February Board Reflection
Dear Open Harvest Owners,
As a new board member with three meetings under my belt, I am empowered (and a little overwhelmed) to know that I have so much to learn! I had no idea the general manager produces monthly reports for the board to review on the financial standing of the co-op, let alone monitoring reports that are continuously reviewed to make sure we are in compliance of board policy. I am in awe of the “behind the scenes” that goes on to make sure the co-op is in good standing and continues to make progress in the right direction.
We started a financial training series on February 5th. The web-based course enlightens us on the financial aspects of running a food co-op. We only have one under our belt as I write this, but there are three more to go and it has been very informative.
One of the policies reviewed at the February 5 board meeting was L3. It states the manager must protect co-op assets and keep equipment adequately maintained. The general manager discussed maintaining the HVAC, refrigeration, and electrical systems, and how she keeps service logs. We also discussed the transition to Paylocity which will empower employees to keep track of their hours and benefits.
NCG trends from September 2019 have been released and reviewed. Good news…… Open Harvest is staying on with the curve. Is there room for improvement? Of course, but let’s celebrate the good! When it comes to local, we knock it out of the park! There were 94 local vendors that worked with Open Harvest in 2019. We sold 3,042 ½ gallon bottles of Burbach milk, 3,415 pounds of honey, and 134,104 eggs! Additionally, people want fresh bread, and we got it and it couldn’t be any fresher. Keeping it in the refrigerator will prolong its freshness!
FINMOO is upon us! February 13 at 5:30 pm at the Foundry, 14th & P Street. It’s a great opportunity for co-op owners to review the 2019 finances and 2020 goals. We would appreciate your participation and your thoughts!
In cooperation,
Lori Ashmore
Open Harvest Board Director