Great Day Owners,
 

The Deep Roots Board elects new Officers each year; this happens at the first Board meeting following the Annual Owners Meeting. We’re thrilled to announce our new President is Ashleigh Odom.

Ashleigh served as Vice President the past year and worked with then-President Joel Landau to train for the position and make for a smooth transition. Ms. Odom runs her own business and has extensive experience in business management and leadership, HR, and customer service, all of which will serve us well.

Joel Landau has served the Co-Op admirably as President for the past 5 ½ years; he will now serve as Vice President. Linda Sullivan agreed to continue in the demanding position of Secretary; the other Directors are indebted to her for this service. Unfortunately, the Treasurer position remains vacant; hopefully, this will be rectified soon.

Please join us in welcoming our new President! The Board email address remains boardofdirectors@deeprootsmarket.com.

The Board has appointed Eric Smith to fill a vacated seat. Welcome Eric!

Also, Chris Kwong has served admirably as Vice President but has stepped down from that position due to time constraints. Chris continues to take on extra responsibilities on the Board, but slightly less than as VP. Thank you Chris for all you’ve done and do! Ashleigh Odom is now Vice President; we welcome her in that position!

For the full list of Board members, go to: https://www.deeprootsmarket.com/board-of-directors

We are truly Stronger Together – Go Co-op!

Joel Landau, Board President

We had our Annual Owners Meeting Saturday. It was a glorious occasion - sparsely attended but chock full of information, updates, and news about our Co-Op. A big thank you to all who participated!

The proposed amendment to the Bylaws was approved with no “nay” votes. The full text can be found at https://www.deeprootsmarket.com/annual-owners-meeting. Regarding the election of Directors, the following three candidates were elected: Linda Sullivan, Ashleigh Odom, and Drew Dix. Congratulations! All 3 were already Board members, so there is no change in the Board's composition at this time. The Board typically meets monthly on the fourth Tuesday, currently via Zoom. All Owners are welcome to attend as observers; the meeting dates/times and contact info are in the weekly e-newsletter.

It's amazing how resilient Deep Roots has been over the years, as we now making our way out of yet another financial crisis. It's part of the Co-Op advantage, being owned by the local community and committed to serving it. We have Staff, Management, and Directors committed to our mission, willing to go the extra mile for the Co-Op. And most of all we have a dedicated base of Owners and customers, who show their support through their patronage and participation. We are continually looking for ways to better serve our community and enjoy being on this cooperative journey with you!

Stronger Together!

Joel Landau

President, Board of Directors

This month the Co-Op is celebrating its 45th anniversary! We’ve come a long way since our pre-store roots as a buying club operating out of the basement of Mary Hobbs dorm at Guilford College. Over the years we have faced a series of financial crises – 4 in all. The first was in 1982, then in 1991, again in 2001, and lastly in recent years. In each case we managed to pull through and come out stronger on the other end of it. Our dedicated Owners and customers have been essential to this process. And now we’ve done it again. Deep Roots’ financial picture was grim in recent years, but has experienced a remarkable turnaround the past year. Significantly, we have now started the process of repaying the Owners who lent money to the Co-Op in 2011 for the relocation to our current beautiful store. We are behind schedule in paying back these loans, and are grateful to finally be able to get the paybacks going. It will be a slow process as we pay back one loan at a time as funds are available. But the first one is on the books! As pictured below, GM Nicole Villano visited Co-Op Owner Gay Cheney last week to personally hand Gay the first payback check. It was a happy occasion!

Our Annual Owners Meeting is coming soon – Saturday May 1 at 11 am. It will be on Zoom again this year. Please mark your calendar to attend and hear about the state of your Co-Op. 2020 was a momentous year, and 2021 is full of initiatives you’ll appreciate hearing about. There will also be plenty of time for your questions and comments. Participate in your Co-Op’s governance!

Last of all, our GM and her staff have done a tremendous job this past year. It’s not easy working in a pandemic environment, but they’ve done a great job hanging in there and making the store better and better. Please express your appreciation when you visit.

Cooperatively yours,

Joel Landau

President, Board of Directors