From the Board of Directors
Call to Action: Run for the Board!
Hans Carttar, Board President
In his May blog, Mark outlined a big piece of what makes The Merc special: our eight cooperative principles. These principles define how The Merc approaches doing business and the role it strives to play in our community.
As a member of The Merc Co+op Board of Directors for the last three years, I’ve had the privilege of seeing firsthand how our commitment to the cooperative principles governs what we do, how we do it and the role the board of directors plays. Today, I would like to highlight cooperative principle two: Democratic Member Control. Within the cooperative framework, each member owner can play a role in influencing how their store functions. And the most significant way to elevate your ownership voice, is by being on the board.
Board members bring their curiosity, experiences, perspectives, questions, and passion to the table. Being a director is both a responsibility and a privilege. We work together to provide oversight, ask thoughtful questions and support our co-op staff and leadership. We leverage policy governance to understand the role we play as a board of directors, the role the General Manager plays and how we interact with each other. Within this framework, we always keep the cooperative principles, The Merc’s Ends and member owners at the center of our decisions.
Being on the board is a chance to learn, contribute, and help shape the future of an organization that plays an important role in our community.
And you won’t be doing it alone. The board is a team, comprised of both experienced and first term directors. New directors are not only welcomed, but essential, as fresh perspectives and diversity in leadership are critical to the longevity of a community-led enterprise like The Merc. In addition, new directors are supported in learning along the way.
You don’t need to be an expert in the world of groceries, cooperatives, or policy governance. You don’t need to have a particular professional background. What matters most is that you care about The Merc and want to help it thrive.
So, if there’s even a small voice in the back of your mind saying, “Maybe I should…”, I hope you’ll listen to it and make the decision to run for the board.
To register to run for the board, please access the link below.
The cutoff for registering is September 21, 2026!
