This month we’d like to share a recap of our Annual Member Picnic, some responses to questions we’ve received from members recently, and an invitation to run for the Board.

MEMBER PICNIC RECAP

In 1970, Ivan Racheff donated the property at 1943 Tennessee Avenue, located in the Lonsdale neighborhood of Knoxville, to the Tennessee Federation of Garden Clubs to serve as its state headquarters. For more than five decades since, the Ivan Racheff House and Gardens have served the community as a lush oasis in the middle of a booming industrial district, and recently hosted the Three Rivers Market Annual Members Picnic on Saturday, July 20.

The Level II Arboretum offered members shelter from the wind and passing rain clouds as they enjoyed a variety of tasty fare – including empanadas, sandwiches, cookies, crudité and dips from Real Good Kitchen, as well as some favorite staples from the Three Rivers deli. Musicians Graham Monroe, Larry Vincent and Parker Bakkall entertained the crowd with melodious jazz music all afternoon.

Members enjoyed the opportunity to fellowship together, interact with Board members, and tour the 3.5-acre garden that features a diversity of plant life, including native species like papaw (Asimina triloba), purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea), and many others. For members who did not attend the picnic, the Ivan Racheff House and Gardens are open to the public Monday through Friday from 9 AM. to 3 PM, from April through November, weather permitting.

The Three Rivers Market Board of Directors would like to extend its gratitude to the venue staff, our friends at Real Good Kitchen, the staff at Three Rivers, the wonderful musicians who played the event, and all our members who joined us for another great picnic. We are already looking forward to next year’s picnic!

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

During our June board meeting, several engaged members took advantage of the regularly scheduled member forum to ask several great questions. The Board later shared responses to all these questions with all in attendance but believes all members would benefit from this dialogue.

Please find below a synopsis of the topics raised during our June Board Meeting member forum, as well as the Board’s responses. As always, members can email questions to the Board at Board@ThreeRiversMarket.coop.

Opportunities for member engagement and participation: We wholeheartedly agree with speakers who emphasized our community of members’ willingness to offer their vast array of skills and knowledge to the co-op. At the beginning of 2024, we issued a call for members to participate on our 5 committees this year to assist in our pursuit of various governance priorities. We appreciate those who volunteered and encourage them to follow through with their pledge by continually attending committee meetings. We also invite any members who missed the call to volunteer in January to respond to this email to indicate interest in joining a committee at this time.

We also offered several Listening Sessions and TRM Talk sessions over several months in the past year. During these sessions, which were publicized via the “Updates from your co-op” monthly email, social media posts, and signage posted in the store, Board representatives were available in the dining area to listen to members’ ideas for governance, answer members’ questions, and provide information about our work. We appreciate the engagement of those who attended these sessions, though we have discontinued these events as a result of low attendance. We hosted a Cooperative Dialogue event in April facilitated by author Jon Steinman and continue to discuss future possibilities for opportunities for members to engage with the Board. Please look out for the monthly newsletter, social media posts, and signage in the store advertising these events, and please make plans to join us when they are scheduled, as member participation is crucial to the success and continuation of these efforts to learn about members’ values and interests.

Meeting registration: We request that members pre-register to attend meetings by the day before to allow time for verification of active membership, to ensure an accurate record of attendees in the meeting minutes, to enable us to arrange seating in the meeting space for the expected number of attendees, to allow us to anticipate approximate number of speakers for the member forum, and to enable us to communicate efficiently with those planning to attend in the event of any unexpected change of venue or meeting time.

Financial documents access: Each December, all members receive an email with the annual report containing financial information about the previous fiscal year. If members would like to request reviewed financial statements in addition to the annual report, we have a process in place that is in compliance with the statute under which Three Rivers Market is incorporated. In order to ensure that these documents are distributed to members who meet the requirements of the statute, we ask that those who request the documents agree to refrain from distributing the statements.

Employee treatment: We are committed to ensuring that Three Rivers Market is a safe, positive, supportive workplace for all employees. We invite those with interest in our Policy B1, Employee Treatment, to read it in full on page 5 of our Policy Manual.

In an effort to provide a source of data for monitoring this policy directly from staff, the Board revised it in 2022 to require administration of an anonymous employee survey by a third party. The survey process provides a comprehensive, equitable, formalized method to provide the Board with an accurate and thorough picture of overall employee experiences. Results generated from those who participate are shared with the Board and allow the General Manager to learn, document, and respond to staff interests and concerns. As you heard at the June meeting, the General Manager is working with a new vendor this year to improve the survey content and process based on staff feedback from the last time it was administered.

Staff unionization in 2021 was a positive step to ensure more pathways for worker protections and advocacy. We understand the union is not the sole avenue through which staff treatment should be overseen or ensured, but we fully support staff’s utilization of their chosen representation to further their collective causes. The Board must take care not to supplant those processes. The Board’s direct communication with employees to learn about employee treatment would undermine and potentially violate the terms of the collective bargaining agreement.

We have convened a Staff Involvement in Governance Committee this year to research options for providing opportunities for staff to participate in governance of the cooperative, and to research possible further revisions to the Employee Treatment policy. We value the perspectives of all who have volunteered for this committee, including current and former employees, and hope they will fully participate in the committee’s ongoing activities.

Health department score: As the GM reported during the meeting, efforts to eliminate entry points for mice are active and ongoing. The team has been diligently working to continue to implement enhanced staff training protocols and establish more comprehensive Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to ensure compliance and excellence in all operations. A follow-up score of 91 was earned during a re-inspection shortly after the closure. The GM continually updates the Board about new developments and improvements and is working with the Board’s Building Committee to draw upon the expertise of members to help address issues affecting the physical structure. Members with experience in this area are welcome to email us to request to join this committee.

Accountability: For those who would like to learn about our processes to ensure accountability of the Board and GM, we invite you to read our policy manual (linked above) in its entirety. The Ends Policy (A) describes our overall vision; B policies outline requirements set forth by the Board for the GM and are monitored throughout the year via collection of data using one of three methods (internal report, third-party report, or direct inspection by the Board); C policies describe the Board-GM relationship; and D policies outline expectations for the Board. All C and D policies are monitored via an ongoing survey and email discussion process, which includes reviewing the language of the policies to identify whether they are in need of revision.

We take our accountability to members seriously and make efforts to educate members about our work. We request that members remain actively informed and engaged by regularly reading our monthly Board News posts (linked in the “Updates from your co-op” monthly newsletter and posted to the website) and meeting minutes; attending our monthly meetings and annual meeting; volunteering for committees and participating in their meetings and communication; and attending our other member linkage events. When the election period opens in July, we also invite eligible members to run for a seat on the Board. Three seats are up for election each year.

Again, we appreciate you attending the meeting, and we thank those who spoke for sharing your ideas. We hope to see you again at our August meeting on Thursday, August 8.

YOU CAN BE ON THE BOARD

When one becomes a member of Three Rivers Market co-op, they accept certain responsibilities. No, we don’t mean putting your shopping cart back when you’re done – although, we all thank you for doing so. We mean the responsibilities of ownership.

Our co-op is a democratically controlled organization, and all members bear a duty to help chart the course for Three Rivers Market. Members can attend Board meetings, register for member forums to share important feedback, attend member events, join Board committees, and even run for a seat on the Board of Directors.

Any one of us can have an impact on the future of Three Rivers Market, but only to the degree that we participate in the process. Our co-op is unlike any other store or market in Tennessee – and the reason is that you can have a say in the values espoused through its operation – good luck getting that at a big box store. You can have a say in the quality and sources of the food you buy. You can have a say in the treatment of the employees who serve us, and in the direction we set for tomorrow.

Participation is vital to the success of our shared future. Register to attend the next Board meeting. Attend our upcoming events. We invite you to join the good work of governing our co-op by running for the Board of Directors. In addition to completing the application, you must also attend either the August 8 or September 12 Board meeting.

Decisions get made by those who show up. We hope to see you soon!