Inductees

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Michael Cook

Michael Cook

Robert D. Partridge Endowed Professor in Cooperative Leadership and Executive Director of The Graduate Institute of Cooperative Leadership (GICL), University of Missouri-Columbia.

His applied research on the role of cooperatives in the changing global marketplace, combined with his writing, consulting and cooperative business experience, has enabled him to develop educational materials, classroom curricula and a portfolio of business advisory services that have provided a generation of cooperative leaders with the tools to be more effective managers of cooperative business enterprises.  An integral part of the University of Missouri’s Graduate Institute of Cooperative Leadership since 1989, under his leadership GICL has been recognized as an ambitious, effective cooperative leadership development program.  In addition to his vast credentials in the domestic cooperative arena, he has done extensive international cooperative development work in India, Namibia and Brazil and he continues to mentor and work with his former graduate students and visiting scholars who are now engaged in cooperative development in countries around the world.

 

William Davisson

William Davisson

CEO (retired), of GROWMARK, Inc.

Throughout his career at GROWMARK, Davisson never lost sight of the organization’s vision – to be the best agricultural cooperative system in North American – and its mission to improve the long-term profitability of its member-owners. Beginning as a CPA in the Finance Division, he took progressively more responsible positions until his selection as CEO in 1998, a position he held until his retirement in 2010. As CEO he put the focus on sales and improvement in operations and lead GROMARK through a period of strong growth, including the top three incomes years in the cooperative’s history. He recognized the value of co-op partnerships and joint ventures in an increasingly competitive industry and he partnered with member co-ops to create an innovative co-op structure that has led to improved cash patronage flow back to GROWMARK members. He has also been a long time advocate for the co-op movement and his support for education included funding co-op education at land grant universities, support of the Graduate Institute of Cooperative Leadership (GICL), and the development of a leadership program at Illinois State University for high-potential employees.

Bill Gessner

Bill Gessner

Cooperative developer and member of the CDS Consulting Cooperative.

Bill Gessner’s involvement in the food cooperative community has spanned 35 years and he is credited with having helped transform the community from a hodgepodge of individual stores into an integrated, values-driven national community of consumer-owned retail groceries that has changed the way America thinks about food. His commitment to developing people, organizations and systems is evident in his record of achievement. He recognized the need for co-ops to share information about operations and best practices and helped found the Cooperative Grocers Information Network (CGIN). He pioneered the concept of establishing food co-op consulting teams by bringing that focus to several cooperative development organizations before becoming a founding member of the CDS Consulting Cooperative. His work has resulted in the creation of many educational and measurement tools and he was instrumental in the creation of the development model which is at the heart of today’s new food co-op development. Recognizing the power of networking and collaboration, he helped establish a Midwestern regional Cooperative Grocers Association to enable that interaction to occur and he was a driving force behind the creation of the National Cooperative Grocers Association.

Charles Snyder

Charles Snyder

President & CEO, National Cooperative Bank.

Chuck Snyder joined NCB in 1983 as Corporate Vice President and CFO and played a transformational role in navigating those early years of the Bank’s existence and decisively re-positioning NCB to be the complex financial institution it is today that provides full service banking services for cooperative enterprises. He became President & CEO in 1992 and has since lead the Bank and its affiliates through challenging economies while at the same time strengthening existing cooperatives and nourishing new market development. He is responsible for NCB’s commitment to Mission Banking, which in 2010 alone accounted for $347 million in direct lending, investments and facilitation of creative transactions to support low- to moderate-income communities.

A strong and vocal advocate for cooperative values and principles, he has consistently looked for opportunities to advance cooperatives in all sectors and he has risen to their defense when cooperatives and their business model have been threatened. A passionate believer in innovation and collaboration, he has served on numerous cross-sector task forces and boards and played leadership roles in achieving such innovative landmarks as the growth of the purchasing/shared services co-op sector, the establishment of the dot.coop domain name, and the establishment of successful marketing pieces like the Coop 100 that give cooperatives valuable new audiences.

Shirley Sherrod

Shirley Sherrod

Inducted: 2011

A passionate civil rights advocate, community and cooperative organizer, Shirley Miller Sherrod has spent decades immersed in rural land issues, fighting for economic and social justice and access to land for those who have been marginalized by the system.

She was a co-founder of New Communities, a 6000-acre cooperative farm that for 15 years was the largest black-owned farming organization in the country and served as a beacon of hope for many.  As the Federation of Southern Cooperatives’ Georgia State Director, she developed an excellent outreach, education, and technical assistance program for limited resource farmers and helped launch several cooperatives.  She helped found the Southern Rural Black Women’s Initiative and has worked tirelessly to eradicate the historical race, class, cultural, religious, and gender barriers experienced by southern rural black women.

Sherrod’s efforts have been courageous, innovative, and effective.  For four decades, she has remained steadfast in her commitment to help poor people overcome the income inequalities that have persisted for generations.  She has used the cooperative model to help them build sustainable rural communities and ultimately improve the quality of their lives.

 

Daniel A. Mica

Daniel A. Mica

Inducted: 2011

Daniel A. Mica came to the Credit Union National Association (CUNA) after many years on Capitol Hill, where he served as a five-term member of the U.S. House of Representatives. His impact on the credit union movement was both immediate and profound.

As CUNA’s new CEO he not only secured financial stability for CUNA at a time when its future looked bleak, but also led the fight to secure the very existence of U.S. credit unions. This leadership of the Campaign for Consumer Choice, the legislative battle countering the banking industry’s attempt to limit credit union membership, was pivotal.  Mica directed the legislative strategy, spearheaded a rally on the lawn of the U.S. Capitol, and acted as the chief spokesperson in the media.  Without question his personal legislative experience and political acumen were keys to the successful effort to enact H.R. 1151, the Credit Union Membership Act.

During his tenure Mica built CUNA into one of Washington’s most influential trade associations, and substantially raised the visibility of credit unions nationwide. He also worked closely with the broader cooperative community to create a strong, national voice supporting the value of cooperation.

 

Gloria & Stanley Kuehn

Gloria & Stanley Kuehn

Inducted: 2011

For nearly 30 years Gloria and Stanley Kuehn have devoted themselves to helping people in some of the world’s most war-torn and depressed areas.  In the process they have built a legacy of sustainable, cooperative communities that have changed thousands of lives.

As Project Manager with CLUSA in El Salvador, Stanley worked with small farmers to grow non-traditional and organic crops to meet new and growing markets.  Gloria was an integral part of his team, helping to educate those in the community and promoting the work with visiting dignitaries.  With CLUSA in Nicaragua, the Kuehns established value-added export markets that were previously out of reach for co-ops and small farmers.  They also trained local farmers to work together in NGOs to enhance their quality of life.

The Kuehns brought their expertise to Africa with the World Council of Credit Unions, helping local farmers identify sustainable crops, access microloans, and become small-scale agricultural producers and owners of microenterprises.

The Kuehns’ innovative work has not only improved the lives of poor farmers, but also developed civil infrastructure, spurred economic growth, and forged bonds between developing and developed nations.   It has also put cooperatives on the cutting edge of social and environmental progress.

 

Noel Estenson

Noel Estenson

Inducted:2011

Noel K. Estenson’s visionary leadership and willingness to take bold steps positioned agricultural cooperative members for 21st century success in the competitive global marketplace. Throughout his nearly 40-year career, he recognized the value of new business structures — joint ventures and mergers — as a means of creating operating efficiencies that built stronger cooperative organizations.

In the early 1980s, he led the formation of the ground-breaking joint venture between Cenex, Inc. and Land O’Lakes Inc. that eliminated duplication in both cooperatives’ agricultural supply and energy operations. In 1998, Estenson envisioned the long-term strategic value for member-owners of uniting supply cooperative Cenex with its grains and foods counterpart, Harvest States Cooperatives, which culminated in the largest unification in co-op history.

The resulting creation of CHS Inc., has returned value to its member-owners across the U.S. through reliable supplies of agricultural inputs, a competitive position in the global grain markets and unprecedented financial returns. Estenson served as CEO of CHS until his retirement in 2000.

 

 

David Thompson

 

David Thompson

Inducted: 2010

Born in Blackpool, England, near Rochdale, David Thompson grew up with co-op blood in his veins. Thompson has devoted his life to the cooperative movement in California, nationally and internationally. He has been a leader nationally at NCB where as the first co-op employee he helped set the bank up. At NCBA he led efforts to bring freedoms to cooperatives behind the Iron Curtain and legalize blacks joining cooperatives in South Africa. Thompson and his business partner, Luke Watkins, have developed 650 units of nonprofit, mutual and cooperative housing. Thompson is the author of “Weavers of Dreams” and a prolific writer on cooperatives. Thompson is currently President of the Twin Pines Cooperative Foundation. TPCF’s innovative board has created Cooperative Community Funds for 30 U.S. cooperatives. In his cooperative activities he has been supported by his wife Ann Evans and their daughter Hatley.

Werqu Mekasha

Werqu Mekasha

Inducted: 2010

Mekasha helped revitalize agricultural cooperatives in Ethiopia. Having held high government posts under the Selassie regime and been jailed for eight years after the regime was overthrown, he devoted himself to improving the lives of his countrymen through agricultural cooperatives, running ACDI/VOCA projects that helped assure cooperative independence and make co-ops viable businesses. Through his heroic efforts, Ethiopia’s cooperatives not only increased farmers’ incomes but also set the stage for growth and trade, especially in the coffee sector. Werqu plays a significant role as the first ever International Cooperative Hall of Fame Inductee.

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