Co-op Market

Grocery & Deli

Monday - Saturday: 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Sunday: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
526 Gaffney Road
Fairbanks, AK 99701
907.457.1023

2019 Annual Meeting Report

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Approximately 60 Co-op Market Owners came together for good food, fun, information and inspiration at our 11th Annual Owners’ Meeting on October 19th. Lots of them won prizes, too, including turkeys, $25 gift certificates, chocolate, a basket of Fair Trade goods, and more.

The meeting agenda and financial statements are available here.

Agriculture Report
We learned about the current state of farming in Alaska from Scott Mugrage, president of the Alaska Farm Bureau. He said the number of farms in Alaska is up by 36% at a time when farming is down by 3% nationwide, and Alaska farm revenue is up by 100%. We also lead the nation in female- and veteran-owned farms. Mugrage said that although we currently grow less than 5% of the food Alaska needs, we have millions of acres of potentially farmable land, and some of the best of it is in nearby Nenana. He sees the tremendous growth potential in turning Alaska-grown ingredients into value-added products, such as heat-and-eat meals.

2019 Election results
More Owners voted in our annual Board of Directors election than ever before. We received ballots from 488 of our 3070 eligible voters. That’s 16.5%, many more than the 307 needed to achieve the 10% required by our Bylaws.

• Art Gelvin was elected to Seat B
• Brian Kassof’s appointment to Seat D was confirmed
• Anduin McElroy’s appointment to Seat I was confirmed
• The amendment to our Bylaws was passed, decreasing the number of board seats to seven from nine and the board quorum to four from five.

Thank you to all Owners who voted in our election and to those who attended our Annual Meeting. You are the heart of our co-op!

Hey, Owners! It’s time to vote!

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What? Are you sick of all the election rhetoric already? Think your vote doesn’t count?

Well, at the co-op, it does. In fact, we need votes from at least 10% of our Owners for our election to be valid. That means we need at least 327 votes this year.

What are you voting for? We have four open seats on our nine-member board of directors. This year we have five candidates for those four seats. Our directors serve three years.

Having a knowledgeable, strong board is critical to the continued health and success of your co-op. Board members serve as stewards, ensuring that the co-op is legally and financially sound. They represent you, their fellow Owners, in a democratic process, making sure your values are reflected in long-range goals and decisions

How can you vote? There are several options.

  • If you have an email address on file with us, we have sent you an invitation to vote on-line using My Direct Vote from Survey and Ballot Systems. The on-line election process is very easy, and the ballot includes profiles of each of our candidates.

Note: The emails went out at 8:30 a.m. today (9/22). If you didn’t receive an email, please check your spam folder. The email is titled “Important: Login Info for Co-op Market Board Election,” and it was sent by Kristin Summerlin at Co-op Market from noreply@directvote.net. (If you didn’t receive a ballot and want to vote on-line, please email marketing@coopmarket.org with your name, Owner number and correct email address. We’ll send another copy of the invitation to you.)

  • We are mailing candidate profiles and paper ballots to Owners who don’t have emails on file. You can vote and return your ballot by mail or drop it off at the ballot box at Customer Service.
  • And of course candidate profiles and paper ballots are available in the store.

Voting continues until 5 p.m. October 20th, and results will be announced that night at our Annual Meeting. As in years past, the Annual Meeting will be held at Birch Hill Recreation Center, with doors opening at 5:30 p.m. and a light soup supper provided by our Deli, followed by a short business meeting and door prizes.

Last year, nearly 14% of you voted. Let’s see if we can get that number up even higher this year!

How to Vote for Your Board of Directors Electronically

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This year we’re again offering electronic voting through DirectVote by Survey & Ballot Systems. Every Owner with a current email address on file should receive an email invitation to vote on-line.

Voting electronically makes voting and tabulating the results a lot easier, but it does require some ability to be “tech savvy.”

So, to help you we, we offer these words of advice.

1. WAIT – If we have your current email address, you will receive an email directly from DirectVote by Survey Ballot Systems on September 14th.

2. PREPARE – Your internet server might think the email is spam. To avoid this, add noreply@directvote.net to your approved email list (whitelist).

3. CHECK YOUR SPAM – If you don’t receive an invitation email by noon, please check your spam folder. Look for this email header: “Important: Login Information for Co-op Market Board Election.”

4. COPY AND PASTE – DirectVote will send you a username, password and URL address to use when voting. The URL may or may not appear as a clickable hyperlink depending on your email service. If it isn’t clickable, simply copy and paste the address into your browser address bar.

5. WATCH FOR POP-UP BLOCKERS – You can read about each candidate before voting, but you will have to click a button on the ballot to do this. The candidate biographies will pop up. Some browsers don’t allow pop-ups, so you will need to disable the pop-up blocker for this ballot.

6. READ ALL THE INSTRUCTIONS – Be sure to read everything on each screen of the ballot so that you do not miss important instructions. This will help prevent frustration and problems.

7. SUBMIT your ballot. Your vote will not be complete until you hit the “submit” button on the ballot confirmation page.

If electronic voting is troublesome or if you don’t get the invitation email, please send an email to Kristin Summerlin, Marketing and Owner Services Manager, at ksummerlin@coopmarket.org. She will also be able to help you if your email address has changed.

We will mail paper ballots to Owners with no email address on file. We will also offer paper ballots at the check-out registers. You will need to have your Owner number to vote. If you don’t know your number, ask a cashier to look it up for you. Remember that there is only one vote per Owner number, even if several people in your household use that number.

Thank you for helping us save trees by voting on-line! And thank you for participating in the democratic management of your co-op.

 

Help Shape the Future: Join Our Board of Directors

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You own a grocery store! Have you ever thought about it that way? You took a leap of faith and invested your money in Co-op Market Grocery & Deli. You built a vibrant new retail food co-op, the first one in Alaska.

As a Member-Owner, you can do more to ensure our success than just shop with us. You can help shape the future of Co-op Market and make sure we remain true to our values and mission as we continue to grow. You can serve on our Board of Directors.

Co-ops are not just businesses: They are democratic organizations governed by an elected Board of Directors made up of Member-Owners. Our nine-member board is the legal steward of the Co-op and fulfills the obligations of running a business. The board provides leadership, vision and guidance. It oversees wise use of Co-op resources and sets long-range goals.

Cooperatives are based on the values of self-help, self-responsibility, democracy, equality, equity and solidarity. In the tradition of their founders, cooperative members believe in the ethical values of honesty, openness, social responsibility and caring for others. (Find out more about cooperative values and principles here.)

This year the board will be finalizing its board policies and Ends Statement and will begin to work with our General Manager to clarify our plan for growth and expansion.

Do you believe in the cooperative values and principles? Are you passionate about bringing good healthy food to the community? Do you want to help create a flourishing local economy with a real focus on sustainability? Do you have a background in business or volunteer organizations and relevant life experiences to share? You’re an ideal candidate!

Here are some things you need to know.

The Board of Directors

  • oversees the Co-op’s financial condition.
  • connects to our owners.
  • shapes our Co-op’s vision and works closely with our General Manager to set long-term strategies.

The Co-op Market board operates under the Carver Policy Governance Model.

To be eligible, candidates

  • must be Member-Owners of Co-op Market Grocery & Deli in good standing.
  • cannot be a Co-op Market employee.
  • must know how to focus, communicate clearly, and understand strategic thinking.
  • should have prior experience making decisions in a group setting.
  • must be able to undertake fiduciary responsibility on behalf of the Co-op and its owners.

Directors serve for a two-year term. For 2014/2015, four of the nine board seats are up for election.

The board meets monthly. Directors commit to an average of 4 to 8 hours of service per month, depending on committee and project workload. They also commit to attend yearly national cooperative training and conferences.

Applications are available here, or you can get a paper copy at the customer service desk. Completed applications, along with a current digital photograph, are due by September 5, 2014. (Your photograph should be a headshot only and in .jpg format.) All Member-Owners will receive candidate bios, photos and a ballot. On-line and paper ballot voting will begin on September 25. Winning candidates will be announced at our annual meeting on October 23.

For more information, please contact Board Chairman Robert Leach at board@coopmarket.org.

Meeting with Senator Thomas’ chief of staff

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Minutes

Meeting with Joe Hardenbrook Chief of Staff from Senator Thomas’ office (Dec. 17, 2008)

Present were Gary Currington, Suzy Fenner, Sharon Alden, Dave Lacey and Lela Ryterski.

Joe mentioned and Elk rancher’s co-op in Whitehorse we could check out.

In order for beef to be organic, it needs to be outdoors 280 days. Not possible in Alaska. We’d need an Alaskan exemption to about 180 days.

Gary discussed a commercial kitchen we could rent out or do barter. It’s a service the community needs (ie: crop production, blanching, etc.).

The purpose of the meeting was to propose the idea of introducing or combining with legislation that exists (ie: for Farmers) extended to FCCM.

Greenhouses get federal funding. (Jay Ramras has received funding for his greenhouses at Pike’s). Seed bank–Palmer Plant Material Center–Co-op Extension and Resource Center for seed varieties. The university develops seeds hardy to Alaska but they cost more than seeds coming from outside.

Agricultural revolving loan–food fund. Loan to find and purchase property to convert to agriculture. Loan to fund machinery and seeds.

We mentioned no interest or low interest loans and agricultural revolving loan funds for the co-op to be eligible.

Joe said there’s fierce competition for the little funding from the state budget available. It mostly goes to schools.

Tax credits for solar panels are possible. Deduct from property tax (work out with owner). The co-op may have this option available.

Gary suggested a Voided Cost System meaning avoiding costs (transportation, bring own bag, etc.) as a way to run the co-op. A move toward green activities.

In order to propose a bill we need to ask a question, ie: What state laws would prevent a food-based cooperative from receiving grants because now one must be a 501c3 to be eligible for grants. Legislative process: research answers–legal dept. reviews and amends–committee hearings.

State: These are the problems, this is what we’d like to do, these are the possible solutions. For example: promote bulk, less packaging, recycling, composting. Change State law to have fewer taxes for co-ops. Add FCCM to PFD under donate to a charity.

Joe’s willing to be a resource. He’s supportive. He bought a Founding Member ticket.

Alaska Division of Agriculture asking for public comment

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The state Division of Agriculture has just released its draft strategic plan for public comment until 15 December. The plan, “Challenges and Opportunities for the Future While Meeting the Needs of Today” (PDF), covers ten strategic goals and means:

• Agricultural development and marketing
• Board of Agriculture & Conservation
• Plant Materials Center: facilitating the development and sustainability of appropriate plant materials for Alaskan agriculture
• Agricultural Revolving Loan Fund
• Sustainable agricultural resources and services
• Outreach, education and recruiting
• Planning: encouragement of best practices
• Existing and emerging technology and research
• Energy
• Infrastructure

This is your opportunity to comment on community-based local production, sustainable practices, alternative energy supply for agriculture, policy on genetically modified organisms, food security and supply vulnerability, etc. Send comments to: Lora.Haralson@alaska.gov

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526 Gaffney Road
Fairbanks, AK 99701

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