Bob Cohen receives 2010 Reginald J. Cressman AwardCreating employment opportunities marks Northeast Ohio Cooperative Educator for ACE AwardCLEVELAND, July 19, 2010 -- The Association of Cooperative Educators(ACE) names Bob Cohen as its 2010 recipient of the Reginald J. Cressman Award for outstanding commitment to staff development. Cohen is CEO of the Braintree Business Development Center in Mansfield, Ohio, a nonprofit business incubation and entrepreneurship program serving emerging companies in Northeast Ohio. He is also a faculty member of The Ohio State University. He has been a long time ACE member and past director, and recently assisted with the start-up of the USDA-funded Cooperative Development Center at Kent State University. Since 1990 he has taught the course "Introduction to Cooperatives" at OSU's Agricultural Technical Institute in Wooster, Ohio. He also spent ten years with ACDI/VOCA's overseas cooperative development program."New cooperatives have started in Ohio based on Bob?s cooperative education," says Mid America Cooperative Council Executive Director Rod Kelsay, president of ACE. In addition to introducing entrepreneurs to co-op business models, Cohen informs attorneys, accountants and other professionals assisting potential business owners about cooperatives, adds Kelsay.In the past decade, Cohen also conducted workshops educating more than 1,500 cooperative employees about the uniqueness of the cooperative business structure, helping them "be the best cooperative citizens possible," comments Farm Credit Services of Mid-America Executive Vice President Tom Schlenker.Cohen will receive his award at the ACE Institute Awards banquet at the Cleveland Marriott Downtown at Key Center at 7:00 p.m. on July 29. Fellow Ohio educator John Logue, who died last year, will also be recognized as a founder of the Ohio Employee Ownership Center (OEOC) at Kent State University. Also, receiving awards for their contribution to knowledge about cooperatives and credit unions will be Jen Heneberry of the Ontario Co-operative Association, Audrey Malan, former executive of CooperationWorks!, and OEOC.ACE is a membership organization that links educators, researchers, cooperative members, and cooperative developers across cooperative sectors and national borders to enhance cooperative development, strengthen cooperatives, promote professionalism and improve publicunderstanding. Information on the 2010 ACE Institute is posted on www.2010ACEInstitute.com in English, French and Spanish.###Contacts: Sarah Pike, grants manager, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , 763-432-2032 / Cathy L. Chamberlain, communication director, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , 905-814-8705