2010 Hall of Fame Class ANNOUNCED!

2010 COOPERATIVE HALL OF FAME CLASS INCLUDES INTERNATIONAL FLAVOR

Washington, D.C.—Credit union pioneer Larry Blanchard, rural utility icon Glenn English, cooperative visionary David Thompson and Ethiopian cooperative legend Werqu Mekasha have been selected for spring 2010 induction into the Cooperative Hall of Fame.

The four cooperative leaders will be recognized at the annual Hall of Fame Dinner and Induction Ceremony at Washington’s National Press Club on Wednesday, May 5, 2010. The event annually draws a standing-room-only crowd.

The Hall of Fame, the cooperative community’s highest honor, recognizes those who have made “heroic” contributions to cooperative enterprise. “These four individuals could not better exemplify the meaning of the term leadership in their work with cooperatives,” said Steven Thomas, Executive Director of the Cooperative Development Foundation, which administers the Hall of Fame. “The inclusion of three iconic US cooperative leaders is deeply satisfying, and the induction of the very first non-US citizen is an exciting development that will add to the character of the Cooperative Hall of Fame induction ceremony.”

Cooperatives are democratically owned and controlled businesses that are driven by member-service in addition to their financial bottom lines. Examples include credit unions, food co-ops, rural utility co-ops, and farm co-ops. Hall of Fame nominations are received from throughout the cooperative community and are screened by two committees of national co-op leaders. The final selection is approved by the board of the National Cooperative Business Association.

‘Leadership by example’

The Cooperative Hall of Fame was established in 1974 by NCBA and is housed in NCBA’s offices in Washington. It can also be visited on the web at www.heroes.coop or www.cdf.coop. “The 2010 Hall of Fame class will join the 139 cooperative heroes already in the Cooperative Hall of Fame, whose lives and accomplishments provide historical examples of leadership for the entire cooperative community,” Thomas said.

Following are details on the 2010 inductees. For dinner attendance or sponsorship information, contact CDF at 703-302-8097 or tbuen@cdf.coop.

2010 Cooperative Hall of Fame Class is as follows:

• Larry Blanchard (Credit Unions)
Shaper of today’s credit union landscape – An employee and organizer of credit unions who worked for every major credit union organization in the U.S. Credit union development educator who helped guide the evolution of the Campus Credit Union Council. Leader of Operation Grassroots, the struggle to maintain regulatory independence for credit unions. Uniter of credit unions, credit union organizations, consumer and labor movements, other cooperatives, business leaders, and people of all ages to make H.R. 1151 law, without which there might not be a credit union movement today.

• Glenn English (Rural Utilities)
Promoter of rural America and rural utilities – Former Congressman from Oklahoma committed to the quality of life for small-town and rural America, promoter of cooperative enterprise, and champion of sweeping changes to the electric cooperative financing program. CEO of NRECA who defended the nation’s electric cooperatives from assaults on their power supply and financing program and represented rural electric cooperatives in negotiations leading to the comprehensive energy policy passed in 2005. Influenced national policy as CEO of NRECA and as a member of the boards of the Consumer Federation of America and NCBA.

• Werqu Mekasha (Agriculture)
Revitalizer of agricultural cooperatives in Ethiopia – having held high government posts under the Haile Selassie regime and been jailed for eight years after the regime was overthrown, Mekasha devoted himself to improving the lives of his countrymen through agricultural cooperatives, forging government policy to assure cooperative independence. Through his heroic efforts, Ethiopia’s cooperatives not only became businesses that increased farmers’ incomes but also set the stage for growth and trade, especially in the coffee sector.

• David Thompson (General)
Multi-sector leader, founder, innovator, visionary, developer, and author – As an employee of NCB and NCBA and as a volunteer with dozens of organizations and efforts, has advanced cooperatives of all sorts by developing and strengthening co-ops, co-op organizations and cooperative infrastructure, support systems and legal frameworks. Examples include local and national legislation to facilitate co-op housing and to establish the National Cooperative Bank, funding for the Kagawa Fund for student cooperatives, replication of the Cooperative Community Fund idea in food co-ops across the nation, and international cooperative work.

# # # # # #

The Cooperative Development Foundation is a 501 (c) 3 charitable family of funds that advances economic development through innovative cooperative enterprise.