CIPCO's Williams among Iowa Cooperative Hall of Fame inductees

The Iowa Institute for Cooperatives will induct Donald Williams of Marion and J. Gordon Toyne of Davenport into the Iowa Cooperative Hall of Fame at its Nov. 22 annual meeting.

Williams served 12 years on the Central Iowa Power Cooperatives board, the past three as president. He has been a member of the Linn County Rural Electric Cooperative in Marion since 1959, serving as a director, assistant secretary and president. He also held leadership positions in the Central Iowa Energy Cooperative, Cedar Rapids; ACES Power Marketing, Carmel, Ind.; IAEC Health Care, Des Moines and Hawkeye Insurance Association, Des Moines.

A transportation employee at Alburnett Community Schools, Williams served the community as a volunteer firefighter for 25 years and volunteered for 17 years with the Boy Scouts of America, serving as a scout master, member of the Eagle Scout review board and the Hawkeye Area Council board of directors. In addition, Williams volunteers as a bus driver for the Kirkwood Community College women's softball team, donor for the local blood bank, delivers Meals on Wheels weekly and was a member of the Iowa Area Development Group board and foundation. He lives in Marion with his wife, Ramona.

Tone is a 40-year veteran of the dairy industry. In 1981, Toyne became general manager of the Elgin Co-op Creamery in Elgin, Minn. He started his career with Swiss Valley Farms in 1990 when he moved to the Quad Cities to become the company's vice president of membership and procurement. He was promoted to co-CEO in 2003 and retired from full-time work in 2008. He continues his work with Swiss Valley as a consultant to the board of directors. Tone is credited with turning around a large budget deficit and implementing a communications program to help co-op customers, member/owners and employees understand their interdependence in creating success.

Toyne's industry involvement included membership of the Legislative Regulative Committee for the Wisconsin Federation of Cooperatives, member of the Iowa Institute for Cooperatives and director for the Iowa Dairy Products Association. Tone and his wife, Jean, live in Davenport.