President’s Report – October
There is a certain sort of satisfaction which comes with the delivery of an organisation’s second AGM. The adrenaline of the first year is behind you, operational systems are in place, teething issues are ironed out, your committed members are providing worthwhile feedback and standing by each others’ side in a united quest to share in the spoils of what is now growing with momentum, and your long standing board members have become dear friends as well as comrades in decision making.
The second year challenges were clear but at times conflicting: 1. GROW – stock range, members, events, venue, education and 2. CONSOLIDATE – services, member support, systems, financial stability.
With a sturdy focus on these two challenges we negotiated to a place of success on both fronts. The key “lag” has been the yet to be delivered “FRESH” offering, which we can excitedly announce is due to launch on our first day of operation in 2017 – stay tuned for details.
While the full range of statistics will come out as part of the Annual General Report – available by the end of October, I thought it worth sharing a few of the key statistics which show the delightful momentum of this little co op with a great big vision.
Product / Stock Growth
Membership numbers
Sales Growth
With delight I would like to welcome the new board members to the team, Alison Lloyd, Megan Cajali, Karen Nankervis, Narelle Edwards and Matt Woodburn. All of them have taken to their new roles with absolute zealous vigour and we are due to gather in coming weeks to assess our strategic plan and our focus for the coming 12 months.
Before I sign off, I would like to give my personal thanks to our outgoing board members Gabrielle Prior, Jack Nelson and Tegwyn McManamny who all came on during the early part of the year when we were still determining our vision and waded through the workload of clarity. Although they departed prior to the AGM their contribution was incredibly appreciated – many thanks!
We also have three other outgoing board members who have contributed endlessly to make what the co op is today.
Anthea Scott – with more shop hours under her belt than any other, many of you would know her smiling face. Behind the scenes, Anth also gave her time to developing and delivering some of the Co op living events which are now a regular feature in the co op calendar.
Lou Friend – her wizardry with making things aesthetically beautiful and her endless hours given to ensuring we are sharing as much as we can with our members via newsletters, website, posters and facebook has been simply marvellous and lifted the benchmark for us all to aim for.
Charlie Showers – I can say with confidence that we don’t have another member who has given more time across so many different areas of the business. He has carried the treasury role as well as membership, he is our go to for all things online, wields a hammer with regularity to build, fix, adjust all that is needed in the shop, he has advocated on multiple boards and working groups and is very much the one to ensure we are mindful of our role in the broader fair food efforts. He has stepped down from the board to focus on his new agricultural enterprise in Stanley and find some family balance however even as I write, I am receiving links to articles, position descriptions and books all associated with fair food so I trust that his efforts will continue if only in an unofficial manner. From all at the board – thank you for ALL that you have done to get us off the ground and to the place of stability that we are now in. You have gifted an incredible legacy and we will take the responsibility of the next steps earnestly.
The list of exciting news is long for the lead-up until Christmas so be sure you have liked the Facebook page for up to date messages, and I look forward to seeing many of you at Patch to Patch on November 12th.
Till then, remember that every meal you eat has the potential to support local, ethical growers and only you can make the choice as to whether it does or not.
Jade