Minutes of the
Marquette Food Co-op Board of Directors
April 21, 2015 Meeting
Start time:
Meeting was called to order by president Tom McKenzie at 6:00 p.m.
Roll call:
Tom McKenzie, Brian Brady, Phil Britton, Barbara Krause, Janna Lies, Cori
Noordyk, Mike Potts, Emily Wright.
Brad Jackson (excused).
GM Matt Gougeon, Natasha Lantz, Kat Eaton.
Beth Millner, Adam Johnson, Jason Schneider.
Absent:
Staff:
Public:
II. Preliminaries:
Approval of Agenda & Additions: The agenda was reviewed and no changes were made.
Motion: To approve agenda without changes (motion by B. Krause, second E. Wright).
Action: Motion passed unanimously.
Review of March Minutes: The minutes were reviewed and no changes were made.
Motion: To approve the March minutes without changes (motion by P. Britton, second C.
Noordyk).
Action: Motion passed unanimously.
Electronic Communications: None.
III. First Public Comment: Adam Johnson from the Lions Club and Partridge Creek Farms in
Ishpeming introduced himself and shared about Partridge Creek Farms, which has its
groundbreaking this week. He explained that it will be an incubator farm with the goal of
changing the community model and bringing people together. They are interested in networking
with other institutions and would like to talk with the MFC about offering a class this summer
related to the GAP program.
Beth Millner provided an update and shared that she met with Clayton who was very open to
talking with her about local meats. Beth reported that she encouraged Seeds and Spores to
contact Clayton and they are planning to meet. Beth shared her concerns surrounding the wide
range of meat quality offered by the MFC and said she thinks that shoppers may have certain
expectations about what is available at the store, and offering lower quality product to appeal to a
broader customer base may water down the niche of offering high quality meats at the MFC. She
commented that the supplier report cards that were mentioned at the March meeting might be
very helpful in educating consumers and addressing these concerns.
Jason Schneider introduced himself as Director of the Marquette Chamber of Commerce and will
be speaking to the board later in the agenda.
IV. GM Monitoring
(a) L8 – Communication and Counsel to the Board (M. Gougeon): The board received the report
and reviewed it prior to the meeting. The board determined that the report demonstrated
compliance.
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Interpretation Reasonable: Yes.
Adequate Data: Yes.
The report was accepted as in compliance.
The GM added that the data needs to be verified. He will start sending all of the data to the
Board President starting next month.
(b) Store Report/Expansion Report (M. Gougeon): The GM reported that sales are good and
March was the biggest month ever at the MFC with sales of $688,000. The store is on track to
meet or beat the budget for the first quarter and is on the cusp of a 1% UNFI price break based
on volume. The MFC worked with Nick Greiwahn, a refrigeration instructor at NMU who had
his students work on the MFC’s energy optimization rebate as a class project. The MFC will get
$8,000 back on its refrigeration equipment purchases from the rebate and is working on the same
application for lighting. The GM reported that he attended the NCG Spring Meeting and
provided the board with a packet of materials for the board’s eyes only. The MFC is
collaborating with the Great Lakes Group and the GM will serve as chair of the Innovation
Committee. The meetings focused on competitive strategy and price perception. The GM also
visited several stores and reported observations about pricing and merchandising. PCI
compliance was also discussed at the meeting. The GM reported that retailers have to build the
necessary firewalls to prevent data breaches. There are high penalties for breaches, and the MFC
is finishing the final steps for full compliance. The GM shared that the MFC was recognized at
the meeting for its growth. The store is also planning ahead to prepare for future competition in
2017. Progress is being made on the wage schedule, bulk department reset, pricing strategy,
marketing campaign, and capital campaign. The messaging campaign will start with surveys this
week. The draft disclosure document for the campaign is ready. The MFC will be building a shed
to store equipment and returnables. The special order room will become an office for Mary Moe.
The MFC is also sponsoring a co-ed softball team and is looking for more players. The team will
meet every Thursday and the fee is $40 per player.
(c) Chamber of Commerce (M. Gougeon, J. Schneider): The GM introduced Jason Schneider
from the Marquette Chamber of Commerce. Schneider updated the board that a press release will
be going out on Thursday and the Chamber will start its member drive. The MFC has already
joined at the Champion Level. Schneider provided background about the Chamber, sharing that
the city approached him and he interviewed local businesses to assess need and interest and
began forming a board of directors. MFC GM Matt Gougeon is President of the Chamber’s
board of directors. Schneider explained that the Chamber is positioned to not compete with the
many other service providers in the area, but instead exists to benefit the community as a whole
by strengthening businesses. Memberships are horizontal, with all members having one vote
regardless of levels. Higher membership levels are associated with greater marketing
opportunities. The Chamber will serve the city of Marquette, Chocolay Township, and Marquette
Township. Schneider thanked the MFC for its support.
(d) G10 – Secretary’s Role (B. Brady): G10 was discussed and no changes were recommended.
It was noted that although the Secretary may delegate responsibilities, such as the delegation of
accurate record keeping to the Board Recorder, the Secretary remains responsible for the
delegated activities and accuracy of the record keeping.
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(e) Board Education – Set Retreat Date; Begin BOD Orientation: The recently elected board
members were reelected and do not require orientation. The date for the Annual Retreat will be
October 3, 2015. The Annual Harvest Potluck is October 2, 2015.
(f) Update Directory: The board reviewed directory information and made the following
revisions: P. Britton’s board term end date was updated to 2018. B. Krause’s board term end date
was updated to 2018. J. Lies’ board term end date was updated to 2016. M. Potts’ board term end
date was updated to 2017. E. Wright’s board term end date was updated to 2017.
V. Second Public Comment Period: Natasha Lantz spoke on behalf of Northern Vegans to
inform the board about a movie screening for Cowspiracy at Thomas Theaters on Wednesday,
April 22. Free passes are available prior to the screening. The cost is $5 at the door.
Beth Millner commented that Clay has done a great job of labeling deli items for various dietary
restrictions.
Adam Johnson inquired about issues with bugs in lettuce and kale. Natasha responded that some
kale varieties are less resistant to aphids, which have to be removed manually. She also
commented that local kale should be available at the MFC soon.
VI. Outreach Reports
(a) U.P. Food Exchange Report (N. Lantz): N. Lantz reported that Neil is currently working on
bringing on new buyers for the online marketplace. The publication Michigan Agriculture did a
feature article on UPFE. The UP Food and Farm Directory will be out June 1. Neil has an
opportunity to visit a food co-op in New Mexico that has its own distribution warehouse. The
Food Summits will undergo changes this year and will have more marketing to the general
public.
(b) Outreach Report (N. Lantz): N. Lantz reported that tomorrow is Earth Day and the MFC will
launch a pollinator project with the Superior Beekeeping Club that will run through May 22, the
MFC’s anniversary at its new location. There will be a live observation hive and signage
showing what products would not be here without bees. There will be demos at the store in
celebration of the May 22 anniversary. There will also be a limited edition first anniversary mug.
The board is encouraged to attend and to wear their MFC t-shirts. Surveys will start this week
and will be available online and on Facebook. This survey will be used to get data for the
upcoming messaging campaign. AMCAB approached the MFC about “Cooking Matters,” a
nationwide program that helps low-income individuals learn how to stretch their food dollars.
Abbey is working with the Smart Seeds Save Seeds program and networking with schools. Sarah
has been approached for more private cooking classes in the community classroom. Work on the
MFC website is still underway. The new site will have several online forms that will allow data
to be entered straight into a usable database, rather than having staff enter data manually, so a lot
of work must be done on the back end before the new site is launched. Work on the supplier
report cards is underway. N. Lantz shared that the intent is not to rate suppliers but to provide
information to consumers so they can make choices based on their own personal food values.
The 2016 Annual Meeting will be March 18, 2016.
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VII. Break
VIII. Board Monitoring & Discussion
(a) Committee Reports:
(i) GM Evaluation (J. Lies, B. Brady, and T. McKenzie.): No report.
(ii) Finance Committee (B. Krause, J. Lies, and B. Brady): The committee met and
discussed that the store had record sales in March. The committee reported that cash is
getting to be in a better position, although it is still reviewed frequently. The committee
also discussed financials, depreciation, construction and landscaping expenses, and the
rebates. The GM commented that the draft disclosure document will be sent to the
Finance Committee. The committee can make a recommendation to the board, so the
campaign offering can happen after the May Board of Directors meeting.
(iii) Communications Committee (P. Britton, E. Wright, and B. Jackson): Did not meet.
The next MFC newsletter will be sent out in June. The committee will need to meet to
discuss surveys.
(iv) Bylaws Committee (T. McKenzie, B. Krause, and P. Britton): Did not meet.
(v) Orientation Committee (E. Wright, M. Potts, and C. Noordyk): Did not meet.
(vi) Elections/Nominations (B. Jackson, C. Noordyk, and M. Potts): Did not meet.
IX. Third Public Comment: The board thanked the public for attending.
X. Closings
(a) May Assignments:
i. Store/Expansion Report (M. Gougeon)
ii. L5 – Financial Condition 1st Quarter (M. Gougeon)
iii. GM Evaluation of the Board
iv. Set Board Calendar
v. Assign Monitoring
vi. Outreach Report (N. Lantz)
vii. UP Food Exchange Report (N. Lantz)
XI. Motion to adjourn at 7:59 p.m. (motion by J. Lies, second E. Wright).
Action: Motion passed unanimously.
Next Board Meeting: May 19, 2015 at 6:00 p.m.
Emily Weddle
Board Recorder
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