Hi, I'm Your Board
Outpost's Board of Directors will use this blog to discuss issues the board is exploring as it envisions Outpost's future. Can't make it to a meeting? Check here frequently to read what the Board is up to.
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As an owner of Outpost, you embody the values of community, advocacy, and moving our cooperative forward to a sustainable future. And what better way to play a role in this future, than participating in the upcoming Board of Directors election? This year’s election takes place for a 15-day period, starting on Monday, March 20 at 9 a.m. and ending on Monday, April 3 at 9 p.m. Your voice matters, so we’d like to encourage all owners to set aside a bit of time to cast your vote.
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In a world where the cost of groceries is rising, what is your co-op doing to manage price increases while continuing to support local farmers and vendors? That’s a question you’ll find answers to at Outpost’s Annual Meeting, which is coming up on Sunday, March 5, from 1 to 4:30 p.m. at Hunger Task Force, 5000 W. Electric Avenue.
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As an owner of our cooperative, you obviously care about our work to provide access to locally produced food and goods, our impact on our community and the long-term sustainability of operation. You currently support this mission with your shopping dollars, but did you know that you can increase your support by running to join our board of directors?
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Are you someone who enjoys being outside in beautiful fall weather? Or picking apples? What about volunteering for community service? If you answered ‘yes’ to any of these, then I hope you will join Outpost’s Board at our Apple-To-Pie harvest event next Sunday, October 3, at the Hunger Task Force Farm and apple orchard.
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I joined the Outpost Board for the love of food, but I stayed on the board because I enjoy working toward a better Milwaukee. I have always had an interest in food knowledge: What is the food source? How is it used by this group of people? What kinds of dishes can be made from it? This was hugely interesting to me, and still is. Now that I have been on the board for a few years, I see that my food interest is only one small bit of knowledge that I bring to the board, but the real board work is about building a better Milwaukee community.
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Co-op Month has been celebrated annually in October across the United States for more than half a century. It is a time for cooperative businesses to reflect on their shared principles and to educate others about the value of belonging to a cooperative.
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When I ran for the board in 2018, I was motivated by my experiences working with children and families in Milwaukee that have been exposed to complex trauma, often involving systemic racism and historical trauma. I knew that food and mealtimes are a platform for building relationships and connection with others, especially within the home, and connections to other people is how resiliency is built and communities can heal. I also knew that Outpost is a leader in providing access to healing food and connections to people that care about Milwaukee.
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The Outpost Natural Foods Co-op Board of Directors is comprised of 5 experienced board members and 4 newly elected board members. Our role on the board is to represent the interests of members of the co-op and that is the reason why our owners are asked to evaluate our qualifications at election time. This allows you to make the best election decisions for the long-term health of the co-op.
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These are strange times. I started working from home in March and at first, as a confirmed introvert, I enjoyed the solitude of working at my dining room table. But as I begin my fifth (or is it my sixth?) week of sheltering at home, even I am starting to miss human contact. I’ve tried substituting with social media, but that doesn’t fill the void. It’s like binging on cake when really what your body craves is a big salad. I am lonely.
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The Board has made various efforts to engage Outpost’s owners in order to effectively carry out its oversight role. We need to know what owners think about the organization in order to make sure it continues to meet and exceed expectations. Engagement, however, is a two way street. So we’ve decided to do a series of profiles of our board members to help you get to know us. The fourth one is of Rick Banks.
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The Board has made various efforts to engage Outpost’s owners in order to effectively carry out its oversight role. We need to know what owners think about the organization in order to make sure it continues to meet and exceed expectations. Engagement, however, is a two way street. So we’ve decided to do a series of profiles of our board members to help you get to know us. The third one is of Jan Pierce, the Board’s treasurer.
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The Board has made various efforts to engage Outpost’s owners in order to effectively carry out its oversight role. We need to know what owners think about the organization in order to make sure it continues to meet and exceed expectations. Engagement, however, is a two way street. So we’ve decided to do a series of profiles of our board members to help you get to know us. The second one is of Jenny Keefe, the Board’s vice president.
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The Board has made various efforts to engage Outpost’s owners in order to effectively carry out its oversight role. We need to know what owners think about the organization in order to make sure it continues to meet and exceed expectations. Engagement, however, is a two way street. So we’ve decided to do a series of profiles of our board members to help you get to know us. The first one is of Young Kim, the Board’s president.
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For more than fifty years in the United States, Co-op Month has been celebrated in October, and Outpost holds a variety of events during that month. For its part, the Board of Directors has always tried to hold an event that promotes engagement between the Board and Outpost owners. For the last several years, we have sponsored a movie and a brief discussion afterwards.
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A lot of ink has been spilled about how companies can up their game to survive and excel in a hyper-competitive, and rapidly-changing market. Often, it comes back to people and relationships. Of course, it has much to do with systems and products as well, but it always boils down to people.
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For better or for worse, asking “What do you do?” is a socially acceptable way for us to get to know people and figure out pecking orders. The answers we get allow us to categorize people and get a snapshot of what they’re like.
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Now that the annual Outpost Board election is behind us, the Board will resume its day-to-day work of fiduciary oversight and strategic planning. One of the first things that new directors come to realize is how deliberative the work is. This is by design. Policy Governance, the process by which the Board monitors and guides the organization, is structured to promote gradual and incremental progress.
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Over the last few years, I’ve become intensely curious about the rapid economic, social, and cultural changes that are occurring in our country. In this post, I want to relate these changes to how cooperatives fit into our lives. I want to discuss cooperatives not as vehicles for deliverables, but as centers of community.
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This post is a reflection on how Outpost directors start every board meeting. It was inspired by some recent training I provided to the Board about our fiduciary duty to the organization.
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Cooperatives are democratic organizations that are controlled by their owners. The fact that owners participate in electing their board to make decisions about the policies and direction for the co-op, is one of the fundamental features that distinguishes cooperatives from other for-profit organizations. It follows then, that for Outpost to function properly, its owners need to be both informed and active.
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