Board Responsibilities

By Keith Dubas, Board Chair

Why do we dedicate our time to working on the Board of Directors for your co-op?

Working for the common good, participating and directing a system as basic as our food system are some reasons given by the dedicated members of the board. The sense that most all good things come from communal efforts is another. The word cooperation is central to that concept. The people that serve on the board come from many different backgrounds. While there are common grounds for participation, each individual on the board has their own personal reasons. For some it concern for the health of themselves or a loved one. Some like the friendly, social feeling of the store, while others simply like wonderful food choices. For me, it is all of the above.

Board Elections

Elections take place in June and it is important for member-owners to begin thinking now about participating in our coop at a higher level beyond shopping at the store. Many of our current board members have served for multiple 3 year terms. With any board, the injection of new energy can serve to give the current members a fresh and broader perspective. There is a benefit in experienced board members overlapping with newly elected board members in passing along process and history.

Currently the board numbers 14. Last year's election was unprecedented with the addition of six new board members, all of which admirably volunteered. We have presently several committees acting on board issues.

Expansion

The Expansion Committee serves at the will of the General Manager. Made up of both board members and coop members-at-large, this committee has reviewed options, locations, and financial data in pursuing the desire to expand and relocate. With the new General Manager leading the committee, the idea of a move is still viable. The success in proceeding along this path will be finding a space that will meet the needs of the co-op and its membership while being financially feasible. While there are encouraging possibilities ahead, past pursuits have proven to be too much financial challenge for the co-op at this time.

Policy

The Policy Committee reviews the board policies each month The board adopted the use of Policy Governance as a means for the board to direct the co-op without micromanaging the store. The board realizes that it is not equipped to manage the daily happenings of a grocery store. Policy Governance allows the board to set benchmarks that the General Manager reports on, permitting the board to then determine compliance or non compliance with the policies.

Finance

The Finance Committee specifically reviews the quarterly reports provided by the General Manager. The quarterly reports breakdown into multiple lines of analysis. These committee members help to put the financial numbers into everyday layman's terms that assist the rest of the board in understanding the gist of the report.

Member Loans

The charge of this committee is to develop and manage a members' loan campaign. The loans that are generated from their efforts will be used to affect the expansion and relocation of the co-op. Presently this committee is working on setting up the terms and conditions and levels of participation for the loans. Legal review of the campaign and the loan commitments will take place prior to the actual start of the campaign.

As the board's work progresses through the year, there are other needs for short term committees such as the Annual Membership Meeting. These ad hoc committees generally exist for shortened periods of time and have a definitive focus.

Can you be of Service?

As we begin planning for elections, the board hopes that you will begin thinking how you might begin to take part in a leadership role at our 33-year-old Open Harvest Cooperative. If you are interested in exploring the possibility of running for the board or if you know of someone that you think would be a potential Board member, call me, Keith Dubas at 438-0171.