On the way to 100 Tennessee Farmers Cooperative celebrates 80-Year Anniversary this month

When you think of significant milestones for a business, your first thought probably isn’t the 80-year mark. My mind tends to go to numbers like 50, 75, or 100. But sometimes things happen to derail our neat and orderly plans. Our intent back in 2020 was to have a blowout for the 75th anniversary of Tennessee Farmers Cooperative.

In fact, then TFC Board Chairman Mark Thompson promised everyone a “hootenanny” for the 75th anniversary in his address to the membership at the 2019 TFC annual meeting in December. We fully intended to carry through on Mark’s pledge and devised a plan that would culminate at the 2020 annual meeting with a celebration to be remembered. We ran a series of articles in The Cooperator looking back at the cooperative’s history throughout the year and developed plans for the grand finale at the meeting.

Then March 2020 came.

The COVID-19 pandemic swept in with a fury, and we were introduced to masks, vaccinations, and terms like social distancing and “Stay Home, Stay Safe.” The country locked down, and the experience changed us all in ways we are still learning about. And by the end of the year, we were still coping with the pandemic, and it was deemed too risky to hold an in-person gathering. Instead, TFC hosted its first virtual meeting.

It was a surreal time.

To make up for that disappointment, we’re marking our 80th-year celebration with some special events and touches in the hopes of making this non-traditional anniversary memorable. We’re hosting a special gathering for industry dignitaries and Co-op leaders at TFC’s La Vergne headquarters on September 9 to celebrate the milestone. We’ll, of course, have special historical displays at TFC’s Annual Meeting on November 30 and December 1 at the Gaylord Opryland Convention and Resort Center in Nashville. We hope to have some historical items in the Tennessee Farmers Cooperative Foundation’s annual virtual Co-op Auction Barn event that raises funds for 4-H and FFA. And our Co-op Commemorative 4-H/FFA Knife Program will also turn 25 years old in conjunction with our 80th year. Finally, we will debut a 144-page 80th Anniversary History Book at the meeting that focuses on the people, services, and things that make our Co-op, culture, and community special. We will share more details as the meeting draws near.

We’re looking forward to celebrating this special moment with our Co-op neighbors and friends.

Be sure to check out TFC’s Social Media Channels for special 80th Anniversary Videos. You can find a QR code that will lead you to the videos on History bears repeating of this issue.

Story by Glen Liford,

Contact gliford@ourcoop.com