Scott, Robert C., 1912-

Robert C. Scott was a charter member of Group Health Cooperative of Puget Sound (founded 1946) and served on its Board of Directors from 1946-1953. From 1946-1948, he was chairman of the Group Health Cooperative Finance Committee.

Scott's interest in the cooperative movement grew out of his enthusiastic involvement in the Student Cooperative Association (S.C.A.) at the University of Washington during his student years (1931-1937). He was a founder and charter member of the S.C.A. and served four terms as president of its Board.

Often one local cooperative organization spawned others as members defined their needs and evolved cooperative solutions. Such an organization was the Co-op Agency, Inc. of which Scott was a founder and Board member from 1953-1958. The agency was organized as a buyer's club (mostly of food) but soon was providing its cooperators with appliances, loans and other services through a number of subsidiaries and related organizations. In 1954, the Agency had approximately 300 members.

On the national level, Scott served a term (1950-1954) on the Board of Directors of the Cooperative League of the United States, an association linking nearly ten million families through thousands of member cooperative ventures. Its local branch, the Cascade Chapter (founded 1949), fostered the development of many Puget Sound area consumer cooperatives, chief among which was the Consumer Insurance Agency, Inc. Robert Scott was an original board member.

Scott was also a research chemist for Adhesive Products Company, a division of American Marietta.

From the guide to the Robert C. Scott papers, 1935-1960, (University of Washington Libraries Special Collections)