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Three longtime leaders of cooperatives from diverse fields –¬ health care, the credit union industry, and agribusiness/farm supply – were bestowed the 2024 Cooperative Builder Award during Cooperative Network’s Virtual Annual Meeting, Thursday morning.

Receiving the award were: Dr. Mark Huth, president and CEO of Group Health Cooperative of South-Central Wisconsin (GHC-SCW); Brett Thompson, president and CEO of the Wisconsin League of Credit Unions; and Bill Zuhlke, vice president of member services for United Cooperative, and former director of business development for Land O’ Lakes, Inc.

The Cooperative Builder Award, Cooperative Network’s highest honor, is bestowed annually upon individuals who have made outstanding contributions at the local, state or national level to advance cooperative philosophy and ideals. A committee selects up to three distinguished individuals to receive the award each year, and honorees are celebrated during Cooperative Network’s annual meeting in November.

Huth, Thompson and Zuhlke are true cooperative builders in their respective fields who also have served as mentors and coaches, always leading by example and keenly aware of their responsibility to build up the next generation of community leaders.

Video biographies of the three honorees were played during the annual meeting, followed by remarks by the recipients. Watch the videos:

Dr. Mark Huth: https://youtu.be/1q0miel-Ifs

Brett Thompson: https://youtu.be/2gN0CfUDe3Q

Bill Zuhlke: https://youtu.be/Z5s3A-2ZKFw

Symposium address by Chuck Conner, president/CEO, National Council of Farmer Co-ops

Another highlight of the annual meeting was the Ralph K. Morris/Tom Lyon Family Leadership Symposium, featuring an address by Chuck Conner, president and CEO of the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives (NCFC), and former deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Connor provided an overview of the NCFC and articulated the value and contribution of cooperative councils and other trade organizations in the present environment. His presentation, which included an analysis of the recent presidential election and potential implications on the national ag industry, was followed by an on-line discussion facilitated by Courtney Berner, executive director of the University of Wisconsin Center for Cooperatives (UWCC).

Held virtually around the theme, “The Future is Cooperative,” the 2024 annual meeting also included a business session, secretary/treasurer reports, legislative updates, approval of member-approved resolutions designed to guide upcoming legislative lobbying efforts on behalf of cooperatives, and board of director elections.

Known as The Trusted Voice for Cooperatives, Cooperative Network is a trade association exclusively for cooperative businesses operating in Minnesota and Wisconsin – home to the largest concentration of cooperatives in the nation. Providing government relations, education and communication services, Cooperative Network works on behalf of cooperatives large and small from a dozen business sectors: dairy; livestock and genetics; food processing and marketing; farm credit; credit unions; energy; farm supply, fuel and grain; housing; health care; mutual insurance; and telecommunications.

A cooperative is defined as an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly-owned and democratically-controlled enterprise. Co-ops are governed by their members, the everyday people who use the cooperative business, as opposed to investors or shareholders. Members may be consumers, workers, producers, or independent business owners who govern the co-op on a democratic basis. This unique relationship is recognized in international law, as well as by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

(For more information about Cooperative Network, visit cooperativenetwork.coop or follow us on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn)