You may or may not be familiar with the fact that the Brattleboro Food Co-op Board and the General Manager operate under a set of guidelines called Policy Governance. Under these guidelines, the General Manager is responsible for all day-to-day operations of the Co-op while the Board is responsible for hiring, overseeing and supporting the General Manager. The work of the Board for the last year has been dominated by the search for and hiring of a new General Manager. We could not be happier with having found and welcomed Lee Bradford. Going forward, our immediate responsibility is to assist and support Lee in his first year with us. The good news: Lee is off to a great start!
General Manager
Hello from Our New General Manager
Hello everyone!
I am excited to be writing my first contribution as the General Manager of the Brattleboro Food Cooperative! After a very eventful cross country move that included a U-Haul breakdown, a blizzard warning, and a high wind advisory my family and I are finally settling back into life in New England.
Brattleboro Food Co-op hires new GM
With much enthusiasm the Board of Directors announces the hiring of Lee Bradford as the Brattleboro Food Co-op’s new General Manager. Lee offers over 26 years of business management expertise in a variety of industries. He is incredibly excited to have the opportunity to work in a co-op setting, which he described as less about getting food from point a to point b, and more about serving communities. He added that Covid has given us all the opportunity to think about deep values and what’s important to us.
Special Board of Directors Meeting concerning GM position
These are the minutes of a special BOD Meeting concerning the position of General Manager at the Co-op
Meet Whitney Field, Interim GM
Hello! I just wanted to introduce myself. I’m Whitney Field, and I’ll be serving as the Co-op’s Interim General Manager while the search for Sabine’s replacement continues. You have seen me in the aisles for years as the Co-op’s Store Manager. I have been in that role since 2015. Before that, I worked all over the Co-op – I started in Bulk in June of 1995, and since then, I’ve worked in just about every single department in the store.
Once More, With Feeling
It’s been a little more than ten years since I began working at the Brattleboro Food Co-op, and a little more than six since I took on the General Manager role. Looking back, this organization went through so much in that time, it’s a little hard to believe. Traumatic tragedies, difficult tensions, epic mechanical failures, transitions a-plenty, and ultimately a long and winding road to profitability.
When It’s Time
I have heard it said that it’s a gift to know when it’s time. I have received many gifts in my tenure here at the Brattleboro Food Co-op, often in thoughtful and caring conversations in the aisles. For now, though, I am stepping down at the end of December as General Manager. I believe that a new person taking the lead, with new energies and new vision, will be just the ticket for our beloved Co-op, to continue to shepherd it through the next few pastures.
