The Board of Director training program is presented by NCDC through a program facilitated by the Nebraska Cooperative Council. This program was established in Nebraska due to a surge in development of entrepreneurial businesses structured as Cooperatives or Limited Liability Corporations (LLC). These entities are governed by a Board of Directors who has a variety of roles and responsibilities. The three levels of the program assist new and current Board of Director teams with useful roles, responsibilities and information on running and managing a cooperatively-owned business in Nebraska.
For more information on the Nebraska Cooperative Councils please visit their webpage at: http://www.nebr.coop/
Level I Training
Details
The Level 1 training program focuses on the Management Team of the business (either cooperative or LLC), by focusing on the roles and responsibilities of the Board of Directors. Participants will hear from a banker on his/her point of view of the financial considerations of running a startup company. Other parts of the program include:
- Legal foundations of the cooperatively-owned business
- Cooperatives: open v. closed
- Limited Cooperative Associations
- LLC's
- Partnerships
- Board of Directors' legal obligations
- How to run an effect board meeting
- Basic parliamentary procedure
Level II Training
Details
The Level 2 training program focuses on the different functions performed by the Board Directors (either cooperative or LLC), with emphasis on the roles and responsibilities of the team. Participants will also discuss legal/governmental issues and review a small business case study. Parts of the program include:
- Functions
- Decision making functions
- Advisory Function
- Trustee Function
- Perpetuating Function
- Symbolic Function
- Establishing Objectives and Policies
- Specific Duties and Responsibilities of Directors
- Legal Foundations of Cooperatives and LLC's
- Articles of Incorporation
- By-laws
- Directors Legal Obligations
- Liability Issues
- Due Diligence
- Small Business Case Study
- Cash Flow
- Balance Sheet
- Financial Analysis
- Financial Positioning
Level III Training
Details
The Level 3 training program focuses on helping directors establish policies and procedures specifically pertaining to the relationship between the Board and the Management, with emphasis on hiring of new staff. Since the role of the Board of Director's changes significantly once new staff is hired the Board members need to be able to recognize and prepare for the change. This program provides the guidelines in making this a successful transition.
Past presenters of the program:
Dr. Mike Turner, Professor emeritus of Ag Economics at UNL
Dr. Turner has worked extensively with local board of directors for over 35 years on strategic planning, business development and many other areas.
Ed Woeppel, Education and Program Director for the Nebraska Cooperative Council
Woeppel has spent his entire career in education and for the past eight years has coordinated the delivery of educational programs for the Nebraska Cooperative Council. Woeppel will be part of the management team discussion.
Rocky Weber, Attorney, Crosby Guenzel LLP
Weber has represented several new cooperatively owned businesses over the last several years and is an expert in cooperative law.