by Anya Firszt, General Manager
Hello October—Hello Co-op Month!
Co-op Month has been a nationally recognized celebration since 1964, when U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Orville Freeman, a former Minnesota governor, proclaimed October Co-op Month. Across the nation, cooperatives take this opportunity to celebrate the cooperative business model.
Take a minute to think about all we have accomplished in our 48 years as a locally owned consumer retail cooperative, and your part in our continued success. Wow!
We are celebrating Owner Appreciation in October with over 600 items on sale and more Owner perks. See details on page 11.
Step Up 2022 Assessment and Next Steps
DEI Statement
The Seven Cooperative Principles that guide our daily work are rooted in equity. Principle One, “Voluntary, Open Ownership,” means that we are open to all without gender, social, racial, political, or religious discrimination. Principle Seven, “Concern For The Community,” leads us to work for the sustainable development of our communities. We prioritize diversity, equity, and inclusion to reflect our employees, customers, partners, and suppliers as well as the communities we serve.
In summer 2020, the Co-op partnered with Step Up: Equity Matters on a three-year project to advise us on efforts around Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). We are now two years into that engagement. Step Up recently conducted their second assessment of the Co-op’s DEI leadership, culture, and initiatives.
Step Up gathered data input through various avenues for the initial 2020 assessment to provide a baseline for future comparison; these avenues included an online challenge (Uprooting Bias), employee climate survey, as well as interviews and focus groups with staff, managers, and the Board. The initial assessment provided perspectives about our overall strengths and opportunities while highlighting the challenges to achieving a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive organization.
The follow-up 2022 assessment gathered input from all staff through the Uprooting Bias and Microaggressions Online Challenges, as well as through individual interviews with directors.
Sarah Larson, Board President, and I have reviewed the 2022 assessment report prepared by Step Up. While we have made progress on several of Step Up’s recommendations from the 2020 assessment, we still have more work to do. We remain committed to moving forward with the initial recommendations and project work, which prioritize:
- Instituting a company-wide bias and microaggressions training
- Creating three project groups to pursue objectives related to our mission and vision
- Developing a DEI strategy
In the coming year, we will focus on broadening and deepening training opportunities for the managers and staff, developing a baseline and aspirational targets for the strategic goals we’ve identified, and aligning management and Board efforts. We will continue the work in our three DEI Workgroups focused on initiatives to advance DEI with our employees, customers, and vendor partners. For a full update on the DEI Workgroups check out the DEI page on our website (willystreet.coop/DEI) .
The areas to focus on for improvement:
- Developing and implementing a competencies-based leadership development model
- Developing and implementing a strategy to facilitate frequent, clear, and multi-channel communication to and between staff members
Our work related to diversity, equity, and inclusion is evolving to meet the needs of our employees, customers, and community. We look forward to continuing to advance our mission, vision, and purpose with DEI at the forefront.
Annual Business Meeting and Board elections
Reminder: This year’s Annual Meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, October 11 at the Performing Arts Center in Middleton. Learn more about the event by reading the Board Report below.
Board elections run October 1–26. You can find a paper ballot in this issue of the Reader (page 5) along with Board candidate statements. Paper ballots need to be received (and verified) no later than October 26 at the Special Membership Meeting.
In order to cast your ballot online, we need your current email address, which you can update at the Customer Service desk or send an email to the Owner Records Administrator at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..