Managers' Conference - Team Talk

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The InternationalYear of Co-operativesOctober sees the Co-operatives United event kick off in Manchester, an event thatcelebrates the International Year of Co-operatives as we prepare to say goodbye to thismonumental year. Throughout 2012, co-operatives around the world have been going theextra mile to promote the co-operative difference. The year will leave a lasting legacy forco-operation, with the birth of new co-operatives, the development of existing ones and agreater knowledge all round of what makes co-operation great.The future’s brightYou may have heard about Co-operative Futures, a businessdevelopment consultancy specialising in co-operative and communityled businesses. Midcounties is the founding member of Co-operativeFutures, offering financial support and advice. Co-operative Futuresensures that new co-operative ventures are set up with soundbusiness and marketing plans, and they have the right legaland governance arrangements in place. Its heartlands covermuch of the same area as Midcounties, including Oxfordshire,Gloucestershire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Swindon, Wiltshire,Worcestershire, Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire,Birmingham, Wolverhampton and Walsall.Co-operative Futures, which began in 1999, now has over 50members whose businesses they have helped in some way, rangingfrom the Thames Valley Farmers Market Co-operative to the Wotton Electric Picture House.Co-operative Futures offers a lifeline to co-operative ventures that might otherwise struggle to getoff the ground.Setting the IYC in stoneThe year may be coming to an end, but colleagues from our Masonry business havebuilt a commemoration to the year that will last for generations. A statue, celebratingthe International Year of Co-operatives was unveiled at our Warwick head office thissummer.It is based upon the IYC logo and was painstakingly crafted by mason ChrisWilkinson, who spent three weeks working on it at The Midcounties Co-operativeMemorial Masonry centre in Walsall. Peter Hackett from our Highworth Masonrydid the hand letter cutting of the inscription. The idea was to create a joint venturebetween the two Masonry sites to build a statue that all colleagues can enjoy foryears to come.14 Team Talk
Remembering IYCSo, as the IYC draws to a close, we remember the moments that have made this year so special...The year kicked off on 12 January, the official UK launch, and at Midcounties we held events at six sites across our trading heartlandsto celebrate.Our 2011 Member of the Year winners took part in a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Magara in February, a village in Tanzania. Here theyhelped with the renovation of a primary school and set up lasting links with the school including setting up a pen pal programme withone of our partner schools.Later in the year we celebrated Fairtrade Fortnight in style, hosting many events over the two weeks and engaging with over 10,000members. The events, which ranged from a fashion show to talks from a Ugandan Fairtrade coffee grower, served to highlight theimportance of Fairtrade.During Co-operatives Fortnight we held 45 events with otherco-operatives, engaging with over 11,000 members. In honour ofthe International Year of Co-operatives, we hosted a CommunityFun Day at St Nicholas Park, Warwick.We invited colleagues, members and co-operators fromaround the world to send us images of their co-ops. Wethen uploaded these to our Flickr and Instagram pages tohighlight the diversity of co-operation. We also used theimages to create a co-operation collage, which we will beshowcasing at the Co-operatives United expo.To inspire young people, we worked with our five partner schools to bury time capsules to capture theco-operative difference for the next generation.We have just counted and verified the votes for our Member of the YearAwards 2012. The awards are an important opportunity to recognise ourmembers who go that extra mile for their communities in the spirit ofco-operation.This October, six colleagues travelled to Quebec to attend the International Summit of Co-operatives.They discussed a variety of topics, including how co-operatives can maintain productivity and profitabilitywhile staying true to co-operative values.Di Bateman, Head of Membership Engagement, said, “I would like to say a big thank-you to colleaguesfor helping to make this year so special. It has been an extraordinary year for the Membership team andit’s the dedication and support from colleagues that has helped make each event so successful.”Calling on all co-operatives to uniteAt the Co-operatives United event in Manchester between 31 October and 2 November, we will be celebrating the impact ofthe IYC with co-operatives from around the world. At the event, co-operatives will be attending to showcase what they haveachieved in the special year, and share with likeminded people a passion for the co-operative way of doing business. At the event,Midcounties will be displaying a special piece of artwork, which incorporates photographs of co-operatives around the world intoa fantastic collage of co-operation. Our Energy, Childcare, Masonry and Co-operative Flexible Benefits businesses will also beexhibiting at the event.Team Talk 15
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Page 16 and 17: Half Year Report round upWe’ve ju
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Page 33 and 34: Take a breakIt may still seem quite
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Managers' Conference - Team Talk

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