PARTICIPANT PACKAGE

Association of Cooperative Educators

TUESDAY • JULY 2816:00 Registration opens18:00-20:00 RECEPTION AND

WELCOME

WEDNESDAY • JULY 297:00 Breakfast Registration

Rational Hope 20108:15 - 8:30 WELCOME - Roger

Herman, ACE President RATIONAL HOPE - WHAT

DO WE HOPE FOR AT THE INSTITUTE?

8:30 - 9:45 RATIONAL HOPE IN 2010 Patricia Aburdene, author

of Megatrends 2010: The rise of conscious capitalism

9:45 - 10:15 Break10:15 - 10:20 WELCOME TO

MINNEAPOLIS10:20 - 11:05 THE AGENDA FOR

CHANGE Cheryl Cook, Deputy

Under Secretary Rural Development U.S. Department of Agriculture

11:05 – 11:45 IS POLICY HELPING OR HINDERING?

Margaret Lund, community developer

J. Tom Webb, program manager, Master of Management - Co-operatives and Credit Unions

11:45 Lunch

The Infrastructure for Hope12:45 - 13:45 FINANCING HOPE: THE

NORTH AMERICAN VIEW OF FINANCIERS

Amy H. Gales, CoBank13:45 - 14:15 Break14:15 - 15:15 WORKER COOPERATIVES

AND SUCCESSION PLANNING

Melissa Hoover, executive director, United States Federation of Worker Cooperatives

Bruce Reynolds, economist with the Cooperative Programs section of Rural Development, USDA

15:15 - 16:15 ABORIGINAL/FIRST NATIONS COOPERATIVE GROWTH

Louise Champagne, president of Neechi Foods Co-op Ltd. , Manitoba

Dr. Manley A. Begay, Jr., faculty chair of the Native Nations Institute for Leadership, Management, and Policy, The University of Arizona

16:15 - 16:30 WRAP UP, AND PREVIEW OF MOBILE LEARNING SESSIONS

16:30 - 17:30 ACE ANNUAL MEETING18:30 - 19:00 RECEPTION19:15 - 22:15 ACE BANQUET AND

AWARDS

THURSDAY • JULY 306:40 - 8:45 Breakfast Registration Presentation

MOBILE LEARNING SESSIONS9:00 - 16:30 (choose one tour)

• CHSInc.,InverGrove• 7500YorkCooperative

(senior housing co-op), Edina

• GardensofEaganFarm/The Wedge Community Cooperative, Minneapolis

• GreatRiverEnergy• LandO’Lakes,Inc.• SewardCo-op• TheHubBicycleCo-op,

Minneapolis

NOTE: Lunch is provided on the tours. Participants have dinner on their own.

FRIDAY • JULY 31Making Hope Reality Through People and Their Knowledge

7:00 Breakfast Registration8:00 - 8:15 REVIEW OF THE MOBILE

LEARNING SESSIONS AND A LOOK AHEAD AT THE DAY

8:15 - 10:15 BUILDING DYNAMIC BOARDS - WORKSHOP

Maura Schwartz, cooperative business consultant

(facilitator will announce breaks)

10:15 - 11:15 DEVELOPING COOPERATIVE LEADERS AT UNIVERSITIES

Denyse Guy, executive director, Ontario Co-operative Association

Christina A. Clamp, professor, School of Community Economic Development at Southern New Hampshire University

J. Tom Webb, program manager, Master of Management - Co-operatives and Credit Unions

11:15 - 12:15 A NEW GENERATION OF HOPE

Tanya Gracie of the Canadian Co-operative Association will lead discussion with representatives of Alliance des jeunes coopérateurs et mutualistes du Québec, the CHS Foundation and the Citizens League of Minnesota

12:15 - 13:15 Lunch Open Mic Session Participants are invited to

share their research and projects. Each presentation to be limited to 3 minutes.

13:15 - 14:00 CO-OP FEVER Bill Patrie, cooperative

developer and executive administrator of ACE

14:00-15:00 WHAT MANAGERS NEED TO KNOW TO KEEP HOPE IN THEIR ORGANIZATIONS

Henry Mintzberg, McGill University professor and author of Mintzberg on Management: Inside Our Strange World of Organizations

15:00 - 15:15 Break15:15 - 16:00 EXTENSION – ACCESS

TO RESOURCES ON THE INTERNET AND OTHER NEW MEDIA

Iowa State University Extension Value Added Agriculture Program (Madeline Schultz, program coordinator)

16:00 - 16:30 WRAP UP ADJOURN

2009 ACE INSTITUTE AT A GLANCE

#2

#1

WEDNESDAY • JULY 29

MORNING SESSIONS

Rational Hope 2010

Patricia Aburdene, world-renowned speaker and author

Patricia Aburdene is one of the world’s leading social forecasters. For a quarter century, Aburdene has helped thousands of organizations make the most of social change and transformation. Co-author

of the number one, New York Times bestseller Megatrends 2000, her newest book is Megatrends 2010: The Rise of Conscious Capitalism, a blueprint of the social, economic and spiritual trends transforming free enterprise.

Aburdene’s lifelong career in business journalism began at Forbes in 1978. As a Public Policy Fellow at Radcliffe College, Cambridge, Massachusetts, from 1993 to 1996, she explored emerging leadership models.

Patricia Aburdene holds a BA in philosophy from Newton College of the Sacred Heart (now Boston College), an MS in library science from Catholic University and three honorary doctorates. In 1990, she was awarded the Medal of Italy for her interpretation of global trends. She lives in Boulder, Colorado and Manchester, Massachusetts. www.patriciaaburdene.com

As human consciousness evolves, so does the business model we call capitalism. We have power to heal and transform it. When we do, when we shift from ‘unconscious’ capitalism to Conscious Capitalism, then we will truly possess the power to change our world. Learn first-hand the business trends that together constitute the megatrend of Conscious Capitalism, and delve deeper into:

• TheDawnofConsciousCapitalism• ThePowerofSpirituality:fromPersonalto

Organizational• TheValues-drivenConsumer• TheWaveofConsciousBusinessSolutions• TheBoominSociallyResponsibleInvesting

The Agenda for Change

Cheryl Cook, Deputy Under SecretaryRural Development, U.S. Department of Agriculture

Cheryl Cook was appointed by AgricultureSecretaryTomVilsackasDeputyUnderSecretaryforUSDARuralDevelopmentinApril.

In this position, Cook manages policies and programs inRuralDevelopment’sthreemainareas:BusinessandCooperatives, Housing and Community Facilities, and Utilities. Cook served from May 1993 until March 2000 as RuralDevelopment’sPennsylvaniaStateDirector.ShealsoworkedinUSDA’sWashington,D.C.office,specializingin food, nutrition and housing program delivery. Between Federalappointments,CookservedasDeputySecretaryforMarketingandEconomicDevelopmentatthePennsylvaniaDepartmentofAgriculture.ShepreviouslyworkedfortheKeystoneDevelopmentCenter,anon-profitorganizationinPennsylvania that helps new and emerging cooperatives. She was a member of the National Farmers Union’s public policy staff, focusing on dairy, credit, and environmental issues. She also maintained a private law practice.

Cook received her bachelor and law degrees in Pennsylvania.

Is Policy Helping or Hindering?

Margaret Lund, community developer

Margaret Lund is an independent consultant with a wide range of experience in the community development and cooperative development finance fields. Lund

spent16yearsastheExecutiveDirectoroftheNorthcountryCooperativeDevelopmentFund(NCDF),acommunityloan fund and multi-faceted development organization for cooperatives of all sectors across the Upper Midwest. As part ofherworkatNCDF,shewasafounderandpresidentofthe Northcountry Cooperative Federal Credit Union, a new community development credit union for housing cooperatives. PriortojoiningNCDF,shespenttwoyearswiththeNationalCenterforEmployeeOwnershipastheDirectorofInternational

2009 ACE INSTITUTE SPEAKERS AND TOPIC DISCUSSIONS

WEDNESDAY MORNING, CONT.

Projects, and also worked with the Cornell University-affiliated Program for Employment and Workplace Systems, an innovative worker-ownership and worker participation consulting firm.

Lund is a past board member of Opportunity Finance Network (OFN), the leading national trade association for Community DevelopmentFinancialInstitutionsandalsooftheNationalCooperative Business Association, where she chaired a national taskforceoncooperativecapitalformation.SheservesasVicePresident of the board of Health Partners, the largest consumer-governed healthcare organization in the United States and a leader in healthcare quality measures. She is a nationally recognized expert in the field of cooperative development finance, and has been featured as a speaker, trainer and panelist for a number of organizations including the Opportunity Finance Network, the National Association of Housing Cooperatives, the National Cooperative Business Association, the Consumer Cooperative Managers Association, the U.S. Federation of Worker Cooperatives, the Meredith Institute for Resident-Owned Communities, the Minnesota Council of Non-Profits, and the Minneapolis Urban League.

J. Tom Webb, program manager, Master of Management -- Co-operatives and Credit Unions

Born and raised in Northeastern Nova Scotia, a region that suffers from chronic unemployment and out migration, Tom Webb has had a life long interest in regional

business, economic and social progress and social justice. He was educated at St. Francis Xavier (St.FX) and Carleton universities and holds a Master of Arts degree.

He worked as a welfare worker for the city of Ottawa and joined the Government of Canada in 1971. In government he held various positions including Special Assistant to the President of the Privy Council, Special Advisor to the Prime Minister and Special Advisor to the Minister of Regional Economic Expansion. Upon leaving government service he worked as SocialEconomicProgramOfficerwiththeVanierInstituteof the Family, and later as a consultant to governments and various local and national cooperative and credit union organizations and businesses.

In 1986 he became Manager of Member Relations and later Manager of Government and Corporate Communications with Co-op Atlantic, Atlantic Canada’s regional wholesale, retail and agricultural cooperative central. From 1993 to September 1999 hewasDirectoroftheSt.FXUniversityExtensionDepartment.St.FX Extension has a long history of involvement in adult education, cooperatives and credit unions, and distance and continuing education.

In 1999 Webb created Global Co-operation, a consulting organization providing services to credit unions, cooperatives and universities in Canada, the United States, New Zealand, Australia, Ireland, the United Kingdom and Spain. He has worked with cooperatives and credit unions on management, marketing, planning, governance and globalization. Webb has written numerous articles on a variety of issues and is currently working on a book tentatively titled, Global Co-operation: An Alternative Approach to Globalization.

He has pioneered MOCA, Marketing Our Co-operative Advantage, and played a leading role in the development of the Masters of Management - Co-operatives and Credit Unions (MMCCU) at Saint Mary’s University in Halifax. http://www.smu.ca/academic/sobey/programs/mmccu/welcome.html

Webb lives in Antigonish, Nova Scotia with his wife and business partner, Marion.

The global economy is in the midst of a financial crisis with a set of inter-related crises waiting their turn in the wings. The investor-owned, speculative market economy has spawned or exacerbated many problems facing public policy makers. Past public policy has most often treated cooperative business equally but not equitably. Public policy has been developed to stimulate the investor business model and co-ops have access to the same stimulative measures which often are not suitable. They are also treated equally to the restrictive and regulatory measures needed to curb the worst excesses of investor-owned business. Cooperatives and credit unions did not cause or exacerbate the current crisis but rather helped blunt it. They offer at least ameliorating solutions. What would a new public policy approach that nurtured cooperative economic solutions look like?

WEDNESDAY • JULY 29

AFTERNOON SESSIONS

The Infrastructure for Hope

Financing Hope: Financiers’ North American View

Amy H. Gales, regional president, Central RegionCommercial Agribusiness Division, Agribusiness Banking Group, CoBank

Amy Gales is responsible for managing theCommercialAgribusinessDivisionoperations of the bank’s central region,

which includes the Minneapolis, Omaha and Fargo banking centers.

Gales’ team specializes in serving the needs of Farm Credit Associations as well as agricultural cooperatives that process, market, transport and export agricultural commodities. The majority of these customers are in the grain and farm supply industries. Commercial Agribusiness also supports the fruit, nut and vegetable, dairy, livestock and biofuels industries, as well as credit and finance companies. Gales is based in Minneapolis, and is a member of the bank’s Senior Leadership Team.

She brings more than 26 years of financial and agribusiness experience to her position. She began her career in 1981 with the former St. Paul Bank for Cooperatives, working directly with local cooperative customers over a 17-year period in a variety of different positions. Subsequently she served as the manager of a grain and farm supply co-op in southern Minnesota and as executive director of an agricultural development center in SouthDakota.Shereturnedtobankingin2002,workinginleadership posts at both Commerce Bank and Wells Fargo. She joined CoBank in July of 2007 as regional vice president in the Minneapolis office.

Gales earned a bachelor’s degree in business with a finance emphasis from the University of Minnesota.

About CoBankCoBank is a $63 billion cooperative bank serving vital industries across rural America. The bank provides loans,

leases, export financing and other financial services to agribusinesses and rural power, water and communications providers in all U.S. states. www.cobank.com.

The Farm Credit System (FCS) is a network of borrower-owned lending institutions comprised of cooperatives and farm credit associations chartered in 1916. CoBank is part of the FCS and is the primary provider of financing to its member cooperatives and eligible lifeline businesses in rural America. It is fair to say that the delivery of financial products to cooperatives and other eligible entities has been tested over the last 24 months. Commodity prices increased dramatically and created a huge need for funding. The financial markets faltered and the U.S. economy went into recession, pulling other world economieswithit.Didthecooperativefinancingmodelpass the test, and more importantly, is it positioned for the volatile changes that are certain to be part of our future?

Worker Co-operatives and Succession Planning

Melissa Hoover, executive director, United Sates Federation of Worker Cooperatives

Melissa Hoover is a founding director of the nonprofit DemocracyatWorkInstitute,whichprovidestechnicalassistance resources to worker cooperatives. She is also a staff memberoftheDevelopmentandSupportCooperativeoftheArizmendi Association of Cooperatives. She has several years experience on financial and management teams of Bay Area worker cooperatives, and now consults to help co-ops and small businesses strengthen all aspects of financial management, with a focus on creating effective systems and training. She holds a B.A. in History from Stanford University with a research focus on cooperative movements.

This talk will describe the principles, planning and evolution of the Worker Cooperative Peer Technical Assistance Project initiated by the US Federation of Worker Cooperativesanditseducationalarm,theDemocracyat Work Institute. The project is intended to meet the growing demand for technical assistance providers who have experience in democratic workplaces, while developing expertise and capacity within the current worker cooperative community. We are at an exciting crossroads in the worker co-op world: we have a generation of talented and passionate young cooperators interested in development. There has been a surge in interest in worker

WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON, CONT.

cooperatives from several sectors, including community economic development, education, health care, and immigrants’ rights advocates, to name a few; and we finally have the beginnings of a national infrastructure to support development, training and coordination of resources. Building on these strengths and guided by a set of principles that uniquely values the experience of cooperators, the DemocracyatWorkInstitutehasbegunanambitiousandcollaborative national project to train and deploy the first group of peer technical assistance advisors. At the same time, we are laying the groundwork for an institutionalized technical assistance program that is integrated and interdependent with the growth of the worker cooperative movement as a whole.

Bruce Reynolds, economist, Cooperative Programs section of Rural Development, USDA

BruceReynolds’careerwithUSDAfrom 1978 to present involves technical assistance, consulting, and research on cooperatives. This work has concentrated

on development, operations, and governance of U.S. agricultural cooperatives, including historical research. In recent years areas of research have increasingly shifted from farmer to rural cooperatives in housing, purchasing and worker ownership.

USDAprogramsforbusinessdevelopmenthavepredominantly been designed to assist farmers and other agriculturally related industries. Programs were extended or re-designed to assist non-agricultural businesses in rural communities during some historical periods such as the 1930s and then again in the 1960s. Two different types ofUSDAassistancearediscussedastohowtheywouldbe applied to the development of worker cooperatives in rural America: (1) loan guarantees to finance conversions of proprietary firms to worker ownership, and (2) research on owners’ equity as it relates to inter-generational succession of cooperative members.

Aboriginal/First Nations Cooperative Growth

Louise Champagne, president, Neechi Foods Co-op Ltd.

Louise Champagne is a founder and president of Neechi Foods Co-op Ltd., based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Created two decades ago, the full-service cooperative also has a focus on Aboriginal-produced

goods, books and music by Aboriginal artists or about Aboriginal issues.Today,theManitobagovernmentusesa‘CEDLens’thatdirectly stems from a list of community economic development criteria developed by Neechi Foods Co-op in early 1994.

Champagne has received many honors for her work, including from the Canadian Co-operative Association and Canadian Worker Co-operative Federation.

Champagne will discuss the successes and challenges of building a co-op enterprise, and how she and colleagues were able to create cooperatives that lasted and influence government to assist new Aboriginal venture development.

Manley A. Begay, Jr., faculty chair of the Native Nations Institute for Leadership, Management, and Policy in the Udall Center for Studies in Public Policy

Begay is senior lecturer/associate social scientist in the American Indian Studies

Program at The University of Arizona. He teaches courses on nation-building, curriculum development, and Indigenous education. He is also co-director of the Harvard Project on AmericanIndianEconomicDevelopment,JohnF.KennedySchool of Government, Harvard University. His research and work experience has focused on projects about and for Native nations in the promotion of strong and effective institutions of governance and leadership. He has presented on a variety of topics from leadership to Indigenous nation building and from curriculum development to pedagogy and from historical and contemporary Indigenous issues to education at numerous national and international colleges and universities, private and public high schools, national and international conferences, institutes, and symposia. He has also worked closely with Native

FRIDAY MORNING, CONT.

nations in the United States, First Nations and Bands in Canada, Aborigines in Australia, and Maoris in Aotearoa (New Zealand).

Through applied research and service, the Native Nations Institute for Leadership, Management, and Policy and the Harvard Project on American Indian EconomicDevelopmentaimstounderstandandfosterthe conditions under which sustained, self-determined development is achieved among Indigenous nations. This presentation will examine the systematic, comparative study of development of Indigenous nations. What works, where and why?

FRIDAY• JULY 31

MORNING SESSIONS

Making Hope Reality Through People and Their Knowledge

Building Dynamic Boards — Workshop

Maura Schwartz, cooperative business consultant

Schwartz began her cooperative career by helping rural entrepreneurs analyze the feasibility of starting cooperative businesses. Professional positions includedUSDA/RuralDevelopment,

Minnesota Association of Cooperatives and international development consulting firms working with cooperatives in USA, Central and Eastern Europe, Russia, Mongolia, Afghanistan, Ethiopia, and Sri Lanka. Schwartz now provides technical assistance and training to new cooperatives and associations and rural community leaders.

She serves as Board Chair for the Northwest Cooperative DevelopmentCenter,BoardSecretaryfortheJeffersonCo.CulturalCoalition,Director-At-LargefortheMadrasSaturdayMarket and is on several other local committees. She received abachelor’sdegreefromUniversityofVermontandanMSinInternationalAgriculturalDevelopmentfromUniversityofCalifornia-Davis.ShecompletedallMBAmarketingand

accountingcoursesatVirginiaPolytechnicUniversity.Shenowenjoys outdoor life in rural Madras, Oregon.

By examining CHANGE, we can better evaluate and deliver the types of continuing education that benefit cooperative boards. Why are some board directors reluctant to change while others seem more willing?

Participants will:• Beactivelyinvolvedinanactivityanalyzingthe

nature of change;• Examinecasestudiesfromfourcooperativeboards

that adapted to a changing and challenging environment: financial, membership and customer; and

• Developideasforcontinuingboardeducation.

Developing Cooperative Leaders at Universities

Denyse Guy, executive director, Ontario Co-operative Association

DenyseGuyholdsdegreesinenvironmental sciences and in business management. For close to 30 years, she has worked as a manager and educator/trainer in the cooperative sector in

Canada and overseas.

Under her leadership and management, Windfield Co-operative Homes, Guelph, Ontario’s first housing cooperative, was awarded the national prize for the “Best Managed Housing Co-operative in Canada.” In 2007, Credit Union Central of Ontario (now Central 1) celebrated her achievements by giving her the Gary Gillam Award for Social Responsibility.

In 2001, Guy became the Region Manager of what is now the Ontario Co-operative Association that has a mission to lead, cultivate and connect the cooperative sector in Ontario. www.ontario.coop

Guy is a Board member of the Community Power Fund that supports the development of renewal energy co-operatives in Ontario and is a Trustee with the Federal Co-operative Housing Stabilization Fund.

FRIDAY MORNING, CONT.

Guy will overview the 2009 autumn launch of the Co-operative Management Certificate Program at the Schulich School of Business (York University), including the goals of the program, the components and the challenges of developing such a program.

Christina A. Clamp, professor and cooperative specialist on the faculty of the School of Community Economic Development at Southern New Hampshire University

Christina A. Clamp directs the Center for Co-operativesandCED.www.snhu.edu

Since 1994, she has been active on the board of the ICA Group, a developer and technical assistance provider to employee owned and worker cooperative businesses. From 2000 to 2009, she served on the board of the National Cooperative Business Association and is past chair of the board of the CooperativeDevelopmentInstitute.SheistreasurerontheboardoftheAllstonBrightonCommunityDevelopmentCorporation of Boston, and previously served on the board of NortheastCooperatives,Brattleboro,Vermont.Clampearnedher bachelor’s degree from Friends World College where she first studied cooperatives in the American South, India and CentralAmerica.ShecompletedherMAandPh.D.inSociologyat Boston College where she studied worker cooperatives and employee ownership. Her doctoral research was on the management of the Mondragon Cooperative Corporation.

Co-ops have been a part of the development tool bag at Southern New Hampshire University in the School of CommunityEconomicDevelopmentsince1982whenClamp was hired as a co-op development specialist on the faculty. What is new is that the school now offers aspecializationinco-opsandCEDandhaslaunchedtheCenterforCooperativesandCED.Thispresentationwill trace the evolution of the integration of co-ops into the curriculum and the development of the new center. The presentation will reflect on lessons learned and accomplishments.

Tom Webb (please see July 29 presenters)

A New Generation of HopeIn a time of rapid and drastic change, young people offer great hope for the continued growth, promotion and leadership of cooperatives everywhere. Known as a generation that is ambitious, socially conscious and virtually connected, hear from a panel of young cooperators about the aspirations, visions and opportunities they see within the cooperative sector. This panel will be asked challenging questions about engagement, leadership, differentiation and action when it comes to cooperatives in the current economic climate, and ways cooperatives are changing to meet and incorporate youth.

Tanya Gracie, Canadian Co-operative Association

Discussion leader:Tanya Gracie became a part of the Canadian Co-operative Association (CCA) www.coopscanada.coop team in June 2008. CCA is the national voice

for the cooperative sector in Canada, and during her time at the association, Gracie has played an integral role in the area of Member Services, in particular taking a leading role in the development, organization and coordination of many of CCA’s 100th Anniversary events this year. Additionally, Gracie has been able to enhance and build upon her Masters thesis research in developing a strategy to stimulate Canadian cooperatives to mobilize and work together to increase the presence of young people involved in cooperatives. Prior to her workatCCA,TanyawasaCo-operativeDevelopmentInternwith the Ontario Co-operative Association. She is a graduate of Wilfred Laurier University in Ontario, and completing her graduatedegreeinCommunityEconomicDevelopmentatSouthern New Hampshire University. She is also president of her housing cooperative, a director of the Canadian Association for Studies in Co-operation and one of 60 young people across Canada selected to serve as a member of the Youth Advisory Group for the Canadian Commission for UNESCO.

Stacy Becker, Citizens League

StacyBeckeristheProjectDirectorforthe Citizens League MAP (Minnesota Anniversary Project) 150. In this capacity she launched Students Speak Out, an online civic networking platform for students

FRIDAY • JULY 31

to weigh in on school and education issues. Her independent consulting practice, Becker Consulting, advises local, regional and state governments, foundations, policy groups and nonprofits on strategic, financial and organizational matters. She has published on diverse subjects such as education finance, road reconstruction and gender pay equity. Becker comes from a background in local government. She served as Public Works DirectorfortheCityofSaintPaulandasBudgetDirectorfortheCity of Saint Paul and the City and County of San Francisco. She has a B.A. from Macalester College, a graduate degree from the John F. Kennedy School at Harvard University, and an M.Sc. in urban design from the London School of Economics, which she attended as a Bush Leadership Fellow.

Véronique LeVasseur, Alliance des jeunes coopérateurs et mutualistes du Québec (Québec young cooperators coalition)

VéroniqueLeVasseurofMontrealismanagementadviserofFédérationdescoopérativesd’habitationintermunicipale

duMontréalmétropolitain(GreaterMontréalFederationofHousing Cooperatives). Previously, she was a researcher at University of Sherbrooke’s department on cooperatives and in Mali,andamanagementadviserforCoopératived’habitationDesJonquilles.Shehasalsoprovidededucationaboutco-operatives in Quebec and Peru. She serves on a committee of CaisseDesjardinsdeDaveluyville.LeVasseurhasaMaster’sdegree in administration and management of cooperatives and collectivitiesfromUniversitédeSherbrooke,andaBAfromMcGill University in Montreal.

Gena M. Polzin, stewardship specialist for the CHS Foundation

Gena Polzin started with CHS in May 2008 as a marketing communications intern. Prior to joining the company, she internedwiththeWisconsinDepartmentof Agriculture Trade and Consumer

Protection. As a student, she served as 2004-2005 Wisconsin FFAStateVicePresidentand2005-2006StateFFAPresident.

Polzin earned a Bachelor of Science degree in marketing communications with an emphasis in agricultural business

from the University of Wisconsin – River Falls in May. She will begin a master’s degree in agricultural education this fall at UW-River Falls. Polzin grew up on a dairy farm in Cadott, Wisconsin.

AFTERNOON SESSIONS

Co-op Fever

Bill Patrie, executive administrator, ACE, and cooperative developer

Bill Patrie has served as executive administrator of the Association of Cooperative Educators since November 2008. He has specialized in cooperative and economic development in North

Dakotaandsurroundingstatesformorethan20years,andis credited with spearheading the formation of more than 40 cooperatives that have created hundreds of jobs. Bill received an undergraduate degree in political science and has a Master’s degree in public administration. He received the ACE award for “Outstanding Contribution to Cooperative Education and Training” in 2005.

One of the longest tenured developers in the United States, Bill Patrie reflects on what works well in the practice of developing cooperatives and identifies practices that will likely result in failure. Patrie understands the temptation to skip essential steps to speed up the process but has learned the hard way what happens when you do. Patrie puts the practice of cooperative development in the perspective of today’s social and economic environment with concrete examples of how cooperatives can succeed.

What Managers Need to Know to Keep Hope in Their Organizations

Henry Mintzberg, Cleghorn Professor of Management Studies, McGill University

Henry Mintzberg graduated with a doctorate from MIT in 1968, and joined McGill University in Montreal. He devotes himself largely to writing and research,

especially about managerial work, strategy formation, and

FRIDAY AFTERNOON, CONT.

forms of organizing. In 2004, he published Managers not MBAs, and in 2007, Tracking Strategies.

He has also worked to develop new approaches to management education and development in collaboration with colleagues from Canada, England, France, India, and Japan. Mintzberg is an Officer of the Order of Canada and of l’Ordre national du Quebec.

He writes:“Being a fan of cooperatives, especially in these times of so much trouble with conventional corporations, I would like to make an unusual proposal—in fact one I have long wished to make (and now find myself in the right forum!).

The International Masters in Practicing Management (www.impm.org) has been running for 14 years, as a very different form of Management and Organization Development--essentiallymanagerslearninginsmallteams, sitting at round tables, by reflecting on their own experience (as I shall explain in the talk). Companies such as Lufthansa and LG have been sending teams of their managers for most of those years. It would be wonderful to form a table of one representative from each of five or six cooperatives, to work not only on their own and their organizations’ development, but also on (a) the whole question of development in cooperatives, and (b) the major issues of cooperatives today (such as governance, an enhanced role in a changing society, etc.). The IMPM allows for much time and many opportunities to work on such issues, alone and in groups. I can present the idea and then let’s have a discussion about it.”

Extension — Access to Resources on the Internet and Other New Media

Madeline Schultz, program coordinator, Iowa State University Extension Value Added Agriculture Program

Madeline Schultz joined the Iowa State University(ISU)ExtensionValueAddedAgriculture Program in 2003. She helps

lead the Annie’s National Network Initiative for Educational

Success, a risk management educational program for women in agriculture and beginning farmers. Schultz is Co-leader of the new eXtension Community of Practice for Cooperatives, a professional collaboration and web resource on cooperative business. She is immediate Past Chair of Cooperation Works!, a U.S. professional organization for cooperative business developers. Her business development activities include value-added business plans, market research, and cooperative development. Schultz contributes to the national Agricultural Marketing Resource Center Web site (www.agmrc.org), a virtual library for value-added agriculture.

At ISU she earned Bachelor of Science degrees in Agribusiness and Economics, and an MBA with an emphasis on Sustainable Agriculture. Schultz was recognized as the 2007 ISU Mentor of the Year and is also a family farmer.

A new eXtension Community of Practice for Cooperatives is bringing together professors and Extension educators from leading land grant universities in an interactive learning environment to gather and produce the best educational materials on cooperatives. A web launch is being planned for November 2010. The cooperative business web pages will provide research-based information to the general public and Extension users at www.extension.org. The website will provide increased visibility to cooperatives and become a readily accessible resource for quality content on basic information about the cooperative business difference, youth and cooperatives, new cooperative development, BoardofDirectorstrainingandstrategydevelopment,cooperative finance, marketing, and other issues. As the project develops there will be opportunities for collaboration and networking with a wide range of cooperative business professionals, cooperative business organizations and students.

CHS INC. AND THE CHS FOUNDATIONThe CHS Foundation (www.chsfoundation.org) of Inver Grove Heights is the major giving entity of CHS Inc. and can be traced to 1946 when its predecessor organizations, the Cenex Foundation and Harvest States Foundation, were established. The two merged in 1998.

CHS stewardship encompasses many areas, including the Cooperative Education Program, a competitive grants program designed to provide funds for programs that develop and enhance the understanding of cooperative business through education and practical experience.

While visiting CHS, ACE Institute participants will learn about the CHS Cooperative Education and University Partnership Programs. Participants will explore the impact of cooperative education by visiting with CHS stewardship staff and the South DakotaFarmersUnionThirdYearCooperativeHighSchoolAward Trip Participants, CHS Foundation grant recipients.

CHS Inc. (www.chsinc.com) is a diversified energy, grains and foods company committed to providing the essential resources that enrich lives around the world. A Fortune 200 company, CHS is owned by farmers, ranchers and cooperatives, along with thousands of preferred stockholders across the United States. CHS supplies energy, crop nutrients, grain, livestock feed, food and food ingredients, as well as business solutions including insurance, financial and risk management services. The company operates petroleum refineries/pipelines and manufactures, markets and distributes Cenex® brand refined fuels, lubricants, propane and renewable energy products.

7500 YORK COOPERATIVEwas the first senior housing cooperative in the United States and it continues to be an internationally recognized model of successful, independent, cooperative living for seniors.

Pride in ownership and the satisfaction of being personally involved in shaping a quality community are the essence of thecooperative’ssuccess.Developedin1978asalimitedequitycooperative which operates as a nonprofit business, 7500 York Cooperative has the tax advantage of home ownership and

the conveniences offered by professional management and maintenance services.

7500 York members purchase an ownership share in the cooperative which entitles the shareholder to occupy a specific unit. A share increases in value each year as equity is added, according to the cooperative by-laws. The original share purchase price plus accrued equity less selling expenses is returned to the member or to the member’s heirs upon resale of the share. 7500 York resident members share their talents and experiences for the enjoyment and enrichment of the community. New and lifelong interests and hobbies are pursued through involvement in a wide selection of resident-run activities such as gardening, arts, excursions, hobbies, exercise, library, life enrichment, and woodworking.

MINNEAPOLIS’ WEDGE COMMUNITY CO-OP (www.wedge.coop) started 35 years ago as a retail store first organized as a loosely organized non-profit, says Member Services Manager Elizabeth Archerd. It was the threat of takeover that forced the group to adopt cooperative incorporation. Over the last 20 years, it has worked hard to drop the “club mentality that was common in the 70s, and emphasize that cooperatives were for everyone,” she adds. The cooperative, the first certified organic retailer in Minnesota, is owned by nearly 14,000 members, and has developed the Co-op Partners Warehouse to distribute organic and local perishables and other products and to optimize transportation of local goods to cooperatives. In addition, members distribute funds through the WedgeShare program to groups that match the cooperative’s goals, such as the Emergency Foodshelf Network. Sow the Seeds Fund was also initiated by The Wedge Community Co-op and the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy to support sustainable food production. Two years ago, the cooperative purchased the Gardens of Eagan farm to preserve a leading organic producer in the area.

ACE Institute tour-goers will learn of the cooperative’s unique challengesandopportunitiesfromfarmco-founderAtinaDiffley.

#1 MOBILE LEARNING SESSION

MOBILE LEARNING SESSIONS

9 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.Thursday • July 30, 2009

ACE Institute participants will have a choice between two tours of the Twin-Cities region.

Note: Coaches will leave the The Depot Minneapolis at 9 a.m. for both tours. Lunch

will be provided. Following Mobile Learning Sessions, participants have free time the

remainder of the day.

#2 MOBILE LEARNING SESSIONSEWARD CO-OPopened in 1972 on the corner of 22nd Street and Franklin Avenue with the help of North Country Co-op members. The food cooperative’s new location at 2823 East Franklin

Avenue in Minneapolis has a retail space of 13,000 square feet and more than 5000 members.

Seward Co-op promises to sustain a healthy community that has::• Equitableeconomicrelationships;• Positiveenvironmentalimpacts,and• Inclusive,sociallyresponsiblepractices.

THE HUBis a worker cooperative that was started in 2002. It has two full service bike shops in South Minneapolis offering new and used bikes and components, repair services, and classes. It donates five percent of its profits to community organizations and holds a variety of free seminars throughout the year.

GREAT RIVER ENERGYof Maple Grove is the second largest wholesale electric power supplier in the state and the fifth largest generation and transmission cooperative in the U.S. in terms of assets. It provides wholesale power to 28 distribution cooperatives in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Those member cooperatives distribute electricity to approximately 600,000 homes, businesses and farms.

LAND O’LAKES, INC.of St. Paul is one of America’s premiere member-owned cooperatives. It offers local cooperatives and agricultural producers an extensive line of agricultural supplies, as well as state-of-the-art production and business services. It is also a leading marketer of dairy-based food products for consumers, foodservice professionals and food manufacturers.

Since 1921, it has been member-owned and directed. Today, it is the third largest cooperative in the U.S., with approximately 9,000 employees, 3,200 direct producer-members and 1,000 member-cooperatives serving more than 300,000 agricultural producers.

ACE INSTITUTE SPONSORSHIPSACEInstituteSponsorshipsareusedtosupportACE’scooperativeeducationactivitiesthroughouttheyear.

Association of Cooperative EducatorsACE Institute and Scholarship Fund

SPONSORSHIP FORM

Name __________________________________________________________ Title_________________________________________________________

Organization __________________________________________________ E-Mail_________________________________________________________

Address______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Telephone _______________________________________________________ Fax_________________________________________________________

Please attribute our sponsorship to the following:r Institute Speakers $ 1000

r Simultaneous Interpretation Sponsor $ 750

r ACE Scholarship Program $ 500

r Mobile Learning Sessions $ 250

r General Support $ _______________

Please send form to:Association of Cooperative Educators

c/o Sarah Pike29630 - 109th Avenue NorthHanover, MN 55341 USA

pike@ace.coopTelephone: 763/432-2032

r Check/cheque enclosed

r Please invoice me

AN INVITATION TO JOIN OR RENEW YOUR ACE MEMBERSHIP

Education is an investment in people. As a cooperator helping to advance cooperative education, you must invest in yourself. The Association of Cooperative Educators gives you an opportunity to enrich your work by sharing with others who have goals similar to your own.

Cooperators from Canada, the Caribbean and the United States belong to the Association, contribute to the newsletter and attend the annual ACE Institute as part of their personal and professional development.

Become a member. It is the best opportunity you have to contribute to cooperative education and your organization.

Fees can be paid in US or Canadian funds, and submitted for one or three years.

Professional Membership $50/year; $150/three years Those actively involved in cooperative education, training and communication.

Associate Membership $35/year; $105/three yearsRetired professionals, students, overseas contacts, interested persons outside the cooperative or cooperative education sector.

Organization Membership $150/year; $450/three yearsAllows up to four individuals from an organization to be members under the organizational membership. Additional individuals can be added to an Organization Membership for $35.

Type of Membership: r Professional r Associate r Organization

Organization/Business/Cooperative Name _______________________________________________________________________________________

Function _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Name __________________________________________________________ Title_________________________________________________________

Address______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Telephone _______________________________________________________ Fax_________________________________________________________

E-mail _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

(An Organization Member is entitled to have three additional individuals in its membership listing. Other individuals may be added to the membership listing for an extra $35 per person. Please include the above information for all those to be listed under the Organization Membership.)

Amount submitted: ______________

Send application and payment to:Association of Cooperative Educators

29630 - 109th Avenue NorthHanover, MN 55341E-mail: pike@ace.coop

NOTE: You can also apply and pay online at www.ace.coop.