Board Report – GMM Recap

The bi-annual general membership meeting/potluck was Saturday afternoon, May 9 at Victory Park in Urbana. About 35 members attended, we had some great food as usual, and lively, engaging conversation.

Several items were at issue this meeting. We had board member election opening, a preliminary introduction to some bylaw changes that we'll be voting on in the next month or so, and an introduction to the Co-op's new ends policies.

Sam Vandegrift called the meeting to order and began with the bylaw changes. They include increasing the number of votes for a quorum to represent a percentage of the active members; adding two seats to the board of directors bringing the total to nine, and changing the length of a term to three years; making the general membership meeting an annual event; most importantly, changing our legal status from 501(c)(3) to co-op. Complete details will be available as they are ironed out with attorneys.

Sam also introduced the Co-op's reworked ends policies. Clint Popetz, board chair, helped explain that the ends policies are broad guiding principles that help steer the Co-op to make the changes in the world the membership would like to see.

Those broad statements are as follows:

• The Co-op is the center of a vibrant, inclusive community.
• The cooperative movement is strengthened.
• The Co-op serves as an educational resource on food issues.
• Our local food chain is more equitable, robust and environmentally sound.

The board's next focus is to really study these policies, collect input, share information, and delve into how to use Co-op resources to accomplish these ends.

We intend to do this in-depth work one end statement at a time, and are soliciting member input as to which of these statements interests you most. At the GMM, the most interest was garnered by the last two of these statements, although there was some interest in the first two as well.

The board will be blogging about the ends policies and our in-depth work on these, and would love for you to join the discussion.

Keep in mind that in the fall there will be at least two open board seats. Please consider participating in Co-op leadership. Meetings are open to member/owners and happen the second Monday of each month in the meeting room on the lower level of Urbana Free Library. And we'd love to hear from you, so email us any time: board@commonground.coop.