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News at a Glanceby Nancy
Ellegate The HWFC
Board of Directors met on Tuesday, September 26. Strategic
Planning Meetings It was
decided to cancel the quarterly membership meeting for October, since
there is nothing
for the membership to vote on at this time. Instead, a day-long
“visioning” meeting
was tentatively planned for late in the month. There was
also discussion of a possible Board retreat, but scheduling this seems
difficult right now for a number of members. Instead, it was decided
that the
Board members will meet an hour before the oneday “visioning” event
starts. The
Board will also devote a half-hour at its next three meetings to
discussing
committee work plans. Board-Governance
Committee Relations The ad hoc
committee on Board-Governance committee relations circulated a report
detailing
common ground between the two groups and points of contention. The
Board was
asked for feedback on the direction recommended by the committee. In
general,
the Board agreed, but members did raise a number of issues. Included
among
these was a request that the responsibilities of and limits on each
group be clearly
defined. Board members also questioned whether there should be a
standing bylaws
committee or a pool of people who would undertake revisions when
specific needs
arise. Membership
Dinner There is no
scheduled quarterly membership meeting, and it would be possible to
hold one in
conjunction with the Annual Membership Dinner. However, the Board was
disinclined to make this social event a meeting. It was suggested that
we try
to make the dinner a means for getting input from members. One idea was
to put
up butcher paper for members to write down their ideas for the future
of the
Coop. GMO
Labeling The
Nutrition ccommittee recommended labeling products in the store
according to their
possible GMO content. Several Board members pointed out that this
measure would
probably cross the line from policy, the Board’s domain, to store
management, the
domain of the Collective Management Team (CMT). The store’s operations
and
administrative coordinator noted that the staff also has ideas on
labeling, and
would be happy to meet with the Nutrition committee about this. She
noted,
though, that recent attempts to label locally produced products have
proven
more complicated than expected. Often situations are not totally clear
so firm
guarantees cannot be made; and staffing levels also come into play when
undertaking labeling projects. Donations A question
was raised over how the special, rather large donation to the Yo!
Organics program
this spring should be accounted for in the budget in relation other
donations. Should
it be kept separate from regular giving? To date, it has been entered
as part
of the Coop’s regular donation commitment of 5% of net profits, thereby
lowering the amount available for other donations. After discussion, it
was
decided to treat this donation as part of overall giving, not a special
item.
However, in order to maintain the Coop’s contributions to the Community
Foundation of the Capital District, it was decided to appropriate an
equivalent
amount for that purpose. An overview
of the Coop’s donation program was given: about 75% of donations are
given in
small amounts to organizations that make requests. These are usually
“inkind,” as
opposed to cash donations—that is, given in the form of Coop product. A
group
can ask for a donation up to three times a year. This aspect of the
donation program
is handled by the member coordinator. Of the remaining amount, most
goes to the
Community Foundation of the Capital District, which gives grants to
local
groups. The rest goes to the Community Loan Fund, for low-interest
loans to
small businesses and non-profits. The Coop receives nominal interest
from these
loans. Collective
Management Team The CMT has
been considering a possible reconfiguration of the front end of the
store. The
Board discussed some ideas on this, while noting that this is a CMT
responsibility. The CMT will need to prepare a management plan for a
possible
new or expanded store. Coop
Film The film
made about the Coop was screened recently. It was noted that one
comment made
during the film could be seen as rude, and it was requested that it be
edited
out. Committee
Budgets Budget
requests from Coop committees are due soon. Manuals The
Governance committee was asked to start work on the policy manual. The
Membership committee is currently working on a revised membership
manual. Upcoming
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