Symbiotic Sustenance - BriarPatch Co-op

16 February/March 2011 The Vine, BriarPatch’s Community Newsletter
The early winter
months of the year
are often good times
to reflect on our accomplishments
and to
plan future paths and
improvements to our
practices.
Jeff Gold
Looking back
This past year has seen significant accomplishments
by the BriarPatch Board,
rewriting our policies and maintaining
a full calendar of “standing committee”
meetings. Our new governance policy
structure is about to be adopted, and it
will be a useful tool as we collaborate
with our General Manager, management
team, and BriarPatch Owners. In
addition to our monthly meeting, Board
Directors attend meetings of standing
committees, which perform the majority
of our responsibilities. These committees
include: Finance, Board Development,
Governance, and Executive (where the
officers meet to review meeting agendas
and topics for the yearly calendar). Each
committee provides monthly reports
Co-op Board Report
DIRECTORS
Jeff Gold, President; Alan Weisberg, Vice President; Peter Lockyer, Treasurer; Malaika Bishop, Secretary
Peter Van Zant, Mark Fenton, Rick Sheller, Louise Jones, Kerry O’Regan
Looking ahead: paths to sustainability
and presents proposals to the full Board,
where decisions are made and implemented.
In 2010 some noteworthy accomplishments
of the committees have been:
• Finance Committee–Revised the
monthly monitoring reports and hired an
independent audit consultant.
• Board Development Committee–Reorganized
the board candidate application,
improved our evaluation processes, and led
two board-training workshops.
• Governance Committee–Rewrote the
From Jeff Gold, Board President
Board Policy and Procedures Manual, and
developed the policy governance model for
the Board.
These significant accomplishments
have supported our BriarPatch management
team and contributed to the overall
success of BriarPatch Co-op. The Board’s
goal is to implement the Co-op’s mission by
representing the Owners in a transparent
way. We encourage your participation so
we may stay current with changing community
needs.
How to contact the Board
Directors have BriarPatch email addresses consisting of their full first names and
the first letter of last names followed by “@board.briarpatch.coop” — i.e. peterv@
board.briarpatch.coop, peterl@board.briarpatch.coop, etc. Or send an email message to
info@briarpatch.coop with “Board” in the subject, and staff will forward it to the Board
Secretary or another Director as indicated. Or leave letters for Directors at the customer
service window.
Where to find Board meeting agendas and minutes
Agendas are posted on the front inside bulletin board several days before
meetings. Minutes are posted there about 2 weeks after meetings and online
at www.briarpatch.coop/pages/board.html. Staff will make you copies upon request.
Looking forward
The Board is beginning this year with
stronger engagement with our fellow co-op
Owners. We will be adding an “Owners
Committee” to foster Board-Owner communication
and consider additional activities.
We want to hear your concerns and
ideas for improving our co-op as a source
for local food and as a community hub. Last
month we introduced our monthly “Breakfast
with the Board” events, held the second
Saturday of each month from 9:00 to 10:00
a.m. This is a time for informal chat about
the market and our future. Please stop by
the deli seating area and share your views
with Board members. Later in the year we
are planning a harvest dinner gathering as
another occasion for conversations about
our cooperative and the community.
A sustainable path
This year the Board will be exploring
ways to strengthen our educational outreach
and to promote greater awareness
about the local food system, nutrition, and
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