Together we can build a better world - The Co-operative

Together we can
build a better world
2012
Committee elections
Your candidates
South East Region
Sussex Area

Together we can
build a better world
Thank you for taking the time to vote in
The Co-operative Membership 2012 elections,
your vote really does make a difference.
This booklet has all the information you
need to know about the people who would like
to represent you on your Area Committee.
The process of voting is very easy, and just
takes a little time for you to consider which of
the candidates you would prefer to represent
your views.
To help your deliberations we have broken up
the process into four easy steps:
On page 4 you will find some
STEP 1 information about your current Area
Committee and on the following page we
tell you more about how many places are
available on your committee.
Each candidate has provided an
election address which should help
you make your decision.
STEP 2
Once you have a good idea of what
STEP 3 each representative stands for, use
the ballot paper to indicate your preferences.
All the details you need about the election can
be found on the ballot paper. Remember, you
can vote online if you prefer, in which instance
you will receive 25 membership points. Again
further details are provided on the ballot paper.
Sit back and relax, feeling great
STEP 4
that you have done something that
will really make a difference to you, your
community and the co-operative you part own.
Thanks again for your support.
The photograph on the front cover features three members who were elected to Area Committee for the
first time in 2011: Irene Duckworth (Central & Eastern Region), Anna Brisley (North West & North Midlands
Region) and Martin Ferguson (Scotland & Northern Ireland Region).
2012 Elections
3

Your current
committee.
For your information, here are details
relating to your current Area Committee:
Your committee
Attendance at
committee meetings
Name Possible Actual
Dave Boyle 4 8 4
Robert Harber 2 8 8
Mike Hedgethorne 8 7
Ron Hunter 2 8 8
Adrienne Lowe 2 8 8
Sven Rufus 8 5
Susan Smith 8 8
Nigel Sweet 1 8 8
Malcolm Turner 8 7
Vicky Wakefield-Jarrett 8 8
Len Wardle 2 3 5 8 5
Daniel Yates 2 8 8
1 Committee Chair
2 Regional Board member
3 Group Director
4 On other Co-operative business – 1 meeting
5 On other Co-operative business – 2 meetings
Gender profile
Total number of members
Number of men
Number of women
Age profile
Under 30
30 – 49
50 – 69
70+
Not disclosed
Ethnic profile
White
Mixed/multiple ethnic groups
Asian/Asian British
Black/African/
Caribbean/Black British
Other ethnic group
Not disclosed
12
9
3
1
3
8
0
0
12
0
0
0
0
0
Area Committee members currently
receive an annual fee of £2,173.55
plus expenses, with the Chairs of
committees receiving an extra £543.39

Introducing
your Area
Committee
candidates.
So who’s standing?
There are 4 places available on
the Sussex Area Committee.
8 candidates have put themselves forward:
Len Wardle 1
The following terms of office are available:
4 places for 3 years
Donna Steele
Robert Harber 1
Daniel Yates 1
Tony Firmin
Richard Drinkall
Abi Steele
Lis Telcs
1 Current committee member
The results of the election will be
declared on Wednesday 8th August.
They will be posted on our website:
www.co-operative.coop/membership
and will be publicised widely in our
local co-operative businesses.
2012 Elections
5

Who’s who?
Area Committee members are ideally
passionate about supporting their local
community and its people. They’ll be
creative and will have, or want to gain, an
understanding of our business operations
and of the commercial environment in which
The Co-operative Group operates.
To help you choose who to vote for, each
candidate has provided an election address
of up to 220 words. Candidates have been
encouraged to use the election address to
refer to their involvement in the Group and
any relevant experience, qualifications and
qualities.
Candidates have also been encouraged to
submit a recent photograph.
Candidates’ statements appear in random
order in this booklet and on the ballot paper.
Encouraging diversity
The Co-operative Group is committed to
supporting our elected bodies in becoming
more representative of the members and
communities that we serve – whether in
respect of gender, age, ethnicity or other
diversity criteria. Liaising closely with our
Membership Diversity Working Group we
aim to encourage the involvement of a
broader and more diverse range of members
in The Co-operative Group’s affairs.
Candidates have been asked for diversity
information for monitoring purposes in order
to help us measure our progress.
On page 4 you will find diversity
information relating to your current
Area Committee.
2012 Elections
7

Len
Wardle
Worthing
Donna
Steele
Seaford
“
I bring the Committee a wealth of
Co-operative experience as I sit on the
Committee and the Group Board. I was
elected Group Board Chair in 2007.
There is no doubt that we live in challenging
times and our members are finding it more
difficult to make ends meet. It is important
that your Co-operative provides a service
which is geared to the needs of different
local communities. Listening to the views
of members is key to improving the services
we offer.
Your Society continues to develop its services
to members and recently became one of
the first organisations to be granted a Legal
Services licence. We already offer wills,
probate and family law and hope soon to do
conveyancing.
The Co-operative brand has been applied
across all our businesses so that we can
give a trusted coherent message to our
customers. Trust is at the heart of everything
we do, and is particularly important in our
financial services business when others have
been found wanting. Our Ethical Operating
Plan and our support for Fairtrade are well
embedded in our business plans.
Openness, honesty and integrity are essential
elements to understanding how to integrate
Co-operative principles into a large and
diverse business. We need to listen and
respond to our members’ wishes and to be
active in local communities.
“
“
My whole life has been influenced by the
Co-operative as my father has and still works
for the Society.
It is vital to have members of the Area
Committee who are truly representative of
the local community. As a qualified dance
instructor, medical secretary and a mother
of two teenage girls involved in local clubs
and activities I have a good idea of what is
happening locally and the predominant issues
and concerns.
It is my conviction that as a consumer
co-operative we need to encourage a sense
of ownership by our customer members
and provide some tangible benefits for the
communities we serve. This needs to be
emphasised as the fundamental difference
between us and our competitors.
I strongly believe the way forward globally
is to enhance co-operation, believe in
cooperative values and principles being
introduced to schools and support the
development of worker co-operatives
particularly in the present climate. I embrace
the good works the Society is developing
with climate change, energy saving, honest
labelling and the funding of community
projects.
“
My aspirations for the Co-operative Group are
to ensure that it grows, sincerely retains its
core values and principles and acts upon the
opinions of the members by working together,
representing the views of the membership
our aspirations will be achieved.

Robert
Harber
Steyning
Daniel
Yates
Saltdean
“
Working actively for you on local co-operative
committees and boards for over 20 years, I
bring a wealth of co-operative experience to
these roles. My Economics degree, advanced
diplomas, and considerable co-operative
specific training, mean I can effectively
and consistently question policies and
management activities.
My community engagement is substantial;
for example: as a parish councillor, working
with sporting and other locally-based
organisations; and as a co-operator,
supporting and advising clubs, charities and
co-operatives seeking grant or loan support
from The Co-operative, including village
community shops, healthy living and disability
sports. I have previously served as National
Treasurer of the Woodcraft Folk, the young
people’s co-operative organisation.
Co-operatives are delivering highly regarded,
ethically sound, increasingly wide range of
services. This is reflected in our very highly
trusted brand which is attractive in these
uncertain times.
With our greater coverage of food shops,
following the integration of Somerfield,
we need to ensure they are providing
a sufficiently wide range of products at
affordable prices, enough for families to meet
their weekly needs.
But above all, it’s our Social Goals and
our member involvement which make us
different. I want to spread this good news
even wider, both among our committed staff
and throughout our increasingly diverse
society.
I hope that I retain your confidence. Thank
you for your support.
“
“
I have been honoured to be the Britannia
appointed member of the Sussex Area
Committee and South East Regional Board
since Britannia joined the Group in 2009. As
a former member of the Britannia Members
Council I have sought to ensure that this
amalgamation of two businesses with strong
mutual histories brought together the best
of both.
However I am now even more honoured
to be able to stand for election to the Area
Committee in order to play my full part as an
elected, rather than appointed, member.
I believe strongly that shared Co-operative
Values and Principles need to permeate
through the whole business and that we
must not lose sight of these in developing the
business to deliver for future generations.
As a Physiotherapy Manager in the NHS,
active Co-operative Party member and a
former Councillor I am well used to working
with complex business issues, working within
committees and trying to solve complex
problems for the benefit of wide community
needs.
I would very much like to see the Group
developing better ways of delivering value
for members and the wider communities our
businesses work within.
“
2012 Elections
9

Tony
Firmin
Brighton
Richard
Drinkall
Eastbourne
“
The Co-operative Group has made
commendable progress in the last 5 years
in transforming its shops into 21st century
units. There is, however, a great deal to
be done. Independent consumer surveys
consistently put the Co-op at the bottom of
major food retailers for customer satisfaction.
Although this may be more about perception
rather than fact, there is, undoubtedly,
room for a great deal of improvement. Our
customers and members are the grass roots
of our survival and if we do not have their
support we are nothing.
We have unique selling points in the shape
of Fair Trade, freedom from anonymous
shareholder control and a famous and
proud history. Not enough is made of these
qualities and for too long the Co-op has relied
on its loyal customer base.
For many years I had served on the Sussex
Area Committee and look forward to the
opportunity to contribute to the continuing
advances of the Group.
I was born in Brighton and have lived and
worked nearby virtually all my life. I have
considerable knowledge of the Co-op locally
and of many other Co-operative Societies.
We have a lot to learn from them.
I thank you for your support and look forward
to the increasing success of The Co-operative
Group.
“
“
I have been a member of the Co-operative
Group since 2010 and use my local Co-op
stores for food, petrol and newspaper
purchases.
My career has been spent in the public
sector where I held senior positions in local
Government and the NHS. I then worked as
Chief Executive of Age Concern Eastbourne
transforming a poorly performing charity into
a successful organisation. I have since been
a trustee of both a national and of a local
charity. I am a graduate and hold a master’s
degree in Business Administration.
My work in the public sector has provided
me with experience of the political aspects
of organisational life, managing change and
working within committees. As a committee
chair I am experienced of managing the
business through focussing the debate and
enabling committees to make decisions and
achieve results.
I am impressed by the Co-op’s positioning of
itself in the national economy. Its emphasis
on environmental issues, fair trade and
member ownership is a message which
contains a proud past and an important
future. Many people have had enough of the
current business and banking culture and
want to see a different approach to managing
our commercial life. I believe that the Co-op
is well placed to lead on these issues and I
would welcome the opportunity of making a
contribution.
“

Abi
Steele
Seaford
Lis
Telcs
Brighton
“
I feel I have been influenced by the
Co-operative all my life as my parents,
grandparents and family have all been
members of the Co-operative Group for many
years.
As a student in further education and part
time retail assistant I am really interested in
standing for the Co-operative Group’s Area
Committee as I like the idea of being owned
by its members. I respect and believe in it’s
principles of fairness, diversity, equality and
promotion of fair trade and feel that it is time
for me to participate more actively in the
movement.
My work experience has developed my
listening skills and the value of team working.
I realise that I can learn a lot from senior
committee members but know I am in touch
with the younger generation and can add a
different perspective to the discussions.
I would aim to work with the Committee
and all relevant members considering
opinions and information to ensure that the
collective aims of the Co-operative Group are
developed.
“
“
In these difficult financial times, the Cooperative
Group shines as a beacon to show
companies how to manage their affairs in a
way that is fair to all through its democratic
structure where the consumers have a voice,
because they own it.
I am passionate about Fairtrade. This has led
me to start a children’s group at the school
I work in to teach others in the school about
what Fairtrade is and why it is important. I
would like to see the Co-operative Group
continue to extend its range of products and
make it more affordable for all.
I am also passionate about education. The
Group is very good at educating its members
and the wider community about important
issues such as Fairtrade, the Bee problem
and more, which shows once again its
commitment to the world in which we live
and is central to what makes it such a vital
part of our society.
I have been secretary to the Sussex Cooperative
Party since 2006 and have been
involved with pushing for Co-op values and
principles since then.
“
I would like you to consider me for election, I
always take full part in whatever I do and will
be a committed member of the Committee,
should I be elected.
2012 Elections
11

You can earn points across
our family of businesses.
Don’t forget, the more you spend the
bigger your share of the profits will be!
www.co-operative.coop/membership

According to the
No. 1 comparison website,
nothing compares to
my bank account.
We’ve been voted Best Current Account
Provider 2011 by MoneySupermarket.
Talk to us in any branch of The Co-operative Bank or Britannia | Visit us online | Call 0800 028 8087
The Best Current Account Provider 2011 has been awarded to our Current Account, Current Account Plus, Privilege and Privilege Premier Accounts. According to Experian
Hitwise data, www.moneysupermarket.com is the number one finance comparison website between January to December 2011 based on UK market share of visits. Lines
are open from 8am until 9pm, Monday to Friday and 9am until 6pm, Saturday and Sunday. Calls may be monitored or recorded for security and training purposes. Calls to
0800 numbers are free from any UK landline. Call charges from other providers may vary. Current account applicants must be a UK resident and 18 years or over. Credit
facilities provided by The Co-operative Bank are subject to status and our lending policy. The Co-operative Bank p.l.c., Registered Office: P.O.Box 101, 1 Balloon Street,
Manchester, M60 4EP. Registered in England and Wales No. 990937. The Co-operative Bank is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority (No. 121885),
subscribes to the Lending Code, the Financial Ombudsman Service, and is licensed by the Office of Fair Trading (No.006110).

2012
Committee elections
Together we can
build a better world
Your new representatives will soon be making a real difference in your local area.
If you think you could do the same and would like to find out more, get in touch.
For further information please go to www.co-operative.coop/membership
Access for all
The Co-operative Group’s Customer Relations team can provide publications in Braille,
in large print and on cassette.
Freephone 0800 0686 727
Minicom 0800 0686 717
Email customer.relations@co-operative.coop
Write to The Co-operative Group, Freepost – MR9473, Manchester M4 8BA
Web www.co-operative.coop
Co-operative Group Limited, Registered office: New Century House, Manchester M60 4ES. Reg No 525R.
We like our communications to have an impact on you – but not the environment which is why this book is produced using paper from sustainable sources.
Please pass on or recycle this booklet once you have finished with it.