A Letter from our CEO, Tim Bartlett

Dear Co-op Community,

Starting July 5th, I’ll be stepping away for a planned, paid three-month sabbatical. This is something the Board approved as part of my contract renewal in January, and we’ve been planning for it ever since. I’m grateful to be part of a Co-op that sees the value in rest, reflection, and long-term leadership sustainability. I’ll be using this time to recharge, spend time with family, visit other co-ops, and come back with fresh energy and perspective to better serve our community.

In the meantime, our leadership team is more than ready to carry the torch. Finance Director Tom Vrabel will serve as Acting CEO while I’m away, and we’ve set things up so that the Co-op continues running smoothly—staying true to our values, mission, and vision. We have spent the last five years building excellent leadership throughout our Co-op. When I return in October, I’ll be ready for the annual meeting, re-energized and excited to lift my gaze out of operations toward the future possibilities for our Co-op.

I’ve been the GM /CEO of the Co-op since 1998. In that time, we purchased and built a store on Elmwood, opened a second store on Hertel, and have grown from 500 to 21,000+ owners and from $800,000 in annual sales to nearly $25 million. This year we will buy $3.5M in products from local farmers and producers, employ 120+ staff and serve 750,000+ customers. We negotiated our first union contract with Workers United and have built a strong relationship with them over the past two years. We have kept our doors open through blizzards and a global pandemic. We have had a few decades of growth and profits, as well as a handful of years of flat sales and losses.

I am proud of the work we have done and all that we have accomplished. All these accomplishments have been co-created by our expanding community of owners, workers, community partners and local producers.

Thank you, as always, for your support of this Co-op and for being part of something bigger than a grocery store. I’m proud of the work we’re doing together and look forward to my return.

Please don’t hesitate to reach out in the next few weeks if you have questions or comments about this or anything else at the Co-op. You can reach me by calling either store or through our website here!

In cooperation,

Tim Bartlett

CEO

P.S. You may have noticed the title change. As part of my latest contract renewal, the Board changed my title from General Manager to CEO. There was no change in responsibilities or pay. The title change was simply a recognition that the role has evolved over time. When the time comes to replace me (not anytime soon), the CEO title more accurately reflects the scope and nature of the work.