Palmer, Alaska
Dorothy II. Bell, editor, I', IicCartney
assistant
Published every weok at Palmer, Alaska, for the llatanuska Valley Parmer's Cooperating
Association for the purpose of giving news of the Associations '"ork, Problems and
Accomplishments, and the dissemination of news of a public character.
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MCMbERSHIP LOYALTY
This article is taken from "membership
Relations of Cooperative Associations" as
printed in a bulletin, published bv the
7arm Credit Administration at Washington j
D.C, It contains much food for thought ' j
and is herewith printed for that purpose, |
A COOPERATIVE cannot be said to have truly:
succeeded when it has merely obtained a
volume of business-sufficient to make a |
creditable showing, unless its members
have developed a feeling of responsibilityj
and ownership, A-number of cooperative
associations have, in the past, obtained \
adequate volume and a creditable member
ship list but have suffered from rapid
turnover in membership and later have'had |
unhealthy internal conditions develop,
which seriously embarrassed or crippled
the effectiveness of the organization.
Several large-associations have spent great
sums erf money, sometime & as much as their 1
total'marketing expense, in "field service;
pork", in forcing deliveries on member?J
contracts or importuning producers to de- j
liver or purchase from the cooperative— j
without building a remanent membership or;
a group solidarity such as are essential |
for successful cooperative endeavor. Only!
a fey: associations seem, to have developed i
successfully a technique of promoting uni-!
ted group action and means .and methods of j
membership contact such as are necessary
to healthy growth and permanent success, j
Administration of a cooperative association
may roughly be divided into two parts or '
functions: Fifrst, business administration,|
rhieh includes financing, processing,'and j
merchandising the commodities handled, and.
the supervision of credit and collections; f
and second, membership administration,vhicljl
includes the’maintenance of agreeable huinarf
1*0]ahionshins- Success in either of these'
functions may be achieved with comparative j
failure in the other function conse—
quent disaster to the cooperative Associa
tion. Mo amount of organization, member- i'
ship contact and education is a substitute ■
for sound business administration: npr is j,
sound business and financial admini stratior
sufficient to make a healthy cooperative
assoc iat ion.
Members, of course, are interested in the
financial returns that result from patro
nising-a • cooperative association, but until
the members feel that' the organization is
their own and take a pride in its achieve
ments and further extension t ere will'be '
a dangerous weakness in its foundation. So
GATHER EGGS IN A WII^E
BASKET—OR A WIRE ONE
They’.11 cool out twice as fast in a wire
basket as they will in a wail I The air
has more chance to get at them when they
’re in a basket. Cooling eggs quickly
and keeping them cool-is the only way
to keep them STOSS'.
If you keep your eggs FTCSH you con get a
premium for them-because it’s FTCSH eggs
. that neoule want.
long as a cooperative is financially suc
;essful and returning more money to the
nenbers'than its competitors are to non
r. embers, the management nay be indifferent
;o its membership responsibility. Then dif
ficulties arise, however, members may with
draw their support unless their conception
?f their place in the organisation has been
developed to such an extent that they are
;ill*ing to assume thoir share of resyousi
lility, stand by the association and'bring
ibout the changes that are necessary*
’embers who feel no sense of resp-nsib ility «
'or their organization may patronize it in ^
'air weather but desert it at the first signs*
if storm. Then success seems doubtful, they
rithdraw just as quickly as they would leave
l private enterprise to which they had looked
'or marketing or urchasing services. Because
difficulties are inevitable in any business,
lembership relations that will stand t"he
stress are essential to permanent success.