Board of Directors Meeting Minutes: January 2026

These are the minutes of the January 5, 2026, Brattleboro Food Co-op Board of Directors meeting.

Present

Directors Present: Kevin Brennan, Calvin Dame, Denise Glover, Michele Meulendyk, Sheena Tesch, and Johanna Zalneraitis.
Directors Absent: Anneka Kindler, Evan Silber.
Staff Present: General Manager Emilee Hobbs, Board Administrator/Sustainability Coordinator Sarah Brennan.
Other Shareholders Present: Kathy Carr [Zoom, left at 6:26 pm].

President Michele Meulendyk called the meeting to order at 5:13 pm.

Welcome and Communication Norms

Michele welcomed everyone and noted that Anneka and Evan would not be joining us this evening.

Shareholder Input and Stats

1. Shareholder Kathy Carr introduced herself as a staff member and union steward.
2. Shareholder Stats and Shopper Feedback: Discussion touched on the following: an apparent decline in the number of FFA Working shareholders was flagged as an anomaly. The Miniatures festival brought significant customer traffic. A prior decline in employee–shareholders has been resolved. We have some new C2C partners.
3. Customer Experience report [note: this discussion happened after 8. Upcoming Policies]. Emilee reported on her meeting with NCG’s specialist, Alex. Our goal is to get 150 responses/month, which Kevin noted is still not a statistically meaningful number. A one-month (as opposed to three-month rolling) report will not have the same graphic representation of data/trends. We will continue with three-month rolling but remind ourselves to focus on the most recent comments. Alex will be training staff on how they can create positive customer experience. Emilee noted that managers will be asked to work shifts on days/times they are not normally present to familiarize themselves with how the store feels and to provide more consistent support.

Approval of Minutes

Johanna moved, and Denise seconded, to approve the minutes from the December 1, 2025 meeting. Discussion touched on the penny phase-out and lack of state-level guidance; so far, we have not had trouble sourcing pennies. The motion to approve the minutes carried unanimously.

Monitoring Reports

1. C.3 GM Job Contribution: Denise moved, and Johanna seconded, to approve the above-named monitoring report. Discussion touched on appreciation of Emilee’s leadership during the GM transition. The motion carried unanimously.
2. C.4 Monitoring Management Performance: Denise moved, and Kevin seconded, to approve the above-named monitoring report. Discussion: There is general agreement that we are following policy. Michele noted that we will be exploring how to conduct a more robust GM performance review process in the future. It may be better aligned with staff performance review tools, where appropriate. The motion carried unanimously.
3. A.1 End 4: Sustainable and Regenerative Practices: Kevin moved, and Denise seconded, to approve the above-named monitoring report. No Board members expressed concerns about either the interpretation statements or compliance data. Discussion touched on the importance of improving communication of sustainability goals and progress with staff, shoppers, and shareholders. There will be many such opportunities with the refrigeration project. Board members expressed appreciation for robust compliance data detail. The motion carried unanimously.

GM Updates

1. Strong holiday sales performance, helped by “all hands on deck” approach. We heard positive feedback from shoppers about how smoothly things went.
2. People: Employee turnover is higher than expected but still below national averages. Union contract negotiations begin in February. We are exploring a state program that reimburses employee orientation expenses, which is welcome in light of plans to expand our orientation to a full day.
3. We just received a score of 94 on an unannounced health inspection.
4. We are upgrading the Catapult point-of-sale system to allow for patronage dividends to be issued at the register; these upgrades will also allow us to implement new features, such as shareholder-only coupons.
5. Refrigeration project: We have received the new seafood case (replacing one that broke down) and should have new moveable reach-in cases by the end of the month. The Efficiency Vermont incentives were twice what we had been anticipating.
6. We may ask the Town to install signage clarifying that the Whestone Pathway is Town property and responsibility.
7. Finances: Cost of Goods has been higher than expected and is outpacing sales. Managers are focused on margins and we will be helped by the refrigeration project incentives. We are exploring sourcing more from UNFI if they can beat existing providers.

Board Committees

1. Recruitment:
   1. Michele noted that as she and Denise will not be running this fall, the Board will need to focus on leadership development and recruiting new members who could serve in those capacities.
   2. Denise moved, and Johanna seconded, to approve the committee charter as shown in the packet (including changes suggested). The motion carried unanimously.
2. Shareholder Linkage: Sheena shared that they met with Emilee and Ruth to clarify the complementary roles between the committee and staff-led engagement efforts. Going forward, the committee will meet with Ruth each month. The Board will review a committee charter next month.
3. Finance:
   1. Kevin noted that the February review of quarterly financials should be a rich conversation.
   2. Michele moved, and Sheena seconded, to approve the committee charter as shown in the packet. Discussion: none. The motion carried unanimously.

Annual Work Plan

The Board reviewed the first six months of the Annual Work Plan. Discussion touched on the following: [Kathy exited during this section.]

1. Upcoming GM performance review timeline and process. Michele touched on key dates provided in the packet and noted that the Board will discuss the process next month and finalize it in March. She added that we will not assess the GM on standards they were not previously informed of, so any changes to this process would not go into effect until next year.
2. Board development and training needs. Stay tuned for CCMA registration info as it becomes available.
3. Coordination with store events for Board recruitment and shareholder engagement. It may be more effective and practical for the Board to piggyback on staff-planned events, rather than initiate any event. The Shareholder Linkage Committee would be the point of contact on this.
4. Board leadership: Increasing the stipend available to Board officers may be necessary to recruit the next generation of leadership on the Board. This would necessitate a change to the bylaws, which would require shareholder approval.
5. Communicating role of Board to staff: The Board should consider how to better communicate the role of Board to staff/union stewards. This could also help with recruiting staff directors over time.

February Policies to be Monitored

Michele brought Board members’ attention to B.2 Financial Condition and Activities, B.7 Communication to Board and D.10 Board Committees. Discussion touched on the possibility of making use of the Bylaw-sanctioned Executive Committee

What Would You Tell a Shareholder

Meeting participants shared what they would tell a shareholder about this meeting. These comments are shared in the staff newsletter and in Food for Thought.

Meeting Closing

Meeting participants their key takeaways from this meeting.

The meeting was adjourned at 7:08 pm.

Respectfully submitted,
Sarah Brennan, Board Administrator/Sustainability Coordinator