Washington, D.C. (May 13, 2015) — National Cooperative Bank (NCB), a leading financial services company serving cooperatives nationwide, has named Ralph Paige, former Executive Director of the Federation of Southern Cooperative/Land Assistance Fund as the recipient of the 2015 Stan Dreyer Spirit of Cooperation Award. The honor, presented at NCB’s Annual Meeting, is bestowed each year to those who portray the spirit of the cooperative principals in their personal and professional lives.
At the Annual Meeting, Mr. Paige was presented with a letter from President Obama, thanking him for his contributions as Executive Director of the Federations of Southern Cooperatives, and for serving as a leader for economic empowerment and social justice for southern farmers in rural communities.
Mr. Paige recently retired from the Federation after 45 years, spending the past 30 as Executive Director. The organization improves the quality of rural life, and, under his leadership, developed more than 200 units of low-income housing, 75 cooperatives, 18 community credit unions, and a training program for rural leaders. He led the Federation in the development and passage of the 2501 Small Farmers Program, which provides the coordination of outreach, technical assistance, and education efforts to socially disadvantaged and veteran farmers, ranchers and forest landowners to improve their participation in the full range of USDA programs.
The Bank carefully selects the yearly recipient of the Stan Dreyer Spirit of Cooperation Award, named for the former NCB executive who, as the Executive Director of the NCBA, was instrumental in the passage of the Congressional Bank Act of 1978 which resulted in the formation of the Bank. The award is bestowed annually on an NCB employee or member-customer whose devotion and contribution to the cooperative community emulate those embodied by Mr. Dreyer. Throughout his career, his dedication to fostering the growth and success of cooperatives, nationally and internationally, has earned him widespread recognition and an enduring legacy.
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