This month we would like to share an update on our progress establishing committees for this year and insights from our new Directors after attending a Cooperative Board Leadership 101 training.

Committee Update

At our January meeting, the Board voted to establish the following committees for this year:
• Member Linkage Committee
• Board Perpetuation Committee
• Staff Involvement in Governance Committee

Draft charters for these committees are being prepared and will be reviewed for our February meeting. For now, the member participation sections will remain open as we continue to reach out to those who have expressed interest in serving. If you’ve already filled out the interest form—thank you! We’ll be in touch after our February meeting with more information.

The Board is also continuing discussions about convening additional committees, including the Audit and Ethics Committees. These topics will be addressed at our January 29th agenda planning meeting.

We encourage all members to consider getting involved! If you’d like to serve on a committee, please fill out the interest form and share it with others who might be interested. Member participation is vital to our cooperative’s success, and we welcome your engagement.

Cooperative Board Leadership 101: New Board Members’ Reflections 

Debbie Sharp: After attending the Cooperative Board Leadership training today, I feel that I am more prepared for Board service.  I learned about the history of some cooperatives, which by the way was fascinating and I hope others will research it.  I appreciated being reminded of the seven principles so that I could take the training through the lens of community.  Learning about the Roles and Responsibilities of a Board member were a bit daunting, but that is because I take them seriously. We as Board members, are to work beyond ourselves, and are here to serve every single member.

Part of the training discussed fiduciary responsibilities, balance sheets, and financials, some of which is not in my wheelhouse, but I found important to understand.  One interesting point they made was that financials don’t always mean money.  It could be the value of a place, a reputation, etc.

Columinate also spent some time teaching us about Governance.  Understanding Three Rivers Market’s governance style will be important.  Most groups, including Three Rivers Market, use policy governance – this is to have expectations, assign authority, and check that the expectations have been met. Board expectations are expressed in policies, the policies are monitored, there is clear delegation, and the Board speaks as a whole.  This is not to say that there cannot be healthy dissent.  It is important for groups to discuss topics of disagreement in a healthy manner.

Lastly, I still have a lot to learn, but I feel that I am better prepared with this CBL training.

Mary French-Ewers: I enjoyed the Cooperative Board Leadership 101 Training.  The course touched on co-op histories including many principles we are still founded on, policy governance, the grocery industry as a whole (that we have to compete within), and financials/balance sheets.  Given the allotted time, we could not dive too deeply into any one topic but the general overview of all areas did help me to feel more comfortable in a position I take very seriously.

The history of co-ops section really re-emphasized why I feel so passionately about co-ops.  Both waves of co-ops formations were built on the ideas of helping marginalized communities combat the systems that generally exploited them.

The section on the grocery industry as a whole and where the trends are headed was very insightful.  The breakaway groups during this section allowed the opportunity to hear how other co-ops are staying relevant and evolving with the market.

Overall I feel a little less overwhelmed, inspired to learn more, and encouraged to reach out to some of the participants I met during the training.

Teri O’Meara: The Cooperative Board Leadership 101 training was interesting and provided some good foundational information that will be helpful in completing the tasks necessary to support our Co-op and help it thrive.  I enjoyed learning about the history of co-op formation as well as the opportunity to interact with board members, operational staff, and board candidates from around the country. Through interactions with members of other co-ops, I was able to learn more about how different co-ops operate and exchange information and ideas about different approaches to governance, management, and community engagement.  The training also included a short primer to help us understand financial statements/records, but I look forward to the more in depth training which will occur in April.