Mark Thorne, Board President
December 5, 2024, Board Meeting Recap
Winter is here! Happy Holidays and have a great New Year!
The Moscow Food Co-op Board of Directors held their December Board meeting on Tuesday December 3 at the 1912 Center from 6 – 8 p.m. Present were eight of our nine Board members, our
General Manager and Co-op staff, our meeting facilitator, and one Co-op owner.
The General Manager presented her list of policy monitoring reports for 2024 for the Board to
review as part of the annual GM evaluation procedure. The table provided information on each policy monitoring report including timeliness, reasonable interpretation, adequate data for review, compliance status, and the Board’s vote. The monitoring table was in great shape and was accepted by the Board. Additional and interesting details from the December meeting can be found in the General Manager’s FYI report on the Meetings and Minutes page of the Co-op’s webpage.
The Board reviewed its C9 Policy covering Board member nomination and election processes for the past 12 months. The policy directs the Board to ensure continued effective leadership by recruiting high-quality candidates. The process involves maintaining a committee charged with overseeing recruitment, candidate eligibility, annual election process, and appointments if a Board vacancy occurs. All policy elements were found to be in compliance; however, a candidate orientation was not held for the previous election because both candidates were current Board members. Following the vote, the Board updated the policy by replacing the committee name listed on the policy with a more general reference to the committee overseeing the nomination, election, and appointment processes, and to change the committee’s role from conducting a candidate orientation to conducting candidate interviews. The changes were accepted by the Board.
In other business, the Board reflected on this year’s fall retreat topics and discussed how to keep momentum going on strategic planning and Board involvement. The Board also discussed the effectiveness of our Policy Governance evaluating process.
For our Study and Engagement Series, Staci Sproull and Nancy Tribble gave a wonderful and inspiring presentation about the Christmas for Kids program in Moscow that provides gifts for children at Christmas time who otherwise would go without because of hard times experienced by their families. Christmas for Kids is 100% volunteer and gives gifts to all children based on need and not religious affiliation. The program is supported by contributions from individuals as well as businesses and corporations. There are several ways to contribute to Christmas for Kids including direct monetary contributions, family sponsorship, the Take a Tag program, and by becoming a volunteer. Furthermore, the Moscow Food Co-op has included Christmas for Kids as a recipient in the Change for Good program where a small donation is made each time you bring in your own reusable grocery bag. More information can be found on their website at https://www.christmasforkidsmoscow.org.
Our Study and Engagement Series helps the Board and staff members become better informed about issues and activities that affect our community. One of the Seven Cooperative Principles states that we have “Concern for Community,” and listening to people describe issues of concern in our community is directly tied to our Ends.
The next Board meeting is scheduled for January 7, 2025, at the Moscow Chamber of Commerce (411 S Main St, Moscow, ID). The meeting will run from 6:00 to 8:00 pm. Current Co-op owners can attend in person or via Zoom. To attend via Zoom, contact the Board Administrative Assistant at boardadmin@moscowfood.coop for more information and to RSVP.
Further information about our Board meetings is at https://www.moscowfood.coop/boardmeetings.
Sincerely,
Mark Thorne, Board President
Moscow Food Co-op Ends Policy
The Moscow Food Co-op is at the heart of a thriving, healthy, and inclusive community where:
1. We embody and embrace cooperative principles and values.
2. All community members have local access to environmentally friendly, socially responsible, and healthful choices.