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A Director's Chairby
Lynne Lekakis I’ve
just been reading the last few January Director’s Chairs. I
like writing
for this issue because it’s an opportunity to think about the good
things that
have happened. We’ve had a good year all around. That is not to say
there
haven’t been challenges, but we continue to be committed to trying to
include
everyone as much as possible — which is not simple when you look at the
volume
of people. If you were at the membership meeting (an exceptional
dinner), you
can get a visual picture of how many people are involved in our
decisions and
in how many directions they may be heading. We have benefited greatly
from
planning and consensus building. A
few long-term projects have finally come to fruition. We just adopted
our Product
Manual, for one. Our subcommittee has worked on that for two years, and
are to
be congratulated! We also determined that we’d like to grow our product
line by
adding meat more regularly, but that we didn’t want to give up any of
our
standards or our commitment to the local economy to do it. That was a
defining moment
for us. When the votes were counted, I was proud to be part of the
solution and
not part of the problem. Thank you. What’s
next you say? You think we have been strategically planning for so long
that
you are patiently waiting for some huge firecracker burst of energy and
the
announcement that it’s completed? Well, sorry to say, that is never
going to
happen. As with most processes, our strategic planning will not ever
really end.
It is a road map, but it has to be taken
out and dusted off from time to time.
Sometimes the bridges have washed out, or there are new roads, or high
speed
transportation where only plodding was available before. It’s a
process, and a
long one. Perhaps a forever one. The
Strategic Planning committee will be brought together again this
winter. We may
need new members, so if you are interested, let us know. We’ll review
our decisions
to date and determine which need modifying or tossing out the window.
We may
even add a few new ones. We’ll check in on how our steps are lining up
with our
Mission Statement, and our statements of conscience, and our current
practices.
We’ll be making a list, and checking it twice. (I am writing on
December 6,
sorry.) We’ll
also remain resolute in our commitment to tell you and engage with you
about
what is happening as much as we can. The subcommittees of the Strategic
Planning
committee have been working consistently over this last year and are
eager to
continue: The
Product group took a rest for a few months and is now considering
writing the
guidelines for the Farm Direct program and stocked meat and fish, per
your recent
vote. The
Visioning committee completed the strategic planning document, and will
next
work on adding timelines for implementation of the infrastructure
changes we’re
working on organizationwide. The Alternative Supply group was on hiatus
for a
bit, but is ready to set some new goals and help with identifying
sources of
food besides our national distributor. The
Site committee is preparing a new list of parameters for a second
store, and continuing
to stay on top of commercial changes in the Capital District. (Dare I
say Our
other committees have been busy too, the Personnel attending to our
practices about
our staff, the Finance keeping a close eye on the books, and the
Governance committee
has been raising issues of concern about the relationship between the
GC and
the Board. Nutrition has presented a stronger presence in the fight
against
genetically modified organisms and has been involved with statewide
organizing.
We’ve participated in a lobby day, sponsored letters locally and
nationally throughout
the year, and had special events and screenings of the film, Future
of Food,
to increase awareness of the dangers of GMO foods. So, we hope you rested up over the holidays
and visited with family and friends, because we’re counting on you to
help with
the work ahead. It’s nice not to have to do it alone — thank you all
for your
efforts. |
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