by Anthony Hernandez, Board Member
The Willy Street Co-op Board of Directors has been working hard these past few months with our DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion), governing policy adherence, and evaluating performance work.
We’ve recently held a Board Retreat at the Fluno Center in Madison. This sort of special meeting represented an opportunity to reconnect Board members to the mission and to each other. It contributed to the spirit of teamwork and collegiality on the Board, which will yield positive outcomes going forward.
Agenda
The agenda for the event included a briefing on the state of co-ops by Michelle Schry, a nationally recognized leader in the field and Director of Retail Support at National Co-op Grocers. She gave the Board members an overview of the state of co-ops, co-op trends/environment context, and strategic planning insights. Dan Gillote, the former Chief Executive Grocer at Wheatsville Food Coop and General Manager at Greenbelt Co-op, presented a strategic planning case study on Wheatsville Food Co-op. He gave an overview of a strategic planning process and how it worked for their organization, what was learned, stakeholder agreement, and how they took ownership of the process. The benefits of the case study approach are that it effectively teaches about the relationship between phenomena, context, and the stakeholders involved. Gaining insights about context and lived experiences can be a powerful learning tool that renders important lessons.
Lunch
The Board members also had the opportunity to lunch together. The opportunity to bond over a meal helped increase engagement and build social relationships. Aside from the opportunity to talk about topics outside of our normal business, it was a great networking event.
Be Involved
As ever, the Board is interested in broadening our engagement with owners. To that end, we continue increasing the opportunities for you to provide feedback and be involved in strategic initiatives. Your contributions help grow our shared vision for the future of our Co-op and our community. Please continue to reach out to the Board if you have any questions or comments. You can reach out to the Board by email at: all-board@willystreet.coop
