Come one, come all! The call has been sent,
For leaders with vision, on excellence bent!
The 2027 Fellows are starting their track,
To learn and to grow and to never look back!

It’s a one-year adventure, a world-class trip,
To steer your department and tighten the ship!
You’ll peek behind curtains and wander through doors,
You’ll study success on factory floors!

You’ll visit Baldrige Award-recipient organizations, bright and precise,
Role models that sparkle with systems so nice!
This includes a luxury hotel company where service is king,
To see how a “10-out-of-10” makes things sing!

You’ll meet with the leaders at the nation’s role-model organizations—
Baldrige Award winners that sparkle and shine,
Learning with such leaders—the best of their line.

The journey starts in Charm City, bustling and bright,
Where leaders at Quest show how quality and teamwork take flight!
You’ll next head to the edge of the Arctic so grand,
Where excellence for Customer-Owners thrives in a far northern land.

You’ll fiesta where riverboats dance in delight,
And see a moon shot through education put poverty to flight!
Then off to the Capital’s stylish front porch you’ll roam,
Where innovation and leadership feel right at home!

You’ll join a peer network, a brilliant crew,
Folks from business, health care, nonprofit, communities, education, too.
You’ll share your missteps and swap every tale,
Together you’ll triumph, together prevail!

You’ll have accomplished executive facilitators, who coach and who guide.
They’ll share every clue,
On how to make excellence happen for you!

And now is the time, so don’t wait in your chair!
The application is OPEN—your adventure is there!
You’ve got through December to send it along,

So, gather your documents and come join the throng!
Then April arrives, and the journey begins,
With meetings and learning and innovative leadership wins!

So don’t miss out!
Don’t sit and delay,
Excellence calls—go seize the day!
Apply for the Baldrige Executive Fellows, send in your request,
And join the elite in their visionary quest!
 

Learn How You Can Join the Fellows

Discover how the Baldrige Executive Fellows Program can help you elevate your leadership and advance your organization's performance. You can also hear directly from past participants by exploring interviews with Fellows alumni and learning how the experience has influenced their leadership journeys. Information about the 2027–2028 application process is available online. The program begins in April 2027 at the 38th Quest for Excellence® Conference.