Your co-op, July 2004
This article was originally published in July 2004
View Ridge rallies for Peter
When the folks at our View Ridge store decided to organize parking lot sales to raise funds for staff member Peter Deng, they had no idea what the response would be.
Peter is one of the “Lost Boys” of the Sudan, among 40,000 orphaned children who fled the country on foot seeking refuge from civil war. Peter and the other children walked a thousand miles to Kenya, surviving starvation, hostile soldiers, lions and crocodiles. Fewer than half the children survived.
The View Ridge PCC sales were launched to help Peter return to Africa to marry his fiancé, Yar, who remains in a refugee camp in Kenya. Peter hopes to be able to bring Yar back to Seattle once they’re married.
The sales, held at View Ridge PCC over weekends in May and June, captured the attention of local and national media, including KOMO and KING-TV, The Seattle Times, and ABCnews.com. The events raised $13,700, with contributions coming from well-wishers as far away as California and Georgia who heard Peter’s story.
“Those two days made up one of the most moving experiences I have ever had,” said store manager John Rothwell. “The outpouring of support was profound. Peter was deeply touched and grateful that so many people would help him.”
An account has been set up in Peter’s name to help him raise additional funds. Donations to the Peter Deng Fund may be made at any U.S. Bank location or mailed to:
The Peter Deng Fund
U.S. Bank
1420 Fifth Ave.
Main Floor PD-WA-3300
Seattle, WA 98101
PCC receives sustainability award
In a special ceremony on May 25 at the University of Washington’s Kane Hall, Sustainable Seattle presented its 2003 Sustainable Community Outstanding Leadership Awards (SCOLA). PCC received the Board of Directors Special Achievement Award.
Sustainable Seattle is a local nonprofit founded in 1991 to promote a sustainable way of life in this region and beyond. Board member Christy Shelton notes, “The Special Achievement Award is designed to recognize outstanding accomplishments and show a long-term or special commitment to the principles of sustainability. Receiving this award is a great honor, and we value PCC’s outstanding efforts in our community.”
CEO Tracy Wolpert accepted the award on behalf of PCC’s board, members and staff. “We are constantly working to improve sustainability practices in all aspects of our operation. We deeply appreciate this acknowledgement,” Wolpert said. For more information, see www.sustainableseattle.org.
View PCC’s award letter (PDF).
Talk to the Board
After a month off for the transition following board elections, this monthly series of board member visits to the stores resumes at the July 24-25 West Seattle Healthy Living Fair. Board members will be at the PCC booth to hear your thoughts!
PCC Board report
At the May 25 board meeting, Director of Merchandising Paul Schmidt reported on PCC’s launch of a new seafood program. The program has been designed in partnership with the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch, a nationally respected resource on sustainable seafood. PCC will become the first retailer in the nation to be designated a full partner in the aquarium’s program.
We’ve adopted the aquarium’s three-tiered selection grid to identify our seafood, “Best Choices” (green), “Proceed with Caution” (yellow) and “Avoid” (red), based upon such criteria as whether or not the fish is abundant, well-managed and caught in environmentally friendly ways. PCC will not sell seafood in the “Avoid” category. PCC’s seafood vendor has quality assurance systems in place for proper handling and labeling of the seafood, including third-party audits of records that verify where and how the seafood was caught or harvested. The August Sound Consumer will provide a full report.
The board also heard from the Linkage, Board Development, Sustainability and Compensation task forces. The new member survey is in the final stages of development and is planned for this summer. Building upon work at its recent retreat, the board spent the remainder of the meeting on strategic planning.
The next scheduled board meeting is Tuesday, July 27 at Issaquah PCC. The meeting starts at 5 p.m., with time for member comments at 7 p.m. Call Janice Parker at 206-547-1222 if you plan to attend.
2004 election results
The ballots from the 2004 board election were counted in a public meeting on June 2. Here are the results:
Board of Trustees
Chantal Stevens — 1,209
Alexander Rist — 1,041
Bill Roach — 1,001
Julie Tempest — 938
Ernie Hughes — 681
The top three candidates are elected to three-year terms on the board of trustees.
Nominating committee
Heather Toomey Zimmerman — 1,270
Kathryn Russell — 1,228
Jennifer Gordon — 1,209
Jack Buce — 1,183
Ken Shear — 1,114
All five candidates are elected to one-year terms on the nominating committee.
Total valid ballots — 1,773
(4.91 percent of active membership)