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News at a Glanceby Nancy
Ellegate The HWFC
Board of Directors met on Tuesday, June 26 and Tuesday, July 24. June
Meeting Donation
Policy A draft
donation policy was discussed. The Co-op budgets 5% of pre-tax profits
for
donation. Currently donations are made to small community non-profits
to the
Capital Region Community Loan Fund, and to the Co-op’s endowment fund
at the
Community Foundation of the Capital Region. There was considerable
disagreement
over the emphasis of the donation program, with some favoring small
donations
to community groups over the loan fund. One Board member has serious
reservations about the Community Foundation, since we cannot control
the
investment of funds until the endowment reaches $100,000. It was noted
that in
the past, the Coop’s growth was greater and there was little need to
prioritize
giving. Now that growth has slowed and expenses are rising, it would be
a good
idea to look at some concrete figures of past practice. The Board
member
working on the policy will get these together and bring them back to a
future
meeting. The Board members agreed that that the donations policy will
be on the
agenda for member input at the January budget meeting. Coop
Scoop A Board
member asked about the Coop’s policy on accepting advertising from
competing
businesses. No one knew of an existing policy, so the matter was
referred the
Marketing and Communications committee. Finance At the end
of May, both sales and expenses were up. Collective
Management Team Report The
Collective Management Team and a Board member are working on a customer
service
training video for staff and member workers. In Health
and Body Aids, the recent Dr. Hauschka makeover event was a big hit. A
Co-op
member who is also a licensed esthetician ran the event. The HaBA staff
received training from the New Chapter company on their products. Data Management The Board’s
gmail account is up and running. It was noted that it is
important to keep
an up-to-date record of members’ email addresses. June
Membership Meeting Unfortunately,
because of problems with fulfilling meeting notification requirements,
voting
could not take place at the June membership meeting. The Board
discussed how to
avoid such situations in the future. It was
noted that straw polls taken at the meeting indicated that there had
been good
discussion on increasing the cost of new shares, creation of a Bylaws
Panel and
changes to the Co-op’s member orientation process. Mailing
for September Meeting Regarding
the upcoming September meeting, the Board discussed whether the Co-op
is
required to send all materials relevant to the meeting, or whether a
notice is
sufficient with materials available online or at the store. (This would
save considerable
mailing costs.) If September’s is considered a “regular” meeting, this
should
be fine. However, the Board will check with the Governance committee
and the
Co-op’s attorney. Executive
Session The Board
met in executive session at the end of the meeting. July
Meeting Finances The
Quarterly Finance Report was presented. Sales are rising, but not as
much as
had been anticipated, and expenses are also rising quickly. This is a
cause for
concern for the Finance committee. The Board asked the committee
liaison to
prepare some further analyses to help identify where problems might be. Personnel
Manual Work is
continuing on the manual. The liaison to the Personnel committee noted
that
they are trying to outline a grievance procedure for staff that will
attempt to
work out problems in-house, avoiding arbitration whenever possible, as
part of
an overall culture of cooperative labor practice. The Board agreed that
this
should be the underlying thrust of the manual, particularly the
grievance
process. Strategic
Planning A possible
site for a new store has been located. The Board discussed expenses for
the
pre-design phase of planning for a new store. An architectural firm has
been
engaged to work on this, and funds were authorized for this purpose.
Such costs
will not exceed the level that the Board can commit without a vote of
the membership. Nutrition
and Education The
committee’s liaison brought up the possibility of the Co-op purchasing
wind energy
credits, and presented a proposal from a wind energy provider. It was
noted that
this would demonstrate leadership on this issue. Discussion included
questions as
to how the energy provider would invest this money, and a preference to
spend
this money on maximizing the green character of a new store. The Board
had
already earmarked money for the architectural work noted above, and
this expenditure
could approach the level after which a vote of the membership is
needed. In
light of this, it was decided not to make this move on wind energy now,
but to
put it in the 2008 budget and let the membership vote on it. Email
List Following
up on an issue from the June meeting, the Board asked the Collective
Management
Team to compile and maintain an up-to-date list of members’ email
addresses.
The Membership committee volunteered to assist if requested. Marketing
and Communications It was
suggested that these two functions be separated into separate
committees. It was
generally agreed that a separate marketing committee would be a good
idea.
Several Board members and one staff member attending offered to serve
on such a
committee. Co-op
Orientations The Board
confirmed that people who purchase shares, but who do not wish to
become
working members, do not need to attend the new member orientation. The
possibility
of having a DVD specifically for such shareholders was mentioned. If
such
shareholders later wish to become working members, they will need to
attend an
orientation meeting. The Board
reviewed a checklist of items covered in an orientation. This will be
revised somewhat
and reviewed at a future meeting. Membership
Manual It was
agreed that the membership manual should not include the price of Co-op
shares.
Share price will be covered in the shares prospectus. Membership
Meetings Plans were
made for membership meetings in September, October and January. It was
noted
that the Co-op’s attorney had confirmed that it is not necessary to
circulate
by mail complete copies of the Membership Manual or revised by-laws
being
considered at the September meeting. Having these available at the
store or online
is fine. Executive
Session The Board
met in executive session at the end of the meeting. Minutes Minutes of
all meetings are available at the Co-op. Minutes of the most recent
meeting are
posted on the bulletin board. They are also available on the Co-op’s
website as
password-protected files. See instructions on the website (www.hwfc.com) for obtaining a
password (see
the Meetings section and go to Board
Meetings). Upcoming
Meetings Board
meetings are scheduled for the following Tuesdays: September 25,
October 30,
November 27 and December 18. Meetings begin at 5:30 pm at the First
Unitarian-Universalist
Society of
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