Today marks an historic end to a long journey. Beginning in 2006, the Syracuse Real Food Co-op Board of Directors took on the task of re-writing our Co-op’s Bylaws. Those bylaws were nearly the same set of rules and regulations that the Co-op had been operating under since its inception in 1977, when the Co-op became a legal entity.
In 2008, the Board of Directors brought their first draft of the proposed bylaws to the Owners of the Co-op for input. A series of four owner forums were held, with the bylaws being redrafted and improvements made after each. The Board of Directors spent countless hours in the store, gaining input from owners and bringing that input back to the other board members at board meetings. Owners were also asked to attend Board meetings and share their ideas and input in the drafted bylaws.
Thanks to everyone that participated in this process, the Board was able to present a comprehensive bylaw revision for vote at the Annual Meeting last month. Finally today, Secretary Kris Venne lead a ballot count. Steve Penn and Karl Newton, two highly qualified Co-op owners witnessed the vote. The votes were tallied and the bylaws passed! (124 to 42.)
This year was historic because of this benchmark, but also because of heightened owner participation. Over 200 owners cast a ballot this year, lending strong results for 2010 Board of Directory Candidacy. Congratulations to Walley Francis, Georgette Nicolaides, Marcy Rothenburg and Venassa Marquez. These four candidates take their seats as members of the Syracuse Real Food Co-op, and we’re excited to have them all, and looking forward to continued success under their leadership!
Thank you to everyone who participated in this process. Cooperatives are at their best when they are considering the needs of the many, and the needs of the many are best considered when we have lots of voices!
