— Jeff Manderscheid, Chairman of the Board
It has been a little more than a year since we became Central United Cooperative, and I want to take a minute to talk about what that year has actually looked like from where the board sits.
Merging two cooperatives is a big undertaking, and the work of building something this size doesn’t stop the day the vote passes. A year in, we’re still building, and that’s exactly what you’d expect when you’re doing things right.
One of the clearest signs of progress, though, is something you can actually see. Over the past several months, we have been cleaning up old sites across our territory, tearing down buildings and clearing out property that had outlived its use. It is not glamorous work, but it matters. When a site looks cared for, it says something about the cooperative behind it, and we want every location, old and new, to reflect the kind of coop we are trying to be.
On the new side of things, Cosmos Agronomy is now fully up and running. It has been a big project, and it is good to see it serving our customers in the northwest part of our territory the way it was designed to. We hosted an open house and customer appreciation event there in August, and it was good to see so many of you stop by to take a look around. If you missed it, the facility is open for business and worth a visit next time you are in the area.
Bringing two boards together means bringing together a lot of good ideas, and that’s exactly what’s happening at Central United. Each board brought its own strengths, experience, and perspective to the table, and together we’ve built one board with a clear, shared purpose: doing right by the cooperative and our members. That shared purpose is only going to get stronger as we keep moving forward.
Part of staying on track as a board means staying connected to our CEO. Nathan Gieseke and your board of directors communicate regularly to talk through what is happening across the cooperative, and that steady communication keeps us pointed in the same direction. When the board and the CEO are aligned, you get one clear direction from Central United.
That same alignment is happening well beyond the boardroom. Across the cooperative, teams are learning new systems, taking on new responsibilities, and figuring out how to work together in ways that did not exist a year ago. A merger this size touches every level of the coop, and just because the first year is behind us does not mean the adjusting is over. If anything, this is the stage where the real progress gets made.
The board also held our annual retreat to set priorities for the year ahead. We spent a lot of time talking about what it will take to keep Central United financially strong, serve our members well and position the cooperative for long-term success. Some of that work will continue in the months ahead, and we’ll keep you updated as plans and priorities are finalized.
As always, your voice matters here. If you have questions, ideas, or just want to know more about what the board is working on, reach out to any one of us. That kind of engagement is what keeps this cooperative moving in the right direction.
Thank you for your trust, your business, and your patience as we keep building this cooperative the right way.