Announcement of a new Executive Director for the Ohio Partnership for Excellence COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Board of Trustees of the Ohio Partnership for Excellence (OPE) is pleased to announce that Dr. Elaine D. Edgar will be its new Executive Director effective January 1, 2008. The OPE is a nonprofit organization created to promote the development of performance excellence in key sectors of the economy in Ohio, that includes businesses, schools, hospitals and government. Each year the OPE presents the state's premier quality awards to organizations in Ohio. "We are fortunate to have Elaine Edgar assume the position of Executive Director, with her diverse background and experience" said Mark Montoney, MD, chair of the OPE Board of Trustees. "Furthermore, Elaine understands the Baldrige criteria and exhibits an enthusiasm to improve quality." Elaine Edgar received a Ph.D. degree from The Ohio State University where she acquired experience working in university administration. Her career has encompassed work in higher education at the Ohio Board of Regents and most recently in secondary education at the Ohio Department of Education. Elaine has been instrumental in establishing working relationships among K-12 education, colleges, universities, businesses and industry. She has extensive experience in operations, organizational development, strategic planning, process improvement, customer service and human relations. Many in the OPE community know Elaine as she has served as an examiner for the organization for several award cycles and has participated as a volunteer on OPE committees. For more information, please contact Al Faber, CEO & President, TPE Board Chairman, at 614-425-7157. All organizations face hurdles, some become great, some stumble and sway, others just fade away. Great organizations are able to create a culture of excellence. They create a way of doing business that sees past the short term day-to-day struggle to a long-term, sustainable vision of excellence.