Board of Directors Meeting Minutes: September 2026
These are the minutes of the September 14, 2026 Brattleboro Board of Directors meeting.
Present
Directors Present: Calvin Dame (Vice President), Liv Eck [Zoom], Denise Glover, Anneka Kindler, Evan Silber [Zoom], Sheena Tesch, Jerelyn Wilson (President), and Johanna Zalneraitis (Secretary).
Staff Present: General Manager Emilee Hobbs and Board and Executive Administrator Orion Stange.
Guests Present: Andrew Frost.
Jerelyn called the meeting to order at 5:15 pm and welcomed guests.
Welcome and Communication Norms
Board members read the communication norms aloud.
Shareholder Input and Stats
Andrew introduced himself and described his desire to run for the Board and his relevant experience. Discussion of stats was centered around keeping vigilant and spotting financial indicators in the data when they appear.
The Meat and Seafood Shareholder Sale increased total sales across the store. More detail to come once the data has been fully analyzed. The refrigeration project has negatively affected sales during the installation period ($4,177,412 total sales this August, $19,655 below the Annual Business Plan) but has not reduced shareholder enrollment (42 new enrollments this August compared to 22 last August, likely due to the Meat and Seafood Sale).
Anticipation of the Truckload Sale has been increasing shareholder enrollment, showing a significant uptick from last August.
Working Shareholder basket size is down from $63.43 to $55.63 compared to last August. Shoppers are responding to inflation by making different purchasing choices.
Board members discussed how to inform shareholders about the Working Shareholder program discount as well as how the Co-op has updated this program over time, emphasizing Ends Policies 3 and 4.
Emilee clarified that the abnormally high number of FFA and FFA Working shareholders (481 and 75 compared to 359 and 33 last August) is due to operational delays that are in the process of being resolved.
Approval of Minutes
Johanna moved, and Anneka seconded, to approve the minutes of the August 3rd, 2026 meeting. The motion to approve the minutes carried unanimously with one abstention (Denise abstained because they were not here).
Board Monitoring Reports (no GM reports this month)
- D.3 Board Member Code of Conduct: Denise moved to review the D.3 monitoring report and Anneka seconded. Discussion focused on best practices for addressing conflicts of interest. Board members expressed a desire to clarify this policy. Proposed updates will be presented next month. Vote: All in favor of accepting the monitoring report.
- B. D.7 Board Officers: Anneka moved to review the D.7 monitoring report and Denise seconded. Discussion: Some Board members expressed interest in rewriting this policy to increase clarity. Proposed edits will be presented next month. Vote: All in favor of accepting the monitoring report.
- D.11 Board Audit Requirements: Denise moved to review the D.11 monitoring report and Johanna seconded. Discussion focused on the accuracy of the word “audit” in this context. The Board will consider renaming the policy “Board Financial Review Requirements.” Proposed edits will be presented next month. Vote: All in favor of accepting the monitoring report.
GM Updates
Emilee provided late-breaking updates. She shared how valuable she has found her GM group and that she will attend National Co-op Grocer’s (NCG) fall meeting.
The Core Team of managers will have a meeting next week to discuss plans and goals for the next one to three years.
The Truckload Sale will be happening on the 18th and 19th. The Co-op has partnered with the Downtown Brattleboro Alliance (DBA) to make the sale part of a larger community event with food trucks, music, and activities.
The mural on the outside of the building, painted by muralist Travis Czekalski, has been started and is expected to be completed in the coming weeks. Art throughout the store is being updated as well.
The Food Services Manager resigned, and that role is in the process of being filled. Some positions have been added to support operational workflow as well, including an Event and Catering Planner, a Food Services Purchasing Manager, and a Merchandising and Purchasing Coordinator.
Contract negotiations concluded today and voting will take place early next week. There will be a one-year wage reopener to discuss wages and holidays in April. The Board requested that Emilee provide a food services Org Chart in October.
Although the Co-op is underperforming the ABP by 0.47% ($19,655), it is still making 2.94%
($119,163) more than last year.
Due to issues with refrigeration equipment that has yet to be replaced, Deli sales are down. The Deli represented $3m of FY26’s total sales, so this raises some concern. Thankfully, the refrigeration project is almost done.
The total number of transactions has remained flat compared to last August (85,007 this August vs 84,990 last August), which shows that shoppers are not avoiding the Co-op amidst the ongoing equipment updates.
The Co-op is also owed two outstanding payments from Marlboro Music Festival, so the total income is higher than it currently appears.
Overall, the Co-op is performing to plan. Discussion also touched on shareholder and non-shareholder sales ($1,208,768 vs $862,014 in August). The data shows a decrease of 1.34% in non-shareholder sales compared to last August. The group expressed a desire for growth in both areas, and expressed curiosity about the number of non-shareholder repeat shoppers.
Board Activities
- Board Recruitment: Jerelyn will meet with a potential candidate soon in hopes that he can come to the October meeting. So far, four people (two incumbents) have submitted statements of interest in anticipation of this year’s election for three open positions. The Board would like to have candidates stand up at the Annual Meeting so shareholders know who they are.
- Shareholder Linkage: The Board discussed the write-up with answers to commonly asked questions that Linkage created.
- Finance: Kevin (Treasurer) is away but will be meeting with Jerelyn and Emilee in the coming days. He will provide an update next month.
- Policy and Bylaw Updates: The Board reviewed proposed bylaw changes to be presented to shareholders.
- Annual Meeting: Discussion touched on making Board members visible at the Annual Meeting. Emilee will come up with a few options. Also, Board members agreed to help serve food at the buffet table.
October Policies to be Monitored
- GM: A.1 End 3 – Just and resilient local economy. The Board shared their expectations for Emilee’s End 3 report after reviewing her report from last year, including some examples of compliance data that they would like to see.
- Board: none.
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 shared their key takeaways from this meeting.
The meeting was adjourned at 7:04 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Orion Stange, Board and Executive Administrator
