Above: Werqu Mekasha will be honored with the cooperative
community’s highest honor at Washington’s National Press
Club on Wednesday, May 5, 2010. (Courtesy Photo)
Tadias Magazine
Events News
Published: Saturday, April 24, 2010
New York (Tadias) – Ethiopian agribusiness legend Werqu Mekasha has been selected for the 2010 induction into the Cooperative Hall of Fame, the Cooperative Development Foundation announced.
Mr. Mekasha, who died last year, is one of four honorees scheduled to be recognized at the annual hall of fame’s dinner and induction ceremony at Washington’s National Press Club on Wednesday, May 5, 2010.
The three other inductees into the four-member class, receiving the cooperative community’s highest honor, include Credit union pioneer Larry Blanchard, rural utility icon Glenn English, and cooperative visionary David Thompson.
“These four individuals could not better exemplify the meaning of the term leadership in their work with cooperatives,” said Steven Thomas, Executive Director of CDF, which administers the Hall of Fame, noting Mr. Mekasha’s status as the foundation’s first international inductee. “The inclusion of three iconic US cooperative leaders is deeply satisfying, and the induction of the very first non-US citizen is an exciting development that will add to the character of the Cooperative Hall of Fame induction ceremony.”
According to CDF, Mr. Mekasha – who served as vice minister of agriculture under Emperor Haile Selassie and who spent nearly a decade as a political prisoner during the Mengistu era – is being acknowledged formally for his accomplishments in his later years.
“Revitalizer of agricultural cooperatives in Ethiopia – having held high government posts under the Haile Selassie regime and been jailed for eight years after the regime was overthrown, Mekasha devoted himself to improving the lives of his countrymen through agricultural cooperatives, forging government policy to assure cooperative independence,” highlights the 2010 Cooperative Hall of Fame’s sponsorship page. “Through his heroic efforts, Ethiopia’s cooperatives not only became businesses that increased farmers’ incomes but also set the stage for growth and trade, especially in the coffee sector.”
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If You Go:
For dinner attendance or sponsorship information, contact CDF at 703-302-8097 or tbuen@cdf.coop.org. Individual seats are available at $275. Proceeds from the May 5 event, which is expected to sell out, go to benefit the Cooperative Development Foundation. Or, well wishers may honor Ato Werqu with a message of support in the Hall of Fame program. Full congratulatory ads are $1,250, but collective ads for those who contribute smaller amounts can also be arranged.
Related:
Read an article written by Mr. Werqu Mekasha:
Improving the Lives of Ethiopian Coffee Farmers
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