Consider A Board Position at the Troy Community Food Cooperative

Our Annual Meeting is coming soon and that means that we will be voting for three Board Member candidates. Every year three of the nine positions on our Board Of Directors come open. Any Co-op member may run for a Board position. Is this the year that you step forward and help our Co-op become a reality?

The Board of Directors meets once a month, usually on the last Monday of each month from 6:30 to 8:30 pm. Board members also serve on an array of committees that hold working sessions throughout the month as needed:
Finance Committee, Membership and Communications Committee, Building Committee, Operations Committee, Human Resources Committee, and the Executive Committee. This year the Treasurer’s position will be open. Being a Board Member is the best way to know what is going on and to be able to make a real contribution to the future of our enterprise. We are lucky to have a hard-working, collegial, and competent group of people volunteering for us on the Board: this is an opportunity for you to learn and grow while giving back.

Members wishing to have their names on the ballot should send a short statement about themselves and why they wish to serve on the Board of Directors to: info@troyfoodcoop.com or mail it to Troy Community Food Cooperative, PO Box 402, Troy, NY 12181.

We will also be taking nominations from the floor at our Annual Meeting on Wednesday, April 29 at 7:00 pm at the Pioneer Market (77-81 Congress Street, Troy). If you know a Co-op member who would be a good addition to our Board, talk to that person about running this year. We all benefit.

Troy Food Co-op Spring Membership Campaign

Be an Ambassador in the Capital Region !
Before the banks will release funds for construction, they want to see that the community truly supports our Food Co-op. In concrete terms, this means more members, more member loans, and more donations/grants.

Co-op Members Spring into Action: March to June
We, the current 600 member-owners, need to reach out to folks we know in the coming months and persuade 400 more people to each become a member (buy one share) of the Co-op. That way, we will reach our goal of 1,000 member-owners.

Please be an Ambassador for the Co-op.
Each of us interacts with many other people during the course of a busy month. So, why not take our new member campaign to them this spring? For example:
-- Do you belong to a social club? Manage a sports team? Belong to a golf club or bowling league?
-- Are you active in Rotary, Elks, Kiwanis, or another service organization?
-- Are you a member of a dance club? A book club? A gamers group? A boosters club?
-- Do you play bingo or cards with a group of community-minded friends?
-- Are you active in the PTA? A professional association? A union?
-- Do you volunteer on a church committee? Help out in a neighborhood association? Volunteer at a non-profit?
--Have you talked about the Co-op with your co-workers yet?

Will you take just 5 to 10 minutes at the next meeting of your group in April or May to pass out Co-op brochures and promote joining the Troy Community Food Co-op?
If YES, please contact Jane Otto at jjotto0@verizon.net, and she will provide all the materials you need. These include updated brochures, a handout of accomplishments and member benefits, and brief talking points for you.

NEWS: The Co-op Web site was refreshed in March to include all the essentials about the Co-op. To kick-off our spring 2009 new member campaign, Co-op members staffed information tables at the Taste of Troy (3/25), Troy Night Out (3/27), the Flower Show at HVCC (end March), the Sage College Social Responsibility Fair (4/3), and the Troy Farmers Market (4/4). In April, Board members and others are speaking about the Co-op to groups at local colleges, hospitals, and businesses.