HCCF GM Report

Every Month is Co-op Month

To Our Community,

Today I would like to update you on several important initiatives, and close on a very good note about Co-op Month.

Lebanon Upgrades

The upgrades in our Lebanon store continue to proceed on schedule. This has been a major undertaking, and the results are beautiful and speak for themselves. The project is currently on track to be completed by mid-November.

Net-Zero Emissions

Last month, the Co-op board announced an ambitious effort to move from individual programs to a holistic strategy aimed at reducing emissions to net-zero by 2030.

The analyses by VEIC, a Vermont clean energy organization and our partner in this project, is progressing well. We expect a draft report from VEIC by the end of October.

Budgeting

Budgeting and planning for 2022 is underway. Some of our business units have already submitted their expectations. As you may recall, we use a tool called the business canvas to aid in the development of our business plan.

Similar to a SWOT analysis, a business canvas is a strategic-management template that breaks a business model down into several building blocks. Our business canvas analyses for the service station, Co-op Market, our local initiative, and the Kitchen/PFD will be factored into our overall plan.

Compensation

Last month the leadership team announced a multiphase approach to modifying our compensation plan. As part of this plan, we hired a third party with specific knowledge of the NH and VT employment markets to help with our compensation review. That organization has been sourcing the necessary data. Stay tuned as there will be much more to come.

Wrap Up

October is Co-op Month, and in honor of that I would like to close with an important reminder about our work in the community and support of our sister cooperatives.

Many of you are familiar with Pennies for Change, our round-up program that collects donations at the registers for area nonprofits. To date we have raised more than $1 million since the program launched in June of 2016—all thanks to the efforts of our employees and the generosity of our shoppers. But are you aware that the Co-op does more? Specifically, are you familiar with the Hanover Cooperative Community Fund (HCCF)?

Established by the Co-op Board of Directors in 2001, the HCCF helps fund co-op development nationally and non-profits locally with help from our friends at the Twin Pines Cooperative Foundation.

I encourage you to learn more about the HCCF by reading the excellent new post by April Harkness, our Co-op’s Governance and Community Engagement Specialist.
This month April has given all of us a great overview of HCCF and the wonderful work it does in our communities, consistent with the sixth cooperative principle, cooperation among cooperatives, and seventh cooperative principle, concern for community.

Look for April’s post on the Co-op Blog. While you are there, you can also learn more about a new book that was just published by a Co-op Gerstenberger scholarship recipient. Thank you to April for her important work, which keeps all of our efforts in perspective. Here Co-op Month is every month, and supporting our communities and partner cooperatives are principles we follow every day.

As always, I would like to thank all of our members and shoppers for your continued support. We will talk again next Thursday. Be kind to one another and to yourselves, and we look forward to serving you in our stores and at the curbside.

Onward and upward,

Paul

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Paul Guidone

Paul Guidone, CFA, spent the better part of four decades in the investment management business here and abroad. He held positions ranging from analyst through Deputy Chairman and Group CEO, at organizations such as Citigroup (US) and The HSBC Group (London and Hong Kong). He joined the Co-op in 2016 as the CFO and in 2018 became Strategic Advisor to the General Manager. Paul was appointed by the Co-op Board as interim General Manager in March 2020 and General Manager in September 2020. To contact, email PGuidone@coopfoodstore.com.

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