQ Rochester (Rochester had an ASQ chapter before the creation of the national organization). This group quickly realized that they had something special together, something desperately needed to make Rochester the community of excellence that they desired.

 

Together, they had the clout to bring all sectors of the community together (Business, non-profit, healthcare, education, government, organizations, individuals, etc.). This meeting catalyzed GRQC's formation, which filed its papers for affiliation with the Rochester Chamber of Commerce in 1993.

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The mid-90s saw a passionate quality community fueled by things like the Malcolm Baldridge Award, the NYS Excelsior Award, and systems such as Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) and Total Quality Management (TQM)…all of which gained significant popularity in the manufacturing sector. However, it was hardly the first time that the Rochester community focused on quality.

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“Rochester Made Means Quality” was a slogan coined by the Rochester Chamber of Commerce in the early 1900s and continued to be used by prominent Rochester manufacturers through the 1950s. The slogan was stated with pride by companies such as Eastman Kodak, Genesee Brewing Company, the Cunningham Car Company, and others.

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However, with the creation of GRQC, the passion of the local quality community was able to coalesce and begin to give back to Rochester through education, networking, and support.

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One of the first services offered by GRQC was a two-day quality conference in downtown Rochester. See the brochure here.

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The initial flurry of services GRQC offered helped it become the first “golden era” of GRQC. According to those who have remained close to the organization for over 30 years, the second “golden era” occurred around 2001. GRQC could make more significant connections, organize its structures, make processes more disciplined, and expand its reach and services into previously underserved sectors. The third “golden era” would be the current organization, where GRQC has matured and offers perhaps its most comprehensive array of services to the quality community (such as monthly programs, the Day of Quality, and the annual Showcase event).

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Over the past 30 years, GRQC has been able to surround those needing quality support to solve challenges and apply quality best practices that have had a meaningful impact on many other organizations. The successes from the past 30 years are too numerous to list, but some of the most memorable highlights include:

• Supporting a prominent local non-profit through massive budget cuts (without reducing services).

• A project to improve communication among hospitals, ambulances, and dispatchers to ensure patients are delivered quickly to the correct location.

• Introduction to quality award processes, helping some organizations learn, practice, compete for, and ultimately win national Malcolm Baldrige awards.

• Creation of “Quality for Leaders” training sessions and collaboration with local colleges (RIT, MCC) that have similar programs that have impacted hundreds (if not thousands) of people across all sectors of Greater Rochester.

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Looking back across the history of GRQC, one thing becomes abundantly clear. The real power to create meaningful impact comes from making connections. Getting the right people together, with the right experience, subject matter expertise, and leadership, makes all the difference. To that end, GRQC’s value to the community has less to do with the tools and services; instead, it has more to do with you. By bringing the local quality community into a tight-knit network, GRQC is poised to continue impacting the community's organizational excellence for another 30 years.