Mr. BERRY. Mr. Speaker, I rise here today to pay tribute to one of my good friends, Mr. Doug Sims, a great leader in agriculture and the cooperative movement in America. Doug will retire from his post as Chief Executive Officer of CoBank this June after serving farmers, ranchers, farm cooperatives and rural communities for nearly 37 years. This will mark the end of a very successful career, and a very successful period in CoBank's history.
I have had the pleasure of knowing and working with Doug Sims for many years. As a farmer and a farm cooperative member, I know CoBank has always been there for the cooperatives that serve farmers and the rural communities in which they live. I have worked with Doug on a variety of important issues during my time in Federal office, both in the Executive branch, and now in Congress. Like others who have had the pleasure to work with Doug, I always found these efforts to be collaborative, professional efforts at building consensus to benefit cooperatives, rural communities, and the farm families that depend on them for their livelihoods and quality of life.
Doug has steered CoBank through a long list of challenges since joining CoBank in 1988 as president and chief operating officer. Doug's success came from a long history of experience in the Farm Credit System, beginning as a credit analyst for the St. Louis Bank for Cooperatives in 1969. From this humble post, Doug rose to be president and chief operating officer of the Farm Credit Bank of St. Louis.
While serving at the Farm Credit Bank of St. Louis, Doug acted as a key advocate for farmers, cooperatives, and the Farm Credit System, working with Congress and the Administration on critical legislation to protect the system from the agricultural economic and credit crises of the late 1980s. That far-reaching legislation paved the way for the modernization of the Farm Credit System, which has allowed the System to prosper and grow into the nation's largest single lender to agriculture and rural America, with over $135 billion in assets.
Doug guided CoBank to new heights during his tenure with the company. Under his watch, CoBank nearly tripled its assets to $34 billion and enhanced its services to agricultural cooperatives, rural electric cooperatives, rural telecommunicationscompanies, and agricultural exporters. When the financial services' competitive landscape became increasingly challenging, Doug successfully oversaw mergers, opened overseas offices, and nurtured CoBank into a highly respected financial services company domestically and internationally.
Doug's service extends beyond CoBank's interests. He has served as Chairman of many other important organizations, including the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives, the Federal Farm Credit Banks Funding Corporation, the Graduate Institute of Cooperative Leadership at the University of Missouri, and Lutheran Family Services of Colorado.
Mr. Speaker, these are all impressive achievements for an individual who began his education studying agriculture at the University of Illinois. But beyond all of these important accomplishments, what I admire most about Doug is his humble and inclusive leadership style. He is truly a leader who encourages teamwork, seeks to build consensus, bestows credit on those around him, and is not afraid to take responsibility when a leader is needed. I believe it is Doug's integrity that has made him a sought after participant and speaker for organizations ranging from the World Economic Forum in Geneva, Switzerland to the FarmHouse Foundation in Kansas City, Missouri.
While I am confident CoBank and the Farm Credit System will miss Doug's daily contributions, his leadership has established a strong foundation that will help these institutions continue to successfully support agriculture and rural America.
It has been my pleasure and privilege to know and work with Doug Sims for many years. I know that many of my colleagues will join me in wishing Doug and his wife Nancy many years of happiness, new challenges, and contributions in the years ahead.
