Announcing the 2026 Cooperative Hall of Fame Inductees
- CDF
- 11 minutes ago
- 11 min read
November 24, 2025
Next year the co-op community in the U.S. will be honoring five outstanding cooperative leaders. Join us in welcoming these cooperative heroes into the Cooperative Hall of Fame on October 8, 2026, at the National Press Club in Washington, DC.
The inductees are Margaret Bau, Cooperative Development Specialist, USDA Rural Development (retired); Fannie Lou Hamer, Unsung Hero, Founder, Freedom Farm Cooperative; Crystal Long, President & CEO, GECU; Kevin Still, President & CEO, Keystone Cooperative; and Michael Toelle, Former Board Director, CHS, Inc.
“This year’s inductees represent the breadth of the cooperative sector in addressing the needs of communities in order to thrive,” said John Holdsclaw IV, Chair of the Cooperative Development Foundation (CDF) Board of Directors. "From promoting financial well-being, to transforming legacy cooperatives, to championing co-op education and development, to creating a self-sustaining farm to meet the basic need of marginalized residents of Sunflower County, Mississippi, these inductees have dedicated their lives to solving societal challenges, reinforcing democratic decision-making, and improving economic opportunities for all.”
"At CDF, we believe that everyone should have the opportunity to determine how they want to solve their challenges or pursue their aspirations; build shared wealth; and thrive in community,” said Julie Bosland, CDF Executive Director. “These leaders demonstrated how cooperatives can make that vision a reality.”
Now in its 52nd year, the Cooperative Hall of Fame provides CDF with funds to build capacity for the cooperative business community through grantmaking and programming. We invite you to honor these heroes by supporting CDF and the cooperative community through event sponsorship.
Margaret Bau
Cooperative Development Specialist, retired, USDA Rural Development
Over her decades-long career at the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Margaret Bau incorporated more than 40 cooperatives, trained over 500 cooperative development specialists, and graced over 9,000 conference and meeting attendees with presentations full of knowledge, warmth, and passion for cooperatives. While she would no doubt be the first to deny it, she is, as one fellow cooperator once called her, a “national treasure.”
After being introduced to cooperatives in Costa Rica during her Peace Corps service, Margaret returned to the U.S. and enrolled in a graduate program in Community and Economic Development at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota. There she learned about the impact and potential of cooperatives in the United States, and–seeing co-ops as a more effective and sustainable model of development than other popular solutions of the time–she was offered a job just as USDA was merging two programs into what became Rural Development. Margaret hadn’t grown up on a farm, but her wider perspective and experience was just what the agency needed to approach new rural cooperative development opportunities outside USDA’s traditional agricultural focus.
Initially hired as a state-level cooperative development specialist, Margaret engaged with worker, consumer, producer, and innovative multi-stakeholder cooperatives in Wisconsin. But from her small office in Steven’s Point, well before her position at USDA was formally expanded to a nationwide role, Margaret started getting calls from across the U.S. and Canada from people seeking her insight. There is likely not a cooperative development professional in the country who has not interacted with, or been impacted by, Margaret in some way.
And yet, Margaret has never been one to seek the spotlight. And perhaps that very inclination toward hard work and humility is what built such a relationship of mutual respect and trust when Margaret began exploring the replication of a successful Bronx home care worker cooperative model with rural women in eastern Wisconsin. In 2001, she helped found Cooperative Care, the first new worker-owned home care cooperative that had been organized in 15 years–then she championed the idea in her quiet, persistent way to bring the model to even more communities. Within a few decades, there were 25 worker-owned home care cooperatives in 12 states and a dozen more in development.
With expertise spanning from home care and social services, to timber, grocery and local foods, Margaret’s approach combines thinking and doing, development and education. This special ability has made her a valued member of professional communities in the co-op ecosystem, including the Association of Cooperative Educators and CooperationWorks!, a national network of cooperative development centers.
Margaret Bau has a unique ability to integrate both cooperative education and cooperative development into any project in which she is involved; she understands and can communicate both theory and practice to a wide variety of audiences. And when a leader with that kind of capacity is in a position to bring federal resources to support grassroots efforts, the result is real social impact.
Fannie Lou Hamer
Unsung Hero, Founder, Freedom Farm Cooperative
A decade into her career as a fearless civil rights leader, Fannie Lou Hamer put her considerable powers of persuasion and rhetoric to work on behalf of her neighbors and fellow cooperators, securing funding from numerous organizations and celebrities (including Harry Belafonte!) to establish a new kind of agricultural cooperative, called the Freedom Farm Cooperative.
Freedom Farm Cooperative (FCC) was an agricultural, educational, and manufacturing cooperative which fed and employed thousands of families in what was at the time one of the most profoundly food insecure counties in America. Mrs. Hamer did all this without the federal support enjoyed by white farmers in her state, managing a web of rapidly shifting community needs, not to mention drought, floods, and full-on natural disasters.
As the youngest of 20 children, she began working in the Mississippi cotton fields from the age of 6, abandoning her studies after the 6th grade to work full time. After years of observing–and experiencing–rampant racism and disenfranchisement, she began to volunteer, first in organizing local voter registration, and later with the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). But this work was not without consequence; she faced firing, surveillance, assassination attempts, a vicious and depraved assault, and eviction from the farm where she and her husband were sharecroppers–all for her attempts to secure voting rights for herself and her neighbors.
Many others would have quit, but showing the determination that would later characterize her as a cooperative leader, Mrs. Hamer still utterly refused to relent. Her closing speech at the 1964 Democratic National Convention, broadcast on evening television, catapulted Mrs. Hamer to national prominence as one of the most charismatic and moving articulators of the struggle for civil rights.
Challenged, however, by the entrenched racist and corrupt political structures, she began to look at other avenues through which she could enact change. Voting, though critical, was only half the battle. She understood the deep and fundamental necessity of economic justice to guarantee the full expression of political rights–and made a cooperative the vehicle for achieving that justice.
Armed with clarity of vision, a wealth of national contacts and networks, and formidable fundraising acumen, Mrs. Hamer founded the FFC in 1969, with the aim of creating a self-sustaining farm providing food, employment, housing, and educational services for the people of rural Sunflower County, Mississippi.
From Mrs. Hamer’s initial innovative idea–a “Pig bank” which raised two thousand pigs from an initial donation of 55 animals–the co-op facilitated the purchase of 700 acres of land portioned into plots for vegetables to feed members and needy families, grazing ground for animals, and cash crops to pay the bills. The work extended into coordinating FHA loans to build homes, scholarships toward vocational training, the development of sewing cooperatives, and the distribution of disaster aid.
Though the FCC did not long outlive her, Mrs. Hamer’s efforts represent the practical application of generations of theory of Black economic group self-determination through collective ownership and cooperation. This, combined with her own heroic ambition and utter refusal to give up on her cooperative dream in the face of numerous and daunting obstacles beyond her control, makes Fannie Lou Hamer a formidable example of a cooperative founder.
Crystal Long
President & CEO, GECU
A champion of the credit union movement, Crystal Long has led GECU efforts to bring financial well-being to members and others in Texas and New Mexico. Crystal has shown that when people commit to the principles and values of cooperatives—in everything from member service to community development–it makes a difference.
Like so many other movement leaders who began their credit union careers in entry level positions, Crystal joined the staff of GECU as a file clerk. That humble origin started her on a path that led not only to leadership at GECU, but also to engagement at the highest levels of the credit union ecosystem, including active participation in the National Credit Union Foundation (NCUF) Credit Union Development Educator (CUDE) program and a field-engagement trip to Kenya led by the World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU).
In keeping with the credit union movement’s people helping people philosophy, Crystal led GECU’s democratically-determined transformation into a Federally Chartered credit union. This culmination of this effort welcomed into membership additional communities across Texas and New Mexico who lacked sufficient access to the tools of financial wellbeing. GECU’s federal charter remains the largest underserved expansion granted by the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA).
Recognizing that long term benefit for communities, organizations, and individuals is linked to well-informed policy, Crystal has encouraged members to engage in advocacy efforts in the credit union space. GECU joined America’s Credit Unions’ Member Activation Program to help members speak on behalf of the credit union movement with elected officials.
Informed by her own professional path, Crystal leveraged her position as a credit union industry leader to elevate future generations of credit union leaders through the formation of the GECU Young Professionals (YPs) program as part of the greater Cornerstone League Credit Union Young Professionals. Today, GECU has one of the largest groups of Young Professionals with more than 415 members and growing.
Among Crystal’s prestigious recognitions are NCUF’s 2019 Herb Wegner Memorial Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement Award, the 2024 Greg Inman Servant Leadership Award, and induction into the Credit Union House Hall of Leaders in 2025–all for her dedication to the credit union movement.
From its humble origins of 11 people pooling $5 each in mutual aid during the depths of the Great Depression, GECU has grown to become one of the largest and strongest credit unions in Texas and New Mexico with more than 435,000 members, 28 state-of-the-art branches, innovative online services and more than $4.4 billion in assets. Crystal Long’s leadership journey from credit union file clerk to CEO echoes that inspiring example of what is possible when people help people–not only within their own organizations but for the broader community–through cooperative values and principles.
Kevin Still
President & CEO, Keystone Cooperative
From growing up on a farm in west-central Illinois, to an early career employee at a farmer-owned co-op, to the President and CEO of Keystone Cooperative, Inc., Kevin Still has charted a journey guided by vision, grounded in integrity, and powered by Midwestern grit.
Still’s foresight led to the integration of nine cooperatives into Keystone, which is now: the seventh largest agricultural retailer in the U.S., CountryMark’s largest fuel retailer, the largest Indiana swine management company, and the 13th largest propane provider in the nation. Today, Keystone provides a wide variety of essential services to over 20,000 farmer-members in Indiana, Ohio, Michigan and Illinois, including agronomic services and inputs, refined fuels and propane, swine and animal nutrition, and grain marketing. From an initial location of thirty-five employees to 2,000 full-time employees, Keystone’s growth can be attributed to his ability to tell the powerful co-op story in a way that makes people and other companies want to be a part of the team.
Additionally, Kevin’s commitment to teamwork is evident in his twenty-three years of board service at CoBank where he has served as chair since 2020, helping to lead the $210 billion institution serving the rural agricultural economy through a cooperative banking model.
Focused on finding solutions for Keystone’s farmer members and throughout the agricultural cooperative system, Still led strategic mergers and promoted innovative governance models to strengthen influence in the marketplace. He scaled the cooperative enterprise while preserving core values and financial health, investing in rural communities and agricultural innovation.
Key to the success of these efforts was Still’s development of diverse employee talent. His belief in the importance of the cooperative’s work assisting farmer’s success has created a workplace culture that is linked less to traditional trajectories and more to finding your way–and proving your passion–through trust. He trusts in his employees to learn through decision-making, guided by active mentorship. His leadership style, rooted in integrity and strategy, has galvanized teams and communities and delivered strong financial results to the member-owners of Keystone.
Still’s influence also spans academia, civic leadership, and agricultural advocacy: he served with the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives (NCFC), the National Foundation of Agribusiness Management Education, and many other local organizations. In 2022, Purdue University Agriculture Alumni Association honored him with the Certificate of Distinction for his decades of work influencing policy, business models, and cooperative education across the country, even though he is a graduate of the University of Iowa.
In addition to his professional achievements and recognition, Kevin is deeply committed to giving back to the community. Under Kevin’s leadership, Keystone contributed a total of $1.4 million in 2025 to support agricultural education, food security and farm and energy safety initiatives within rural communities.
A true ambassador for the cooperative movement, Kevin Still is not merely a builder of businesses but also a builder of people and communities, and an advocate for farmers. With 46 years of experience in the co-op system, his leadership inspires others to embrace its mission, reinforcing the agricultural foundation of rural America through cooperative principles and practices.
Michael Toelle
Former Board Director, CHS, Inc.
For over forty years, Mike Toelle has dedicated time, energy, and vision to supporting the cooperative system from the farm fields of Minnesota to the international stage.
A dedicated farmer, tireless director, and champion for cooperative education, Mike started his career expecting to work in the cooperative system. He did that, and more, though perhaps not in the way he originally planned.
After a brief stint with Harvest States Cooperatives, Mike returned to the family farm and redirected his cooperative spirit toward board service in his local co-op. A natural leader with a heart for community, Mike was one of the youngest directors ever to be elected to the Cenex Inc. Board of Directors Balancing thoughtful respect for the past with an eye toward to the future, Mike was well-suited to serve on the core committee that resulted in the 1998 creation of CHS Inc., merging Harvest States Cooperatives and Cenex to create the largest U.S. cooperative, a global presence in agriculture and energy, and a Fortune 100 company.
Mike’s eventual leadership of the boards of both CHS and the CHS Foundation demonstrated two of his great gifts: an understanding of the need for innovation and an appreciation of the value of education. He understood the complex relationships that inspire and support both member loyalty and effective change to strengthen and grow the cooperative system. He saw the ways in which those with deep local connections could benefit by engaging in the international sphere, and how learning is critical for everyone from the CHS board directors to the students in his local FFA and 4-H groups.
Beyond the CHS boardroom, Mike’s skills and leadership as a director have been applied in service to Cooperative Network, the Agriculture Council of America, CF Industries, and CIBO. His current role as vice-chair of Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company draws on both his appreciation of the cooperative ethos of a mutual insurance company and his practical experience in risk management, regulatory issues, and monetary policy as a longtime leader in a farmer-owned system.
Mike’s strength as a leader and communicator is closely tied to his skill as a listener and an observer who can simultaneously appreciate and examine multiple perspectives. He is mindful of both the far-away producers he’s met in his global journeys, and those in the Browns Valley community he calls home. As a farmer, a neighbor, and a life-long learner, Mike is able to weigh the practicalities and needs of operating in today’s highly volatile and competitive agricultural economy with the impact on–and implications for–the social fabric and dignity of everyday life. This authentic and natural combination of high-level leadership and quiet humility marks Mike Toelle as a cooperative hero.
About the Cooperative Development Foundation (CDF)
CDF serves as the apex US cooperative foundation and partner to NCBA CLUSA, the apex cooperative business association. Through grantmaking and programming, CDF builds the capacity of the cooperative business community to solve societal challenges, reinforce democratic decision-making, and improve economic opportunities for all. As a result, more people in our nation can address their needs, pursue their aspirations, build shared wealth, and thrive in community.
About the Cooperative Hall of Fame
Established in 1974 by the National Cooperative Business Association and administered by the Cooperative Development Foundation, the Cooperative Hall of Fame is the highest honor that the US cooperative community bestows on extraordinary individuals who have made genuinely heroic contributions in support of cooperatives. The stories of those inducted demonstrate that there is no one path for induction.
For more information about CDF and the Cooperative Hall of Fame, visit www.CDF.coop and www.Heroes.coop.