We are delighted to introduce Debra Smith as the newest member of Deep Roots’ Board of Directors. Pictured in the center and surrounded by the other members of the Board, Debra has hit the ground running with her vast experience in financial matters and keen attention to detail. A Deep Roots owner since 2018, Debra attests to the value of healthy, organic foods for changing her life for the better. Read more about Debra Smith here.

Debra will be completing the term originally held by Eric Smith (no relation) who regrettably stepped down from the Board to attend to health and wellness matters. Eric’s service to Deep Roots most recently culminated with his involvement in the new General Manager (GM) search, a time-intensive commitment that required his insights and wisdom. We wish Eric, a professional Santa Claus, all the best and will miss his wit at our monthly meetings.

Speaking of monthly meetings, you may be wondering what is in store for Debra now that she’s become a Board Member as well as an owner. Here’s a glimpse of what the Board does. At our last Board Meeting, we reviewed monthly financials as we always do with General Manager Matt Davis and received a report from our Owner Engagement Committee of owner responses to questions about what makes Deep Roots Market special to you and the community. The data will inform a new, concise statement of what distinguishes Deep Roots Market today from other markets and co-ops (one of the Board’s three goals for this year).

What else, you ask? Recently, the Board’s Finance Committee researched, crunched the numbers, and with our General Manager, developed a multi-year plan to retire outstanding owner loans that supported Deep Roots’ operations in challenging times and move to the downtown location (another of the Board’s goals for the year). The Board approved the plan which will begin in 2024, asking our GM to distribute $80,000 in debt repayment by the end of the year, an ambitious step that clearly demonstrates strong commitment to this goal on the part of the Board and the new management team. As one aspect of the ambitious loan repayment plan, the Board will launch a year-end fundraising campaign, asking customers, owners and Deep Roots supporters to consider year-end contributions to help Deep Roots cover costs that extend beyond store sales and ownership shares. More on this soon!

Finally, our Board Development Committee is already preparing candidate packets for owners interested in running for a three-year Board position at our May 2025 Annual Meeting. We intentionally hold elections annually to re-elect or replace at least three Board Members and we hope you will consider running for one of the positions so you can work with an amazing, dedicated group of people to deepen Deep Roots’ place and impact in our community!

At the end of August, your Board of Directors spent a full day together to establish goals and a work plan for 2024-2025. What distinguished the day was the flow of positive energy, show of strong commitment, and affirmation of the collective dedication to serve the community.

We established three goals which you’ll be hearing more about in the months ahead. We hope you, as owners, will join us in developing these goals through our many Board committees that involve smart, fun people working together to enhance our experience and engagement with Deep Roots!

✅ Goal #1: Develop a strong statement of what distinguishes Deep Roots Market today from other markets and co-ops so that we can communicate that clearly and consistently in all messaging. This task, one that will build upon our roots while also recognizing the changing community landscape, will involve soliciting input from our owners in the coming weeks and months. This goal is designed to directly and positively impact our other goals and the overall operations of Deep Roots Market.

✅ Goal #2: Achieve robust financial health and increase Deep Roots’ vibrancy to be able to initiate new programming, store changes, and pay off all outstanding owner loans by 2027. We will release plans later this fall about new programming, fundraising, and details about an ambitious owner loan repayment schedule (and we’ll communicate directly as well with the owners who graciously provided loans to make Deep Roots what it is today!). We know many of you who loaned us funds have been patient and we thank you for that. We are committed to paying off all owner loans and promise to communicate in the next 90 days our specific plans for how to do that. You can expect significant loan repayment to start in 2024. In the meantime, we ask that you please refrain from asking our market staff about this...we will keep you updated as soon as our plans and projections are solid. Keep in mind that you can always write to the Board President with questions at boardofdirectors@deeprootsmarket.com.

✅ Goal #3: Support the onboarding of our new General Manager. As announced previously, we are thrilled that Matt Davis has taken over as Deep Roots’ new General Manager, effective July 1, 2024, a job that requires him to wear many hats and take on new tasks and responsibilities. Our core values of equity, democracy at work and in the community, care for others, sustainability, and social responsibility will guide our effort to work with Matt to ensure Deep Roots continues to grow and serve the people of Greater Greensboro.

Many thanks to you, our owners and shoppers, for supporting Deep Roots Market.

The co-op relies on active owners to cast their votes in determining who will be on the Board of Directors to work with the General Manager and to set policies for Deep Roots Market to ensure its financial position for the future and service to the community. Additionally, so that owners’ voices continue to have impact, owners approve any proposed by-law changes regarding the operations of the co-op.

Thank you to all those owners who attended the recent Annual Owners Meeting to learn more about this year’s candidates and by-law changes, and to those owners who read about these matters on the website to inform their voting which was open from 5/4/24 to 5/11/24.

New Board of Directors

This year we had a robust slate of candidates for three open positions on the Board of Directors.

We applaud all our candidates this year who invested time and talent in attending recent board meetings and preparing materials for the owners’ consideration. We were delighted that every candidate was well qualified for serving as a director. Please join us in welcoming the following who secured the most votes to serve on the Board of Directors for the next three years:

• Mollie Blafer, who returns to the board after previously serving for one year as an elected replacement for a resigning board member.
• Khaila Daye, a new member of the board and former employee of Deep Roots Market.
• Drew Dix, a returning board director who served the last two years as vice president of the board.

We also want to give a well-deserved shout-out to our other candidates, Meredith Davis and Debra Clark Smith who demonstrated those valuable qualities of the best Deep Roots Market owners—commitment to the co-op and interest in ensuring its vibrant role in our community for the future.

Finally, we thank Ashleigh Odom for her service on the Board of Directors for the past 3- 1/2 years as she transitions off the board. For the past two years, she served as President of the Board leading with vision and grace.

By-Laws Amendments

We thank the owners for overwhelmingly approving three by-law amendments recommended by the Board of Directors.

It's because of people like you, Deep Roots Market Owners, that our Co-op provides a sustainable and just co-op experience for the greater Greensboro community. We are proud that Deep Roots has a robust Board of Directors to help guide the direction and growth of the Co-op through hiring and collaborating with the General Manager, setting organizational policies, and monitoring the Co-op’s operations.

In the spirit of democratic governance, we hold elections annually for owners interested in making a bigger contribution to the well-being of Deep Roots. We invite YOU to consider becoming a candidate for one of the open Board of Directors positions in the May 2024 election. Our goal is to have a diverse Board that can best represent the varied interests of our community with their commitment, energy, and vision. Training is provided for Board Members. Board Members attend monthly board meetings and work with one or more committees. Board Members receive a 15% discount on Co-op purchases for their service.

Find out more about what it means to serve on the Board of Directors:

• Attend one of our regular monthly board meetings, held on the 4th Monday of each month at 6:00 pm in the Community Room.
• Contact us at drmnomcom@gmail.com if you'd like to receive information and/or set up a meeting to talk more about this opportunity to serve.
• Come to a special “Board Meet & Greet” on Monday, January 22 at 5:00 pm in the Community Room. Several of our current Board Members will be there to answer questions and provide greater insight into Board activities.

All candidates will need to complete an application and submit it with a photograph no later than February 29, 2024.

Dear Co-op Community,

There will be a big change coming to the coop in January - Nicole Villano, our General Manager, will be leaving January 7th for a new role with National Co+op Grocers, (NCG) a vital business services cooperative for co-ops (including Deep Roots Market) located throughout the United States. Nicole joined Deep Roots Market in 2012 and was instrumental in the transition to our present location. So much of our progress and growth is a direct result of her passion and dedication to our store- she will be heartily missed!

While we are sad to lose such an important part of our culture and development, everyone on the Board of Directors is thrilled to see her move into this exciting new stage of her career. Rest assured, Nicole has developed an excellent team of managers at Deep Roots to support the market in this interim period. A new GM search is underway which should be completed sometime during the first quarter of 2024.

Deep Roots owners are cordially invited to drop by the community room on Friday, January 5th for an official send-off. If you'd prefer to reach out via email, you may do so at gm@deeprootsmarket.com. Thank you for your support!

Sincerely,
V. Ashleigh Odom
President
Deep Roots Board of Directors