Petersen Receives Well-Deserved Co-op Hall of Fame Honor

Retired CFC CEO Sheldon Petersen, who stewarded CFC from 1995 to 2021, was inducted into the Cooperative Hall of Fame October 5 at a special event hosted by the Cooperative Development Foundation at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.

CFC CEO Andrew Don, who presented Petersen with a plaque commemorating the honor, said the former CFC chief’s induction is well-deserved for his significant contributions to the electric cooperative sector and for his unwavering commitment to CFC’s core values of service, integrity and excellence.

Don said Petersen’s commitment to service meant he was always there for CFC members; his commitment to excellence was reflected in delivering financial products to cooperatives across the country, helping them thrive and do well; and his integrity was evident in that he “always did the right thing for cooperatives and always did the right thing for CFC.”

Petersen said he was humbled and incredibly grateful to receive the highest honor that the U.S. cooperative sector bestows on its heroes. He credited the talented teams that he has been fortunate to work with over his career, starting with his family team.

Petersen said, “I started work on my first team … and that was marrying my beautiful wife Donita. She’s been my partner, my cheerleader, my reality check. She’s been there with me every step of the way. Interestingly, she is one of the staunchest supporters of the cooperative business model you could ever find.”

Petersen also offered special praise for the teams he worked with at CFC. He said that members of the CFC senior leadership team during his tenure “are some of the finest individuals I’ve ever worked with” and that the individuals who served as CFC board directors were “professionals in every sense of the word who fully grasped and understood our commitment to the cooperative mission.”

Petersen’s strongest praise was reserved for the cooperative business model itself. In reflecting on how the cooperative business model made rural electrification possible, Petersen said rural America needed a business model that could focus on service, local ownership, local control and local commitment and also gave people hope.

Fast forward to today, and look at what the cooperative business model has made possible. “I stand here today so proud of our industry for being wildly successful in meeting the growing needs of rural America,” he said, adding that cooperatives “really are the excellence in the business of hope.”

He concluded his remarks with an optimistic take on the industry’s future. “As you look forward, you will watch cooperatives be on the forefront of innovative generation, grid reliability, energy management, communications—all that’s required to continue to serve that member in the future, and again, all done with local control, local commitment and the cooperative business model. The cooperative business model truly is the model of the future.” 

Petersen joins former CFC CEOs J.K Smith and Charles Gill, as well as former CFC Senior Vice President of Corporate Relations Rich Larochelle, in earning this prestigious recognition.

A video of the award presentation and Petersen’s remarks will be posted shortly to the CDF’s heroes website: https://www.heroes.coop/.