Michelle Schry, General Manager People's Food Cooperative, LaCrosse, WI & Rochester, MN Learn about the process, the challenges, and the triumphs of the unique "merger" that took place in Rochester. Michelle Schry, GM, tells about the engagement, the participation, and the support that poured from BOTH communities.
By Jeanie Wells 171 March-April 2014 Your market study promises great sales. Developers are wooing you into their properties. Staff and shoppers are clamoring for more space. Adding a second store seems like a piece of cake, right? Not quite. Ask any leader of a food co-op that has made the leap from single to multi-store operations, and you will inevitably hear tales of [...]
By Dan Gillotte, Rose Marie Klee 166 May-June 2013 In Austin, Texas, Wheatsville Co-op is taking a BIG Direction: "Business Is Good." Wheatsville's BIG Direction is the general manager's interpretation of our Ends -policies, which act as a powerful, multi-faceted expression of our strategic plan. The Wheatsville Ends policies are as follows: Wheatsville will be at the forefront of a transformed society that has: [...]
Now boards and management groups can easily access the expansion planning advice of CDS CC consultant Bill Gessner, food co-op general managers and board presidents through our newest Online Recorded Workshop titled Expansion Projects: Preparing Your Co-op for Successful Growth. In this video format, many of the frequently asked questions about expansion planning and strategic thinking for boards and managers can now be [...]
Amy Fields, General Manager Eastside Food Co-op, Minneapolis, MN The Eastside Food Co-op have emerged as innovators in participation and engaging their owners. Listen to Amy and get inspired as she explains the model and what it has done for NE Minneapolis.
With Appearances by: Bill Gessner, Expansion Consultant, CDS Consulting Co-op John Hatton, Board Chair, Brattleboro Food Co-op Alex Gyori, GM, Brattleboro Food Co-op Hether Jonna, Board Chair, People's Kalamazoo Chris Dilley, GM, People's Kalamazoo Margo O'Brien, GM, St. Peter Food Co-op Kim Davis, Board Chair, Three Rivers Market
Pam Mehnert, General Manager Outpost Natural Foods Milwaukie-area, WI At Outpost growth means serving its members better, and expanding the positive impact of the co-op on the local economy and community.
SYNOPSIS Executive summary. Write this last. Highlight key information from the plan-who you are, what you are going to do, why and how it will be financed. (Not in detail, that comes in the plan itself.) BACKGROUND History. One page on how the Co-op got to this point: How/who/why it was started (vision), bringing it up to this time. Key accomplishments to date. Ownership. Legal [...]
By Art Sherwood 163 November-December 2012 Expansion and growth are on the minds of many cooperative board and management leaders. And this makes sense, since growing our cooperatives’ abilities to deliver on their organizational Ends is of critical strategic importance. It certainly was on our minds at Bloomingfoods Co-op (Bloomington, Ind.) this last year as we addressed growing to include a fourth store and [...]
