Hello Member-Owner!

May I introduce myself? My name’s Emily DeFerrari and I’ve been one of your board directors for almost a year.  This year, with the guidance of several member-owners, I am chairing the Annual Meeting Committee and the Member-Owner Participation Committee which is also guided by the input of member-owners from the general membership. I’ve also been helping with the Board Perpetuation and Election Committee, and I’ve written this report as the stars of these three committees align around the Annual Meeting on Saturday, November 3.

We hope you will see the Annual Meeting as an offer you can’t refuse. It’s our once a year opportunity to bring our hopes, dreams, concerns and worries about our co-op to our “public square” or “town hall” if you will.

Come find out what we’ve been doing this year, how are our finances, what topics are being discussed that interest you—use of plastics? Organic certified produce? Online shopping? General Manager search?

And if none of that compels you, there’ll be DOOR PRIZES! GOOD FOOD! CAMARADERIE!

We will also have a chance to meet this year’s wonderful array of candidates for the board.  These are the individuals who will speak for you as your board of directors and this year’s election will affect the composition of the board more than in most years. This year saw many life changes for 6 of our board members. They left for out of town opportunities for themselves or their partners, new demanding jobs and out of state adventures. We wish them all well, and think of them often, and are anxious to get our complement of board members up to the full nine. We will be seating 5 directors this election, and all the candidates are well qualified. Come hear what they have to say and see who speaks to your vision for the co-op.

Best of all, the annual meeting will be back in the neighborhood this year. We will be meeting at the Eastminster Presbyterian Church on Saturday, November 3, from 2 to 5pm.  (There will actually be two annual meetings in 2018. The 2017 meeting wasn’t held until February 2018, and we are re-aligning the meeting back to its autumn meeting time.)

Voting will begin on October 27 and continue until November 30. You’ll be able to vote online, or at customer service at the co-op. We are working on the logistics of voting at the annual meeting, and hope that will be a third option.

Hope to see you at the Annual Meeting, hope to hear your thoughts and concerns, hope to keep you informed of this year’s happenings and hope to count your vote! Please RSVP here.

And if you’d like to help out with the logistics of the Annual Meeting, we are still looking for Member-Owners to help with getting out the word, decorations, set up and tear down. Please e-mail me, Emily DeFerrari at boardofdirectors@eastendfood.coop if you’d like to lend a hand.