Summer certainly has been passing quickly; I took particular notice of that when I scheduled a meeting for October the other day. I hope you are getting a chance to enjoy all of what Vermont has to offer at this lovely time of year.  

We have a lot going on in the store. You may have heard that Caledonia Co-op in St. Johnsbury recently opened. Congratulations, Caledonia! We hosted their General Manager, Amanda Gangell, as well as some of their managers recently to make connections and share some of our processes with them. Morrisville Co-op made a visit not too long ago also, to learn more about our bulk and meat products and buying practices for those departments. There is such strength in the collaboration that exists between cooperatives. We had a chance to share the inspiration of cooperative collaboration and the cooperative business model with some students from the Institute for Sustainable Practice at Lipscomb University, Nashville, TN this week. They visit us annually, as part of their trip to learn about sustainable practices in New England. We had a great time sharing our store with them and answering their questions about our sustainability practices.  

We are not only busy in the store, but we are also busy next door. We expect to start construction on the exterior of our new building (previously rK Miles) at the end of July. We plan to replace all the fire-damaged materials, as well as make the building more easily accessible for product storage.  

Our Strategic Planning process is also underway. We are thrilled to be working with Faye Mack and Bonnie Hudspeth as they help to facilitate and lead the process for us. You can see the full announcement here. We are looking forward to hearing from our membership on your vision for our future. Please keep an eye out for upcoming opportunities to share your thoughts and ideas.

—Mary Mullally, General Manager