Running for Cooperation

A Letter from the Co-op General Manager

To Our Community,

I would like to update you on several important things happening at your Co-op this week.

Recognizing Our “Fast Food Co-op”

Recently our Co-op sponsored a team in the CDF 5K, an annual family-friendly fundraiser held each May by the Cooperative Development Foundation. The event was virtual this year, and raised more than $56,000 to support cooperative development projects nationwide.

Our “Fast Food Co-op” team was composed of eight employees from all locations, including the Co-op Kitchen. The participants were:

  • Bonnie Armstrong

  • April Harkness

  • Scott Hatfield

  • Tess Holbrook

  • Elena Karis

  • Kelley Lucas

  • Mike Myers

  • Tara Watson

Congratulations to all the participants, and special recognition goes to Elena Karis, who was honored as the Top Female Runner! I look forward to seeing what our teams can do next year. Learn more about the event here.

Reducing Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Emissions

You know our organization has pledged to significantly reduce our CO2 emissions over the next several years, and is working toward becoming carbon neutral. As I have written before, thanks to the focus of Emily Rogers, our member education manager, we have received a proposal from Efficiency Vermont, an organization that provides consultants and strategies to help companies increase their energy efficiency. The proposal is incredibly detailed, just as we had hoped, and includes an aggressive schedule for us to consider if we wish to attain net-zero emissions by 2030.

Co-op leadership team members Amanda Charland, Lori Hildbrand, and I have a follow-up meeting with Efficiency Vermont on Monday to discuss the proposal in-depth. I look forward to making progress toward this noble goal and will keep you posted each step of the way.

News and Notes

  • Our own Caitlin Woodbury, manager of the Co-op Market, recently participated in an important roundtable conversation about challenges frontline workers face amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The roundtable was part of DHMC’s “Heads Up: Coping with COVID-19” series. My thanks to Caitlin for her important work representing frontline workers in the food industry. I encourage all of you to check out the full video online.

  • Our new bulk bin installations are now complete. These new gravity bins will enable the Co-op to offer all of our bulk products again for the first time in more than a year. If you have not seen the bins yet, be sure to visit the Bulk Departments in our Hanover and Lebanon stores.

  • As I wrote about on Monday, our Co-op recently joined one of our long-time community partners, Willing Hands, to accept the Partnership for Innovation award from New Hampshire Businesses for Social Responsibility. To learn more about our award-winning partnership, check out our blog, and view the local media coverage here.

Wrap Up

As always, I think all of our members and shoppers for the continued support. Reach out to me anytime. In the meantime, remember to be kind to one another and to yourselves. 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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