October Board Reflection
It feels like the last six months have been a constant state of transition with each new day presenting unexpected changes, new challenges, and uncertainty. That has certainly been the case for Open Harvest and the Board of Directors. Frankly, the last six months have been difficult and much of what the Board has been confronted with has made us take a long, hard look at how we function as leaders of our organization. However, despite the challenges facing us now there is room to be optimistic.
Open Harvest has been able to maintain its positive financial trends and the management and staff should be commended for their hard work and perseverance during the pandemic.
We are also making more community connections through the Seed Program and a new grant partnership with Community Action Program that will help us reach out to members of the community who may not currently shop at Open Harvest.
Personally, I am looking forward to working with Omaha Integrative Care in our efforts to more deeply reflect on our diversity, equity, and inclusion work; strengthen relationships; and begin the healing process. We will also welcome a number of new directors to the Open Harvest Board in November which will bring new energy and perspectives to our process.
When I first started my term on the Board, I never expected to face some of the challenges and issues we have faced. That has been difficult, but I am grateful because it helped me realize I need to be more active and informed in my role as a director. The most important part of that role is representing and advocating for member owners. I would ask that our member owners to hold us accountable to our elected role and let us know what we need to do to strengthen the Open Harvest community. One way you can do that is by attending the Annual Owner Meeting which will be held virtually on November 5th! We hope to see you there!