Honest
SLATE
Honest Weight Food Co-op’s Community Newsletter for Membership • Staff • Governance • Management Published monthly by the Communications Committee to promote transparency, report without bias, and sustain community.
March 2O21
Honest Weight Food Co-op • 100 Watervliet Avenue, Albany, NY 12206 • 518-482-2667
honestslate@honestweight.coop • https://www.honestweight.coop/
April Elections Beckon: Calling for Co-op Leadership by Paula McKeough/Elections and Nominations Committee
It’s been just over one year since
planning began for the April 2020 Membership Meeting when Member-Owners (MOs) were to elect seven (7) Board members. Upon grasping the magnitude of the COVID-19 pandemic taking hold, as well as the need to adhere to NYS restrictions of large, in-person group gatherings, the Coop Board and its committees recognized the need to postpone in-person Membership Meetings without a clear indication of when they could resume. Those indefinite circumstances prompted the Co-op to develop virtual meetings with voting capabilities in order to keep our governance processes intact. Recognizing the scale and significance of this change prompted a “practice” May Membership Meeting to ensure we could address any potential challenges prior to the actual June Membership Meeting. We launched Membership, Board, and Committee meetings virtually, and arranged for in-person, phone, and web-based voting on various changes we are required to support according to our Bylaws.
It takes a strong and dedicated
Co-op to collectively pitch in and work together to create brand-new processes for meetings and voting. The first few months of 2020 saw challenges that we could never have anticipated, yet we cooperatively pitched in; offered our first-ever virtual Membership Meeting on June 28, 2020; and followed with two subsequent virtual Membership Meetings—and we have consistently seen increased MO participation and voting outcomes as a result.
honestslate@honestweight.coop
This is Co-op action and service at work! It is with that same spirit that we announce this year’s annual Board of Directors elections will take place virtually on April 25 at the Regular Membership Meeting, where we will elect four (4) Board members. The nomination period will officially open April 1 (8am) and run through April 25 (8am). The candidate nomination form will be available to view on the HWFC website beginning March 3, 2021. Forms will be officially accepted beginning April 1.
Have you considered
a run for a Board seat? Perhaps you are interested in furthering the Co-op’s goals of promoting fair employment practices while providing the community with affordable, highquality natural foods and products for healthy living. Serving on the Board is an incredible opportunity to help shape how our grocery store works today and how to ensure its success for the future.
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Some functions of the Board include serving a fiduciary and legal responsibility (i.e., acting in good faith with regard to protecting the Co-op’s interests and responsibilities), helping to facilitate long-range planning, recommending major policy and budget decisions to the Membership, approving the Employee Manual, and developing the management structure. Board service brings with it legal obligations and expectations of one’s time that need to be carefully considered. In ad-
dition to attending Board meetings (first Tuesdays at 6pm), Board members serve as the Board liaison to at least one Co-op committee, attend that committee’s monthly meetings, attend regularly scheduled working meetings of the Board, and conduct four annual Membership Meetings. For more detailed information regarding the Board’s specific responsibilities, view our governance workshop presentations.
Please contemplate the importance of the Board in helping our Co-op continue to thrive. If you can, consider running for the Board, or if you know another Co-op MO you think would make an excellent candidate, encourage that person to run.
If you’re uncertain or have a question, feel free to contact the Elections and Nominations Committee at ElectionsComm@ honestweight.coop, or any current Board member, found here. And please remember to vote!
CONTENTS Plant Donations Needed........... 3 How Housewares Happen......... 4 Plant-Based Milk Options.......... 5 Q&A............................................6 The Buzz about Beekeeping...... 7 March Board Decisions.............. 8 Committee Corner......................9 Co-Opportunities..................... 10 https://www.honestweight.coop/
