March Board Reflection
February was a packed month for board members. We started our second 6-month Abolition Challenge, participated in Inclusive Communities’ Project READI, had our first of two board retreats with Columniate, and decided to start a book club.
Project READI is a workshop by Inclusive Communities and was facilitated by Nicholette Seigfried. This was the third work shop Open Harvest has participated in and this time it was attended by staff, board members and community members. Some of the topics we discussed were dimensions of diversity, microaggressions, implicit bias, and intersectional identities. Learning is a process and the more we open ourselves to it, the better we will become. Did you know that you need to hear something at least 6 times before retaining it?
At our board retreat, we discussed the customer survey results. We appreciate all who took the time to answer the questions and give us useful feedback. It was a tough year with the pandemic and the call for Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion (DEI). The survey allowed us to identify what we are doing well and where we can improve, but we were happy to see that majority of people are pleased and gave us valuable insight on improvements and future projects.
As we start our second 6-month Abolitionist Challenge, we decided it was time to bring some of the books that were introduced to us to the Open Harvest Community. After a vote by members, the first book club selection is “Caste” by Isabel Wilkerson. We will hold two zoom meetings to discuss the book with the first on Sunday, April 11, at 3 pm and the second one on Wednesday, April 14th, at 7 pm. If you are interested in participating in either of the zoom sessions, please email the board to let us know which date you prefer. As we get closer to the date, a zoom link will be emailed to you.
During the March 3rd board meeting, we approved the DEI Collaboration Committee Charter. DEI will meet on the 4th Thursday of every month and have a rotating topic. If you are interested in participating with the DEI committee, please email the board.
Lastly, the next board meeting will be Wednesday, April 7th, at 6 pm. To attend our board meetings via zoom please request the meeting link by visiting http://openharvest.coop/board/ or emailing us at board@openharvest.coop
Best regards,
Lori Ashmore
