Mankato Area Council for Quality Becomes Part of Performance Excellence Network

January 17, 2018

January 17, 2018

For Immediate Release

Mankato Area Council for Quality Becomes Part of Performance Excellence Network

Acquisition Provides MACQ Members Access to PEN Resources,

Advances Continuous Improvement and Excellence in the Mankato Area

ST. PAUL, Minn., January 17, 2018 – The Performance Excellence Network (PEN) and the Mankato Area Council for Quality (MACQ) announce today they are coming together as one organization, as PEN acquires the assets of MAQC.  Effective immediately, MACQ members have access to PEN’s resources, member services, discounts and benefits.  The combined organization now serves nearly 300 members in a three state region, helping organizations, leaders, and communities improve their outcomes.

 

“We are excited become part of the PEN family,” says Matt Chmielewski, president of MACQ.  “PEN will offer our members greater value, more services and benefits, and will help us sustain and grow our mission into the future.”

 

Brian Lassiter, president of Performance Excellence Network: “We have partnered with MACQ for many years, and combining the two organizations makes sense.  Our missions are similar, and this allows PEN to bring our services into a community that we haven’t yet significantly served.  We are thrilled to provide MACQ ‘a home’ within PEN, and we look forward to having a bigger impact with Mankato area organizations and leaders, helping them improve and grow.”

 

MACQ was one of 22 community-based quality councils started by PEN (then the Minnesota Council for Quality) and the State of Minnesota in the late 1980s and early 1990s.  As a result of a similar request by the Rochester Area Quality Council, PEN acquired RAQC about 10 years ago.  The other 20 councils have ended their work.

 

Combined, PEN will now serve nearly 300 members throughout Minnesota and the Dakotas, training over 2000 leaders and professionals annually on best practices in continuous improvement through breakfast forums, livestream and video-on-demand sessions, peer roundtables, workshops, and conferences.  PEN also conducts organizational assessments to help leaders identify and prioritize improvement opportunities and administers the Baldrige-based Performance Excellence Award for organizations in Minnesota, South and North Dakota.  PEN will continue to host a regular discussion for Mankato area members and guests to facilitate the sharing of best practices and methods to improve results.

 

About Performance Excellence Network

Founded in 1987, the Performance Excellence Network (formerly MN Council for Quality, Inc.) is a nonprofit that advances improvement and performance excellence within organizations, individuals and communities in the Upper Midwest. PEN helps leaders identify strengths and improvement opportunities, and it builds networks that bring information, resources, knowledge and best practices to organizations desiring to improve. PEN serves over 200 members and organizations in Minnesota and the Dakotas. For more information, visit http://www.performanceexcellencenetwork.org.

 

About Mankato Area Council for Quality

Mankato Area Council for Quality (MACQ) promotes quality by providing knowledge, recognition of excellence, and an opportunity to learn and network.  MACQ hosts monthly lunch discussions and an annual recognition conference.  For more information, visit http://www.mnsu.edu/mktqual/.

# # #