Annual Membership Meeting and Elections: YOUR co-op, YOUR way!
Save the date! Our annual membership meeting and elections will take place on Thursday, May 16 in the East Aurora Middle School cafeteria. Come meet your fellow member-owners (bring a friend!) and hear what has transpired over the past year and learn about our plans for the future, both near and long-term while we make steady progress toward our goal of opening our doors and beyond.
Our 2013 ballots are in the mail thanks to Nominating Committee members Heather Lazickas, Mary Aiken, Barb Byers, and volunteers Suzanne Krzeminski, Clarice Otminski, Connie Stone and Dan Castle for all they contributed to make it happen!!
Perhaps most important of all, this year marks the first member-owner election! You likely have received your paper ballot in the mail recently, or will today! Be sure to participate in the election; voting is one of the unique aspects of the cooperative business model. Remember, as a member-owner, you have a share – and therefore a say – in how we conduct business.
Three wonderfully qualified candidates have stepped forward to take the three open seats: Theodore Brelsford, Gerry Gallagher and Susan Swarts, all of whom bring a tremendous amount of talent and insight to our board and passion for the success of the co-op. They are team players who are willing to work on behalf of our member-owners in the best interest of the co-op. You can read their full bios in your ballot, which also includes instructions on how to cast your vote (remember, one vote per membership; proxy voting will not be allowed).
While we are preparing to welcome new directors, we are also saying goodbye to two founding board members: Lissa Mann and Deb Radziwon. Each has dedicated so much of themselves to this startup effort: both possess a strong work ethic, a groundedness and level headedness, not to mention energy and enthusiasm which has often inspired and reignited others’ energy along the way! Our sincere thanks to Lissa and Deb for all of their contributions. They will be missed on the board, but they will be enthusiastically keeping tabs as member-owners.
As you learn about the candidates and prepare to vote, you are exercising your democratic member control and, in addition to the equity share you paid when you joined, are truly helping establish and shape our co-op – YOUR co-op! Each vote is sacred and will be kept secure from the moment it is cast until it is counted. The voting period will close at the end of the Annual Meeting with the tally set to take place on Friday, May 17 (details to follow), led by our Elections Committee: Greg Goggins, Carol Griffis, Joanie Long, Karin De La Rosa and Laura Salwen. Member-owners and candidates are invited to observe.
This is a very exciting and critical time in our co-op’s history – with a strong, engaged membership and a dedicated board working on their behalf to fulfill the mission of the East Aurora Cooperative Market, we’re sure to succeed!
Yours in cooperation,
Mary Aiken
East Aurora Cooperative Market
Board President