Want to know more about the candidates? Mark your calendar for the Annual Meeting! October 27th, from 1-4 pm at the Olympia Ballroom. Great food, candidate speeches and the first round of member discussion on recent research into whether the Co-op should change our legal status (currently, we are a not-for-profit under RCW 24.03.) We look forward to seeing you there!
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Board Candidate: Nancy Koppleman
Why
do you want to be on the Co-op Board of Directors?
I’m
interested in helping the co-op continue to serve the greater Olympia community,
and particularly to face the task of maintaining both its ideals and, as with
all businesses, its need to grow: a real
challenge.
What
general abilities would you bring to the Board?
What specific abilities and experiences would you offer to help provide
direction in dealing with the Co-op’s challenges?
I’ve
been a member of the co-op for 30 years.
I’ve been a working member and, in the early 1990s, a member of the
Board when it voted to open a store on the east side of town. For the last 17 years, I have been a faculty
member at Evergreen, where I’m regularly active in significant governance
work. For the last 18 months, I’ve
helped to organize over 150 of the college’s faculty to implement an important
new academic initiative. I genuinely enjoy
working closely with people, and simultaneously I am able to keep “the big
picture” in mind. I like to foster committed
and thoughtful work with others, and I like to help people maintain a sense of
common purpose, especially when conflicts inevitably arise.
What
do you see as current strengths of the Co-op that you would like to see
maintained? What would you like to see
changed?
The
co-op’s long-standing commitment to the well-being of the staff is one of its
greatest strengths. It should be
maintained and, I hope, enhanced. In
terms of change, I would like to learn what the membership wants from its
co-op, and I’m interested in ensuring that the co-op regularly revisit and
thoughtfully consider its mission, and measure its practices against that
mission.
What
vision do you have for the Co-op for the next five years?
I
know that there have been discussions for some time about opening a downtown
store. I think this is a laudable vision
and I’m interested in how the co-op is pursuing it. I’m also interested in discussing
diversifying the co-op’s merchandise to include a wider array of fair-trade
items, possibly including alcoholic beverages.
Finally, ongoing education about how the co-op puts its philosophy into
practice will ensure that its members continue to be informed and involved.
