Lieutenant Colonel Garrett D. Heath of the Chief of Staff of the Army's Enterprise Task Force located in the Pentagon, has been appointed by Dr. Patrick Gallagher, Deputy Director of the Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), to the 2009 Board of Examiners for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award.

The award, created by public law in 1987, is the highest level of national recognition for performance excellence that a U.S. organization can receive.

As an examiner, Heath is responsible for reviewing and evaluating applications submitted for the award. The board is composed of approximately 500 leading experts selected from industry, professional and trade organizations, education and health care organizations and government.

Those selected meet the highest standards of qualification and peer recognition. All members of the board must take part in a preparation course based on the Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence and the scoring and evaluation processes for the Baldrige Award.

Awards may be given annually in each of six categories: manufacturing, service, small business, education, health care, and non-profit.

Lt. Col. Heath is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Heath of Washington.