Our Board of Directors
About Our Board
The Monadnock Food Co-op’s Board of Directors, comprised of nine community members, plays a vital role in the success and sustainability of our co-op. They provide guidance, strategic planning, and oversight for our co-op. Also, they help ensure the store is run in a way that is financially responsible, socially conscious, and genuinely responsive to the wide interests of our Member-Owners.
The Co-op Board of Directors uses three guiding documents for their work.
- Articles of Incorporation. These describe who we are, how we are organized, and where our business is located. Any changes must be voted on by Member-Owners.
- Our bylaws guide our principles and processes. Any changes must be voted on by Member-Owners (Two great examples of the cooperative principle, democratic member control).
- Policy Register. This defines the roles and responsibilities of both the General Manager and the Board of Directors.
Member-Owners are welcome to attend a board meeting. Our board meets on the third Monday of the month from 4:45 – 6:.45 pm. We leave time at the beginning of each meeting for Member-Owner feedback and questions so feel free to join us. For more information or to RSVP to attend, e-mail marketingasst@monadnockfood.coop
You can contact the board at board@monadnockfood.coop
Interested in Joining Our Board of Directors?
Do you love being a member of the Co-op?
Do you want to help guide the success of 2021’s top business in the Monadnock Region?
Do you have a vision and passion for building our local food economy and advancing a cooperatively owned, democratically run local business?
If you answered yes to these questions, you would make an excellent Monadnock Food Co-op board member!
Not sure you’re ready to commit but want to learn more? Have specific questions? Email marketingasst@monadnockfood.coop
Click here to download our Board of Directors Packet to learn more about our application process.
Please email us at board@monadnockfood.coop — one of our existing board members would be happy to chat and tell you more about what it’s like to be on the board.
Carolyn Crane
Growing up in a town in the foothills of the Berkshires with 700 people, a tiny General Store at its center, few farms, and not a lot of local food— that’s why Carolyn appreciates all that our locally owned food co-op brings to our community. Carolyn is retired from a 40-year career in human services management in Cheshire County. Carolyn enjoys walking, biking, cooking, and reading. Since joining the Board of Directors in 2016, Carolyn has learned a lot about cooperatives. She is proud of the work the Board is doing to support the success of our co-op.
Lisa Mahar
Lisa, a retired administrator at Monadnock Waldorf School after 25 years, now provides consulting services to Waldorf schools throughout North America. She offers administrative training and support designed to strengthen organizational health. Also, Lisa helped found Noonday Farm, providing organic vegetables, eggs, and flowers to soup kitchens and food pantries. She is active in Project Home, Grand Monadnock Youth Choirs, and 100+ Women Who Care/Cheshire County. Lisa values the inspiring co-operative principles at the heart of our co-op and appreciates the dedicated people who put those principles into practice.
Ed Selby
Ed and his wife were aware of the Monadnock Food Co-op even before moving to Keene. The existence of the co-op was definitely a factor in their choosing to settle here and they have not been disappointed in their choice of a new home! "I know, from experience, of the personal benefits one gains from being active in the community, having served as a member and President of two Boards of Education as well as several other boards and community organizations. Considering its growth over the last two years, despite the odds, the co-op seems an exciting place with a great future. I am happy to now actively contribute to that future."
David Sayles
David moved to the Monadnock region several years ago from the New York area, though he has connections to Cheshire county that go back decades. He has spent much of his career working in the financial industry and has been an adjunct professor of finance as well. He is currently engaged on a variety of consulting projects in finance. His introduction to the food co-op movement came during his graduate work in the Boston area, and his interest in joining the board of the MFC was motivated by the MFC’s expansion plans. He lives in Westmoreland with his wife, who is an independent arts management consultant. He enjoys gardening, hiking, and boating, and pursues music with his family, both playing and attending events in the region. He has two daughters, one a middle-school teacher and the other a graduate student in public health.
Dee Fitzgerald
Dee lives in Antrim and is the Marketing & PR Manager at W.S.Badger Company and also serves as Board President & Acting Director of the Monadnock International Film Festival. Dee is a long-time co-op member and shopper. “For me, our co-op is like a home away from home. A warm and welcoing place where folks can gather, connect, find healthy and nourishing food, and learn about the many small farms and thriving local farmers, producers, and businesses right in our backyard. It's an honor to be part of this incredible organization's journey."
Aubrey Saxton
Most of us know Aubrey as “The Saxy Chef” for her delicious pies, cookies, and other baked goods you can find in our co-op. We’re excited to have a co-op vendor on our board for her expertise and point of view. “It would be hard to find someone whose life has been more greatly impacted by the co-op than my own. The opening of the co-op literally changed everything for me. The co-op is my highest grossing customer and carries the widest range of my products.” Aubrey appreciates all that our co-op means beyond being a place to shop and is passionate about the social connections and conversations about local food and community that make us such a powerful entity.
News from The Board
Are You Our Next New Board Member?
Do you pore over the Monadnock Food Co-op sale flyer when it arrives in the mail? Have you attended…
A Peek Into New Board Member Onboarding
You may have noticed that education is an important priority for our Co-op — we help organize and host…
Keeping our Ends Relevant
Here as a reminder are the Ends Statements, adopted by our Member-Owners…
