Newsletters: May - June 2008

« Back to Newsletter

Are You Ready To Vote?

Natural Times-May/June 2008

By Dave Watson, June Wiaz, and Joshua Youngblood

On Thursdays, May 22 and 29 the Board of Directors will hold voting forums for interested owners to prepare for voting on board candidates and proposed by-law changes. Please join us at Word Traffic Books, directly behind Cabo’s on Lafayette Street, for appetizers at 6:30 p.m. Each forum will begin at 7:15 p.m.

Voting carries with it the responsibility of understanding the candidates and issues, voting procedures and eligibility. Last year less than five percent of our ownership voted. We appreciate the effort of those who voted and encourage more owners to vote this year. Get to know the candidates and learn why they are seeking to serve on the Board. Learn more about upcoming by-law changes and see if you agree with changes that will affect co-op governance. Voting procedures and eligibility are covered in a separate article on page 8.

CANDIDATES FOR THE BOARD

This past March our two board-sponsored election forums brought us four qualified candidates for the upcoming election that begins on June 21. This is also the date of our Annual Ownership Meeting, held this year at the Tallahassee Garden Club. These candidates have been nominated by the election committee. They are capable of making unique contributions and bringing useful skills to the Board. They are able to meet the time commitment of serving on the Board and are dedicated to the Co-op, its owners, and the work the Board is currently doing. By nominating them, the committee feels they are able and willing to participate in discussions and abide by board decisions and the intent of established policies. Statements and photos of this year’s candidates can be found beginning on page 6.

There are four open seats this year with one current board member running for re-election and two interim board members running for the seats to which they were appointed to fill due to unexpected vacancies. We also have one vacancy due to term limits.

BY-LAW CHANGES

The Board of Directors is also proposing two by-law changes for owners to review and vote for, or against, on a section-by-section basis. Please come to either of the voting forums to review the specific changes being proposed, or with any other questions you may have.

Under Section 4.4, the Board recommends taking out the language about term limits that specifies directors may serve no more that two successive terms. After lengthy discussion and work on this issue at our last retreat, the Board concluded that eliminating term limits would serve important objectives by helping to build greater institutional memory and long-term stability within the Board, thereby ensuring a stronger board that is less hampered by the departure of certain key members and that is better equipped to set and achieve the goals of the Co-op.

Under Section 4.10, the Board recommends changing the duration for director positions filled by the Board because of vacancies occurring between annual meetings. The Board suggests changing the duration for appointments to be the remainder of the term of the board member being replaced, instead of until the next election. The Board feels that this will allow the appointed member more time to learn how to be an effective board member without having to run for re-election. It would also allow the Board to better comply with the goals stated in Section 4.4, institutional memory and stability, by having staggered terms.

Under Section 1.5, the Board recommends changing the fiscal year ending date from April 30 to the last day of the 52nd week of the fiscal year. The next fiscal year will begin on May 4, 2008. The Board suggests changing this date to reduce the fluctuation of New Leaf Market’s inventory numbers and to offer more accurate accounting of our products.

The Board is very excited about this upcoming election. We hope many of our owners will be able to attend the voter forums to meet the candidates, and we look forward to discussing the proposed by-law changes, as well as any other co-op issue.