Mary’s journey with the Hunger Mountain Co-op began almost 20 years ago when she first joined as a cashier. She rose through the ranks, holding various positions including Manager on Duty and Storekeeping Manager.

Prior to her time at the Co-op, she worked at Ben & Jerry’s as a store manager and left the company in 2003, when Unilever took ownership. In the subsequent year, she started a nonprofit that supported children in Trinidad and Tobago.

During her time at the Co-op, Mary has gained valuable insights into the business while overseeing safety, security, receiving, storekeeping, and Managers on Duty. As part of our senior management team, she has played an essential role in planning and executing capital expenditures budgets and has participated in visioning and planning exercises.

Mary’s passion for healthy food access, supporting local farmers, empowering staff, and nurturing a healthy workplace culture aligns with the Co-op’s values. Her unique blend of experience and enthusiasm make her a vital part of our team as we strive to serve customers better while providing delicious food options.

One Hunger Mountain Co-op colleague noted, “With Mary’s knowledge and experience in the store and the community she’s a natural for the GM position, a job she has been doing for almost a year. With Mary’s addition of her own vision for the store we will remain on track for the upcoming changes the future will bring.”

Another colleague commented, “Mary has been doing the job of Interim GM under continuing and very stressful extenuating circumstances for almost a year already. And she was on the front lines during the years of COVID and, also, during the winter of 2022–2023 when the Co-op experienced four major power outages within a two-month period over the Christmas/New Year holidays. We have experienced non-stop critical issues for a very long time, and I feel Mary has done a great job meeting and addressing all of these issues in order to realize the best possible outcome for all our employees, our membership, and our business going forward.”

A member-owner remarked, “Ever since the GM position was vacated, I have been rooting for Mary to be selected for the position. I was very disappointed to hear that she withdrew her candidacy and am thrilled that she’s back in the running. If Mary isn’t selected, the angels will weep.”

In her work at Hunger Mountain Co-op, Mary has demonstrated a deep commitment to our community, to our mission and Ends, and to the long-term success of our Co-op. She has come in during the middle of the night to work on refrigeration units on the roof, mopped up bodily fluids while serving as Manager on Duty, and ably stepped into the interim GM role after the departure of a 19-year veteran GM.

Mary is devoted to protecting the integrity of Hunger Mountain Co-op and stewarding the Co-op forward during these uncertain times.

Member-Owners: thank you for entrusting your elected council with this decision, and for your help in this process.

As always, if you have questions, please reach out to me and/or other members of the council.

In cooperation on behalf of the council,

—Carl Etnier, Council President