Chat with the General Manager (GM) and a Council Member on January 13 

At the Annual Member Meeting in November, GM Mary Mullally and I held a long Q&A about the Co-op. We stayed after the meeting to talk to anyone who wanted to chat, until the place emptied out. We didn’t go so far as to follow people out into the parking lot to keep talking, but we did commit to holding regular, informal sessions to chat with members.  

The first session will be on Monday, Jan. 13, from 5 to 6 pm in the Co-op’s café. Beverages will be provided. 

If there’s a time during the week that you’d especially like to come to chat with the GM and a council member in the future, please email me. We’ll take suggestions into account in our scheduling. 

Ten-Year Vision and Strategy 

I spoke at the Annual Meeting about the overdue renewal of the Co-op’s 10-year plan and vision. Member input is crucial in any planning we do. I’ve been reviewing the work done in 2011–2012, the last time the Co-op performed a full-blown evaluation of what we want to do over the coming decade.  

If you want to do a little reading and thinking about this work, especially if you want to actively help with the process, you could start with the July–August 2011 edition of the Full Scoop newsletter that contains the public presentation of the launch of the process in 2011 (pp. 1–3), as well as a two-page summary of the final work issued in 2012. 

Wrap-Up 

A lot of people have made New Year’s resolutions by now. Including me. During this dark, cold time of year, when it’s often difficult to get out of the house, I’ve decided to resume my meditation practice. I figure it’s better than just sitting doing nothing.

—Carl Etnier, Council President

Do you have any questions or comments about the council? Do you know any jokes even faintly related to food and/or co-ops? Please email them to me!