Hear from 5 co-op General Managers about what they see when they look out at the competitive landscape in their market. Rita York Hennecke, Community Mercantile, Lawrence, KS Dan Gillotte, Wheatsville Co-op, Austin, TX Steve Watts, Los Alamos Food Co-op, Los Alamos, MN Ben Kuzma, Boise Food Co-op, Boise, ID Tim Bartlett, Lexington Co-op Market, Buffalo, NY
For many years GreenStar Natural Foods Market “peacefully coexisted” with its local competition in Ithaca, New York. As more conventional grocers are wooing the natural food consumer with convenience and price points, the pressure is on. Brandon Kane, the co-op’s general manager has responded with a focus on community, diversity, collaboration and efficient operations. “We want to overcome our elitist perception,” Kane said, as [...]
Sharon Murphy brings the motto of Whole Foods Co-op in Duluth, "Community Owned, that's the difference". Learn how WFC has been able to sustain growth and expansion in service to their community of owners. Store Manager Sarah Hannigan brings to bear her own background as a community organizer to her new task of managing a community-owned grocery co-op.
Cindee Lolick, General Manager at First Alternative in Corvallis, OR shares several exciting tales of opportunities that First Alt has been given because of their deep and lasting involvement in the Corvallis community.
At Mississippi Markets, successful growth means defining the key stakeholders, and then working to align, engage, and foster participation. For their expanding Twin Cities cooperative, the formula seems to be working!
Maurice Smith, CEO [bio] Local Government Federal Credit Union
The board of directors at People's Food Co-op in Kalamazoo, MI have committed to developing their awareness around racial equity. Board President Hether Frayer tells the Kzoo board story about how they ensconced their social justice values into co-op policy and monitoring.
Bill Gessner, Co-op Development Consultant CDS Consulting Co-op Minneapolis, MN Widely known throughout the food co-op community, Mr. Gessner has travelled the country helping grow co-ops and start new ones. His experience gives him a unique insight into the strengths and the potential of the cooperative movement.
Informed by the high-level perspective he has from working with a wide array of co-op boards throughout the U.S., Mark Goehring of CBLD fame, has some sage words for co-ops and cooperators everywhere. He breaks his talk down into 4 key points: Roles, Transparency, Change, and Growing Co-ops vs. “Going Corporate.” Mark discusses the question: What is bold leadership going to look like? In [...]
