/)H^ Information 29 UNivSOf'FL LIB. pqqUMEHTS DEPT. Good /Vtaemtaerrdfeeiati ions J by Luthet E» Raper Southern States Cooperative Farmer Cooperative Service U.S. Department of Agriculture For many years Luther Raper has been in charge of membership rela- tions activities for the Southern States Cooperative of Richmond, Va. He realizes that cooperatives are more than business organizations in that to be effective they must maintain a close identity with those who are served -- the members. This circular is based, upon a talk that Mr. Raper presented at the Fifth Eastern Member Relations Confer- ence, sponsored by the American Insti- tute of Cooperation and the Farmer Cooperative Service, at Springfield, Mass., May 9-11, 1962. It distills Mr. Raper's many years of experience in working with farmers for the benefit of all who are interested in the sound development of agricultural cooper- atives. Joseph G. Knapp, Administrator, Farmer. Cooperative Service Contents Page Evident Need 2 Adequate Capital 3 Good Communications -- 5 Trained Personnel 6 Voluntary Use 7 Democratic Control 8 Qualified Directors-- 10 Defined Responsibilities 12 Membership Program 13 Equitable Treatment 17 Quality Products 19 Adequate Records 21 Good Service 23 Understanding Public 24 f Stepping^ CD Good Member Relations by Luther E. Raper Member relations is an important and vital part of every cooperative . . . of every kind, age and size . . . and i under any condition. Its effects are powerful, far-reaching and long- lasting, though somewhat intangible. These effects are the results of the thoughts, words, and deeds of the individual member and may be spread to influence the thinking and actions of large numbers of people . . . mem- bers and others. They may be good or they may be bad, depending on the actions and attitudes of the cooperative and its- membership. Intelligent, clear- thinking cooperative leadership en- courages good member relations; thoughtlessness, ignorance, and at- tempts to force them on others may destroy good member relations. Member relations may be con- sidered a "thing of the heart." Involved are such diverse factors as understand- ing, education, likes and dislikes, personalities, needs, investments, ipatronage, and economics. Every member contributes to his coopera- tive's membership " image" and every member is affected by that "image" and how the cooperative conducts itself in dealing with him and other members. Members' willingness to finance their organization properly, or give it the volume it must have to render adequate and efficient service, is usually dependent on the quality of the member relations the organization exhibits. What are some of the things that contribute to a cooperative's member relations? What are the "stepping stones" on the path to building good member relations? Let's look at a few of them; namely, evident need, adequate capital, good communications, trained personnel, voluntary use, democratic control, qualified direc- tors, defined responsibilities, mem- bership program, equitable treatment, quality products, adequate records, good service, and an understanding public. ( Evident Need J Before organizing a cooperative, there should be an evident need for it in the community. Those who would logically become its members and use its services should individually and collectively recognize that need. They should be sure the potential number of patrons, and the potential volume of business they will contribute, will be large enough to make the operation feasible and practical. The work done and the technique! used in finding and evaluating that need: will greatly affect the future cooper- ' ative. The men who actually solicit the moral, financial, and business sup- port of their neighbors in the under- taking will be doing some of the best, most inexpensive and long-lasting member relations work for that coop- erative that will ever be done. Their tact, interpretation of the existing and evident need of others, their intelligent approach, their persuasive power, and their development of the "we" approach to the problem will largely determine their success. If they make friends for themselves and for the organization they're trying to launch, their job will be satisfactorily done. / Adequate Capital A To have a long-time successful cooperative, members must furnish adequate capital to do the job the most efficient way. Twenty years ago, a farm supply cooperative could start with $10,000 to $20,000 operating capi- tal and get along on $60,000 to $80,000 business its first year. Today, the same cooperative would need $50,000 to $75,000 capital and a first-year volume of $200,000 or more. The cooperative which tries to get by on inadequate facilities, limited service, and a short inventory will find the going tough. The confidence of members will be shaky. The man- agement is sure to be in trouble. Member relations will be off to a bad start. With increased automation, fewer and larger farms, and the many new and costly services today's members need -- linked with lower handling margins and higher costs, building an adequate capital structure becomes more essential and more difficult. And the road will get rougher. Cooperatives are now competing with the pace they earlier helped to set. Along with supplies and services, they must effectively merchandise coop- erative principles and understanding to and among members — in other words, "sell" themselves. No longer can a purchasing cooperative save the member $1 a bag on starting mash . . . and this is good. Farmers now put only about 2 per- cent of their total investments in their cooperatives. This must be increased sharply. It is good business for farmers to adequately finance their own cooperatives, the businesses that serve them at cost the year around. Farmers think little of investing in expensive machinery used only a few days or weeks a year — corn pickers, for example. The cooperative is a tool they can use the year around. Nothing will do as much to make for understanding, and to open the hearts and pocketbooks of members, as will good member relations. Relations are best only when the coop- erative is adequately financed and exists as a strong, going concern. (Nothing encourages membership sup- port and patronage like a sound, grow- ling enterprise. And nothing kee£s members interested as much as having their own money -- a goodly amount — invested in their own business. Good Communicatio 3 Good communications are a "must" in building good member relations. The member who is not kept informed soon loses contact with his organi- zation. Then he loses interest. Dis- interest leads to misunderstanding, and misunderstanding to downright neglect -- and sometimes opposition. Whatever your communications -- membership publication, letters, direct mail, radio or TV, point- of -pur chase materials, meetings, or man-to-man contact -- they ought to be adequate to tell your members what the coop- erative has done, what it is now doing and what it hopes to do for them. There is no time for short-changing your communications program when you need more membership support with each passing year. For when you do, you're inviting competitors to move in with an even heavier barrage and "sell" your patrons right out from under you. Staff your communications program with trained, experienced communi- cators, give them an adequate budget, give them attention and guidance, and evaluate the results regularly and often. The uninformed member cannot use lis cooperative most intelligently. Remember, the best informed member is usually the best member. And remember, too, communica- tions are a two-way street. Listen to the voices of members now and then, and hearken to what they say. Your own efforts at communicating words, advice, guidance, services, and sup- plies will be the better for it. I Trained Personnel) Good member relations, like public relations, are built by the cheery, pleasant voice that answers the plant telephone, the employee who loads members' trucks quickly and carefully, the serviceman who handles deliveries and repairs equipment efficiently, the clerk who fills the order with a smile, the man who appraises a request for credit — or a loan — in an understand- ing manner. To the average member, the indi- vidual employee is nthe cooperative/' Very often, that member has little contact with the organization as a whole. He judges it by the quality and efficiency of the people he knows who work for it. Need any better argument for mak- ing sure employees are well trained in their jobs and in dealing with others? Need any better reason for taking time to explain, and show, and school every single employee of every coop- erative — with special emphasis on managers, assistant managers and those you expect to be permanent -- about the organization he or she works for, how it operates, how it differs from the profit business down the street that renders similar service, what its responsibilities to members are? Your cooperative is judged by the people it employs. Be sure they por- tray the image and conduct relations with the public the way you'd like them to. Continuous and systematic training of employees is essential in building and maintaining good member rela- tions. ^Voluntary Use J The greatest single advantage a cooperative has over its competition lies in the lower costs of getting busi- ness, made possible by members' voluntarily ordering supplies and services. If a cooperative can lead its members to place their orders voluntarily, use special discount and early order programs, join in pooling their business without excessive solici- tation, they'll remove the need for armies of field men and special sales- men to beat the bushes and cover the highways and byways at tremendous expense. Understanding members who place their business voluntarily are among a cooperative's greatest assets. Voluntary use helped build most cooperatives. Unfortunately, today the trend is in the opposite direction. Even some of the best members wait for the manager or the field man to pay them a visit and "ask" for their patronage. If this is to be the order of the day, why not turn it to an advantage for those who want to build better member relations? Should not the employee do a little selling on the cooperative way of doing business when seeking orders? Why not explain to the stock- holder-member that if his "local" can depend on him to phone in his feed or fertilizer order regularly and use the early movement programs — and the same goes for marketing and service co-ops -- heTll help save a lot of farm visits? This, in turn, can cut expenses, make greater savings, strengthen his co-op and, perhaps, increase his patronage refund. Appeal to his sense of loyalty, to his desire to see his own business do well. It won't work in all cases, but it will surely work in some. And when it does, you've taken another step toward better member relations, because you've succeeded in getting another member interested in doing something for his cooperative and him- self. You've made him a part of the big picture and made him important. How much more volume and lower costs a cooperative would enjoy if all its members used it as voluntarily and exclusively as a select few do! ) Democratic Control Cooperatives' adherence to the principles of democratic control — much like the American citizen exercising his one vote to elect repre- sentatives responsive to his wishes -- gives them a tremendous tool in 8 explaining their operations to members and the public. It should automatically make them proud to be a part of the cooperative system, proud to be a part of something so American. Though the citizen understands all about his own right of franchise and his part in our democratic system, he often fails to grasp the connection when folks try to explain that the "one-man, one- vote" democratic control of his coop- erative is much like his personal concept of democracy. Providing the machinery for demo- cratic control and getting it understood by the membership at large are both difficult jobs. Too often, the actual concept of membership -- the thing that gives the member the right to vote, to elect his board members, to help decide policies, to guide his cooperative -- is not fully appreciated. After establishing the "one- member, one- vote " system of demo- cratic control in an organization, getting the members to turn out and exercise their vote is indeed a horse of a different color. Encouraging the member with the half dozen shares to take an interest in his business and making him see that he is an actual "owner" isn't easy. And if he does become interested, he, of course, must be trained to recognize that cooper- atives, unlike other businesses, measure him as an individual and not by the size or amount of his ownership. When the cooperative is large and has many members he becomes much like the American voter who excuses' his disinterest in voting by some such statement as, "Oh, my vote is only one vote. It couldnTt influence any- thing ... or elect anyone/' So, inertia develops and soon leads to disinterest in attending meetings, voting for direc- tors or policies, or exhibiting concern about the cooperative's affairs and future well-being. It becomes easy to "let George do it" — to "let Henry serve term after term on the board without any contest" -- to accept every policy that is proposed. Making members conscious of their ownership of the organization, of the right to vote which that ownership bestows, and of the need for eternal vigilance is the job of member rela- tions. Member relations is really a matter of getting more people into the act. This may be accomplished through communicating — mostly face-to-face explanations of how the cooperative control system operates; it may be in establishing machinery for rotating board members, in requesting nomi- nating committees to provide more than one candidate for each vacancy; or in making meetings where people vote so interesting that more will attend and vote. f Qualified Directors^) Qualified directors who know their Jobs and can interpret the cooperative 10 to others are an important part of the trained and efficient manpower needed to promote good relations with members. To be effective, directors must: 1. Be legal members of the coop- erative, preferably with reasonably long histories of membership and use. 2. Have time to assume their many responsibilities. 3. Understand and support organiza- tion aims and purposes. 4. Know everything possible about the cooperative. 5. Know their own responsibility and authority as directors -- and the limi- tations of each. 6. Put the welfare of the membership ahead of their own when setting policies and making decisions. 7. Be recognized as influential farm leaders, with ability to plan, organize, persuade, and lead. 8. Be stable men of sound judgment, but have the capacity to inspire emotional response from members . . . There will always be a place for limited and guided emotionalism in cooperatives. 9. Have had successful experience of their own in business -- farm business or otherwise. 10. Have the will and ability to interpret the needs and desires of the members they represent. 11 Finally, a good director must be someone you'd be willing to trust to handle your money and run your organi- zation. f Defined Responsibilities ) Directors, employees, members and suppliers each have, and must assume, certain responsibilities if the organization is to operate smoothly and soundly. And when each group does assume and carry out its responsi- bilities, the organization is efficient, looks and acts efficient, and inspires confidence and good relations with members and the public. Each respective group must not only know its responsibilities, but how they relate to those of the other groups. When a cooperative is small and gives only limited services to a limited num- ber of people in a single community, the division of responsibilities takes care of itself more or less. Not so with larger cooperatives. Here, responsibilities increase in num- ber an4 importance and can bring innocent misunderstandings that can be costly in money, moral support, patronage, prestige, volume, and other things of value. So, each group must first of all know the responsibilities which are its alone, as well as those which fall specifically to other groups. With responsibilities that overlap, the 12 important thing is that they be assumed by someone; each group cannot sit back and wait for the other groups to take over. Each group needs to know exactly where its responsibility and authority starts and stops. Meetings are good examples of activities where the responsibilities may be shared by members, directors, and employees alike. Here, careful planning and detailing of particular functions to particular groups or indi- viduals is the only solution. Without such planning, you will likely have chaos. As an example of sharing responsi- bilities, Southern States Cooperative members hold about 400 local annual meetings a summer and more than 10,000 members serve on com- mittees — each with his own specific responsibilities. Where everyone knows and carries out his responsibilities, there is pro- jected a picture or image of efficiency that bespeaks successful operations. . . and promotes good relationships be- tween all groups. Membership Program Good member relations do not just grow like Topsy. They are the result of a carefully planned, well-executed membership program. Like avolume- 13 .,..., Dm lz ^ 5th Eastern Member Relati Out of his years of experience in membership r< Richmond , Va., Luther E. Raper has distilled tfa members -- the stones he points to building or advertising program, it must first have the blessing of the directors and of top management. Funds to conduct membership pro- grams should be provided in the organi- zations budget on an equal footing with funds set aside for other operating programs. A member relations program is a .^stant operation . . . not just some- thing to be carried out when there's nothing else important to do; or even through a one -shot series of meetings or mailings. Getting out and working with mem- 14 ion ac t ivi t ies for Southern States Cooperat ive , epping stones for success in working with farmer and discusses in this publicat ion. bers, meeting with them, answering their questions, helping them under- stand the cooperative and its impor- tance to them, helping them solve their problems, listening to their wants and their complaints, building friendship and cooperation -- all these build sup- port for the cooperative and make for sound member relations. Regardless of the success of an organization, it will be even more successful and give more and better services any time steps are taken that result in more knowledgeable and understanding members. It's easier to sell farmer cooperation than 15 services and commodities. Those who truly TTbuy,T cooperation will use more of their cooperative's services. There are many sound approaches to building good membership pro- grams — meetings with members, board- sponsored commodity or service promotions, demonstrations and special days for the women and the young people, surveys conducted by the local board, cooperative quiz programs to promote better knowledge of the co-op, self-help activities where members call on other members to ask their support, letters over board members' signatures urging increased support, articles in the cooperative's member- ship publication, direct mail, news- paper articles, and radio and TV programs to promote the public ' s know- ledge of the cooperative business. The secret of all this is to keep members, their activities, desires, and accomplishments at the heart of every such project. The more members "in the act," and the more active the individual members in any program, the better the results. Southern States has used two recent member-related activities to strengthen relationships. In one, members at local meetings were asked to sign "agreements" to visit at least two farmer-neighbors each, discuss the cooperative, and ask their neighbors to join them in using their cooperative more. Over 6,000 signed the cards, indicating they'd visit 20,000 other farmers. Obviously, a lot of visiting 16 was done and some good relationships established. Too, some extra business volume was obtained. The second activity consisted of local board members signing "self- help'' letters which told how increased volume at certain plant operations would lower operating costs and make increased savings for everyone. Those receiving the letters were asked to put more of their buying through the cooperative. Of some 400 local boards, 231 signed the letters that were then sent to their mailing lists. Equitable Treatment The early cooperatives prided themselves on equal treatment for everyone -- same prices, same services, same costs. But as oper- ations grew, as some farms grew larger, it soon became obvious that the policy of treating members equi- tably was much fairer than merely giving them "equal" treatment. For example, why should a member buying 100 tons of feed pay the same price a ton as the man buying one ton when the cost of handling the 100-ton order was certainly not 100 times as much. The principles of volume buying and getting economies through mass purchasing are woven throughout American economic life. Why then should a cooperative deny these advan- tages to one of its members simply because he has a larger operation than his neighbor ? 17 Better to treat each member equi- tably --in line with the services used and rendered — than to stick ^"abso- lutely equal" prices and treatment and lose the member to another supplier who will give discounts and volume - services at lower cost. Besides, itTs often the volume of the larger farmers that makes it possi- ble for the cooperative to operate as economically as it does. So in the long run, the small farmer who pays a bit more for his one bag of feed benefits, too. The important thing is to (1) estab- lish such services on an equitable basis — known to all members -- and (2) inform members how and why this is important, fair, and necessary to every member, large or small. It was the small farmer who built many of our cooperatives. . . and if he is taken into your confidence, he will be first to recognize that "equitable" treatment for all members is to be preferred for the good of the coop- erative, its future, and himself. HereTs a case where promotion of better understanding improves rela- tionships between the cooperative and its members. It also helps avoid complaints of favoritism, unfairness, and the loss of unhappy members of the "large" variety who can't afford cooperative services unless they are truly equitable. There's no place in cooperatives for "under the table" special deals. Any deal so good that you want to keep it a secret should 18 be publicized and used as a pace setter in the interest of all members. To give special price or other ad- vantages to the shopper or price buyer is to encourage loyal members to buy outside to qualify for the preferential treatment. C Quality Products D To the title of this stepping stone might well be added the words "At Fair Cost/' For without recognizing the close relationship that exists between quality and price, we have trouble defining what is meant by "quality" products. Most cooperatives were organized because farmers wanted better quality supplies and service, better products for the market, or wanted to save money. But because quality must be related to the value of the service or the products to the farmer, this great "want" of the early cooperative mem- ber became "the best quality products at the best possible price." Value-in-use, we often call it -- getting the highest quality for the money spent or getting the highest possible price for a given quality. When a cooperative offers the "most for the money," guarantees quality, and treats members equitably, you can generally be sure of getting your money's worth. But, the reputation a cooperative builds comes through 19 by sticking to this policy year in, year out for a long period. Good reputations are not quickly established but may be destroyed in a moment. It is not always possible for a cooperative to have the best or the lowest price. Often items of higher quality could be obtained if the patron were willing to pay the higher price. But if the item gives fair service in return for the amount of money put into it by the member or consumer, then he is satisfied and looks kindly on the cooperative. There are times when the member should raise his sights on quality — when something a little bit more expensive, or a better product or service, can bring more return to him. Then the cooperative has an obligation to try to nup-gradeTt the member in his buying, grading for market, or giving services to urge that he invest a little more to "get a little more.n If he takes the step and is satisfied, then you have taken another step in solidifying a good relationship. Meeting "price competition," or getting a higher price because members insist on it, is often a problem for some cooperatives. Members may want to buy "low" and insist that their coop- erative provide an item or service to meet a competitor's price. If this must be done through reduc- tion in quality, then the cooperative owes it to all members to inform them of what is being done ... to warn that 20 the item or service carrying the lower price is also of lower quality. (Adequate Records J To satisfy auditors and to furnish directors, management, and creditors with the facts and figures they need, it's almost certain that accurate dollar - and-cents records will be kept by any well-run association. Mishandling accounts can be costly in dollars and relationships. You only have to mail a member one, two, or three incorrect statements until he begins to doubt the efficiency of his cooperative; and perhaps the honesty of the employees. But when an error is made, records should be adequate enough to make possible a prompt correction. Another part of the member rela- tions job is attention to keeping mailing lists current, to be sure of one listing for stock acquired over a period of years. Keep in mind that a man who gets three checks addressed to him in three different ways finds it hard to believe his cooperative is very efficient or needs his vote. But aside from the dollars-and- cents records, what about a cooper- ative's membership records? Do records make it possible for you to really know your members who, after all, furnish practically all the business and most of the capital? Do you know who they are, where they are, what 21 'their investments are, the important capacities in which they have served their cooperatives and agriculture through the years? Or, do you slight these facts and keep better records of the lowly penny than of the person- member ? Do you remember the charter mem- bers and former directors? Do you invite them to meetings and honor them in some way once in a while ? Do your records readily reflect the names of stockholder-members who may have strayed away . . . and what do you do about it ? Do you just forget about them ... or do as we did at one local cooperative last year? The manager sat down and wrote short, friendly personal letters, telling them they had been missed, that the coop- erative was still anxious to serve them, and inviting them back. In this par- ticular case, at the end of 3 months, the local had recovered the patronage of 21 of the 90 farmers to whom the letter was mailed. And what did these returnee "prodi- gals" tell us? That their names had been dropped from our mailing lists when their purchases during the previ- ous year had dropped below an arbitrary figure. That they no longer received the membership magazine or any infor- mation about the cooperative. That they felt their cooperative had forgotten them -- so, why should they bother? True, these marginal members may never swell your business volume tre- 22 mendously; but the influence they have on their friends who might become large users and on public relations is more important. A chance word that the cooperative had apparently forgotten them is no boost to your member relations. No one quarrels with the philosophy of cooperative growth through seeking new members. But let's not forget the old and present members. They are very important. They are the cooperative. Don't neglect them. The stepping stone of good service is obvious. Along with adequate capital, modern facilities, trained personnel, good quality, fair prices, and other desirable assets, a cooperative must give its members good service to serve its full purpose. This service must be good enough to attract sufficient volume to assure efficient operations. Here personnel is very important. And here are some things I believe members expect their hired personnel to do and be: 1. Show a desire to be of service to members. 2. Be friendly and courteous. 3. Be of good character — clean, honest, truthful, loyal. 23 4. Fulfill all promises made --be! trustworthy. 5. Be punctual. 6. Be informed about supplies and services. 7. Be accurate. 8. Give sound advice. 9. Abide by board policies. 10. Give equitable treatment. 11. Correct mistakes gladly. Ownership^ member consciousness, voluntary use, loyalty, and even a basic belief in cooperative principles have little significance to the stockholder-- member who finds his cooperative's service so poor he canTt afford to use it. Understanding Public ) Getting the public to understand what cooperative members already know --or should know — that coop- eratives are a legitimate part of our economic system remains one of our most serious problems. Some of the areas we need to pay most attention to are: 1. Since public relations, like charity, begin at home, we should not 24 stop until every member, every direc- tor, every employee knows and under- stands the need for cooperatives, their aims and purposes, how they operate in the interests of farmers, how they contribute to the general welfare, and how they're a part of our American free enterprise system. Until mem- bers, employees, and directors know and understand these facts, how can we expect others to understand them? 2. Let's keep the channels of com- munication with the public -- news- papers, radio, television -- informed about cooperatives, what they're doing, why they exist. Too often, the tendency is to wait until we're attacked before recognizing that we should distribute some information about the cooper- ative, do some advertising, or present some programs. 3. Though we term cooperatives "as American as apple pie," they do operate differently than other types of businesses. Since proprietary business is heavily predominant in our world, the general public is exposed more to this type of operation than to the coop- erative way of doing things. Thus the public gears its thinking and shapes its concept of business toward our competition. The best antidote for such a situ- ation is to maintain our positions, to state our case, to educate our members and our employees to do likewise and keep everlastingly at the job of telling the same story -- over and, over again. 25 4. Work to unite agriculture. The greatest deterrent to an understanding of American agriculture and cooper- atives lies in the disunity that exists within and among agricultural organi- zations. So how can we — in good conscience — blame a general public for showing disinterest or paying little attention to the problems of an industry so disunited that it can seldom agree fully on what its problems really are -- let alone their solutions? 5. If cooperatives want to be re- spected in the business community, they must be a part of that community. Their employees will have to join the local service club, work for the United Givers Fund, join the voluntary Fire Department, advertise in the high school annual, get members for the Chamber of Commerce. Their directors and management will have to be willing to accept speak- ing engagements before regional and national groups, attend industry-wide gatherings and avoid contact with only cooperatives and cooperative people as this can cause them to become inbred in ideas, philosophies, and actions. What has all this to do with better member relations? The image of a business that is accepted in a com- munity because the people in it really are a part of the community is a good image. ItTs a business that people like to patronize. Its reputation is good and spreads rapidly. And its members appreciate it. Any steps 26 toward solving or improving conditions in these five categories can build a better cooperative image for us all. So much for the stepping stones to better member relations. In conclusion, just what are the bases, or foundations, on which we can lay these stones and go forward toward building better and more useful cooperatives? After more than 30 years of pleasant work and associations in the cooperative field, I have come to believe that: 1. Most farmers believe in the basic principles of farmer cooperation. 2. Fully informed members will support their cooperative with their patronage if it gives good and efficient service and they are convinced it helps them. 3. Confidence and understanding are more important in maintaining good member relations than are brand names and prices. 4. People trade with cooperatives for about the same reasons they trade with competition. They like the person- nel -- feel they get a square deal — get good and courteous service. 5. The member who is really sold on his cooperative trades with it. The fellow who is sold on the com- petitor trades with him. 27 6. ItTs not what members read or what they are told, but what they understand and believe -- how they feel inside --a thing of the heart — that finally determines (1) the support they give their cooperative . . . and (2) their organization's future. Finally, I believe these things I've been talking about have been, are, and will continue to be, among the impor- tant stepping stones to good member relations. 28 UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 3 1262 08500 2409 Other Publications Available How Women Help Their Farmer Co-ops. Circular 15. John H. Heckman and Oscar R. LeBeau. Making the Most of Your Co-op Annual Meeting. Circular 22. Oscar R. LeBeau and French M. Hyre. Membership Practices of Local Coop- eratives. General Report 81. Oscar R. LeBeau. Exploring Communication Processes in a Farmer Cooperative — A Case Study. General Report 97. James H. Copp and Irwin W. Rust. Suggested Steps for Improved Member Relations. Information 12. Oscar R. LeBeau. A copy of each of these publications may be obtained while a supply is available from -- Information Division Farmer Cooperative Service U. S. Department of Agriculture Washington 25, D. C.