This fall, consultants at Columinate will launch CBLD Academy, an on-demand learning loaded with revitalized and accessible content. Cooperators can expect three courses within the “Foundation Series” at the outset, with more courses planned to round out this base of co-op training. “It's a natural and a march towards progress in how we provide a framework for learning about the co-op business model,” said Leslie Watson, governance at Columinate.
Chris Morris, manager on contract with Columinate, emanates traveling energy. Decades of experience with neighborhood grocery stores and a zest for adventure guides him to co-op communities in transition. Morris currently shares his operational expertise near the coastal waves of Ocean Beach in San Diego, California, as Interim Store Manager. With this engagement, he's supporting the co-op's general manager, Sarela Bonilla, to bridge leadership gaps, navigate the high-volume holiday season, and assist with some exciting store updates they’ve been working toward. Where his road may wind next is open for discussion, keeping energetic and optimistic Morris content.
As a long-time general manager, Matt Hartz felt the support and guidance of those who believed and invested in him. Mentorship and support of other leaders is often the unseen, but critical, work of the cooperative movement. We can run grocery stores and collect retail and owner-engagement experiences. But what underpins and perpetuates purpose-based organizations such as co-ops? A commitment to the professional development of those with whom we surround ourselves. Helping other cooperative leaders grow and develop truly makes Hartz thrive, and it is his key focus in his new role at Columinate.
The Detroit People's Food Co-op is getting ready to open and has contracted with Columinate's Chris Dilley as Manager on Contract. Build-out in the co-op's new facility is nearing completion, with opening now planned for early 2024. The new Detroit Food Commons facility, a partnership between Detroit Black Food Security Network and Develop Detroit, will house the Detroit People's Food Co-op as well as a community kitchen operated by the Black Food Security Network.
I enjoyed interviewing Vernon Oakes and asked him a few questions about his remarkable career. Vernon, tell us a few things to help Columinate readers know you better: people and places that are most important to you. My parents, Odell Oakes Sr. and Florrie Smith Oakes, met while serving in the US Army during World War II and married in New York City, where I was born. We later moved to Bluefield, West Virginia. I attended public schools, and due to a speech impediment, I was put in a “special ed” class in the 4th, 5th, and 6th grades. Words and reading didn't come naturally to me, and reading still isn’t my favorite thing. But math made sense and would later help me to make sense of life and the business pursuits I had. School was tough due to the added factor of racism and integration in 1955, when I was entering the 3rd grade.
Hether Jonna Frayer interviewed Todd Wallace, Columinate's board president, about AI. Hether: Thanks for agreeing to do this interview on AI technology and how it could be used to support the work of governance! I'm getting the sense from the conversations that I've been having that it is a wide-ranging topic. Where would you like to start? Todd: Thanks for asking me to have the conversation. As you know, it is a topic that I've been interested in since last year, especially as applications like ChatGPT have garnered more attention and scrutiny in the mainstream media.
Urban Greens Food Co-op in Providence, Rhode Island, which opened in 2019, had low sales and was running out of cash. In 2022 the board of directors contracted with Luke Schell as Turnaround Manager to assess needs, lead in creating a turnaround plan, and implement the plan. During just three months of on-site leadership, his work had an excellent impact.
Dennis Hanley, Manager on Contract—and more Dennis Hanley may have opened and managed more stores of various retail formats than anyone in the food co-op system. He has worked in most states in the U.S. and abroad. His grocery career of over forty years began in a family meat business as a youngster and never stopped.
Why do boards of directors exist? We take a lot for granted when we think about serving on the board of an organization. If asked, we might describe the role as being one of a fiduciary, entrusted with its care, and we might be aware that being a member of a board confers responsibilities for the success of the organization in some fashion or another.
The board and general manager need to become literate around the quantitative as well as the qualitative aspects of the marketing field. Marketing is often at the top of the list of operational tasks that become part of the discussion at meetings of the board of directors. Topics can range from the quality of the marketing to the board feeling it’s not plugged in enough when engaging with owners through marketing channels. Marketing issues are often of concern—whether warranted or not—to boards and individual directors.
