As always, the mission remains the same. FCCM is dedicated to opening a cooperatively owned grocery market in Fairbanks.
This store will serve the community as a source for organic foods, whole foods, and feature the widest possible selection of local produce, meats, dairy and Alaskan seafood.
A
grocery store in Fairbanks that prioritizes buying local will be the
catalyst for increasing agricultural production in the Tanana Valley by
creating a stable reliable market that local producers can depend on as
a place to sell their produce.
- A market that will work with and encourage local producers to help Fairbanks become more self reliant in its food supply.
- A market that will take an active role in promoting development of the processing and storage facilities that come hand in hand with Fairbanks providing more of its own food supply.
- A market with the vision of seeing agriculture becoming an a strong and stable part of the local economy.
The first step to opening our co-op is the development of a detailed business plan to use when we request financing from a bank.
This document will be the blueprint for operating that identifies such things as the equipment needed for start-up, the opening inventory, the staff needed, the marketing strategies to be used, and the projected sales revenue.
The Board of Directors is now working on the business plan and is being careful to insure that all of the projections are as accurate as possible.
The success of the store when it opens depends on a good business plan and we want to make sure we get it right.
To this end we have engaged the services of a consultant, Bill Gessner. He is the lead consultant with Cooperative Development Services in Minneapolis, Minnesota and specializes in cooperatives.
Gessner is helping us to refine the business plan and develop the detailed proforma financial statements that will be included.
We are confident in selecting Mr. Gessner for this task as many of the operating coops that we have contacted have also used Bill's services and have given him high recommendations.
In April of 2009 the interim board set the ambitious goal of having a grocery store open within one year.
Many hours have gone into to developing the FCCM business plan and with the help of the consultant we expect to have a polished final draft completed soon.
As much as we all want to get the store open as soon as possible we realize it is not possible to open by April.
It is far more important to develop a sound and viable business plan that we all have confidence than to rush to get the store open.
Once the business plan is done the Board will project a new opening date that is a accurate as possible.
Looking back, FCCM has come a long way since last year. We started 2009 with a small but growing list of founding members, an interim board of directors, an organization operating under a set of interim bylaws and about $6000.
We ended 2009 with an elected board of directors, a permanent set of bylaws, a membership fee structure, over 300 full members and $70,000 in the bank.
The first membership meeting was held on Saturday August 29, 2009 in the Pioneer Park Civic Center. In the months before that meeting a great deal of effort went into getting the word out and continuing to recruit new members.
Many hours were also spent preparing a draft of the permanent bylaws to present for a vote at the meeting and arriving at a membership fee structure to propose.
The recruitment of new members before the meeting was successful and can be attributed to the many people who volunteered their time so that FCCM could have booths at the Tanana Valley State Fair, the Salcha Fair, the Midnight Sun Festival and at numerous other events.
The first membership meeting was a great success thanks again to the many volunteers who helped with registration and helped to transform a meeting of the membership into a day long Harvest Fair complete with entertainment, vendors, and informational booths; all followed by fantastic pot luck dinner accompanied by live music donated by Steve Brown and the Bailers.
At that meeting the FCCM membership provided a foundation for the organization by voting to adopt permanent bylaws, electing a nine member Board of Directors, and voting to adopt the membership fee of $200. The momentum from that meeting continues to propel us forward as we enter this new year.
On behalf of the Board, thank you to all who have contributed.
Rob Leach,
Board Chairman
