A Director's Chair: Goodbye, Virginia

by the HWFC Board of Directors

The Coop by-laws limit service on the Board of Directors to six consecutive years. It’s a good rule. It keeps the Board from becoming an entrenched closed circle. It mandates a circulation of Coop members so that, over time, many members come to know the ins and outs of overseeing the operation.

But there are times when losing a Board member because of this rule is painful, and we are at such a time now. Virginia McEwen has served her six years, and we shall all miss her presence. Some of us are wondering just how we’ll get along without her. She deserves a rest and time to get on with other things, but when we look back and think about the changes of the last six years and realize that time and time again she has been at the center of forward movement, we know there will be a vacuum.

Let’s first mention some of the roles that she has played. A librarian by training, Ginny has worked hard to get our records into shape, first as Secretary and then as Treasurer; as a result we understand our finances better now than ever before and can be far more responsible about budgeting and planning. She worked with the By-laws committee for many years to help us get to our new bylaws. She has fully participated in our foray into strategic planning. And she has worked with the Product committee for many years to hone, clarify, and present a product manual that explains what the Coop shall sell and why, a process just coming to fruition this spring.

But for those of us on the Board there is another, less tangible role that Ginny has played. She is, for one thing, our institutional memory — and for those of you who have been around for many years, you know there is a lot to remember! And she is often our conscience, reminding us of the fundamental values of the Coop that can get lost in the process of operation. When she occasionally shakes her head and says, “no, no, no, no, no,” it’s not being negative: It’s a reminder that we have not understood what’s really involved and that we have lost sight of something important. No one could be more aware of the status and significance of the Coop as a membership organization; that we are a Board of, by and for the membership and must take our cues from that base.

She has been, above all else, accessible. She always responds to emails, returns phone calls and is willing to spend an hour on the phone strategizing about easy or hard issues. Ginny reports working 20 to 40 hours every month on Coop/Board activities, but we think she must spend at least as much time just thinking about where we are and where we might go. Few people in the Coop (if any) are better informed about national trends and dangers in the organization of our food supply, or understand as well the connections between what we do here and what is happening “out there.”

Of course leaving the Board does not mean that Ginny will disappear. The next task that she is planning to take on is collecting and codifying Coop policies, a task that has not been done for many years and is a necessary, though difficult, project. This will be a contribution of lasting significance, as was her work on finance, by-laws and planning.

If we are lucky, the new persons coming on to the Board will build upon her work and carry us the next step. These past six years have been ones of major transition and struggle and we are now in great shape, ready to move forward. But it’s comforting to know that in a pinch we can always call her and get reoriented and refocused. She’s leaving the Board but not leaving our collective life, for which we give great thanks.

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