Phoenix Earth Food Co-op (PEFC)
Minutes, Board Meeting 06/24/2015

Location: Main branch of Toledo-Lucas County Public Library, 325 Michigan St., Toledo, OH 43604; Present:Shelly Boraby, Sándor Halász (arrived later), Alyx Kendzierski, Anita Levin, Sean Nestor, Hermann von Grafenstein, Sean Fitzgerald (General Manager) Helen Elden (staff), Morgan Blake (staff, marketing). Absent:Thomas Fine, Nichole Nauden, Leah Foley (staff, bookkeeper). Resolutions are numbered R1–R3.

The meeting began at 5:30 pm.

  1. Approval of minutes
    The minutes of the 5/27/2015 board meeting were approved (R1, 5/0/0 for/against/abstention).
  2. Jackson Lawsuit
    Helen and Sean Fitzgerald updated the Board about the status of the Jackson Loan Lawsuit and indicated that it may take some time until a decision is made.
  3. Bank account
    A motion was approved to close the Relocation account at the Directions Credit Union and move the balance to a fundraiser account at Huntington Bank (R2, 5/0/0). Alyx wanted to know why we chose Huntington and not a Federal Credit Union. During a brief discussion it was revealed that Huntington Bank might re-open a credit line that had been open to the Co-op in the past.
  4. Potluck
    The next potluck was to take place in the week around August 8, coinciding with the Local Foods week.
  5. Volunteer program
    Shelly said that she was now available to run the volunteer program. Volunteers for going door-to-door distributing information were needed. Alyx mentioned that she could recruit volunteers using the bulletin board at Black Cloister Brewing Company on 619 Monroe St.
  6. General Manager’s report
    Sean Fitzgerald presented his General Manager’s report, which was generally well received. The stabilization of the Co-op’s finances was very much appreciated. Although agreeing with the general tone of the report, Hermann cautioned that a positive balance as a result of inventory reduction was not sustainable.
  7. Outreach committee report
    Hermann presented a brief report of recent activities of the Outreach Committee:

    Sándor Halász arrived at the meeting.

  8. Marketing campaign

    Sean N. announced that a tentative launch date was July 1. Most of the work had been done. The Toledo city paper was working with Sean to publish an article about the Co-op to advertise the fundraiser. Fundraising was going to utilize the Indiegogo site as originally planned. Sean emphasized the importance of having significant commitments at the beginning of the campaign to demonstrate momentum. Sean showed a preview of a video produced by Ben Snyder supporting the campaign. Alyx mentioned the possibility of creating a phone tree to promote the campaign among members and getting them involved.

  9. Board recruitment
    Sean emphasized the importance of recruiting candidates for Board elections early. Ideally the Board President should be an experienced, not a new board member.
  10. Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 6:35 pm (R3, 6/0/0).

Date of next meeting: July 22, 2015, if not decided otherwise.

_______________(signed)______________________
Submitted by Hermann von Grafenstein, Secretary