By Jon McDonald, Board Chair
On behalf of the Board, I want to thank all of the worker owners and consumer owners for your thoughtful input over the last few months regarding our Ends Statement and Treatment of Staff policy. Your ideas were an essential voice as we concluded our policy revisions.
The feedback was especially relevant to our Ends Statement. For those of you who aren’t familiar with policy governance, our Ends Statement is the guiding policy for the Board and General Manager. This policy defines the tangible results that will exist in the world as a consequence of WSM’s work. It allows the Board to direct the General Manager toward a specific goal. It is meant to be aspirational, but also measurable; broad, but not vague; the language must be results-oriented, not action-oriented. It also needs to represent us! Our values, our goals, our voices.
Over the last year the Board heard from both owner classes a desire for more opportunities to participate in the co-op’s mission. Indeed, the co-op landscape has changed over time: stores are not staffed by volunteers, natural foods have become ubiquitous, and WSM has grown, making it harder to maintain a sense of community. Yet participation still remains at the core of who we are and what we strive to achieve in the future. You have reminded us that participation is an elemental aspect of our co-op and a banner to be held forth in the world.
At the Board retreat last week, we updated the Ends Statement to include this language on participation:
Weaver Street Market Cooperative: A vibrant sustainable, food marketplace—defined by shared economics, shared community, and shared knowledge; driven by widespread and diverse participation; for owners and potential owners.