2012 Order of Merit
The Lee Family
Nominated by Erickson & Assiniboine Credit Unions
Theodore Lee (1885-1965) came north from Minnesota as a young man, married Emma Gusdal (1893-1958) in 1908 and settled down to farm west of Erickson. When the co-op movement came along, Theodore embraced it. He helped organize Erickson’s first pool elevator and served on its board, was a charter member of Erickson Consumers Co-op (1939) and served as the first manager of Erickson Credit Union, which operated from the Lee home when it opened in 1952.
John Lee (1909-1992), known around Erickson as Mr. Co-op, was a charter member and the first president of Erickson CU. He served on the board of Manitoba Pool, like his father, Erickson Consumers Co-op, Co-op Implements, and Federated Co-ops, and he helped organize the Manitoba Federation of Agriculture Co-op Camp (Camp Wannakumbac). The MCA recognized him as a Distinguished Co-operator in 2003.
John’s wife, Harriet (1916-2010), was the credit union’s first secretary. She was very active in her church and community organizations, like 4H. She was also a founding member of the Erickson Women’s Institute (1940) and served on its board for more than 60 years. Harriet and John raised five children, Craig and Norval among them.
At the tail end of a career as an agricultural economist with the province, Craig was elected to Astra’s board. As president from 2004 to 2007, he helped guide its merger with Vantis and Assiniboine, an experience that positioned him well for his current chairmanship of Assiniboine’s governance and ethics committee. He is currently chair of the University of Winnipeg’s Board of Regents.
Norval stayed closer to the family roots, literally and figuratively, than his older brother. He took over the family farm and donned the mantle of local co-op leadership. Since 1967, Norval has served Manitoba Pool, Erickson Consumers Co-op, Manitoba Milk Prices Review Board and MAFRI. As a director of Erickson CU since 1988, and president since 1990, he represented District 7 on CUCM’s board from 2000 to 2007, serving various committees, and remains CUCM’s representative on the Wasagaming Foundation board. He was an RM of Clanwilliam councillor from 1989 to 1998.
Craig and Norval have asked that the bursary be awarded to a student in UWinnipeg’s Management of Co-operatives program.
Doug Crookshanks
Nominated by Crocus Credit Union
Doug Crookshanks devoted 34 years of his talent and time to serving the Manitoba credit union system. His contributions include 10 years on the board of the Brandon Mental Health Employees Credit Union and, following their merger in 1988, another 24 years with Crocus Credit Union, from which he recently retired as president.
Over the course of his time with the Crocus board, Doug has served the wider system as vice-chair and chair of District 7 and as a member of the planning committee of Executive Forum and CUCM’s Order of Merit committee.
Doug has distinguished himself as a true community supporter by serving as a member of the board of governors of Assiniboine Community College, as a trustee and member of several committees of Knox United Church, as a board member of the Manitoba Psychological Society and, for several years, as a steward and local president of the MGEU. He also managed and coached children’s soccer.
Doug had a distinguished career in the field of psychology, first as a clinician and department head, then as the Program Manager of the Child and Adolescent Treatment Centre in Brandon. His experience with human resources, strategic planning, budgeting and myriad other skills honed during his career in the mental health field proved invaluable to all of the organizations he has lent his skills to, both within and outside the Manitoba credit union system.
Doug has asked that the bursary be awarded to a student in Assiniboine Community College’s mature student program.