General Manager's Letter
Having arrived during the last week of July, I find that I am starting to get my Placerville 'sea legs' so to speak and the process has been happening at a very rapid pace. Finding my way around the area, the community, the store and within the staff has required a steep learning curve. And speaking of steep curves I am presently living in the Apple Hill area among the hills, curves, orchards, vineyards, Christmas tree farms and soon to be traffic jams as I understand things on Apple Hill.
I find that we have a talented staff that is eager to participate in moving the co-op forward and we have a nice momentum to help carry us there. We see great opportunities to enhance the product mix and offerings through small changes including new equipment acquisitions. Some of our old equipment is being held together with band aids and some of the band aids have popped off. These setbacks are distracting us from our goals of improving the shopping experience so we are eager to pursue opportunities to find the capital funds to helps us toward this end. Cash flow is very tight for the co-op, we are currently quite challenged by some aged payables that we are trying to catch up and our ability to move forward is significantly limited by our access to funds for sourcing new equipment/repairing wounded equipment and by making more investments with our vendors in the form of new products.
In a typical business this capital would come from the owners and in a cooperative business, the members are the owners. Currently on our financial statements we are showing around $160,000 in pledged but as of yet unpaid membership equity. The $25 per quarter pledged by our members but not yet paid to the cooperative comprises this $160,000. If we were able to raise even one-fourth of this equity that $40,000 would be a huge benefit to our ability to continue moving forward. We could remove the pressure of catching up payments with our vendors and have money left over for some new fixtures. How about a new nut grinder so that we have one each for peanuts & almonds? Or perhaps a new additional filtered water system?
On behalf of the staff and board I would like to encourage everyone to make sure that you are caught up on your pledged equity payments and for those who are in a position to do so, I ask you to consider making full payment of your $300 member share.
I am very excited about our store and the potential that we see and I very much look forward to serving our dedicated membership as we move into our next phase.
Brad Salmon
General Manager
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Our Farm to Table Dinner is next month!
Saturday, September 19, 2015 at the Manzanita Kitchen. Join us at 5:30 for passed appetizers, beer & local wine (cash bar). Wine will be available for purchase by the glass and by the bottle. Local wineries include Madrona, Skinner, Sierra Vista, Chateau Davell, David Gerard, Lava Cap, and Narrow Gate.
The last day to buy tickets is Saturday September 12!
Tickets will not be available at the door. Purchase your tickets online or at the Co-op. Visit PlacervilleFarmDinner for more information.
Chef Kim of Table Nectar Catering has announced our menu...check it out and start counting down the days until the 19th! Please note that the menu is subject to change, depending on availability.
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Visit our Facebook page for a chance to win TWO tickets to the Farm to Table Dinner, sponsored by Nordic Naturals!
If you are not on Facebook, visit our website for a chance to win tickets. Simply enter your name and email in the "comments".
Offer ends Saturday, September 12.
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Your Co-op needs a new logo! We're excited to include the community in this process. We would like a logo that embodies our values - our commitment to local, organic food, sustainable farming and cooperative business practices (just to name a few!). The winning logo will be used in print, online, and other merchandise and promotional items. Please visit our website for details.
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VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
Volunteers are still needed to help prepare the food. Please contact Twyla if you are available on Thursday 9/17, Friday 9/18 or Saturday; September 9/19. For every four hours you volunteer; you will receive a 10% discount for the following month(s).
Example: If you volunteer 16 hours in September - you will receive a 10% discount every time you shop the co-op in October, November, December and January.
Thank you to a stellar Farm to Table Dinner committee! This is going to be a wonderful event!
Twyla
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From the Board
All Co-op owners are always welcome to attend our board meetings, and to address the board if they so desire. Your input is encouraged. Unless we hear from you, it is not possible for the board to assure that the Co-op is successfully meeting our stated ends:
-A friendly retail store that satisfies customers
-A strong and healthy local economy
-A thriving and profitable cooperatively owned business
-Sustainable practices
Our new General Manager, Brad, is settling into the Co-op and the community. He has recently moved into a house, and brought his family and pets from Indiana.
Now we, the owners, need to step up and help him to advance the Co-op to higher levels of sales, profitability, sustainability and community. We currently have for a limited time an investment opportunity available for owners who are able to invest a minimum of $1,000 and would like to receive a return of 2% interest while at the same time helping the Co-op. Contact john@placervillecoop.org for details.
The Board of Directors continues planning for our Annual membership meeting in October. We are always looking for a few good candidates to stand for election to our Board of Directors. Candidates should have an active interest in community organization governance, demonstrated by attendance at Co-op Board meetings and participation in volunteer activities in support of the Co-op. Our bylaws call for the Co-op to be governed by a seven person board of directors, however due to a recent resignation we currently have only five persons on the board. If you think you might be interested in this opportunity please contact one of the board members or the General Manager.
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Yoga with Bill Tuesdays at 10am. All body types and skill levels welcome. Yoga for everyBODY!
Check out our class calendar online. If you are interested in hosting/teaching a class at the Co-op, please email us for more information.
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MEMBER SERVICES
If you are an owner/member of the co-op AND a business owner, there is a slot in our card rack waiting for your business cards. This form of free advertising is a service we offer to you! In coming months we also plan to develop a directory of our business owners and include it on our website. If you are interested in being part of this please fill out a form, available in the store, or contact Julie, Julie@placervillecoop.org
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Beyond Insomnia: Tapping into your natural power to sleep
Tired of tossing and turning at night, watching the clock in frustration while anxiously anticipating how exhausted you will be the next day? Followed everybody’s advice on how to get a good sleep, but nothing seems to work?
In this 90 minute seminar, Beyond Insomnia Coach Jennifer Jackson will talk about how she moved beyond 28 years of chronic insomnia and how you can too. Come learn a powerful technique to clear busy, anxious thoughts, and move the body out of a stress response and into a relaxation response so that sleep comes easily and naturally. Say good-night to sleeping pills and tap into your natural power of sleep.
Placerville Co-op Community Room (upstairs)
Saturday, September 12th, 11:00 am - 12:30 pm
Please sign up in advance. We need a minimum of 3 participants and space is limited to 8. To register go to our Event Brite page.
$15 co-op members
$20 non-members
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