The past few months have been busy ones for the Board of Directors, beginning with our annual meeting at the end of October, and continuing through the election of new Board Officers and our all day Board Retreat in November.
Thank you to all who helped create a successful Annual Meeting. We had about 70 Member-Owners join us for food sampling, the Co-op meeting and the informative talk by Chris Caserta of Walpole Valley Farms. Believe it or not, we are planning next year’s event. If you have any ideas on speakers or how to make the event even better, let us know!
The Board welcomes three new board members, Anton Elbers, Sarah Harpster and, Kathy Burke. At our November board meeting we elected the Officers for 2014. Joe Marks is President, Kathy Burke will serve as Vice President, Jay Smeltz as Secretary and Jamie White as Treasurer. We have a vacant seat (one of our board members resigned due to personal reasons). If you are interested in participating in the Co-op in a more direct way and believe you can contribute time and energy to creating a successful cooperative, connect with [email protected].
Our all day retreat happened on an unusually warm Sunday. Board members and key staff spent the day learning about Governance Policy and Board’s Roles and Responsibilities. We were led by Marilyn Scholl, our CDS Consultant, and with her guidance, we created a Board work plan for 2014. There were many positive outcomes to the meeting. Collaborating with the staff created a sense of teamwork and camaraderie. Refining our understanding of the boundaries between Board, General Manager and Staff led to interesting conversations and a deeper knowledge of appropriate limits. We will continue to refine our work plan for 2014 and will share it with you in the new year.
Our next Board meeting is January 20 at 5:45 pm at the Senior Housing room at Railroad Square. We dedicate the first 10 minutes for Co-op members to share what is on their minds. This is your Co-op and your feedback and ideas are invaluable!
Happy Holidays!
Monadnock Food Co-op Board of Directors
