October Board Update

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OCTOBER  Board Update

  • written by Maggie Jones, Board Member 

Thank you for reading our Board Update, a synopsis of our most recent board meeting and other board-related information. 

Your board is responsible for overseeing our General Manager (GM), ensuring financial viability, providing governance that is in line with the BC Cooperative Act and making strategic decisions that benefit our Co-op. We have five board committees that meet monthly and then share reports and recommendations to the board as a whole. These committees are: HR/Hiring, Governance, Finance, Member Engagement, and Nominations. We also hear reports monthly from our GM and one department manager. 

OCTOBER 2023

Your board met on November 1st, 2023.

Business Arising

Due to a lack of time for family commitments, Tara Kettner has stepped down from the board. She expressed her deep appreciation for how serving on the board has deepened her love for our co-op and its place in the community.

 

The board expressed a deep gratitude to Tara for all that she has contributed. As a result of her departure the board agreed to fill the vacancy with a mid-term appointment. Our outgoing treasurer, John Kingsmill, agreed to serve another year and so he was appointed to fill this vacancy.

 

Discussed the “Manager of the Month” for November and December meetings. Store managers make a presentation to the board at the board meeting and the next presenter will be the Grocery Category Manager.

 

Office Election

 

With the commencement of the new board term, elections were conducted to decide who will serve as board officers. Wendy Weibe will serve as board president, Maggie Jones as vice president, and the position of treasurer was left unfilled at this time.

 

Term length for directors is maximum 3 years to ensure board consistency. This was discussed and decided upon. See motions carried.

 

Board committee composition

 

All board members serve on a number of committees. We have 5 standing committees and 2 ad hoc committee.

Governance–Wendy, Kay and Maggie

Finance–James, Wendy and John

HR–Cathy Ann, Wendy and Maggie

Member Engagement–Cathy Ann, Mikale and Kay

Nominations–Maggie, James and possibly John

Strategic Planning (ad hoc committee expected to operate from now until early 2024), Kay, James, Wendy with Sean and Ashley in attendance.

 

AGM Recap

 

Sadie provided an overview of the 2023 AGM including attendance numbers and cost.

Sadie shared that member feedback since the last board meeting was very low.

 

Motions

 

The following motions were made and carried:

  • To approve the appointment of John Kingsmill to the board until the 2024 AGM to fill the vacancy left by Tara Ketner’s departure.
  •  To approve the following terms; Kay Coburn and James Hiebert will serve 3 year terms and Cathy Anne Glockner will serve a 2 year term.

 

IGM Report

Ashley reported that the managers had participated in a team building training and that a second session would happen the following week.

Several managers will be attending the Columbia Basin Food and Buyers Expo in Creston, November 3rd and 4th.

Committee Reports

Finance Committee–Sean Silverson reported that the patronage return for members will appear as a credit on member accounts in November. Sean will also be supplying the board president with an update of board expenses relative to budget each month.

The highlights of the September financials included an increase in sales compared for September 2022.  Payroll was up from last year, although labour hours decreased due to operational efficiencies. Case lot sales were up over 2022. The team was thanked for all their work in procuring great pricing and doing some creative marketing, making sale prices more accessible for all members. Sean was confident that sales volumes made up for lower margins.

Governance Committee – Wendy shared that the committee had discussed strategic planning and recommended that the board set up a Strategic Planning Committee to work on the plan, and to wait to bring in a consultant. The committee reviewed recent changes to board document storage (thank you Sadie!) and planned for the officer election at the next regular board meeting. Feedback has also been received that the Columinate Finance Training for directors had gone well and provided significant value. 

Member Engagement Committee – did not meet, but Board Update was discussed and approved with a few small changes.

See you next time!

 

Maggie Jones
Vice President