Is Board Service in Your (Or a Friend’s) Future?

by Lisa Barclay, Board Secretary

Why should you consider board service?

•     To help keep our co-op strong

•     To be part of a community of dedicated staff, member-owners, board members, farmers, artisans, and producers

•     To give back to our greater community

•     To learn cooperative history and collaborative skills

•     To promote the cooperative model

•     To eat good food and have fun!

Last chance (this year)

As mentioned in our article in the October Commons, the elections process is a long one, and  by January we are well into it. So if you are interested in serving on the board, you MUST come to the next board meeting, on January 8th. To run for the board, you need to attend two board meetings and one committee meeting—as well as meet with our Elections Committee—before submitting an application, which is due March 5. No worries, though, if you are not quite ready to commit—why not come to a board meeting anyway, to see what we do?

So, what is a board meeting like, anyway?

I’ve never been one for meetings myself, but I actually quite enjoy our board meetings. We start with an hour of learning and discussion, then we share a lovely meal prepared by one of the board members, and then we move pretty briskly through all the official “business,” which we can do because we are wonderfully organized (with the help of our board assistant, Sharon).

What are the committees?

•    C3 (Member engagement, including the annual member meeting and advocacy projects)

•    Elections (Recruits candidates and conducts board elections)

•    Governance (Reviews and maintains our governing documents)

•    BCC (Helps ensures board and board officers are educated, collegial, and effective)

•    Product Research Committee (Operations committee that researches product issues)

Recommend a friend!

Not ready to commit yourself but know someone who would make a great board member? Send the Elections Committee their name and why you think they’d be a great board member: boardsecretary@foodcoop.coop.

Board meetings are at 5:30 pm at the Co-op Annex at 2110 Lawrence Street, usually the first Tuesday of each month, unless that falls on a holiday. Committee meetings are also at the Annex, times vary, so ask at boardassistant@foodcoop.coop.