Sarah Lebherz passionately stewards the cooperative business model as a seasoned cooperator with deep roots in her home town. Equipped with years of financial management and expansion project expertise, she has found fresh purpose in pro forma and budget development with colleagues at Columinate.
The Progressive Grocer Top Women in Grocery (TWIG) is a prestigious award giving industry recognition to grocery retail leadership, and this year's list includes one of Columinate's own, Rebecca Torpie. TWIG awards are granted annually to a generous number of women in a huge and diverse industry, from team leaders and store managers to senior executives. The 2022 awards were announced in June 2023.
Sometimes the road to Columinate is a direct line, and sometimes it’s a leisurely path with many twists and turns. For Lisa Malmarowski and Pam Mehnert of Flying Squirrel Milwaukee LLC, joining Columinate has been a logical extension of the work each of them has been doing at Outpost Natural Foods in Milwaukee. They have been sharing their skills with fellow cooperators for years, putting into practice the cooperative principles of education and cooperation among cooperatives.
You can compare your co-op’s general manager (GM) compensation with over 100 others in the Columinate Compensation Database. And the more co-ops that use the database, the more useful this tool will be for all co-ops. If a co-op GM has not already registered for the database, they can do so by going to compensation.columinate.coop and following the prompts. If the co-op is a member of NCG, database registration is free.
Independent grocers and co-ops face formidable challenges to survival, from WalMart to dollar stores, while often lacking the resources they need. Columinate's Jeanie Wells is providing these retail operations with essential skills and tools. At the June 2023 CCMA conference, Wells' Mighty Community Markets (MCM) training program was held up to its national audience as an outstanding example of cooperative innovation and achievement. (Go [...]
Ari Derfel has been advocating for natural and organic foods for the past few decades. He’s been translating his personal values of sustainability and food justice into business practices.
“The movement toward housing co-ops is very important for low-income and underrepresented communities. It excites me to be able to apply my theoretical knowledge in a practical way.” David Cruz Ramirez learned early the lessons of being resourceful and adaptable. And now, his translation skills and organizing experience are broadening the reach of Columinate. Cruz, bilingual from childhood, was born in Mexico City, raised in northern California, and loves to travel. When I caught up with him to interview for this article, he was in his sister’s smoothie shop and buying the warm clothes he needed to take his dad for a birthday trip to Anchorage, Alaska.
I was born to Jamaican parents in Hartford, Connecticut, and later migrated south with a company (the food retail group Ahold), landing in Ellenwood, Georgia. I was working as a commercial property accountant. My husband and I met in Connecticut during our music days as writers, performers, producers, and recording artists on the reggae scene. After our first son was born, we continued to produce and record music, literally changing diapers between recording tracks. Creating music is still a love for hubby and me, but now, creating in our home studio, it's more of a solace for me and personal therapy for both of us. We've also included cooking in our therapy toolkit. After almost forty years together, each moment is precious, and we're making the moments count. My dad has passed on, but my mom is about an hour away and loving life. Our sons are both young adults now and are amazing human beings. And I love to write; I'd love to publish a couple books one day.
There is an entire genre of films and TV shows dedicated to pointing out the soullessness and drone of American workplaces, with 1999’s Office Space perhaps the most famous example. Columinate consultant Mark Mulcahy has the prescription for both the workers at Office Space’s fictional Initech, and for the real workers at co-ops and independent grocers across the country. “I’m working on bringing joy and balance back to the workplace. That’s gotten lost. That’s what makes people want to come to work: to find joy and purpose in their work. Everyone carries the same products and margin pressures will continue. Businesses who build a culture of doing real work through joy will thrive.”
Ten years ago, the Assabet Co-op Market recruited its first member-owners in the small mill town of Maynard, Massachusetts. Today, the co-op boasts more than 2,100 member-owners from 40 communities, and this spring they'll celebrate the grand opening of their 8,000 square-foot grocery store along the Assabet River. "It's been a pure grassroots effort from the beginning," says Lorne Bell, the co-op's operations coordinator. Bell estimates that he and co-op volunteers have "tabled" at more than 500 farmers markets, festivals, and community events over the years.
