UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- "Developing Strategic Leadership" was the focus of the 1997 Pennsylvania Cooperative Director Graduate Institute, held in January at the Penn State Scanticon.
Forty-two directors, managers and other representatives from 21 different cooperative organizations serving members in 12 different states participated. More than 20 leaders from educational, cooperative and government organizations challenged participants throughout the program.
"The Pennsylvania Director Institute series helps directors of the region's member-owned cooperative organizations acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to operate successfully in a rapidly changing business environment," says Dick Poorbaugh, program manager in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences.
"Success for cooperatives means maintaining and increasing the value of membership in the organization by improving on farm profit, maintaining access to markets and services, and limiting some of the risk involved in agriculture."
"The title, 'Developing Strategic Leadership,' reflects one of the current high priorities of many cooperative and business organizations," Poorbaugh notes. "Many cooperatives already have undergone restructuring and streamlining, and like their investor-owned counterparts, many more will need to make significant changes to continue to benefit their members."
Topics covered at January's institute included roles and responsibilities of directors, legal issues of the board, communications, group process, interpersonal relations, board management relations, leadership, strategic planning and understanding cooperative finances.
Two panels of industry experts contributed to the event's focus on business strategy. Representatives of Milk Marketing Inc., Agway, Genex and the Pennsylvania Rural Electric Association shared experiences in choosing a winning strategy.
A second panel representing Pro-Fac, National Grape and Dairylea cooperatives shared their experiences with adding value to cooperative membership.
Keynote speakers included Don Schriver, general manager of Milk Marketing Inc.; Porter Little, vice president of CoBank; Larry Doyle, senior vice president and treasurer of Ag-First Farm Credit Bank; Pennsylvania Secretary of Agriculture Charles Brosius; and Dr. David Butt, associate professor of business administration at Penn State. Curt Watson, president of ValAdCo, a value-added cooperative in Renville, MN, addressed the Cooperation Banquet.
This was the thirteenth in a series of cooperative director institutes that began in 1983. The institutes are sponsored jointly by the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture and Penn State's Cooperative Business Education and Research Program.
The Director Institute is followed, in alternate years, by the Graduate Director Institute, which offers advanced training on board leadership, financial analysis and strategic issues.
All programs are planned by a committee comprised of industry and educational leaders to address basic training and current priority needs of the cooperative community. For more information, contact Dick Poorbaugh at 814-863-0644 or send e-mail to poorbaugh@po.aers.psu.edu.
###
EDITORS: For more information, contact Dick Poorbaugh at 814-863-0644 or send e-mail to poorbaugh@po.aers.psu.edu.
Contacts: Eston Martz Eston_Martz@agcs.cas.psu.edu 814-863-3587 814-865-1068 fax