Before I go into the August new Board member activities, I want to say a BIG THANK YOU to all the folks who made our recent annual meeting a huge success.
Co-op employees: Thank you for all the planning, service and hard work you put into the event. Kudos to all who assisted in any way!
Owners: Thank you to the thousands of Owners who voted for the new directors and referendum proposals. It is always great to get your thoughts since the Board’s job is to be your representative
New Board members: Thank you to all 10 candidates for stepping up and going through the election process. It took courage to do what you did and your willingness to serve is much appreciated.
New Board Member Orientation
Now to what happened in August for the five new board members. The Co-op’s goal is to orient new Board members thoroughly so they know their job and can execute it as representatives of the Owners. This is what they did in August.
One-on-One Meetings
Held one-on-one meetings with Anya Firszt, the Co-op’s General Manager. This was a great time to hear the history of the Co-op and get a thorough overview of all the Co-op’s operations, structure and organization.
Attended orientation sessions as a group that covered:
- Co-op bylaws
- Vision/mission/ends statements
- All monitoring policies
- General Co-op governance principles
- Balance sheet
- Income statement
- Fiscal Year 2018 budget
- Latest independent auditor’s report
- Board computer files and procedures
Board buddies
Each new Board member met with their Board buddy. The Board buddy is a more experienced Board member who answers questions for the new member and is there to make the transition to the Board easier.
First Board meeting
At this meeting the new members and returning ones elected the president and vice president of the Board. They also selected the committees they wanted to serve on. They also gave input into the agenda for the day-long Board retreat, which will take place in September to further train the whole Board.
August was a very busy month for the new members but was necessary to get them fully trained in their new role representing you, our Owners.
