Your co-op, January 2005

An important message to our valued member/owners

Throughout this board term, your PCC Board of Trustees has conducted an exhaustive review of our Articles of Incorporation. We believe that it is necessary to assure this document serves the co-op well into the future in every aspect of governance. Our overriding objectives are that the articles should:

• Be fully compliant with Washington state law;
• Be purged of superfluous language;
• Be easier to understand, and thereby, easier to administer;
• Be consistent with our current business environment;
• Contain clear processes necessary for efficient governance of the co-op.

You may recall the membership voted on bylaws amendments in October 2003. Due to the interdependent nature of the articles and bylaws, another review of the bylaws was conducted to ensure that they would conform to the proposed language in the articles. We did find it necessary to propose a few changes to the bylaws.

At its November 30, 2004 meeting, the board of trustees approved proposals to amend the articles and bylaws and directed that they be presented to our membership for a vote in the next annual election in May 2005.

To provide maximum opportunity for member feedback, we’ll post the full text of the amended articles and bylaws on our Web site (see the link on the homepage) as of January 10, 2005. The Web site also will provide a red-line edit showing changes in the old versions, and summaries of the changes with the reasons for the changes. All documents will also be available at the Co-op Information Center at each of our stores by January 10, 2005.

Copies of the current articles and bylaws are accessible online and are available for the asking at all PCC stores and the office. You’re encouraged to give us your feedback via email at board@pccmarkets.com or by mail to the co-op’s office at 4201 Roosevelt Way N.E., Seattle, WA 98105.

The Sound Consumer will not publish the text of the proposals until the May issue in a special election insert. The ballot will ask members to vote on the articles and bylaws proposals, as well as board candidates and nominating committee candidates.

We believe that the changes we’re proposing will prove to be important factors in the efficient governance and continuing success of our cooperative. We encourage you to study the proposals carefully and to cast your “yes” vote in May.

Respectfully,
PCC Board of Trustees

Note: Members who wish to have their feedback on the proposed articles and bylaws amendments included in the April Sound Consumer must submit letters to the editor no later than February 24 by 5 p.m.

Letters received after February 24 will be considered for the May Sound Consumer, which will contain the voting insert. All letters will be forwarded to the board.

Evergreen Monthly awards for PCC

PCC is proud to be among the winners of the first “Evvies” awarded by the Evergreen Monthly. The magazine recently polled readers for its “Best of Northwest” issue.

As the Monthly notes, “these days the retail lines have blurred between retailers once-labeled health food stores, natural supermarkets and food co-ops.” Voters picked PCC Natural Markets as a stand out for:

• Best Natural Grocery Store/Local Chain
• Best Health and Nutrition Store/Local Chain
• Best Food Co-op
• Best Natural Food Cooking Classes

PCC also shared an Evvie Award for Best Grocery Store for Healthy Kids’ Food.

Upcoming talk to the board dates

• Saturday, January 22, West Seattle PCC; 12 to 2 p.m.
• Saturday, February 26, Issaquah PCC; 1 to 3 p.m.

Next board meeting

The next regularly scheduled board meeting will be January 25 at the co-op office. The meeting begins at 5 p.m. with the member comment period at 7 p.m. as usual.

November board meeting

The board met on November 30 in the West Seattle store’s classroom. The agenda included consideration of proposed changes to the articles and bylaws, task force progress reports, discussion about the member linkage value of the semi-annual meeting, and “Talk to the Board” feedback.

The Articles/Bylaws Task Force reported that it completed its comprehensive review of the articles, and presented recommendations for changes to the board for approval. The task force also presented a short list of proposed changes for the bylaws that would be necessary to be consistent with the articles. After a thorough vetting, the board voted to present the proposed changes to the membership in the spring election. PCC members will have an opportunity to offer feedback to the board. (see An important message …)

The Board Development Task Force gave an overview of the agenda for the board’s January retreat on membership. Since member benefits is a major agenda item, the board has been seeking member comments on benefits. The board was given notes from member discussions at the semi-annual meeting, and also will receive all member feedback solicited in the Sound Consumer and on the Web site.

The semi-annual meeting discussion, led by the Linkage Task Force, centered on whether this event is meeting expectations as a linkage tool. With consistently low attendance at these meetings (this year’s attendance of 21 was among the highest), the majority of the board, as well as the PCC members in attendance at the board meeting, believed it was much more effective to put the board’s energy into the monthly “Talk to the Board” events. These events afford board members the opportunity to have one-on-one conversations with at least as many members as at the typical semi-annual meeting. The board also will increasingly use the Web site to reach out to members for input on their needs and values.