Color D Street Water West 312 ONE ecorah, Volume 44 • NUMBER 4 • winter 2018 O TA C TA CH AN I e 52101 owa h O G t MMUNITY F ONEOTA E S E COMMUNITY RV I C E R OO E Q D UE CO S TED - FOOD O www.oneotacoop.com COOPErative P decorah, iowa Slike us on facebookc • followo @oneotacoop ono twitter p RReady,eady, SSet,et, RReeFRESH!FRESH! U.S. Postage U.S. Decorah, IA Decorah, Permit 25 Permit PRST STD PAID ● A better shopping experience with wider aisles, more convenient checkstands. The Oneota Community Co-op (OCC) Board ● A refurbished, cheerful interior that voted at the November meeting to move creates enough rental income and class fee enhances the warm welcome and customer of the remodel project which will occur in two forward with a store remodel/refresh. income to sustain it into the future when we service that we’ve been known for since phases. The first phase will be a replacement Three motions were made and approved: are ready for a larger expansion of our store. 1974. of the store’s refrigeration system. This will 1) Approval of a budget and financing increase energy efficiency, reduce repair Next Steps: and giving the GM the authority to move What led to this decision? costs and decrease product loss from failing ● The GM will finalize the floor plan with forward with the plan. 2) Approval of a future ● Understanding that nationally refrigeration. The second phase is the remodel management and choose contractors for member loan campaign. 3) Approval to recommended standards for store refresh of the interior store footprint. This involves the project. hire a consultant to help the board with the are every 5-7 years. It has been 10 years choosing a contractor, finalizing a design, and ● A board ad hoc committee has been member loan campaign. This future project since we opened the doors to our current working out financing. Thus, there are many established and they will be working on will increase our sales of great, fresh, local location. decisions to be made before the project even establishing a timeline for the project. foods, increase services and programs for our ● Need to remain competitive in the area begins. ● Order equipment. members and build a stronger local economy. grocery market ● Begin working with the consultant for ● Debt-to-equity ratio indicating we have Benefits for members and customers from this the member loan campaign and hire a The OCC Board has been seriously discussing room to invest in our store remodel/refresh: campaign leader. the possibility of a store expansion/ ● Market study to evaluate OCC in relation to ● More fresh options in produce. remodel for almost three years. After careful other area stores We look forward to communicating with all ● Expanded selection of fresh meat and evaluation of options, including a market study ● Consultation with National Cooperative members on this exciting project for our seafood – pasture raised and sustainable. and consultation with national cooperative Grocers’ Development Services organization...stay tuned! ● Expanded Deli, Hot Bar, Grab-n-Go, and business development experts, the OCC Board ● Review of financial status of OCC & project take-home meal solutions. In Cooperation, has decided to move forward with a remodel/ Pro Forma by Board Ad-Hoc committee ● Updated, efficient refrigeration system Brita Nelson, OCC Board President refresh rather than expansion of the current that is 20% more efficient than our current David Lester, General Manager store. The building that we own and currently The vote to approve the remodel allows OCC system. use for offices and our kitchen classroom to move forward with the many other pieces The Pulse of the Co-op: Our Staff By David Lester, General Manager specialty diets, recycling and reducing our waste. We set the expectations of what End 4: Employment in a workplace that provides the personal satisfaction of the work and their job is going to be and help them every step of the way. We want collaborative work directed toward common goals and provides extraordinary them engaged and involved in the organization from day one and to keep customer service. them interested in their job as well as develop new skills to grow within the organization. We care about this because we want you to have Every day I get to come to our store and work with the best people. On any great interactions with all of our staff throughout the store. given day I see things like our IT Coordinator interrupting Another way our employees engage with customers is through her computer updates to help clean up a mess in the dining our Staff Pick system. Any staff member can submit a area. A cookie finds its way into the hands of a grieving "staff pick" for an item that customer from a cashier. A deli employee they absolutely love and helps a struggling parent of three get to want to tell more people the checkout. From the eager produce about it. It’s fun to employee offering a heavenly slice of peach see how passionate to the HR Coordinator taking groceries to some of our staff can a car, our employees care about you and it is genuine. be about their favorite It is my hope that you feel how much we care about and hot sauce, shampoo and appreciate you and all of our customers. cleaning products. Browse One way we recognize great customer service our aisles and try to find them! is with our Awesome Sauce awards. If we see (You will see that I’m a fan of sharing my another staff member do something above favorite items). We also want to invite our members to and beyond to help a customer, a fellow submit a “Member Pick” if there is something in our staff member or one of our vendors, we store that you think is an incredible product. Just go to our website under the “Contact” drop down recognize that act with an Awesome Sauce. We write down who was awesome, menu tab and click on the “Member Pick” form and fill it out - it’s that easy! why they were awesome and post it for all staff to see. At the end of In addition to the day-to-day life of the Co-op, my role as general manager also involves thinking each month we do a random drawing of these awards and the winner about our future. The last couple of years I’ve written several “Scoop” articles talking about the is announced. It’s pretty simple and pretty awesome. importance of expanding our business and getting ready to remodel our store someday (For the Earlier this year we overhauled our employee training latest update see the article titled, “Ready, Set, ReFRESH!” on page 1). Soon, we will begin the program with a goal of improving this important aspect remodeling process in order to create a better store that fulfills more of our members’ needs. I of our commitment to customer care. Kristin Evenrud, can assure the membership that we are organizationally ready for this project and probably more our Front End Manager, has been leading our new so than we have ever been. We have a very cohesive, hard-working and innovative management employee engagement and training. This training team right now. They are the best team a General Manager could ask for during a high-stress has led to happier employees, and it is obvious that project like a remodel. They are excellent managers of margin, sales and labor budgets, but, it is having a positive effect on our staff retention more importantly, they are very good at creating teams that are focused on customer service and rate. Kristin has developed detailed, fun guides for making a difference in our community. each department that begins with basic training on our customer I wish all of you a peaceful season. The Oneota Community Co-op staff and I look forward to service expectations and guides the new employee through topics like greeting you in the store soon. Color Page 2 the Scoop Y winter 2018 The Winneshiek Energy District: A Story of Positive, Boots on the Ground Change Briana Burke, Green Iowa AmeriCorps the women that Lotty’s home has just over twice the desired amount of air flow. It was a blustery day in Decorah - one of the first this fall where the sun shone bright, but the With the fan running like a jet engine, the team goes through the entire house, feeling distinct wind’s chilly bite cut sharply through sweatshirts and jackets. Red maple leaves, yellow honey breezes that could almost lift a kite along windows and unfinished holes throughout the home, locust, and ombre ash leaves shuddered in the breeze, falling in whirlwinds of color to the and around a window AC unit as the fan sucked air into the home. Katherine, who is the team ground below. They swirled into the air in dancing wakes, chasing cars as they drove by. One such leader, takes note of where air is getting in, and how the group can use low impact sealing to vehicle kicking leaves into the air was an old white Ford Windstar. The van practically groaned keep that air from getting in. Two tubes of caulk, foam board insulation, and a yard of rope caulk as it pulled up into the driveway of a home, the engine puttered out gratefully as the ramshackle later, Lotty’s heating bill was lowered by an estimated $125 annually. van is turned off.