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News at a Glanceby Nancy Ellegate The HWFC Board of Directors met on Wednesday, April 3. Early Hours Since March 11, the store has been opening weekdays at 7 am. The early hours have been popular, and it has not been necessary to offer a discount to encourage shopping at these times, as had been initially proposed. Some Board members were concerned about the 7 am opening time, since their understanding was that the earlier hours would start at 8 am. The Board requested a written report on the costs of operation and store use from 7 to 8 am and 8 to 9 am. Reset In order to have the reset plans ready for review before the Annual Membership Meeting in April, it was decided to pay the designer at his regular rate to finish this task more quickly. He had been doing this work as part of his member work requirement. The designer will finish the plans so that he can meet with the general manager, staff, interested Board members and the independent meeting facilitator in advance of the Annual Meeting. CGANE Audit The Coop is a member of Cooperative Grocers Association of the Northeast (CGANE), whose mission is to ensure the growth, sustainability, and excellence of food coops in the region. One of the benefits is an annual audit, which is free. The audit deals with the operation of the store, and CGANE makes suggestions for improvement to management. The audit was scheduled for April 18 and was expected take an hour. CGANE representatives were to provide oral comments at the end of the day. Donations The Board had previously required that Coop shares not be donated to charity, but that merchandise and gift certificates be donated. The general manager had asked the Board to reconsider this decision. (Shares were typically part of a charity auction or raffle.) The Membership committee provided a memo indicating why shares should not be donated. Considering new members since November 16, 2000, of the 24 that joined through donated shares, only five ever worked, and only two (8.3%) ever worked more than one shift. Of members purchasing shares through the regular channels, at least 85.9% have worked at least twice. There has also been confusion over the item donated. People who are already Coop members have bid on shares, thinking they were gift certificates. In addition, people who join through donated shares have no direct equity in the Coop, and this may contradict the bylaws. On the other side, the human resources manager presented a memo indicating why she thought donated shares were a good idea. She felt that this was a way to do outreach to the wider community and provide good public relations. She also noted that several long-time shoppers had never joined through the traditional method, but had joined through donated shares purchased to benefit charities, and have enjoyed working and being members. Staff Representative The staff was surveyed about whether they would like to have a staff member represent them on the Board. The results were 18 for such a position and 2 against. Under the bylaws, this person could not be a voting member. The staff member who conducted the survey will follow up with the other staff. New Weekly Worker Position A new weekly worker position was created to help the Board with clerical work. The person in this position will be expected to maintain a familiarity with Board policies of the last three years. This position will be supervised by the Board secretary. Minutes Minutes of all meetings are available at the Coop. Minutes of the most recent meeting are posted on the bulletin board. Upcoming Meetings The Board is scheduled to meet next on Wednesday, May 29, from 6 to 8 pm at the Central Avenue BID office, 176 Central Avenue (nr. Robin St.), in Albany. It is recommended that times and locations be confirmed before attending a meeting. |
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