The Cooperators Podcast Episode 3 Daniel Smith The Cooperative Network

Listen to Daniel Smith talk about cooperatives in the states where his Cooperative Network operates - Wisconsin and Minnesota - and you might think this has to be the promised land. Just about every legislator knows about cooperatives. Most belong to some.  Just about every citizen does similar - many belong to three or five or more.

But listen closely and what Smith is discussing are the crucial issues cooperatives just about everywhere face: the war for talent, the struggle for support in government, and life and death issues that ag co-ops in particular now struggle with.

Smith's Cooperative Network is a fascinating organization.  It represents co-ops from 12 different sectors - everything from some of the nation's largest ag co-ops to small Union Cab, a worker owned transportation company in Madison.

They seem diverse - they are diverse - but, said Smith, their cooperative foundation means they have more in common than might initially meet the eye.

Give Smith a listen and you just may hear a blueprint for how to fight for and win more respect for co-ops everywhere, not just the upper midwest.  It's an inspiring talk.

Listen here.

The Cooperators Podcast Episode 2 John McNamara of Northwest Cooperative Development Center on New Co-Ops

After 26 years at the legendary Union Cab co-op in Madison WI, John McNamara headed west to pursue a new mission: helping new co-ops come to life and also helping existing co-ops to survive.

What's fascinating is how NWCDC is bringing to life what might seem surprising co-ops such as mobile home owners who join together to create a co-op to buy the land their homes sit on and also home health workers, to name two areas where NWCDC has had great successes.

Along the way in this podcast McNamara throws light on a lot of what's needed for a co-op to tick.  He describes being a co-op manager as akin to Ginger Rogers' role where she did everything Fred Astaire did - "but backward and in heels!"

It's a fast romp of a guide to co-operative success.  Listen in here

The Cooperators Podcast 1 - Roberta MacDonald of Cabot Tells Why She Loves Cooperatives

Buckle up for a fast journey into the world of cooperatives with branding guru Robert MacDonald who will tell you why she is optimistic about a world where cooperatives are delivering local - relevant - solutions created by people for people. Be prepared to listen again and again because this is a podcast with a lot of rich content. Along the way you'll even learn how Cabot got its name - and how many cooperatives there are in the U.S. Do you know? Take your best guess and listen up to get the answer.


Listen here