Rainbow Whole Foods Grocery, Inc.
Board of Directors Meeting
5:30pm August 15, 2006
Board Members Present: Luke Lundemo, Amy Breckenridge, Barbara Scobee,
John McNeal, Karen Parker, Ann Herlihy, Nicole Jenkins.
Absent:
Also present: Bruce Fraiser, Daniel Johnson, Renee Rosenfeld, Steve Whitlow.
A quorum was present.
Minutes Approved: June minutes were approved and seconded. Changes to July minutes were recommended and
will be approved at Sept. meeting.
Member Input: Per request of Renee Rosenfeld it was agreed that she
could have a booth in plaza for Reflexology Week, Daniel will assist her with Macrobiotic
nutrition classes, Rainbow will assist new President
of Piney Woods School as needed.
Managers Report:
Steve Whitlow reported that July was 7% better than June. Payroll was down. Steve reported an increase in sales in the
Café, and losses were cut by 65%. Flooding
has resulted in lost revenue, inventory, structural damage, cleaning
costs. Steve requested Board consider
filing lawsuit against the City of
Steve recognized Daniel Johnson for new ad artwork. Steve recommended putting an ad in the UMC phone directory, Board agreed.
Barbara requested “non-profit” be removed from website.
Financial Report:
Barbara Scobee reported sales doing well although there was a net loss of almost $10,000 due to flooding.
Barbara presented tentative budget for August 2006 – July 2007. Steve and Barbara will work on capital budget. Amy questioned lack of employee incentives and bonus program and will present formal proposal to the Board.
Committee Reports:
Management evaluation/Grievance Procedure: Amy presented forms for general manager self evaluation, board evaluation of manager, staff evaluation of manager, and staff appeal form. Amy to tabulate all results and present to Board. Karen to check results for accuracy. Board discussed possibility of bias when having staff evaluate management. Karen suggested an employee satisfaction survey would give valid picture and could be used to set goals in GM’s evaluation. Barbara requested Steve complete GM self evaluation. Staff Appeals Form was not discussed. No forms were approved by Board.
Steve reported Amy Breckenridge has taken baker position and is scheduled to study at French Culinary Institute in NYC in September. Bakery will continue to produce muffins and sweets in the interim. New signage will announce bakery news.
Daniel Johnson discussed his priorities would be to products
and events that were directly related to Rainbow. He would no longer consider products or
events not directly related to Rainbow as priority. He will support events and programs that were
member-initiated and driven as a resource only.
Customer database responsibility will be passed from
Disaster planning/Flooding issue: Luke Lundemo reviewed chronology
of flooding including pleas to City Council and Public Works Department and
their responses, respectively.
Luke requested a sump pump would minimize future flooding damage to be purchased and paid for by City reimbursement. The motion was made and seconded for Steve to purchase the pump. Luke suggested the purchase of a back-up diesel-powered generator to be used to run freezers, cold food cases and sump pump in the event of power outages/flooding. Luke will get estimates on the types and prices of generators. Board suggested the establishment of a call list in the event of a disaster which would notify all necessary management/personnel/Board members of the situation, and designate set-up of pump when needed.
Luke suggested Disaster Planning remain a Board function and be put on the agenda to review from time to time.
Board discussed General Manager should be able to spend at GM’s discretion a set amount of money without Board approval if there is a budget line item and funds are available. Amount will be determined by Board and presented for vote.
Luke addressed expense reimbursement incurred by Board members for Co-op business. Expenses up to $1000 should be presented to the Board Treasurer for approval then paid by Rainbow accountant upon approval. Expenses over $1000 will be presented to Board for approval. It was motioned and approved.
Nicole Jenkins will head Board Development Committee that will serve to formulate, develop, and recommend potential Board members. Committee will serve as an information gathering committee for potential members. Nicole presented a sample questionnaire/SWOT analysis for current Board to complete and submit to Luke for ranking. Barbara requested meeting be closed during SWOT discussion in September.
New Business:
Luke presented an Organic Industry Chart which shows changes in ownership of small organic food manufacturers and distributors illustrating how the small organic food industry is being bought out by large companies.
Old Business:
A motion was made to adjourn. This motion was seconded
and passed.
Meeting adjourned at