by Stephanie Ricketts, Board Member
Welcome to August Co-operators! The summer is flying by, and I continue to be amazed by the bounty of local produce on our shelves. I hope you’re getting your fill of zucchini, tomatoes, basil, watermelon and other summer favorites!
In July the Co-op hosted the Annual Meeting and Party. Thank you to everyone who braved the almost 90 degree heat to join in the meeting and the party. In case you missed it, here are a couple of highlights from the meeting portion:
- When the Board approved the expansion into Willy North, it was projected that the Co-op would have losses for three years, totalling $2.1 million. We are now two years in, and actual losses for the three years are projected to be $1.6 million or $500,000 less than our original forecast. Hats off to staff and to all of you Owners for making that happen!
- For Fiscal Year 2018, the Co-op had budgeted for a loss of -$853,000. The year just ended on July 1st and we are forecasting a loss of -$400,000 which is $450,000 better than our budget. This positive budget variance is the result of sales over budget by $1 million and expenses coming in under budget. High fives all around!
- Since April 2017, the Co-op and its customers have contributed almost $87,000 to Double Dollars through cash donations and by reusing bags almost 647,000 times! That is in addition to the $265,084 Owners contributed (aka “chipped”) to Community Shares at the registers. Thank you for your generosity—it makes a big difference in our community!
- The 400 staff who work at Willy Street Co-op completed nearly 1,620,000 sales transactions with our Owners and shoppers last year. Dang, that’s a lot of groceries!!
- As of July the Co-op has 34,981 active Owners. Including you!
BOARD ELECTION
The other big item in July was the annual Board election. Three seats came up this year, with five candidates in the running. The winners and votes cast are: Stephanie Ricketts (1,866), Trevor Bynoe (1,545) and Michael Chronister (1,134)!
In addition to the three vacancies filled by this year’s election, two additional Board seats have also opened up. Two current Board members, Emma Cameron and Bruce Slaughenhoupt, tendered resignations of their remaining terms, after the deadline for amending the 2018 ballot. Because these resignations occurred after the deadline for candidates, per the Co-op’s bylaws, the Board may choose to appoint a director to fill these vacancies until the next election. The Board will be discussing how they would like to proceed with these vacancies at the July Board meeting.
For my fellow Policy lovers, here’s what the Co-op’s bylaws state about situations such as these:
Bylaw 5.8: In the event of a vacancy on the Board of Directors, the Board may choose to temporarily fill the vacancy by majority vote of the Directors in office or to leave the position vacant. An election by the Owners at the next Annual Owners Meeting shall fill the position for the remainder of the term, if any remains.
If you have any questions, please email the Board and let us know! You can reach us at all-board@willystreet.coop. I hope you have a fantastic rest of your summer. And, as always, thank you for being a part of our cooperative!
