Deschutes-Multnomah County OR Archives Biographies.....Ward, Roy A. 1892 - ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/or/orfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Ila Wakley iwakley@msn.com November 10, 2009, 9:29 pm Source: History of the Columbia River Valley From The Dalles to the Sea, Vol. III, Published 1928, Pages 249 - 251 Author: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company To Oregon belongs the distinction of being the home of the largest strictly cooperative wool marketing association in the United States in volume of wool handled, as it is also one of the most successful in the advantages accruing to its members. The remarkable success of the Pacific Cooperative Wool Growers is in very large degree due to the tireless efforts and discriminating and clear headed judgment of its manager, Roy A. Ward, who has served in that position ever since the formation of the organization and commands the uniform confidence and respect of its members. The Pacific Cooperative Wool Growers was founded in 1920 in Portland by the following gentlemen: C. J. Hurd, now deceased, who was a specialist in cooperative marketing; Fred W. Herrin, of Ashland; E. A. McCornack, of Eugene; William Riddle, Jr., of Monmouth; Roy A. Ward, of Bend; R. Roy Booth, of Eugene; G. H. Thompson, of Macleay; P. O. Powell, of Monmouth; C. L. Beckley, of Douglas county; J. W. Smith, of Aurora; S. A. Cordill, of Molalla; A. B. Flint, of Beaverton; J. R. Coleman, of Coleburg; and W. F. DeFord and C. S. Henry, of Ashland. The first officers were: Fred W. Herrin, president; J. B. Cornett, secretary and treasurer; and Roy A. Ward, manager. Mr. Herrin was succeeded in the presidency by C. L. Beckley, after whom came the present president, E. A. McCornack. Mr. Cornett was succeeded as secretary-treasurer by E. A. McCornack, and when the latter was made president he was succeeded by the present incumbent of the position, S. D. Dorman, of Ontario, Oregon. Mr. Ward has served as general manager continuously. The full official roster at this time is as follows: E. A. McCornack, president; James M. Davis, vice- president; S. D. Dorman, secretary-treasurer; Roy A. Ward, general manager; Edgar L. Ludwick, assistant manager; F. W. Gesell, assistant secretary- treasurer; and J. T. Alexander, C. V. Bales, H. E. Bigelow, T. A. Connolly, James M. Davis, W. F. DeFord, S. D. Dorman, C. E. Grelle, J. A. McBride, E. A. McCornack, J. H. Peterson, L. A. Robertson, G. H. Thompson, Carl Whitmore, J. D. Yeager, W. E. Hunt and C. L. Worrell, directors. The express aims of the association in the cooperative marketing of wool, are to develop the wool industry; to increase the efficiency and lessen the cost of marketing such products, by cooperative efforts; to eliminate speculation and waste; and to stabilize the wool markets in the interest of the growers and the public and in other ways to stimulate and protect the industry. That the association has in very large measure succeeded in effecting its purpose is evidenced by the following summary of its record and activities: It has thirty-three hundred members, who own one million sheep; and the membership is growing steadily; eighty-five per cent of the members who joined in 1921 and who are still in the sheep business are still members; it has sold thirty million pounds of wool and mohair in seven years, for approximately twelve million dollars; it has a personnel of experienced wool men handling its wools, who have spent their entire lives in the business and who have occupied positions of trust and responsibility with the largest mills, dealers and top makers in this country; in 1926 ninety-four per cent of the wool handled by it went directly to mills; it added six hundred members in 1927 and seven hundred in 1928; it has the confidence of the largest banks in the United States to the extent that they have loaned the association for pre-shearing and wool advances a total of ten million dollars, without a bank losing a single dollar; it has its own experienced wool salesmen and sales offices in Philadelphia and Boston, calling on the entire mill trade of New England and the Atlantic States; it maintains United States licensed warehouse facilities at Portland, Oregon, San Francisco, California, and Boston, Massachusetts; it is strictly cooperative in name and in fact and all profits, benefits, or service accrue to each member shipper in proportion to the amount of wool shipped; it is directed by a board of fifteen of the leading wool growers in the states where it operates, elected by the entire membership; it is endorsed by the state and national wool growers associations; it has raised the market level throughout the territory where it has members; it has secured for its members from one cent to five cents — and in many cases from seven cents to ten cents — more per pound than the average prices received by the non-member growers, this in addition to the effect on the general price level, which has benefited all growers; it has forced general recognition of premium price for kid mohair over adult hair, being the first association to make returns to growers on this basis, and during the past five years dealers throughout the country have had to adopt it; it has built up an organization that handles every member's clip to the grower's best advantage, and takes care of his accounts efficiently and economically; the orderly marketing plan followed insures the grower against price declines and gives him the average price over the mill- buying season, which, in seven years out of nine, is higher than the shearing price; the association enhances the value of the wool by scouring, carbonizing and processing in cases where the full value could not otherwise be obtained; the marketing agreement is the standard form used by one million eight hundred thousand farmers in America marketing cooperatively. The foregoing statements in themselves stand in sufficient evidence of the successful operation of the association and are the reasons for its perpetuation, reflecting great credit on the management and the loyalty of its members. The growth of the association's operations may be illustrated by the statement that it handled one million pounds of wool in 1921 and five million pounds in 1928. The manager, Roy A. Ward, was born in Chicago, Illinois, in 1892, and is a son of William A. and Ida B. (Muzzy) Ward, the former now engaged in the paper manufacturing business in Chicago. The mother is deceased. Mr. Ward received his elementary education in the public schools and graduated from the Colorado Agricultural College in 1913. He then became connected with the United States department of agriculture and came to Oregon to do work in relation to the extension service of the state agricultural college. He lived at Bend, where for two years he served as vice president of the First National Bank. He then became one of the organizers of the Pacific Cooperative Wool Growers, of which he was elected general manager. He has gained wide recognition because of his thorough knowledge of the subject of cooperative marketing, and served for four years as president of the Oregon Cooperative Council, consisting of representatives of all of the cooperative associations of this state. He is one of five members composing the National Wool Marketing Council of the United States, his fellow members being Lee Palmer, president of the Ohio Association; J. B. Wilson, secretary of the Wyoming Wool Growers Association; L. E. Moody, of the New York Wool Growers Association; and J. Hooper, secretary of the Utah Wool Growers Association. Mr. Ward is a director and president of the Idaho Operating Company and a director and president of the Pacific Operating Company. In 1917 Mr. Ward was united in marriage to Miss Alice Gunning, of The Dalles, Oregon, a daughter of Judge and Mrs. F. S. Gunning. To them have been born two children, Patricia and Allen. Mr. Ward is a republican in politics and he is a York Rite Mason and Noble of the Mystic Shrine; and a member of the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, the Grange and the Portland Chamber of Commerce, of which he is a director, a member of the agricultural and trade commerce committees and is in charge of the agricultural marketing committee. He belongs also to the Advertising Club, the Rotary Club, the Press Club, the Multnomah Atheletic Club, the Multnomah Golf Club and the Wana Lake Fishing Club. He has devoted his attention to the interests of his association, in the affairs of which he has shown sagacity and foresightedness that have meant much to the success of the organization, and in every respect he has proven the right man for the place which he fills. Courteous and affable in manner, he commands the respect and esteem of all who have come in contact with him and has won a host of warm and loyal friends since coming to this state. File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/or/deschutes/bios/ward1011gbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/orfiles/ File size: 9.2 Kb