March Board Reflections
Dear Open Harvest Member-Owners,
At the March 4th Board meeting we opened with a board reflection which has been a tradition for awhile now. The question posed by our chair was ‘What personal value have you received from serving on the Open Harvest Board?’. This question was timely for a number of reasons. The board has recently been pushing through quite a bit of financial training during the month of February, there was lots of work done by the board in preparation of the FinMOO (Financial Meeting of Owners) last month and we have already started planning our board retreat scheduled for next month. Needless to say there has been plenty of opportunities for ‘outside the board room’ engagement this last month. In response to the question Directors reflected on being humbled by the work of the Board, grateful for educational opportunities, thankful for our collaboration, and proud of our work as a board. As I noted then, I am particularly grateful for the opportunity to be a part of our community, our co-op family. I have learned over and over, you get what you give. All of you reading this reflection are part of that co-op family. Whether you are deep in the depths or pop in a couple times a month, you are an important part of our co-op family.
This month we had Member-Owners join us for our meeting. Now, Member-Owners are always welcome at the meetings but it honestly doesn’t happen very often. The Member-Owners that joined us this particular Wednesday night came to engage in community, discuss our co-op family and help us work to become an even better version of ourselves, they showed up. That is what family is all about after all. We value each and everyone of you. We wouldn’t be a co-op without your engagement, your presence, and your support. We need each and every one of you to engage or shall we say cooperate to succeed as a grocery, as a community. We want you to receive personal value from your Membership at Open Harvest. More than just nutritious food for your belly, community for your soul. We are proud you are a part of our co-op family. We hope to see you soon, at a community dinner, over lunch, in the isles or even at the next Board Meeting, April 1st at 6pm, we will have a seat for you.
Jen Burianek
Open Harvest Board of Directors