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News at a Glanceby
Nancy Ellegate The HWFC
Board of Directors met on Tuesday, September 20. Meat and
Fish Referendum The latest
draft of the referendum question was circulated and discussed at
length.
Various problems with the draft were highlighted and plans for revision
were
made. Referendum
Procedure The
Governance committee is working on a set of rules for conducting all
future
referenda, and these are the procedures that are being followed for the
upcoming vote on meat and fish. Once this referendum has been
conducted, the
Board and committee will look at how well these procedures worked and
whether
they need to be refined. Committees There was
some discussion on whether the Communications committee should be
folded into
the Membership committee; it was decided that it should stay an
independent
body. Donations To support
the Regional Farm and Food Project, the Board agreed to buy a table
($300) for
ten people for the group’s fundraiser in October. The Collective
Management
Team wanted to make a contribution to Hurricane Katrina relief on
behalf of the
Coop, but did not have the authority to do so. They set up a fund to
which
customers could contribute and asked the Board to provide matching
funds, which
the Board had agreed to (by email consensus) for up to $5,000. The
Board went
on to discuss how to further aid Katrina victims. It was decided that
the store
will do a campaign until the end of the year to raise money for the
Cooperative
Development Fund, which will rebuild cooperatives in the devastated
area.
Information will be available so that shoppers can see where the money
will go.
The Board plans to provide matching funds. Regarding authority to
make
contributions, it was noted that the marketing policy currently being
developed
should make allowances for the Collective Management Team to make
contributions
in circumstances like these. Such funding would be built into the
Team’s
expenditure plan. The Collective Management Team noted its interest in
contributing to the Bowers Fund, which subsidizes attendance at the
annual
Consumer Cooperative Management Association meeting for staff from
smaller coops.
This is the annual gathering for coops from across the country. Coops
have been
asked to set aside 1% of their sales on October 8 for this fund. One of
the
Board members was at a meeting regarding this fund at the last general
meeting
and reported that the fund is already substantial. Therefore, it was
decided
not to donate. Discount
Structure The
Membership committee expressed interest in reconsidering the discount
structure, in light of the Coop’s good financial situation. Considering
that
Coop may be moving soon and that any such reconsideration could create
false
hopes, it was decided to table this for now. Local
Products The Board
noted its pleasure at increased labeling of local products throughout
the
store. Magazines Magazine
sales have been very poor this year. A number of titles have been
cancelled as
a result. Some new titles will be sold and staff will see if these have
better
sales. Board
Meeting Procedure The
Governance committee proposed that a specific time be set aside at
Board
meetings for members to speak. The Board discussed this and felt that
it was
not necessary to set aside time for brief and spontaneous comments.
However, if
a member has a substantial issue to discuss, it is best for that person
to
request time on the agenda prior to the meeting. The Board noted their
interest
in having more members come to Board meetings. Minutes
Distribution At the last
meeting, the possibility of posting the formal Board minutes on the
Coop’s
website had been discussed. It was decided to continue to distribute
the
minutes as per custom: a full set in the minutes book in the community
room, a
full set on the bulletin board in the store, and the Coop Scoop summary
(this article) online. Executive
Session The Board
met in executive session at the end of the meeting. Upcoming
Meetings Board
meetings are scheduled for the following Tuesdays: November 15 and
December 20.
Meetings are held at 5:30 pm at the Coop. Date, time and location can
change,
so anyone planning to attend should confirm these particulars closer to
the
date. |
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