HomeMy WebLinkAboutProclamation 00- Cooperative Month October 2000
PROCLAMATION
COOPERATIVE MONTH
October 2000
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WHEREAS, the spirit of cooperation sustains our national character, energizes the American
experience and contributes bountifully to our shared prosperity; and
WHEREAS, the cooperative form of business is intrinsic to American private enterprise and our
national economy. The lives of more than 100 million Americans are improved by
more than 48,000 cooperative private businesses that generate more than $500
billion in annual economic activity; and
WHEREAS, cooperatives are inclusive. They bring into the American free enterprise system
people from every walk of life and every economic condition. They enrich our
communities, large and small. Cooperatives are the means through which those who
work together to build a business can attain all its benefits and those who need
service can receive it on their terms; and
WHEREAS, our nation thrives on the cultural diversity that makes the United States unique in the
world community. So, too, we benefit from the cooperative difference.
Cooperatives are different from other business forms because of the cooperative
principles that guide every cooperative, define their unique structure, and express the
cooperative's direct accountability to its member-owners; and
WHEREAS, cooperative businesses are created through the self-reliance of Americans who come
together to meet their common economic, social and cultural aspirations through a
jointly owned and democratically controlled enterprise. Because cooperatives exist
to provide service, and because they are owned and governed by their members,
cooperatives are competitive standards, yardsticks for measuring the relative benefits
delivered to people; and
WHEREAS, the benefits cooperative businesses create have long been recognized by people and
by government. Earlier in this century, the U.S. Congress, by law, confirmed
cooperatives' role in the mainstream of American business. That wisdom has been
tested and proven right year after year, and today cooperative businesses are an
irreplaceable part of our economy; and
WHEREAS, during the month of October, people from every type of cooperative celebrate their
achievements, reaffirm their commitment to the values that are the foundation of
cooperative enterprise and look to the bright future that cooperatives will help create.
As we observe this special month, let us grow stronger through the spirit of
cooperation that these organizations have steadfastly contributed to our national life.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, Marcia B. Youngman, Mayor of the City of Bozeman, do hereby proclaim
October 2000 as
"COOPERATIVE MONTH"
in the City of Bozeman, and urge all citizens in private and public life to thoughtfully consider the
value of cooperative enterprise and aCknowledge through private acts and public policy the right
of Americans to come together in a cooperative self-help enterprise to meet their common
economic and social needs and aspirations.
SEAL IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my
hand and caused the Great Seal of the City of
Bozeman, in the State of Montana, to be affixed at
Bozeman, Montana, this 16th day of October in the
year of our Lord Two Thousand.
~6~
MARCIA B. YOUN AN
Mayor