With my own golden “celebration” looming just nine months from now, I am particularly aware of half-century milestones. The 50th anniversaries commemorated in 2007 include the founding of STAX records, the publication of “On The Road” by Jack Kerouac, Felix the Cat and the Osmond Family singing group.

But of all the 50th anniversaries in 2007, perhaps the one that resonates with me most is the beginning of the Space Age. Sputnik, the first man-made satellite, was launched on Oct. 4, 1957.

The Space Age, especially manned spaceflight, captivated the nation and inspired a generation. Projects Mercury, Gemini and Apollo offered a heady mix of adventure, danger and wonder on a historic scale. It was an Odyssey for our time, famously expressed by President John F. Kennedy as “landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to Earth.” Audacious goals have a way of inspiring audacious achievement.

Take the Malcolm Baldrige Award, for example. It has served as an audacious goal for nearly 20 years, spurring countless companies—from giant multi-national corporations to small shops with fewer than 50 employees—to improve performance and practice. In doing so, companies have improved relationships with customers, employees, shareholders and their communities.

Now, for the first time, the Malcolm Baldrige Award is open to associations and other tax-exempt organizations. Last week, some 45 association professionals gathered at a seminar co-sponsored by the Association Forum, ASAE & The Center and the American Society for Quality (ASQ). ASQ administers the Baldrige Award.

I like to think that one or more of the associations represented at that seminar will accept the audacious challenge of earning the first Malcolm Baldrige Award in our community.

The Malcolm Baldrige Award may not create the same sense of global drama and national passion as did the race to the moon in the 1960s. But it is a goal that can inspire extraordinary engagement and raise performance to a new level. Even if the Baldrige Award is not your ultimate goal, any association will benefit from the process of assessment and improvement.

I hope you will take a moment to learn more about the Baldrige Award by visiting the following Web sites:

www.networkforexcellence.org

http://www.quality.nist.gov/

http://www.asq.org/learn-about-quality/Malcolm-baldrige-award/overview/overview.html

www.lincolnaward.org

Associations can now rightfully claim their place alongside the corporate sector in striving for this prestigious award. And because the beneficiaries of association work are not only members, but society, it can truly be said that the Baldrige Award is one small step for associations, but a giant leap for society.

Gary LaBranche is president and CEO of The Association Forum. Contact him at labranche@associationforum.org or at 312-924-7070.