At the Yelm Cooperative Board of Directors Annual Meeting on Sept 24th, the Board voted for the officers to serve until Sept 2016.
Those positions remain unchanged and are:
Bill Wyman President
Barbara Morando Vice -President
Tom Dewell Treasurer
Marilyn Raerdon Secretary
We are all looking forward to serving you well in the upcoming year of your Cooperative!
~ The Yelm Cooperative Board of Directors ~
Read More 2015 Board Officers
Monday shoppers may find themselves searching for a familiar face in the coming weeks. After seven years, Robyn Hawk, one of the earliest supporters of the co-op and a regular volunteer at the cash register, is moving on. Co-op customers will miss her ready laugh and sense of fun, one she has shared with many other long-term volunteers.
Nothing in particular has triggered her departure, she says. “It wasn’t at all premeditated. I love working at the co-op. But one afternoon, it just jumped into my head. It was so clear to me that it was time to move on.” That doesn’t mean abandoning all ties, she says, and she doesn’t rule out volunteering ‘here and there’ in the future. Her regular volunteer days are done, however.
Robyn is grateful for her time at the store. “It was a growing period for me,” she says. “The gratitude from the people I worked with, just for having me there was empowering. I’d like to say ‘thank you’ for the many years there and the gratification of being part of it.”
Although she’ll no longer be a regular volunteer, she plans to continue participating in other ways. “I support the Co-op wholeheartedly,” she says. “I continue to support it with buying.”
In the meantime, she’s seen hopeful signs that a new generation of volunteers is starting to step forward. “There’s a whole new group of people coming in and I don’t even know half of them,” she says. “That’s great! Change is good.”
Thank you Robyn for all of your effort, humor, energy, love and attention toward the seedling that was and is the Yelm Co-op. It made a difference!
Due to several Board members being unavailable for the normally scheduled June 11 meeting, it has been rescheduled for June 18th.
We meet at Rosemont Retirement and Assisted Living at 6:00 p.m. There is always a few minutes of public comment time at the beginning of each meeting. If you’d like to address the Board, please email yfcstrategy@gmail.com to set this up.
Thanks
The Yelm Cooperative Board of Directors
Check out the June / July edition of The Grapevine! Learn about our produce, how to make an avocado reuben, the art of wine tasting, and much more.
Dawn Young and her daughters got a welcome surprise last week when they went shopping at the Co-op: a more than $80 patronage refund based on how much she’d spent at the store in 2014. “We did a happy dance and filled up a bag of mixed nuts from the bulk section without a thought of how much it was going to cost,” she says. “It was exciting.”
For the second year, the Co-op is providing this perk to current members in good standing and original members of the Co-op who joined before it became a non-profit organization. It’s based on the revenue generated in the previous year. “Once our sales reach the proper threshold, this is something we can offer our members as an acknowledgment of their support,” says General Manager Barnaby Urich Rintz. *
Current members and original members who have not renewed both get a 1% refund of what they spent in the previous year. Anyone who qualifies in both areas gets a 2% refund. Bulk items purchased through the Buy Club and certain products like newspapers don’t count toward the refund, and the purchases must be made under the member’s name and membership number. Shoppers have until December 31, 2015 to use their refund.
“The reward reinforced why we shop there,” says Dawn. “It’s a great incentive to continue to invest in the Co-Op’s goals of reaching a stronger buying base that will reduce prices throughout the store. We also feel appreciated for our contribution. The refund was twice as much as last year’s, so as a family, we achieved our goal of supporting the Co-Op more.”
To find out if you have a patronage refund waiting, visit the store and talk with one of our cashiers. We look forward to seeing you!
*Note: Patronage refunds are proposed to the Yelm Cooperative board of directors by the General Manager. The proposal is based upon profitability and the financial needs of the store. Consequently, Yelm Food Cooperative does not guarantee a patronage refund for any given year. However, members have expressed a great deal of support for the program, so management will consider proposing a patronage refund for every given year.
