Top co-op communicators honored in Madison

Rural Cooperatives, Sept-Oct, 2003

HS Chief Executive Officer John Johnson, whose communications skills helped his cooperative transition through a major merger, is the 2003 recipient of the CEO Communicator of the Year Award, presented in June by the Cooperative Communicators Association (CCA). CCA observed its 50th anniversary in Madison, Wis., marking a return to the city where the organization was launched in 1953 to help strengthen the nation's cooperatives through improved communications.

Other top honors went to Rural Cooperatives editor Dan Campbell, who received the Klinefelter Award, and Tennessee Cooperator editor Allison Morgan, who earned the Michael Graznak Award. Randall Torgerson, who recently retired after 28 years heading USDA's cooperative program, won a special "Co-op Champion Award."

Originally "known as the Cooperative Editorial Association, the organization today represents 300 communications professionals in the United States and several foreign nations who work for farm, utility, credit, housing and other types of cooperatives.

Communications forge new identity for CHS

Johnson's communications efforts played a key role in successfully forging a new identity for CHS, a multifaceted cooperative with $8 billion in annual sales. CHS was formed by the merger of CENEX, an energy and agronomy supply co-op, and Harvest States Cooperative, one of the nation's leading grain marketing co-ops.

"In the five years since CHS Cooperatives was established, John Johnson has proven himself a skilled leader at not only setting direction for the new company, but in using communications to build understanding and support among members, employees, customers and other stakeholders," says Lani Jordan, CHS director of corporate communications.

Although members of the two coops voted overwhelmingly in favor the merger, the ride got a little rocky in the early days, making it essential that Johnson and his staff communicate effectively at all levels. Members from both the grain and supply sides of the organization struggled to understand the direction of the new company, as did the employees of both cooperatives. If that wasn't enough, another merger a year later between CHS and Farmland Industries was proposed, but was voted down by the members, creating further communications challenges.

Johnson, who was originally president and general manager of CHS, assumed the CEO job in June 2000. He made communications and relationship building a top priority from the first day, working tirelessly to build trust in CHS. That trust has translated into long-term support for the cooperative's mission, vision and strategic actions to implement them.

Today, communications is a central part of the cooperative's strategic vision and daily operation. Johnson spends three-quarters of his time communicating formally and informally with CHS stakeholders.

USDA editor honored

Dan Campbell, editor of USDA's Rural Cooperatives magazine and deputy director of public affairs for USDA Rural Development, won the Klinefelter Award, CCA's highest honor for a communicator, for his "contributions to furthering the cooperative system and spirit and raising the standards of cooperative communications."

Campbell was cited for bringing new ideas to the leaders of the nation's co-ops and expanding the scope of the magazine to include a broader range of cooperatives that can help improve the quality of life in rural areas.

"He is known for his creative writing, insightful photography and his excellence in producing good, solid publications," said award presenter Leta Mach of the National Cooperative Business Association.

A graduate of the University of Colorado with a degree in journalism, Campbell started his post-college career at the bottom--literally--working 2,000 feet underground in a molybdenum mine high in the Colorado Rockies. He then became news editor for a twice-weekly newspaper in Estes Park, Colo., before moving on to the job of farm editor of a daily newspaper and a monthly farm tabloid in Central California.

That was where he first began working with ag cooperatives, leading him to a job as publications editor for Blue Diamond Almond Growers in Sacramento. That in turn led him to the editor's job at USDA in 1992.

Campbell is the 45th recipient of the honor, named for H.E. Klinefelter, an outstanding writer who joined the staff of Missouri Farmer magazine in 1931, now MFA Inc.'s Today's Farmer: Klinefelter assumed the editorship in 1939 and became well "known for his articles advocating cooperatives. He died in 1956.

TFC editor gets Graznak

Allison Morgan, communications specialist with Tennessee Farmers Cooperative (TFC), was awarded the 2003 Michael Graznak award, presented to an outstanding communicator under the age of 36. She was selected for her excellence in telling the co-op story in the pages of The Tennessee Cooperator newspaper, of which she is editor.

She was called "a complete communicator," and "a prolific writer, eagle-eyed editor, accomplished photographer and talented designer." Morgan is also proof that co-op youth programs yield dividends. As a high school junior, she wrote a prize-winning essay about a trip to Washington, D.C., as a participant in the annual Youth Tour sponsored by the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association.