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News at a Glanceby Nancy Ellegate The HWFC Board of
Directors met on Tuesday,
February 27. Board-Governance
Relations The committee
presented a report on the
functioning of the proposed Governance Review Council. This group will
take on
the role of the current Governance committee, but without the
responsibility for
the bylaws. (There will be a separate bylaws panel.) After discussion
of
specific issues, the report was approved and the changes will be
presented to
the membership for approval. The Board thanked this ad-hoc committee
for their
work on this new structure. Voting on Minor
Changes to the Bylaws Creation of a Bylaws
Council and approval of
several other manuals or policies currently in preparation will require
changes
to the bylaws, but these will tend
to be minor amendments. There was some concern that it might be hard to
get a
quorum of members at a meeting that would consider a large number of
minor
changes. The possibility of posting such changes on the Co-op’s website
with
paper copies available in the store and then asking for an up or down
vote at a
meeting (as opposed to going over all the changes) was discussed. The
Board
will consult the Coop’s attorney and the Governance committee on
whether
proceeding in this fashion would by acceptable under cooperative law
and the
Co-op’s own policies. Upcoming
Conferences The Board discussed
which members might attend
the Cooperative Grocer’s Management Association national meeting in
June. The
Business Alliance for Living Local Environments will be at the end of
May;
three staff people will attend and perhaps some Board members. Membership Manual There was brief
discussion of the revised draft
of the membership manual. The Membership committee will review it
again, make
suggested changes, and present it for a vote at the upcoming membership
meeting. Personnel Since the Employee
Manual is still being revised,
the Personnel committee submitted improvements on the current
progressive
corrective disciplinary procedures and the grievance and arbitration
procedures.
These can be used if needed until the final manual is ready. The Board
approved
these for use at the present time. It was decided that
a committee may hire and
pay a staff person in an advisory role outside the regular hours this
person
works at the Co-op. This does not set a precedent for staff working for
committees
in general since this employee is being hired for particular experience
and
skills that the committee needs. New Co-ops A Board member noted
that since several new
co-ops and buyers clubs are attempting to start up locally, perhaps we
should
be providing more assistance. While the Co-op has been providing
information
and advice when asked, perhaps we should consider financial help. A
number of
opinions were expressed. Some noted that startup funding is not usually
a
problem; maybe we could help other groups acquire products or provide
other
logistical help. Some noted that with the Coop considering expansion,
this is
not a good time to loan money. It was decided to continue with the
current practice
of non-financial assistance. As the groups develop, the Co-op can
consider how
working with them will complement Co-op goals. WIC Program There was follow up
on a proposal that the
Co-op participate in the federal Women, Infants, and Children program
for
lower-income pregnant women and young children. Apparently, the Co-op
is not
eligible to participate since we do not carry the entire WIC product
line and
many of these products are against our buying policy. Other ways to
support WIC
participants and pregnant women in general were discussed. It was
requested
that the Collective Management Team come up with some suggestions. Executive Session The Board met in
executive session at the end
of the meeting. Minutes Minutes of all
meetings are available at the
Co-op; minutes of the most recent meeting are posted on the bulletin
board.
They are also available on the Co-op’s website, as password protected
files.
See instructions on the website (www.hwfc.com) on obtaining a
password. (See the Meetings section
and go to Board Meetings.) Upcoming Meetings |
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