The Three Rivers Board of Directors is thrilled to welcome three new members, the winners of our 2024 Board Election.  Mary French, Teri O’Meara, and Debbie Sharp were elected to serve three-year terms, and were welcomed into the Board at our December 12th meeting.  578 members voted in the election, a turnout rate of 14.8%.  They have already started the Board orientation process, and will be undergoing our standard cooperative governance trainings in the upcoming months.  The returning members look forward to working with Mary, Teri, and Debbie, and we’re all excited for a productive 2025 for our market and cooperative.

The Board also expresses sincere gratitude for the service of our three outgoing members: Jackie Kittrell, Drew Rutherford, and Kathryn Tilson.  Jackie joined the Board to fill a vacant seat in 2024, and her skilled facilitation and communication advice helped us recognize possibilities where others might have seen obstacles.  As a peace-maker and mediator, she helped all our discussions end in positive, mutually-beneficial outcomes.  Drew joined the Board in December 2022, and his positive energy, keen insight, and consistent kindness brightened our meetings.  As chair of the Member Linkage Committee, Drew helped coordinate our Board News and plan many of our events in 2024, including the cooperative dialogue meeting with well-known co-op expert Jon Steinman.  Kathryn joined in December 2021, and her classroom experience made her the Board’s “wise teacher”, with a focus on the big picture and regular reminders of our strengths and successes.  Kathryn spearheaded the member picnic and flower-arranging seminars in 2023, and served as the Board Secretary/Treasurer over the last part of 2024.  We know that we’ll keep seeing Jackie, Drew, and Kathryn around the store, and we know they’ll continue to contribute as active and valued members of our cooperative.

The Board is considering which committees to convene in 2025, building off the active committee work in 2024.  We had more committees this year than in the past, and we’d like to learn from the work that was done while making sure member capacity isn’t stretched too thin. If you’re interested in serving in a Board Committee in 2025, please fill out this form to share your interest.  The Board will prepare charters for all committees for which there is sufficient interest, and reach out to interested members to develop workplans for the year.  Board Committees are a great way to be involved in the co-op’s governance in a way that fits your unique time and interests – we encourage all members to consider serving on at least one committee!