Everything Co-op Pays Tribute to Chuck Snyder

VERNON OAKES: Good morning, everybody. This is Vernon Oakes, the host of Everything Co-op. This morning it’s very sad to talk about Chuck Snyder passing on the 6th of this month. And I want to tell you, Chuck was a friend, a colleague, just a great guy with a huge heart. And we have about 14 people schedule to talk today, and we’re hoping that everybody will keep it to two minutes. It’s sad, but we’re gonna talk today and we’re hoping that everybody will keep it to two minutes. It’s sad but we’re going to celebrate his life and legacy because he’s just a wonderful human being. And to start off we’re going to start with John Holdsclaw who is a Executive Vice President of National Cooperative Bank. John.

JOHN HOLDSCLAW: Thank you, Vernon. Number one, I join today with a heavy heart, obviously, but my heart is filled with joy of looking at everyone on the screen and I said earlier that Chuck would be tickled pink to know that all of us are here together, but maybe not happy that we’re talking solely about him and not cooperation, but I think it goes without saying for me personally that Chuck really was more than a CEO to me and a boss. He saw things in me that in many ways I didn’t see in myself. And I know that I’m probably one of a thousand people who could say the exact same thing. And you know my heart goes out to Mrs. Snyder and to the girls.

JOHN HOLDSCLAW: But I know that Chuck will remain the wind behind my sails, as it relates to all the mission-related work that he took such great pride in and that is the bulk of the work that I do. And so, while we will grieve and while we will mourn I think we need to celebrate and also continue to live these mission-driven lives as it relates to cooperative development and community ownership as he used to like to say. So, that’s where my heart is right now, Vernon. Thank you for having me on for this and being able to go on this journey with you.

VERNON OAKES: Thank you, thank you. And next we’re going to ask Doug O’Brien if he would say a few words about his experience with Chuck both as a human being and in your life, in your jobs. Every way you can think of, how did Chuck influence you?

DOUG O’BRIEN: Vernon and Pat, thanks so much for letting me be part of this group. And I know there’s a lot of folks in the cooperative community that are listening in and watching today. You know, Chuck meant so much, as Vernon suggested, there were so many levels to Chuck’s impact. On a personal level I have to say that Chuck served as one of my mentors in the cooperative journey, absolutely — to so many people over, you know, the decades really — Chuck was there. He was generous in so many ways. Generous with his time. Generous with the banks resources to make sure that both the people and the cooperative community could move forward. I just think about a couple things, how he gave not only of the financial resources, but much more so he would lean in and really invest himself into projects that were visionary, that could be transformational, and that could really make a big impact for cooperatives and the communities that they serve.

DOUG O’BRIEN: The impact conference that we’ve been doing now for five years in partnership with the National Co-op Bank, that was Chuck. That doesn’t happen without Chuck Snyder. And then Chuck brings the whole team together, and it’s a partnership. You know, more recently we’re working on some principle six, cooperation among cooperatives, and Chuck leans in, brings all his experience, wisdom, and connection to really make the biggest difference. He’s going to be missed by the cooperative community. So, we’re mourning him, but we’re celebrating the impact that he’s had on so many people in the cooperative space. So, thank you, Vernon.

VERNON OAKES: Thank you, Doug. And I think the last time you and Chuck were on the show we were talking about the capital impact, and we were talking about DEI, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. And Chuck said, I’m sorry the way this came about — he was talking about George Floyd — I’m sorry the way it came about, but I’m really glad that it’s here because now I can talk about it. It’s out front. He said, at some points you couldn’t even talk about it. So, I just I like Chuck because of that. He could talk about it. He wanted to make sure that everybody, no matter who you were, how it — the first principle of co-ops. It doesn’t make any difference who you are, what your race is, what your gender is, what your age is, co-ops are for everybody and he lived that. And Roberta, I would like for you to tell us about your experience with Chuck. Roberta MacDonald from Cabot Creamery.

ROBERTA MACDONALD: And the experience with Chuck Snyder, Vernon, is much like yours. Here is a gentleman who saw potential in everybody and everything, and it’s almost like he didn’t see our other spots. And what he could do is say yes, go, do, be. Do well to be good to do good I think was his line. And I think of all the chicklets and people he has raised up. I love Mary Alex Blanton, for instance, who has taken on the community gauntlet that he laid down. I think of what Gina Schaefer has done relative to her community, and again with Chuck’s wide-ranging services there’s so many souls who have benefited, whether they know it or not, from this good, good man who’d prefer to remain anonymous. But dearly loved, deeply respected, and Chuck you’re one of the reasons why co-ops can be so viscerally appreciated among all of us. And we honor you by continuing to carry that message forward into our communities. So, thank you Vernon.

VERNON OAKES: What I’d like for you to talk about Roberta, you had called Chuck something when you’re on the show once. Do you remember what you called him?

ROBERTA MACDONALD: Tell me Vernon, what did I call him, an angel?

VERNON OAKES: You called him an angel.

ROBERTA MACDONALD: He is an angel, and really is an angel.

VERNON OAKES: Why would you say that?

ROBERTA MACDONALD: Because he had his pocket full of fairy dust, and it was always seed money to try that idea, to do better among communities, to inspire others. And he used his soul strings to tap into it. I remember an annual meeting for the NCB, and we’re in the National Archives and we’re standing below a mural of all these white men in wigs, and below us are people of every nationality in every age and outfit. And the contrast in that time is exactly what Chuck saw. We are good souls gathered for good reasons, and that was what he saw.

VERNON OAKES: Good souls gathered for good reasons, to do well to do good. I would like to turn it over to another lady. Mary Ann Rothman, you have known Chuck for a while. You’ve worked with the condos and co-ops in New York. You’re on NAHC National Association of Housing Co-ops board. You’ve been on NCB’s board. So, you’ve been around a minute. Tell us about your experience with Chuck.

MARY ANN ROTHMAN: Okay well first I want a second everything that everyone has said already, perhaps pointing out that Chuck put John Holdsclaw in charge of DEI at the bank several years ago, and John has been leading that focus for a long time. I printed what I was going to say to make sure I stayed under the two minutes. So, I’ll be official. It’s been my privilege to have known Chuck for many years as an inspiring leader, a team builder, an enormous supporter of cooperatives, and best of all as my friend. My story about Chuck is a New York story because half of the nation’s housing cooperatives are in New York City. And in the 80s and early 90s we had serious financial problems facing many low-sold cooperatives. Most lenders wouldn’t consider loans in housing cooperatives with significant rental components, but Chuck was different. NCB consistently tried to make positive lending decisions.

MARY ANN ROTHMAN: Of course, NCB knew as other lenders didn’t, that the strength and commitment of the board of directors would be a key resource for the recovery in troubled co-ops. In the borough of Queens fledgling co-ops were particularly hard hit, but they had a champion in borough president Claire Shulman. Claire held monthly meetings inviting everyone and anyone she could think of who could possibly help. Chuck traveled to New York for all of these meetings. He was one of the very few lenders who attended. And Claire got in the habit of opening the meeting by looking Chuck in the eye and saying, have you brought me money for my co-ops? And Chuck did step up every time. NCB was there for housing co-ops throughout this crisis, helping them to survive. And as Roberta has mentioned Chuck always believed that the bank would do well by doing good. And it always did under his leadership, and his spirit will always be with us.

VERNON OAKES: Thank you so very much. We’ve started off extremely well, to talk about Chuck and to celebrate his life. Chuck did so much, so much and he had a great sense of humor. So, I was trying to decide if I was going to tell you this story or not, because I don’t know how it’s going to show up on air. But he’s from Pennsylvania and Dutch country — country boy if you will — and I was having trouble with just with this organization, and I was considering what to do, you know, how to fight them, how to win, what to do. And Chuck said, Vernon, if you get in a pissing contest you’re going to get pee on your shoes, no matter if you win or lose. And I said, okay. And Chuck was just right down to earth, and it really I was able to see it, no you don’t want to do that, don’t want to do.

JOHN HOLDSCLAW: Vernon, the only thing that I would add is, whenever Chuck was talking to you, and when he would say well, I hate just sounding like a Dutch uncle, dot, dot, dot, you never wanted to know what came behind that, because either you were in trouble — but yeah, you just brought that to mind. I just wanted to say that.

VERNON OAKES: Thank you. We’re gonna take our first break, and we have four more folks in the next segment to talk. We’ll be right back. Please don’t touch that dial.

VERNON OAKES: Welcome back everybody this is Vernon Oakes, the show is Everything Co-op. We are celebrating the life and legacy of Chuck Snyder, who was just instrumental to everybody that’s talking, and people that wanted to come on that could not get on because of time and space. He just helped so many different people, so many different communities. And as Roberta MacDonald said in the last segment he had a star dust, he was an angel. He used his skills, and talents, and resources just to help communities and help people. And that was just wonderful. And we’re going to start off with Cornelius Blanding to talk about his experience with Chuck Snyder as the, what, now the Executive Director of the Federation of Southern Co-ops. Good morning, Cornelius.

CORNELIUS BRANDING: Good morning, Vernon. Thank you and good morning to everybody. Vernon please forgive me, I apologize I can’t come on screen right now. And I thank Doug for helping me get in. I’m actually at my doctor’s office, and I stepped out. I just had to be on this call for our friend, Chuck Snyder. And Vernon so truly it’s an honor to be even asked to pay tribute to Chuck, to someone like Chuck. And like most of everybody said here it’s with a heavy heart, indeed. But I say it’s an honor because being asked to pay tribute to Chuck means you knew him. And I was one of many whom had the honor of knowing him. And especially these other cooperators on the phone. He was a colleague as a part of the co-op community, but for me he was also a fellow board member on NCBA, not long ago, and on CDF the Cooperative Development Foundation until he passed.

CORNELIUS BRANDING: But I also counted Chuck as one of my mentors in this work like many others, and more importantly he was a friend. Chuck Snyder was a friend to the Federation of Southern Cooperatives. He was a friend to many of our members, as well as a huge supporter of our work. With and on behalf of all of our membership, and again like many others have said here today, he was a friend to me. Chuck supported me during my transition to the Executive Director of the Federation, as you mentioned six years ago. He supported my interpretation of the vision of the federation, as he would always say. And the work that that we deemed important, he also thought it was important, and probably more important than most. He always put his thoughts, words, and money behind what he believed in. And Chuck believed in people. And I think as Roberta mentioned about that magic dust, Chuck believed in the co-op movement and you knew that when you talked to him, you knew that when you spent time with him. And he believed in our organization. He believed in me as a as a fellow servant of the co-op movement, and like all others on this phone and many others. And for that I counted him as a hero. He was also a mentor and a friend, as I keep mentioning.

CORNELIUS BRANDING: And I’m gonna miss my friend, our friend. So Vernon, I mourn with his family, with his friends, and with the whole co-op community. And so I’ll just end saying, you know, rest in peace my friend. That’s my tribute to Chuck Snyder.

VERNON OAKES: Thanks, Cornelius, and you did that in two minutes. Good, thank you, wonderful. Rest in peace, my friend. And now we’re going to ask Liz Bailey to give us her view. She’s known Chuck for a couple years. Liz.

LIZ BAILEY: Yeah about 20. Really one of the first people I met when I joined the cooperative community. And I had a hard time remembering he was a banker. Certainly not a traditional banker from my experience, but one with a mission and driven by that mission to figure out ways to make a difference. And Leslie will attest to this that fundraising in the cooperative community is no easy task, that there aren’t a lot of resources out there for the out-of-box initiatives and the kind of things that really grow cooperatives. And Chuck always seemed to be able to be there for those big things that nobody else was funding, and made the difference, and really I think has grown a whole generation of cooperative developers who benefited from the kinds of initiatives that he did. If there was anything about marketing, the co-op difference, Chuck usually wanted — his fingerprints would be on it.

LIZ BAILEY: And also startup initiatives where I don’t think there was probably anything that gave him more pleasure than to watch a startup — say like a community purchasing alliance — grow from a really, truly a modest grant that that NCB gave them early on. And then they grew that into a huge, profitable cooperative. And it was making the difference with the investment from NCB early on in that, in a way that worked. So, everyone else has said the same things, so I’ll just leave it at that.

VERNON OAKES: Thank you.

MARY ALEX BLANTON: Hey Vernon, this is Mary Alex. Can I just piggyback off what Liz said?

VERNON OAKES: I’ll get right to you. I’ll get right to you. We have a list. Right now I’m going to Mike Mercer, then Leslie Mead, and you’re in the next segment, okay? You wanted to add something to what she said?

MARY ALEX BLANTON: I was just going to add one thing and then I don’t have to [indistinct]. So, what Liz was saying, at the bank I call it the Chuck factor. So, every year I would have to do budgets for all the lines of business on expenses, and contributions, and sponsorships. And accounting would always come back to me, and it was like, Mary Alex, you have to cut, you have to cut. And I said, I can’t. It’s the Chuck factor. Like I can’t control the Chuck factor. He just will give and I don’t know and then it’s just the Chuck factor. So, you know, he just was so passionate about co-ops and he wanted to give to so many organizations because he just believed in them that everyone needs a Chuck factor in their life.

VERNON OAKES: Amen, thank you. Mr. Mike Mercer.

MIKE MERCER: Well, hello Vernon. You, Pat, John, thank you very much for including me in this tribute. Chuck’s one of those special people that can’t be replaced and can only be emulated and learned from. I’ve got a little story to kind of illustrate the side of Chuck that I think is really intriguing. I first met Chuck when I got on the bank board a couple of decades ago. And he called and told me to meet him at the Columbus, Ohio airport and he’d tell me what we’re going to do from there. So, we met at the airport, we rented a car, and we drove out through endless corn fields and ended up in a little town, Hillsborough, Ohio. And Chuck was telling me that they had recently purchased a small savings bank there in Hillsboro.

MIKE MERCER: And I was saying, Chuck what is a national organization doing with a rural community banking institution in Southern Ohio? And he said, well, just hang on. And so, he started introducing me to people in Hillsborough, and Chuck knew every one of them. And the one I think he was most attracted to was a gentleman named Ernie Blankenship. And Ernie reminds me a lot of you Vernon, and he reminds me of the kind of people that Chuck got attracted to, and stayed with. And that is usually somebody that’s very honest, somebody that’s very passionate about what they’re doing. They don’t have to be the brightest light in the chandelier to get Chuck’s attention, but they need to have something special, and I think they need to have a little bit of mischief in them. And without that mischief factor, you know, Chuck kind of moved along and hunted down other people like that.

MIKE MERCER: He was genuinely interested in what people thought. He was genuinely interested in how they were approaching things creatively. And he was very supportive, like everybody said on the on the show so far, very supportive. And the thing that impressed me most in my two terms serving on the NCB board was that almost every time somebody asked a question around that board table Chuck’s almost subconscious response was, you know, that’s a really good question. And many of us would sit around that board table and think, well that wasn’t the smartest question I’ve ever heard, but Chuck was there. Chuck was there and he was there for everybody and I’ll miss him greatly.

VERNON OAKES: Thank you, buddy, thank you. I think you got that, I am honest, passionate, not the brightest light, and mischief. Okay, you got me, okay.

MIKE MERCER: I know I got John. I don’t know if I got you.

JOHN HOLDSCLAW: He definitely had me, Vernon. He nailed me.

VERNON OAKES: Leslie Mead, can you come up next and tell us about your relationship with Chuck?

LESLIE MEAD: I’m the former Executive Director of the Cooperative Development Foundation. Chuck served on our board for many years, but, I’ve known Chuck, you know, seems like forever, and he’s one of those people that you just thought would be a fixture in your life always. And so, his passing has been really sort of taken me back to thinking about the many ways that he’s influenced both me and the Cooperative Development Foundation. And I would like to say that, I think Chuck was motivated by the belief of cooperation among cooperatives, and that’s what motivated his participation in the in CDF. And he particularly, in terms of the hall of fame, and the race, the bank was just a foundational part of those efforts and our fundraising. And CDF would not be what it is today without Chuck.

VERNON OAKES: Thank you, Leslie. Thank you a lot. We’re going to take our second break and then we’ll be right back to listen to others talk about the life and legacy of Mr. Chuck Snyder. We’ll be right back.

VERNON OAKES: Welcome back everybody. We’re talking about the life and times, life and legacy of Mr. Chuck Snyder, the president of the National Cooperative Bank, a friend, a mentor, someone to be emulated and learn from, who had magic dust and spread it throughout the cooperative world. So, first we’re going to ask Mr. Martin Lowery to tell us about his relationship with Mr. Chuck Snyder for a number of years.

MARTIN LOWERY: I would say many years, thank you Vernon. I first met him through my mentor, Bob Cabot, when I was working for bob at NRECA. Bob insisted that I attend the National Cooperative Bank annual meetings. And it was quite a thrill because as many of us know, those annual meetings were very, very interesting. It was always a great speaker, Chuck would buy books from authors, and you always went away with a sense of a real spirit of cooperation. So when he called to ask if I would be willing to run for the board I was totally honored, and it was one of the greatest experiences I’ve ever had. As Mike Mercer said a little bit ago, he was very, very good with the board. In fact, there was no question that if you wanted to understand something Chuck was going to make sure you understood it. A wonderful, wonderful man. So much appreciate the fact that I got to know him so well.

MARTIN LOWERY: He was a mentor in many ways, as well, and I can only say that I hope that he is remembered for a long, long time. He’s a great, great person. And let me just say he wasn’t able to do his bucket list item of sailing around Cape Horn. And I can only hope that wherever he is now he’s able to look down on Cape Horn, and know that if he had sailed around Cape Horn he would have done it better than any other sailor in history. We’re going to miss you, Chuck. On behalf of NRECA, NRECA International, we love you and you’ve been a tremendous part of my life and our lives, and we miss you terribly. Thanks so much for the opportunity, Vernon.

VERNON OAKES: Thank you, sir. Thank you for joining us and coming out of your doctor’s appointment to be with us. We appreciate that. Just to honor Chuck and everything that he’s done. And we all know what that is. And we’re gonna let Mr. Barry Silver tell us about his experience with Chuck. Thank you.

BARRY SILVER: We worked together, Chuck and I, for 35 years and we’ll always think of his legacy. We’ll miss him terribly. During Chuck’s nearly 40 years at the National Cooperative Bank he ensured the bank focused on co-ops, and the co-op community, promoting the strength and existence of all different kinds of co-ops, health care, credit unions, rural electric, finance, housing, small business, grocery franchise, and many more. He believed and executed on one of his major strategies, in order to be effective you need to be strong financially, and NCB is strong. But because Chuck was trained as an accountant, and therefore he delved into the deep morass of minutia constantly at the bank despite the fact that he was president, he encouraged independent thinking.

BARRY SILVER: He supported his employees and fellow cooperators to think outside the box all of the time. Chuck endorsed the creation, enhancement, and promotion of the Co-op 100 Report, an annual publication which received significant praise, as all of you on this call know. The Co-op 100 Report has endured for over 30 years and continues to inform and enlighten the cooperative and non-cooperative communities on the strength of all different kinds of co-ops.

BARRY SILVER: Chuck encouraged us to take the success of the Co-op 100 to the world’s cooperative community by formalizing a global 300 report, which identifies the largest 300 co-ops in the world, resulting in an annual report of the largest cooperatives put out by the International Cooperative Alliance. But the National Cooperative Bank wouldn’t be as successful as it is without a CEO — sorry — who had ambition, motivation, trust of employees, fairness, and a focus on diversity. He applied these attributes to the bank’s board of directors, as we’ve heard today, and to all employees. He wanted to work for and on behalf of –everybody wanted to work for, on behalf of Chuck. We were proud to work with Chuck because of his attributes. He leaves us secure.

VERNON OAKES: Barry, I’ve got to go to the next one, I’m sorry.

BARRY SILVER: Oh no, that’s fine. I’m talking too much.

VERNON OAKES: Thank you. Thank you so much.

BARRY SILVER: But anyways, we think the world of Chuck and we’ll miss him dearly. Thank you.

VERNON OAKES: Thank you, thank you so much. And with that — and I could talk about Chuck all day, so I get it — we’re going to go to Mr. Richard Larochelle. Rich.

RICHARD LAROCHELLE: Okay, thank you very much. So, as we’ve all been saying Chuck was a giant in the co-op world, but I remember him mostly as a good friend, a humble man, a great board member, and really a model of co-op values. I served with Chuck on the same boards and often the same committees for more than 20 years. He was always respectful of other board members. He interacted with all of us, not as a CEO of the National Co-op Bank, but as an equal. He was a good listener. He was always respectful of others. And just one little story — I could tell so many — but I remember once we were having a heated discussion about an important issue at the NCBA inclusive board meeting. Chuck came into the room with a certain point of view, but as he always did he listened. Other people expressed different views. He asked questions, he participated, and at the end he expressed a viewpoint for a decision that was different from what he had come in with, because that’s the way Chuck was.

RICHARD LAROCHELLE: He wasn’t just wanting his own point of view. His compass was, let’s do the right thing, let’s do what’s right for co-ops. Serving on a board with Chuck made all of us better board members. He modeled how a board member should behave. He came prepared for meetings, he participated but he never dominated, he was always respectful of other board members, he kept us focused on why we existed, how we could accomplish our mission, and he was always generous with his time, with his energy, with his resources. One little personal story from recently, I’m a board member of a startup food co-op here in Fredericksburg — we opened in April — and under Chuck’s leadership NCB was one of only two financial institutions willing to take a chance, and lend to our food co-op. It happened under Chuck’s leadership. He not only made the loan to us, but he took a personal interest in our co-op.

RICHARD LAROCHELLE: He and his wife, Karen, became members of our co-op and they came down and visited us. And when I would see him he would say, well how are you doing? How are the numbers looking? He took a personal interest in us and I’ll always appreciate that. Chuck’s passing is a big loss for co-ops and for me personally. He always did the right thing. He believed in co-ops, but he was a good banker, and he wasn’t afraid to tell us that we needed to run strong businesses while also being true to our values. Those were the two things about Chuck, strong values and good business. I’ll always be grateful for Chuck’s leadership and for his friendship. Thank you so much.

VERNON OAKES: Thanks, Rich, and I want to get down to Fredericksburg and get that cup of coffee with you at the food co-op. We’re going to do that.

RICHARD LAROCHELLE: I invite all of you to come down.

VERNON OAKES: And uh Mr. Paul Hazen, if you could tell us about your experience with Chuck.

PAUL HAZEN: Thanks Vernon, thanks everybody. I’ve known Chuck for over 30 years. I count him as a friend and a mentor. And just an example of that, when I was selected as a chief executive of the National Cooperative Business Association decades ago, Chuck called me up one day and said, NCB is going to pay for a speech coach for you. And I’m really interested in your personal development, and I think this will help you. And I was just overwhelmed and blown away. It’s like you know he didn’t have to do that. He wanted me to succeed in my career. And that was just — I couldn’t believe it and I still feel that way today.

PAUL HAZEN: I think his legacy in the cooperative movement is the focus on the mission at NCB. There are lots of organizations that have mission creep and have gone away from their original mission and he kept that true at NCB. And I don’t think there would be the robust food consumer food co-op sector, and the purchasing co-op sectors today without his leadership at NCB. And I know what he’s done as far as helping startup groups. When the cooperative movement won the franchise for dot co-op we needed to raise a million dollars to get that going. And NCB with Chuck’s leadership put the first two hundred thousand dollars in. And that early money as they say was like yeast, and that helped us raise a total million dollars. So I’ll be ever indebted to Chuck for his friendship and his mentorship for me and for what he’s done for the cooperative movement.

VERNON OAKES: Friend and mentor. That says it. I think everybody has said that, no matter how long you’ve been in the co-op movement, how long you’ve been in banking. And I like what Liz Bailey said, he was not a normal banker. And the other thing about him is you don’t see him being the CPA. I always see the CPA with the visors on and doing the numbers. He was a people person and you don’t find that mixture too much. And Mary Alex Blanton, would you tell us about your experience with Chuck, particularly working for him, under him, with him all of these years.

MARY ALEX BLANTON: Yes, thanks Vernon. Yes, so I’ve been at National Cooperative Bank for 22 years. I’ve had many different careers but right now run the market communication. So, I got to work a lot with Chuck, especially planning all the fun annual meetings that he loved so much. I think, you know, one thing that I love about Chuck is that he was genuine. Like, I would spend hours writing speeches and remarks just for him to kind of never read them and just speak from the heart every time he would give a presentation. And you know that’s when he was connected with people, that’s when he was at his best.

MARY ALEX BLANTON: Sure he may have stumbled. He may have said etcetera, etcetera, etcetera a few more times, but people really connected with how genuine and down-to-earth he was, and that’s what you know I think people love. And just to talk about, you know, we know how much he impacted the co-op community and how much he gave in his time, his financial. I mean, I think he was members of several co-ops even though he lived nowhere near them, but he created a culture here at the bank of people really caring about each other. So, he brought the co-op values into everyone at the bank. You know the average tenure here is about 10 to 12 years. People want to be here because they love Chuck, they love working for him. He had an open door policy.

MARY ALEX BLANTON: He’s not some CEO of a multi-million dollar bank, multi-billion dollar bank that you don’t feel connected. He made the time to get to know people. He would talk about their families, football. I mean, you would always see Chuck hanging out with people. Even during COVID he would have Zoom calls with corporate services talking about the Washington football team on Monday mornings. So he really created that culture at NCB that people cared about working here, people care about each other, and people care about the co-op community. And I think, you know, we’ll keep that legacy going on, always fighting for the little guy, you know, doing well to do good. And that’s something that will be lasting impacted NCB.

VERNON OAKES: Thank you. Fighting for the little guy, genuine. We’ve got a friend, a mentor, with the Chuck factor who has magic dust that he spread around. He spread around more dust than he had, but I just want to — before we take our next break — I was walking with Chuck. We were walking Sunday mornings at 10 o’clock. I had walked with him the Sunday before he passed, and we were scheduled to walk 10 o’clock the day right after he passed. And I didn’t know so I went to Hains Point to meet Chuck. And so, I was there, it’s a beautiful, beautiful, sunny day. He loved the water, as somebody’s already said and sailing, but at 10:02 or something because he was always on time I looked at my phone and I had had a message, a voicemail from his wife Karen.

VERNON OAKES: And she told me he had passed the night before. I started boo-hoo crying, and Liz I was so glad that you didn’t start crying too much, because I may have had to ask Pat Thornton to take over because I may have started again. And I was just shocked, I mean, such a heart the man had. It’s just wonderful, and he shared everything, shared knowledge, and wisdom, and like the dust, phenomenal. A genuine friend, genuine mentor, just a wonderful, great guy, which the cooperative world is going to miss, the world is going to miss. And we’re going to take our next break, and we’ll come back, and we have David Thompson, R.L. Condra, Michael Peck, and Pat Thornton. We’ll be right back. Please don’t touch that dial.

VERNON OAKES: Welcome back. This is Vernon Oakes, the program is Everything Co-op. We’re celebrating the life and legacy of Chuck Snyder, and we’re going to start this segment off with Mr. David Thompson, who’s out in California. Good morning, David.

DAVID THOMPSON: Well, good morning everybody. This is such a sorry moment to be on the line with so many people that I love and respect, and I send my wishes to Chuck and his family and his daughters. This is far too early for somebody like him to pass on. So sorry about all of that. My recollections are I was the number one co-op person to go to work for the bank. And so when — and that was 1979 — and when Chuck came on board in 1983 I was really happy because he had a credit union background, so I knew we didn’t have to train him in sort of what co-ops were all about. And I was so glad for that because clearly he was being lined up to be the next CEO, which he did, and I have been in touch with him for all of those years — it’s like 38 years that I have known him. But the things that stand out for me are, you know, I came from the new wave of food co-ops and minority co-ops, and that was the burst of energy that we all gave to the creation of the co-op bank.

DAVID THOMPSON: And I’m always concerned that those two groups need to constantly be — we need to be reminded of them — because they need to be served, and Chuck always did his very best to do that. One of the moments that I remember is we were in Rochdale and Chuck was the head of the delegation for NCBA to attend the 150th anniversary of the Rochdale Pioneers, and we had Ralph Paige with us. And Ralph and Chuck were both just, they couldn’t believe that they were in Rochdale, and they were at the store, and they saw the counter where the things were laid out, and went to the town hall, and met the mayor, and did all of those things. And we were in the council chambers, which were empty at the time. And Chuck and I said to Ralph, why don’t you get into the mayor’s chair Ralph? There’s probably never, ever been a Black person who has sat in that chair.

DAVID THOMPSON: And Ralph was pretty humble, and was a little, little reluctant to do it, but Chuck and I both said, no, you’ve got to do it. You’ve come all of this way, you’ve come all of this way from Atlanta, sit in the chair. And I have the picture of Ralph sitting in that chair, and Chuck and I were so happy that a Black person had mainly done that. So, I want the Co-op Bank and Capital Impact to look at what they were caused to create and to redouble their efforts for emerging and minority co-ops. Thank you.

VERNON OAKES: Thank you. Thank you, David. And right now we’re going to ask Mr. R.L. Condra. David was the first employee, R.L. is a current employee of the bank. R.L.

R.L. CONDRA: Thank you, Vernon. We’ve had a lot of executives on here, we’ve had a lot of cooperative hall of famers, but you could do this show right now with the employees from the bank. You could do the show with the front office employees at the bank. He was that kind of person. It was not uncommon for you to look up and he’s standing at the desk of the front office person talking to them about their kids, their soccer games, are they renovating their kitchen? And it was genuine, as been mentioned many times. He always got behind his employees.

R.L. CONDRA: There’s been a few people talking about mentoring here, he did that with his employees. He always wanted you to do better, get more education, get more training, and also think about what you’ll be doing in the next few years at the bank. And that’s why the bank has employees that are there for 20 years. We have a number that are there for over 30 years. And it’s why the bank has been awarded by the Washington Post as one of the best places to work in Washington DC almost every year.

R.L. CONDRA: And Vernon, we’re talking about a banker, you know, we’re not a non-profit, not — I mean I watched a holiday movie with my kids the other day and the villain was the evil banker, so I think we all get it right. But, he was there. He was also a serious and professional person. We’ve talked about how people receive grants and receive startup money. You had to bring your A game to Chuck, and you had to be an accomplished, serious person, and have your ducks in a row, because he would say no. Because I was one of the employees, Mary Alex and I would be ones that would bring startup ideas and requests to him. He just didn’t say yes every time.

R.L. CONDRA: You had to bring your A game. And what a great leader. Leaders lead and he could – I wish he would’ve wrote a book on how he did things, because he was probably one of the best one of the best leaders I’ve ever worked for, and I’ve worked for United States Senators, Vernon. So, I just want to leave it at that. What a great — and if you have a show about mischief with him I will contribute to that, because I have some stories. Thank you.

VERNON OAKES: Okay. I like this mischief. Thank you R.L., thank you, thank you, thank you. And now we’re gonna ask Mr. Michael Peck, one worker, one vote.

MICHAEL PECK: Thank you, Vernon. Thank you, everybody. And thank you, Pat also, for this incredible job you did — both of you — staging this. I think the whole cooperative community is so grateful. So, you know, Chuck. We started off in Old Town at the beginning of 2000. Our townhouses were a block apart. I ended up selling mine and buying his. That started everything, best move I ever made. I think Chuck did more for the relationship with Mondragon than any banker in American history.

MICHAEL PECK: You know, he created the whole momentum behind the Memorandum of Understanding with [SOUNDS LIKE: Laboral Kutxa] and National Cooperative Bank and the New Economy Issues roundtable we did in September of 2013. Mary Alex will recall that because I know I drove her crazy. And then in July 2016 he did the learning mission to Mondragon with Mike Mercer. They brought over, I think it was, 15 credit union CEOs, 12 of them were women, and collectively representing about 20 billion dollars in lending. And you know, we blew the minds of all the Spanish people we met by having so many women CEOs, and Chuck was really, really proud of that. But most what I remember with Chuck is that at least once a month we would hold our informal breakfast at Cosi at the bottom of NCB early in the morning.

MICHAEL PECK: And we’d show up, and he always insisted on buying breakfast. You know, it was like a water or an orange juice, but all we did was talk about what what’s been mentioned before, how to stick up for the little guy, how to defend the little guy. Because Chuck came from Reading, Pennsylvania, which eight years ago was voted America’s most dangerous, you know, destroyed, drained city anywhere. And Chuck never forgot that. Those were his roots, and he was always focused on how to beat up on the inequalities and flatten those curves. And a lot of times when you thought that it was hard to do, Chuck you know, provided the wind beneath the wings. And I will always be grateful to my heart and soul for that. Thank you.

VERNON OAKES: Thank you, Michael. Thank you very much. He was from Reading, Pennsylvania. I’m from Bluefield, West Virginia. We’re two country boys, we talked a lot. That’s what those walks were all about. And Pat Thornton, would you tell us your view? Pat’s the producer of Everything Co-op.

PAT THORNTON: You know, I told Vernon that I wanted to give up my spot this morning to make sure that all of you had an opportunity to speak so this is a surprise to me, but it’s always an honor to talk about Chuck. I admired Chuck. He was a man of character and he was a man who stood by his beliefs. He stepped out on faith, he pushed the envelope, but when it came to preparing for this show I listened to his last show with Doug O’Brien. And his message is something that I think is really important. He said, you know, we’re celebrating over here when we talk about diversity and everything, but we don’t have much to celebrate.

PAT THORNTON: We have a lot of work to do. And that’s the guy that he was. He was a guy who was unafraid to say the truth. And earlier when he talked about it he said, I’m so glad that all this diversity is coming about and I can talk about what I want to talk about anyway, you know. I love Chuck. The last thing I’ll tell you is that I actually searched all over to find an award for him. I’m an artist and it’s the MacArthur foundation, I said, oh, that doesn’t apply to him. When I checked all the awards that could be given to Chuck he had already gotten them. So, with that I say, I love you Chuck. I honor and respect you. And he gave me an example to live by. And I thank all of you for your participation and patience with me. And we’ll air for our YouTube viewers with the difficulty we will air a tribute to Chuck on YouTube next week during Thanksgiving to thank him. And thank you Vernon.

VERNON OAKES: Okay. I would like to ask John. John Holdsclaw, would you sort of summarize for us? We only have about a minute left.

JOHN HOLDSCLAW: Well you know, just in a nutshell, Vernon, my heart is full of a lot of things. I’ve been honored to be on this, but if you go back and listen to this there are certain words that keep coming up over and over again, genuine, mentor, friend, you know, he had a pocket of magic dust, he was a taproot for so many things, he had soul strings, you know, and someone that you could emulate, and learn from, and spoke from the heart and not a normal banker. I don’t think Chuck would want to be known as a banker.

JOHN HOLDSCLAW: I think he would want to be known as a cooperator who happened to finance things every now and then, you know. And football analogy, because he became a real big Penn State fan with his oldest going to Penn State is that coaches are judged by their coaching tree. So, Chuck will be judged by his cooperative tree. And there are a lot of people on this Zoom, there are a lot of people at NCB, there are a lot of people in this industry that are part of that tree. Thank you, Vernon.

VERNON OAKES: Thank you, thank you. That’s a good summary. Everybody out there thank you for listening. We’ll be back next Thursday. Please live cooperatively.