The Jan 2025 Owners Meeting was a great success. Fifteen owners and three allies gathered to update our goals and begin planning for 2025. Two break-out conversations focused on some basic objectives to work on in 2025, including Site Selection & Business Development, Technology & Communications, Owner Engagement, and Internal Systems (especially finances).
ALL OWNERS are welcome (and needed) to participate, at any point!
Site Selection & Business Development Committees
Members:
Alix Davison, Emily Boone, Amanda Fuller, Myrisa Christy (CFA), Kellie Padgett (KCARD), Cassia Herron (committees’ chair)
How to get involved: Please contact Cassia cassia.herron@gmail.com
2025 Goals
- Finalize site selection
- Revise sources and uses, proforma and business plan
- Launch capital campaign
Q1 Work Plan
Site Selection Committee
- Finalize and rank sites
- Investigate each site’s development opportunities
- Decide if committee members do this work or co-op to hire a realtor
- Ask National Cooperative Grocers for list of questions (NCG is interested in supporting our site selection process and us becoming members)
- Finalize site selection by end of March
- Committee to sunset after site selection is complete
- Members are encouraged to join Business Development Committee
Business Development Committee
- Review new market study + old business plan and proforma
- Meet with NCG in March
Next Steps
Site Selection Committee Meeting
2/6 or 2/11 at 6:30PM
Business Development Committee Meeting
2/17 or 2/24 at 1PM or 6:30PM
2/28 at 10AM or 11AM
Technology & Social Media/Communications
Another topic that was discussed at length was how we improve our ability to communicate with our ownership and our community.
Members: Arte Chambers, John Kreuger, Shavaun Evans, Kaitlin Franklin
Volunteered to work with Arte on our communications technology & social media.
How to get involved: Please contact Arte arte.chambers@gmail.com
Arte is working to get all committees organized with technology and support by February 15th. Once that is completed, action steps will begin and everyone in LCG will be updated with specifics on how to join in the work.
Owner Engagement/Outreach
Members: Robin Hawkins, Gina Braxton, Tony Manning and Kaitlin Franklin agreed to bolster our in-person efforts with Owner Engagement activities, such as canvassing, new owner recruitment, potlucks, or street teams, as needed.
How to get involved: Please contact Robin mrsrmfaulkner@gmail.com
Internal Systems
Members: Michelle Lori, Amy Shir, Robin Hawkins, Judy Schroeder
How to get involved: Please contact Judy judys@iglou.com
- There is a need to document our history, both good and bad, so that we may learn from our past mistakes and become a better co-op.
– Robin Hawkins and Judy Schroeder offered to start by doing interviews to gather info and create the narrative that LCG may share internally and externally.
- Financial Practices: How do we know that LCG isn’t going to repeat the same problems the Board has had before? We have a proficient & dedicated Treasurer, Seamus Allman, so our interest was in strengthening hands-on support for –
- financial reporting
- wider knowledge about our finances & history (where are our files & who has access to them?)
- an audit of our assets
- a charter that identifies what the committee needs in the future to be functional for the co-op.
Michelle Lori & Amy Shir will start this Quarter by reviewing and organizing LCG’s historical Google Docs filing system and Judy will have a conversation with the Treasurer about the best ways this team can be of support for financial reporting. By the June Owners Meeting, we’ll have an organized filing system, a financial reporting process, and an audit of our assets completed.