Ontario Co-ops Celebrate Dennis Deters' Lifetime of Achievement

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">GUELPH, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Oct. 12, 2011) - Ontario credit union and co-operative leaders will celebrate the exceptional career and vision of The Co-operators senior manager Dennis Deters.

Deters, who will retire at the end of the year as executive vice-president, will be honored at Ontario's Annual Co-op Conference and Gala at the Burlington, Ont. Royal Botanical Gardens on Oct. 19.

Deters' contribution to business practices that exemplify co-operative values such as democracy and social responsibility has been "thoughtful, farsighted and intelligent," says J. Tom Webb, program manager of the Master of Management - Co-operatives and Credit Unions (www.smu.ca/academic/sobey/mm/mmccu.html).

In addition to four decades of leadership within the Canadian cooperative movement, including The Co-operators (www.cooperators.ca) and its predecessor organizations, he helped develop the international Co-operative Masters in Education Co-operative that provides an alternative to traditional MBA programs. He has been on the board since 2001 and serves as chair. He also represents the co-operative business model as a member of the Advisory Board of the University of Guelph's College of Management.

He also chaired The Americas Association of Cooperative/Mutual Insurance Societies (www.aacmis.org) where he steered it to promote microinsurance as a means of providing affordable insurance for people in developing nations. In his role as Executive Vice-President, Member and Corporate Relations, he was responsible for the organization's relations with its members and the co-operative sector, and oversaw a wide range of departments including Human Resources, Public Affairs, Legal, Marketing, Communications as well as Sustainability and Corporate Citizenship.

Ten other leaders are also celebrated at the awards banquet, bringing the total number of honorees to 110 since 1999, the inception of the Co-op Spirit Award. The banquet is the culmination of a daylong conference that draws up to 250 co-operative and credit union directors, employees, and supporters from across the province. Its theme is "Gearing Up," and is one of the first events in Canada to launch the United Nations International Year of Cooperatives in 2012. More than a billion people belong to co-operative organizations worldwide.

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.