Cooperative Leadership Forum for Emerging Co-op Leaders
We need prepared leaders now, more than ever
We need prepared leaders now, more than ever
 Miami University
Marcum Conference Center 351 N. Fisher Drive Oxford, OH 45056 Ph: 513 529 6911 January 2011
As participants in the Cooperative Leadership Forum your new employees, directors and volunteers will explore all aspects of the unique cooperative business model and advantages offered by a variety of co-op structures.
The conference is a dynamic hands-on learning experience that provides opportunities to interact with others who have similar interests and goals. Attendees working together will create their own cooperative, sell shares of stock, select a governance structure and develop a business plan for their cooperative. This group project will clarify the subtle differences and advantages of cooperatives when compared to private or investor owned companies. Attendees experience day-to-day operations while visiting agricultural, food, credit union, housing and rural electric co-ops. These tours will add value to the overall learning experience, helping to create a more valuable and knowledgeable employee that excels in a broad based cooperative system. New and prospective directors will emerge much better prepared to make informed decisions and understand their fiduciary role to the members they represent. New employees will appreciate a clear understanding of their unique cooperative and how truly different their relationship is with the co-op’s member-owner-customer. The Cooperative Leadership Forum will equip your employee or director with a solid foundation of leadership skills and cooperative knowledge for these dynamic times. It’s an investment in your people that you can’t find anywhere else.
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Prospective leaders new to cooperatives; and new/prospective directors. To define the reasons why cooperatives are unique and the importance of the relationship new employees and directors have with their cooperative member/customers. 
REGISTER NOW
by simply emailing us at knowledge@macc.coop PROGRAM DETAILS & AGENDA CALENDAR OF EVENTS For a program near you
“The Cooperative Leadership Forum is a wonderful way to introduce students, employees and volunteers to the Cooperative world. The course teaches cooperative structure and philosophy from the ground up. Participants visit local cooperatives of all shapes and sizes, and will meet the business leaders of today. The Cooperative Leadership Forum is an outstanding resource for employers and should be part of any training program.”
– Jim Schultheiss, CHACO Credit Union Inside “For new employees and young people entering the job market, the learning experience is invaluable. Examining the diverse co-op business applications, understanding the unique advantages and experiencing first hand business operations make the Cooperative Leadership Forum a win for attendee and participating co-op alike. It’s a absolute must attend meeting for new employees and directors.” – Stan Hicks, Harvest Land Co-op |
What Are Previous Attendee’s Saying?
“I would recommend this conference to anyone who might be considered a future leader. I came back and told one of my co-workers that hopefully she would be able to go next year. Not only because I had a great time getting to know people, but also learned more about cooperatives at this conference than any other conference that I have attended.”
“The key benefits that I received from the program were team building skills, networking, and the most beneficial was actually building a business plan for a cooperative. I also enjoyed getting to learn about the other types of cooperatives that I do not personally deal with and see the similarities and differences. The lineup of quest speakers were great as well as going to the different coops was a nice break from sitting in a class room for the entire day.”
“I benefited from the interaction amongst backgrounds. People from all aspects of the cooperative system were present. CEO’s to retirees were present to show and teach us about how the cooperative system functions and has made it possible for groups of people to provide for a common need. From an interpersonal stand point the biggest benefit to me was the ability to network out to other people in both positions of knowledge and position. Before this experience I did not have the contacts and friends that I have made after this program. The program was a great value for the investment that was put into it. I believe that this program has the ability to be the bar setting force for what could be expected out of the cooperative system leaders of the future.”
“I believed this was a great investment for my future in the cooperative world. I valued learning about the co-op system, seeing different businesses and having a networking opportunity. I think everyone learned a little bit about themselves and how they are in a work setting.”
“One key benefit that I received from the CLF program was just learning more about Cooperatives. There is a lot more to them than meets the eye. Another key benefit that I received was that there are many different Coops out there. Not just the ones that I am use to. Yes, I do feel like it was a very good value for my investment. Not just the learning of Cooperatives, but also the experience and meeting some great and intelligent people.”
“I really enjoyed the networking ability we had. Getting to know different people from different places and seeing what it is they do in their cooperative was very interesting. The business plan project really opened my eyes to the structure of cooperatives and all of the detail that goes into putting one together. All of the different speakers really gave me insight to the different issues with which cooperatives deal. Even though we are different cooperatives in different industries, the overall goals and objectives are still the same. Meet a need and always look out for your embers. Overall, it was a very worthwhile investment for me.”
“This was a great way to view cooperatives as a whole and understand how they are organized.”
“I learned how key loss prevention is to a co-op.”
“Got a lot of good info on board structure and perspective from co-ops undergoing mergers.”
“I like getting a CEO & board member perspective; learning more about the governance piece first hand.”
“I enjoyed learning to relate teamwork to the co-op business model through the great teambuilding activities.”
“It was a great opportunity to network with others in the cooperative movement. We had an opportunity to "pick the brains" of leaders and board members for insightful information.”
“This forum and the content are great. It allows the student to gain a basic understanding of many different co-op industries.”
“Concrete and creative examples to illustrate the importance of promoting the cooperative spirit.”
“I would recommend this conference to anyone who might be considered a future leader. I came back and told one of my co-workers that hopefully she would be able to go next year. Not only because I had a great time getting to know people, but also learned more about cooperatives at this conference than any other conference that I have attended.”“The key benefits that I received from the program were team building skills, networking, and the most beneficial was actually building a business plan for a cooperative. I also enjoyed getting to learn about the other types of cooperatives that I do not personally deal with and see the similarities and differences. The lineup of quest speakers were great as well as going to the different coops was a nice break from sitting in a class room for the entire day.”
“I benefited from the interaction amongst backgrounds. People from all aspects of the cooperative system were present. CEO’s to retirees were present to show and teach us about how the cooperative system functions and has made it possible for groups of people to provide for a common need. From an interpersonal stand point the biggest benefit to me was the ability to network out to other people in both positions of knowledge and position. Before this experience I did not have the contacts and friends that I have made after this program. The program was a great value for the investment that was put into it. I believe that this program has the ability to be the bar setting force for what could be expected out of the cooperative system leaders of the future.”
“I believed this was a great investment for my future in the cooperative world. I valued learning about the co-op system, seeing different businesses and having a networking opportunity. I think everyone learned a little bit about themselves and how they are in a work setting.”
“One key benefit that I received from the CLF program was just learning more about Cooperatives. There is a lot more to them than meets the eye. Another key benefit that I received was that there are many different Coops out there. Not just the ones that I am use to. Yes, I do feel like it was a very good value for my investment. Not just the learning of Cooperatives, but also the experience and meeting some great and intelligent people.”
“I really enjoyed the networking ability we had. Getting to know different people from different places and seeing what it is they do in their cooperative was very interesting. The business plan project really opened my eyes to the structure of cooperatives and all of the detail that goes into putting one together. All of the different speakers really gave me insight to the different issues with which cooperatives deal. Even though we are different cooperatives in different industries, the overall goals and objectives are still the same. Meet a need and always look out for your embers. Overall, it was a very worthwhile investment for me.”
“This was a great way to view cooperatives as a whole and understand how they are organized.”
“I learned how key loss prevention is to a co-op.”
“Got a lot of good info on board structure and perspective from co-ops undergoing mergers.”
“I like getting a CEO & board member perspective; learning more about the governance piece first hand.”
“I enjoyed learning to relate teamwork to the co-op business model through the great teambuilding activities.”
“It was a great opportunity to network with others in the cooperative movement. We had an opportunity to "pick the brains" of leaders and board members for insightful information.”
“This forum and the content are great. It allows the student to gain a basic understanding of many different co-op industries.”
“Concrete and creative examples to illustrate the importance of promoting the cooperative spirit.”
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