By: Mead Stone
Hello, all you fantastic River Market owners! I’m writing to ask your help for our future—by running for the board. In the past year you have seen a more competitive pricing structure, the plans for a new store-level bathroom for customers (!), and a newly resurfaced parking lot. Sara Morrison, your general manager, and her staff have worked hard to provide a great experience for you. That’s all good. But this fall presents a new challenge: on your board, four director positions and two alternate positions are opening up for you to vote on . . . and to consider running for!
For decades, the co-op movement has been ground-breaking in many ways. Think of bulk foods, organics, CSAs, local, and the business model itself where you vote with your dollars toward what we carry and what we drop. In elections for the board of directors, your vote counts as one vote, right alongside any other owner’s vote. You determine the composition of the board.
What can you expect as a board director? If you’re expecting to pick out, say, a certain spice for bulk foods, or have an idea for a new floor wax; forget it. Those are operational decisions made by Sara and her staff (but your idea can go into the customer suggestion box). If, on the other hand, you’re interested in where River Market might be in 3, 5, or 10 years, then you might enjoy being on our board. Roll up your sleeves: there’s a monthly board meeting that you must prepare for, and each director must participate on one of the following committees: Board Development (education and looking for you—I mean, looking for great candidates), Growth and Engagement (communicating to our owners what their heck the board is up to—which becomes more and more important as our future plans move forward), and Policy and Rules (where directors amend, edit, and write policy).
There are subcommittees (recent examples include strategic planning and Ends statement review). There are monitoring reports. There are 1-2 retreats each year (no biggie: the furthest away we’ve ventured was Bayport or Warner Nature Center and that was years ago), opportunities for education, meeting other co-op boards, and even possibly attending the national meeting of the Consumer Cooperative Management Association (CCMA). And don’t forget our wonderful Annual Meeting where owners get together and have a great evening. Oh, and you just might get to write an article for Currents. If you appreciate the community River Market provides, running for the board is yet another kind of cooperative community. It’s engaging, fun, and we learn a lot.
There’s more, but I think 12 to 16 hours a month of your time is in the ballpark. It’s all spelled out on the board’s annual work plan. There’s even a small stipend of a little over $100 a quarter, paid in River Market gift cards. Critical thinking, an open mind, and a spirit of working together are good attributes of director; but good directors have come in all shapes and sizes. The Board Application Packet gives more information.
There’s a lot to consider. But every board director had a “first time” on the board. You might be nervous; but you should be excited too. There’s an incredible future ahead for River Market and you can be a part of it. You’re already a part of the River Market community. Thank you! Why not join another community by running for a board director position? It’s a great way to give back to your thriving community. Interested? Application Form. If you have questions about applying or serving on the Co-op board of directors, please email: board@rivermarket.coop. The time to act is now! Thank you sincerely for your time and consideration.