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Tania Nezrick,
president, opened the meeting at 5:10 pm.
John Naples
moved and Jo- Anne Naples seconded a motion to approve the agenda. The motion
passed.
Last year’s minutes were
accepted unanimously following a motion by Mary Helen Polensky and second by Leo
Kurylo.
General
Managers Report:
--Peggy James
reported that DSC last year retained most employees and replaced those lost.
--James
negotiated a freeze in rent and extended the lease for three years.
--A fixed rate
has been secured for electricity service. It is renegotiable after 6 months if
it does not prove to be a suitable arrangement.
--The back
stock inventory was reduced because of slowing sales, but the shelves have
remained full.
Loreen has
done an excellent job of managing inventory. All invoices have been paid for in
a timely fashion.
--James
drafted a way to do business with other businesses which may extend our
constituency. Sunny Day Bakery will be given shelf space to sell their items on
consignment (at no cost to the coop and with a three percent amount taken by
Duck Soup to cover sales tax expense and a small handling charge).
--All necessary preventative
maintenance was attended to.
--DSC has about $58,000
worth of inventory on the shelves (cost, not retail worth), $9000 in checking
account. Hopefully next year will be a better year. The third quarter of 2009
was not a good quarter. We do not foresee a profit this year.
--We have 4 full-time and
four part-time employees
-- To maintain over the past year, DSC
did not raise margins, expand product lines, or add any
departments or employees.
--The question was asked why
we had a poorer sales year. The answer is unknown but most probably related to
economy. Hopefully next year will be better. Other small coops are
experiencing the same phenomenon in general.
Treasurer’s
Report:
Mary Helen
Polensky presented the proposed budget for 2010 with the following
assumptions:
--2
% increase in sales
--Target margin of 35%
--Modest increase in
Workers’ Comp billings related to increase in gross payroll
--Modest increase in
accounting expense
--9% increase in maintenance
expense to accommodate aging equipment
--1.75% increase in bank
charges associated with projected 2% increase in credit/debit charge
--Frozen base rent with
nominal increase in property tax/insurance liability
--No capital purchases
during budget year
--No significant increases
in utility expense during the budget year
--Independent Contractor
expense limited to fuel purchase for snow plowing
--No increase in staff
compliment or in full to part-time ratio during budget year
--4% increase in wage
expense due to COLA, associated increase in payroll tax expense
--No change in member fees
or equity requirements
--No significant
increase/decrease in active memberships
--Patronage Refund from
Frontier Herb
--No Federal or State Income
Tax liability
Patty Ruback moved and
Jo-Anne Naples seconded a motion to accept the budget. It passed unanimously.
Committee
Reports:
Patty Ruback,
speaking for the Outreach Committee, noted that the committee had a booth at the
NIU Health Fair and won best booth award. They
also sponsored the Springamajig, a monthly potluck to help create community,a
booth at the Oregon Renewable Energy Fair, Octoberfest and the holiday cookie
exchange. They have established a fan page on Facebook, produced a bi-monthly
newsletter, and worked with the scholarship program They are hoping to do a
health fair at
Kaneland High School.
Election of
Board Officers:
Two board
positions were open. Current board member Patty Ruback said she would like to
serve another term. Amanda Montgomery spoke of her desire to serve on the
board. There was a unanimous vote to elect these two to the board.
Proposed
Changes to By-laws
Mary Helen
Polensky presented proposed changes to the By-laws. The first was to streamline
the options to allow businesses to buy from DSC.
ARTICLE III Section 4.5 Terms of Payment
a. Payment is required at the time of sale unless
otherwise approved by management
b. Charge agreements may be
made at the discretion of management and are contingent on submission of an
application and adherence to agreed-upon terms.
The second
change was to eliminate the open forum requirement in Article IV Section 2
because it is already provided for in Article IV Section 3. All changes were
unanimously passed.
Open
Discussion: The Marketing of Duck Soup
Tania Nezrick
spoke to the possibility of Duck Soup’s membership in the DeKalb Chamber of
Commerce.
The cost would be about $300 and would give opportunities
for advertising, involvement in Welcome Wagon, listing on website, etc. The
question was asked if our missions are compatible. Discussion ensued. Some
felt we are not totally compatible but perhaps we could influence others in the
organization. A suggestion was made to try the Chamber for a year to see if it
is worth it or if we can service them in some way.
Another suggestion was made that we establish our own
network, perhaps do a non-profit fair.
Other suggestions for
outreach include going into schools, maybe prepare lesson plans for several
levels that could be used in
science and social studies, preparing information brochures on new items, making
handouts for adults and children on various health food issues, e.g. natural vs.
organic, maybe working with the extension office.
More volunteers are
definitely needed to accomplish all these things.
The meeting
was adjourned upon a motion by Mary Helen Polensky and second by
John
Naples. We were adjourned unanimously at
6:20 pm.
Members attending GMM, December 6,
2009
Joe Casurella
Kathy/Jim Clark/Followell
Joan Coghlan
Evelyn Cooley
Donna Jones-Ilsley
Leo Kurylo
Amanda Montgomery
John/Jo-Ann Naples
Tania Nezrick
Larry/Peggy Nordstrom/James
Ruth Peterson
Mary Helen Polensky
Patty Ruback
Dan Sharp
Cheryl Wieczorek
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