Macomb Food Co-op Steering Committee Meeting Minutes
June 26, 2012
Community Room, City Hall
Present: Karen Peitzmeier, Jean Davenport, Margaret Ovitt, Pam Rands, Gordon Rands, and Brian Davies.
The meeting was called to order by Karen at 6:30 p.m. The minutes of the June 19 steering committee meeting were approved with no corrections.
Committee Reports (reported by):
Communications (Karen):
Karen talked to Sue about web site development. She will initiate a meeting to discuss the web site, and the time needed and the fees for its development.
Owner Drive (Jean):
Two house parties are planned for early July. The committee made up a list of names of people that could be contacted by each of us for the purpose of proposing house parties.
Events (Margaret):
Brian marched in the Heritage Days parade with the Community Gardens group; 300 seedlings that were handed out included a short blurb about the co-op. We decided to encourage new participants in the Farmer’s Market outreach effort, pairing each with an experienced Board member to get them up to speed on the message we are delivering to customers. We allocated approximately $70 to buy a canopy for the table at the Farmer’s Market. Brian will coordinate a joint event with the Illinois Stewardship Alliance in connection with their board meeting in Macomb on the weekend of Aug. 11-12.
Finance (Pam):
The current owner count is 141 and 194 shares have been sold. Pam will be talking to Bill Gessner on a monthly basis. There was a question about the need to file with the SEC if shares are sold out of state; this will be brought up at the statewide roundtable.
Producer Relations (Dusty):
Dusty has obtained the forms to join the Chamber of Commerce.
Grant information (Karen):
IIRA: Erin has arranged a statewide meeting of food co-ops in Normal, IL, on June 27. Four of our board members will attend this event (Erin, Karen, Jean, and Brian).
FCI grant: Margaret and Jean will report on a visit to Common Ground co-op in Urbana.
CCMA conference: Karen is still working on a report for the Board. The Consumer Cooperative Management Association annual conference was held June 14-16, 2012.
IIRA and MAPPING: We have obtained an Americorps VISTA grant to support one person for a full-time position in support of our co-op. The grant will provide $900 per month from Aug. 2012 until Aug. 2013. We are now looking for office space.
The next steering committee meeting will be on July 24 at 6:30 p.m. in the Community Room of City Hall.