| Back to the Table of Contents |
| News at a Glance |
| by Nancy Ellegate |
TheThe
HWFC Board of Directors met on Tuesday, July 1 and Tuesday, August 5.
|
July
Meeting
|
| Improvements to Current
Store |
The operations and
administrative coordinator shared a floor plan showing how the store
will look after improvements and reorganization, which should be
completed in August. The Board agreed to provide up to $65,000 for this
project. It was noted that many of the items purchased for use now will
later be taken to the new store.
|
| Plastic Use |
| One of the Board members
noted that there is too much plastic use at the Coop. It was decided
that a summer intern will be asked to research the issue. |
| Personnel |
| The new Employment Manual
was distributed to Board members. |
| Non-Profit Division |
| An ad hoc committee will be
formed to explore the possibility of setting up a 501(c)(3) group — a
non-profit, tax exempt charitable organization — affiliated with the
Co-op. |
| Meeting Follow-up |
The Board, the Collective
Management Team and the Nutrition and Education committee met on June
19. Several Board members felt the meeting had not been particularly
productive. One Board member suggested making available guidelines on
productive meetings from Sage Leadership Consulting. The Board was fine
with that, but indicated the Co-op’s logo should not be printed on it.
There will be follow-up education on one issue raised at the meeting: a
possible federal ban on herbal supplements, which could negatively
impact the Health and Body Aids department.
|
Rules for Running Board
Meetings
|
The Board president
reminded directors that procedures for Board meetings were adopted in
2002. He passed out copies of these so they could be reviewed and
discussed at the next meeting.
|
| Committees |
The Board reviewed the
bylaws on committees and their relationship with the Board. There was
discussion on possible changes to further delineate and clarify the
relationship, including possibly reviewing committees’ roles and
member- ship each time a new Board is seated.
It was felt that there needs to be more regular reporting from
committees and that there needs to be regular budget reviews. A policy
on adding and removing committee members is also needed.
|
| Bylaws Panel |
| In response to a Co-op
member’s suggestion, the Bylaws panel looked at issue of absentee
voting, but has decided against recommending a change. The panel is
recommending a format for inquiries on bylaws changes: (1) which bylaw
should be changed; (2) what specific changes are requested; and (3)
what is the reason for the requested change? |
| Membership Meetings |
Following up on an issue
discussed at the last Board meeting, it was decided that the starting
time of regular membership meeting will be not less than one hour after
the Co-op closes. This will allow staff and member workers time to take
a break and get to the meeting.
It was decided that work credit would be given for attendance at the
July 13th membership meeting on finances for the new store. All
shareholders were invited and no vote would be taken. For future
informational meetings, there will be notification regarding whether or
not work hours will be granted. (This decision pertains to
informational meetings; there is no change for regular membership
meetings.) |
August Meeting
|
| Heating Oil |
| One Board member suggested
that the Co-op might want to look into cooperative purchasing of home
heating oil. Several members will work on a more formal proposal for
such an endeavor and on ascertaining the level of interest in it. |
| Committees |
| There was more discussion
of committees, partly to familiarize newer Board members with
Board-committee operations and partly to continue improving the current
operation of committees. Board members agreed to start work on
standardizing expectations for committees including goals for various
committees. It was noted that committee budgets should incorporate work
hours to be awarded to members. |
| Discount Levels |
| A member had suggested to
the membership coordinator that the Co-op consider more working member
discount categories than the current 10% and 26%. The Board noted that
creating these categories is not feasible at the present time, since
the point-of-sale (POS) register system can’t handle them. |
| Fundraising Cookbook |
| It was suggested that a
Co-op cookbook might be a good way to raise money. One of the Board
members will look at examples of these from other co-ops. |
Fundraising for New Store
|
| There will be a letter and
brochure for Co-op shareholders discussing loans for the new store. The
brochure was presented and approved. The letter will be ready shortly. |
| Survey |
| The Board approved a sales
and market survey — the first since 2002 — and allocated funds for this
purpose. |
Facilities/Strategic
Planning
|
The most recent schematic
drawings for the new store and its grounds were presented. The Board
agreed with the general direction these are taking. A meeting for
shareholders on August 17 will provide an occasion to share these with
Co-op members and get their input.
|
| September Membership Meeting |
It was noted that several
possible changes to the bylaws will be discussed at the September
meeting, but voting will take place at a later meeting after there has
been time for consideration. These changes deal with referenda and with
reappointing former directors to fill Board vacancies.
There will also be elections for three openings on the Governance
Review Council at this membership meeting.
|
Finance
|
Sales are up over last
year, so this has helped cushion the expense of purchasing the new
store property.
|
| 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 Board Meetings page. |
| Upcoming Board Meetings |
| The Board meets on the
first Tuesday of each month at 5:45 pm (with some exceptions due to
holidays, etc.). Upcoming meetings are scheduled for October 7 and
November 4. All dates are posted on the Co-op’s website. Meetings are
held in the Co-op’s Community Room. Anyone planning to attend a meeting
should confirm the date, time and location. |
| Back to the Table of Contents |
