Mayor Graham Richard will speak at the Six Sigma Excellence Conference on Thursday, November 17 at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum, 4000 Parnell Ave. The Mayor'€™s comments begin at 8 a.m. The conference runs from 7:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.

Fort Wayne is known around the country for its Six Sigma efforts. Author Michael George in his book “Lean Six Sigma for Service” recognizes Fort Wayne for using business practices such as Lean Six Sigma to protect taxpayers, reduce costs and provide additional services with fewer employees. The city has saved more than $10 million by using Six Sigma.

Dr. Dean Schroeder is the conference'€™s keynote speaker. Schroeder is the Director of the MBA program at Valparaiso University. He is co-author of the book “Ideas are Free: How the Idea Revolution is Liberating People and Transforming Organizations.”