Co-Operative Conference on Oct. 19 in Burlington, Launches International Year of Co-Operatives in Ontario

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">GUELPH, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Oct. 12, 2011) - About 250 Ontario co-operators are celebrating Co-op Week Oct. 19 at the Burlington, Ont. Royal Botanical Gardens and looking forward to worldwide recognition of co-op contributions in 2012.

The United Nations has declared next year as the International Year of Co-operatives, intended to raise public awareness of the invaluable contributions of co-operative enterprises to poverty reduction, employment generation and social integration. The International Year will also highlight the strengths of the co-operative enterprise model as a means of doing business and furthering socioeconomic development.

Dame Pauline Green, president of the International Co-operative Alliance, will start the daylong Co-operative Conference and Gala by introducing the International Year and exploring what it its potential is for co- operatives and credit unions world wide. She will be followed by Mike Colledge of Ipsos Reid who will review what Canadians understand about co-operative enterprises. John Restakis, recent author of Humanizing the Economy: Co-operatives in the Age of Capital, will outline ways people in other nations have used co-op organizations to rebuild their communities.

Participants will also attend afternoon sessions focused on education about co-operatives, renewable energy, local organic food, accessing capital for growth, co-op regulations, and celebration through song building.

The day's premier event, an awards gala and banquet, begins at 6:00 p.m. and will pay tribute to 11 leaders who have contributed to the success of co-operatives and credit unions through sharing their passions, vision, insights, and talents (see list below). A total of 110 honorees have been celebrated since 1999, the inception of the Co-op Spirit Award.

The Ontario co-operative movement is a vibrant part of the province's economy. Ontario has more than 1300 co-ops, with 1900 locations in 400 communities. Ontario co-operatives employ more than 15,500 people and are supported by a network of 49,000 volunteers.

On Co-op, based in Guelph, Ont., is a resource and common voice for Ontario credit unions and co-operatives, with a mission to lead, cultivate and connect the Ontario co-operative movement. Visit www.ontario.coop to learn more.

2011 SPIRIT AWARD RECIPIENTS

Awards will be presented during the Co-op Conference and Gala, October 19, 2011 in Burlington, ON. For more information, contact Mark Ventry mventry@ontario.coop 519.763.8271 x30.

Michel Chenier, general manager of La Coopérative Agricole d'Embrun (http://coopembrun.com), a farm supply co-op in eastern Ontario, will receive the Ontario Co-operative Association's Distinguished Co-operator Award. Dennis Deters of The Co-operators (www.cooperators.ca) and Penny Bethke, a co-op housing activist and credit union director who died earlier this year, will be recognized for a lifetime of co-op achievement. She was most recently general manager of Toronto's Campus Co-operative Residence Inc. (www.campus.coop).

Other On Co-op award winners include:

• Science '44 Student Housing Co-op: Co-op Social Responsibility (www.science44co-op.com)
• AGRIS Solar Co-operative: New Co-op of Distinction (www.agrissolar.coop)
• West End Food Co-operative: Co-operative Innovator (www.westendfood.coop)
• Gary Seveny, former CEO of Alterna Savings: Co-operative Youth Mentor
• Céline Carrière, Coopérative d'habitation Lafontaine: Co-operative Youth Mentor
• Ontario Credit Union Charitable Foundation: Distinguished Co-operator (Organization) (www.ontariocucf.ca)
• JJ McMurtry and Brenda Gainer, Schulich School of Business: Outstanding Contribution to On Co-op (http://s.coop/cmcprogram)