The Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority (MNAA) has earned the prestigious Excellence Award in the annual Excellence in Tennessee recognition program administered by the Tennessee Center for Performance Excellence (TNCPE).

MNAA is the first airport in the U.S. to earn this award at its state’s highest level. Since the program was founded in 1993, only 22 organizations have attained the Excellence designation. MNAA is one of only two organizations in Tennessee that was recognized with the Excellence Award this year. TNCPE will officially present MNAA with the award at the 20th anniversary Excellence in Tennessee Awards Banquet on Feb. 20, 2013.

The Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority is a quasi-governmental organization that delivers a great Nashville Airports Experience, or NAE, to passengers, business partners and employees. MNAA manages Nashville International Airport (BNA) and John C. Tune Airport (JWN) and promotes commerce and industry through air transportation via its facilities and services.

“The Airport Authority is focused on delivering superior customer service to our passengers, partners and colleagues,” said MNAA President/CEO Rob Wigington.

“We are honored to be recognized by the TNCPE for our ongoing efforts to provide the highest level of customer service and be an industry leader for best practices and performance excellence.”

TNCPE is Tennessee’s only statewide quality program patterned on the Baldrige Performance Excellence Program, the national standard for recognizing organizational excellence.

Through an annual evaluation and assessment process, TNCPE recognizes high performance organizations that exhibit continuous improvement and best practice processes. This year, TNCPE has named 35 organizations as 2012 Award winners. They represent outstanding achievement in the following industry sectors: health care, manufacturing, service, education, government and nonprofit.

Organizations like MNAA apply to the TNCPE program at one of four levels. As the levels increase, so does the depth and complexity of the application, which is based on the Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence.

“This program helps organizations look at the big picture. But it’s not easy. If it were, every organization in the state would be participating,” said TNCPE President Katie Rawls. “Organizations like MNAA are truly passionate about performance excellence and have chosen TNCPE and the Baldrige framework to help them become the best-run organization they can be.”

The Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority (MNAA) was established in 1970, and owns and operates the Nashville International Airport (BNA) and John C. Tune Airport (JWN). For more information, visit www.flynashville.com.