Annual Mtg 6-8pm Sun 29mar09
Rory
possibility is a free site to be donated by the county at the 78th
Street farm project and that the change to bylaws will be to allow non-
members on the board and monetary compensation for board members?
Stripped of bolds, italics and extra exclamation points, the below is
from
http://clarkfoodfarm.blogspot.com/2009/03/attention-vancouver-food-cooperative.html
Vancouver Food Co-op Annual Member Meeting
The Co-op's annual member meeting will take place on Sunday March 29th
- 6:00 - 8:00 pm at St. Lukes Episcopal Church at 426 E. Fourth Plain
Blvd.
This event will be a Potluck of snacks, hors d'oeuvres, and finger
foods. So, please bring a healthy snack or refreshment for everyone to
enjoy!
This is a member meeting. Guests are welcome, although not able to
vote, unless of course they join at the meeting.
PLEASE ATTEND THIS IMPORTANT MEETING. The Co-op continues to make
progress towards opening a store. The Board wants and needs your
input. Being a Co-op member means having a voice in setting Co-op
policies, participating in important decisions, and helping make the
Co-op successful. The Annual Meeting is one of many forums for you to
play a role, meet people, and stay informed on our activities in the
past year. We will also highlight the work of our Action Committees
and their goals for the coming year.
AGENDA: Reports from the Board of Directors; Reports from Action
Committees; Financial Reports; Voting on amendments to the Bylaws;
Meet the Board candidates and a discussion about a potential site
option.
Additionally, VFC was very recently presented with an interesting site
option to consider and we would like to let you know a bit more about
it at the meeting. We want to find out how you would like to be
involved in the consideration of this potentially exciting option.
At this point, the board and some additional committee members are
moving forward by evaluating what the new concept for the space could
be, its likelihood of success, and how it aligns with our goals. Your
support and involvement is key!
We welcome any comments or questions. Please email
vancou...@vancouverfood.coop or call 694-8094 and a board member
will get back to you.
We sent out a letter to all members with more detailed information as
well as the restated bylaws and Articles of Incorporation, if you do
not receive the letter by Monday please let us know and we can email
you the info.
We look forward to seeing you on March 29th at 6:00 PM at Saint Luke's
Episcopal Church, 426 East Fourth Plain Boulevard, Vancouver--and
remember to bring a snack or non-alcoholic beverage to share.
Glenna Rose
>
> Does anyone care to place a bet that the newest, breathless
> possibility is a free site to be donated by the county at the 78th
> Street farm project and that the change to bylaws will be to allow non-
> members on the board and monetary compensation for board members?
[snipped rest of message]
I sincerely hope this is absolutely not the case. That property is
taxpayer-owned land with taxpayer-supported resources and not for the
benefit of corporations who are in the business of selling, however
much they may claim to be well-intentioned.
There have been at least two locations in the downtown area where the
food co-op originally claimed to be planning to locate and have not
even been considered even though the board was made aware of them. A
third possibility may be available this year and likely has not been
investigated either.
Vancouver Food Co-op is a business, duly registered as such, and has
been talking about planning to open a store for six years. Clearly it
has failed that goal. It is not the responsibility of the taxpayers to
aid in furnishing a location to a store to be run by an organization
that has already failed to succeed. We have 345,000 people living in
Clark County with fewer than 200 individuals being shareholders in the
organization. Many, including myself, who believed in it enough to
invest money and give much of our time and energy, have chosen to
leave and request our money returned after becoming very familiar with
the "inner workings" of the organization. A food co-op is a good
idea, but this one should go away and one should start fresh with none
of the board members, past or present, of this one involved. This
organization's board has not played well with others.
Yelm Co-op opened a store in less than two years of starting to talk
about it with less money and fewer members than this one had a year
ago. I personally visited that store last spring to see their store
and talk with them about how they got started and actually opened the
store.
At the owner-requested meeting last summer, I personally requested the
board plan a field trip to the Yelm Food Co-op to find out what they
did, how they did it, and consider those ideas. That suggestion was
not implemented nor have those of many others who have been involved
in the past been implemented either.
As for monetary compensation, since when have board members of a young
food co-op been paid for their services? Any funds should be directed
to a successful, qualified, experienced store manager.
Clark County Commissioners need to concentrate efforts at that
location to programs such as a Food Bank, Community Gardens,
education, etc., to help the all taxpayers. Clark County is not in
the business of supporting grocery stores by providing cash or space.
A charitable organization providing food (food bank); food purchasing,
preparation or growing instruction; a pilot project of a few months
duration; land for community gardens; instructional gardens; a meal
distribution center (Loaves and Fishes, Meals on Wheels, etc.) . . .
those are things that we, as taxpayers, would support but not a
grocery store of any type.
I would hope our County Commissioners would not even be considering
helping an organization which has clearly failed its goals. In their
considerations, commissioners should heavily consider what percentage
of the population has supported the organization considering it has
been actively and officially recruiting since July of 2007 with fewer
than 200 people believing in it by purchasing shares.
215,640 voters in Clark County are listed as of 3/2/2009. Fewer than
nine-hundredths of one percent (0.0009) have shown support of the
organization. If I were an elected official, I surely wouldn't bet my
position's security on those odds.
I would suggest that all attending the meeting request a complete
accounting of all monies received to date and how those were spent.
Monies received to be broken down as (1) owner share money received,
(2) scholarship money received, (3) grants received, fund raising and
(4) donations received, all itemized so there is no "grouping" of
anything. Monies spent should be broken down item by item also,
again, no grouping. I have held all along that the money from shares,
money for scholarship, and all other money be held in three separate
accounts so when shareholder money is spent, there is a clear trail of
it. At the last board meeting I attended where cash on and was
reported, there was approximately $3,000 less cash on hand than had
been collected from shares sales, something very disturbing for an
organization headed to opening a store, especially with all the funds
which were collected from grants and fund-raising. The County
Commissioners should request such a complete accounting for every
penny from the very first money collected before any further
discussions, if any exist, regarding assistance of any kind to the
organization.
Such a breakdown will expose irresponsible handling of cash. It
would not result in a institutional loan and should not result in help
from taxpayer assets.
--
---<-@ Glenna Rose @->---
I cannot change the world, but I can make my little corner better.