Inducted 2006
For 30 years David O. Miller volunteered his time locally, nationally, and internationally to enhance the cooperative movement. He is a true cooperative statesman who used his knowledge, leadership abilities, and personable nature to advance the cooperative system worldwide.
Miller served on the Ohio Farm Bureau board for 15 years, helping to create a buying cooperative for Ohio farmers, mediating a successful merger between two regional co-ops, and overseeing the development of an ethanol plant. He is an icon in Ohio agriculture.
At the national level he has been a trusted board member, serving such organizations as the National Cooperative Business Association and the Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company. As a 20-year Nationwide board member, he was pivotal in keeping the company engaged with cooperatives through such efforts as creating the Nationwide Board Council to focus on co-op issues.
Internationally, Miller helped organize the American Cooperative Enterprise Center in the Czech Republic, and was instrumental in starting Cooperative Business International to enhance international trade opportunities for U.S. cooperatives and help people in developing countries move from aid to development to trade. He was also elected to the board of the International Cooperative Alliance, and served as the prominent global ambassador for U.S. cooperatives.