When this report is issued at the 2022 Annual Meeting, I will no longer be General Manager of Seward Co-op. Earlier this fall, I decided to leave the co-op to be Business and Store Development Director with the National Co+op Grocers (NCG). It has been an incredible honor to be Seward Community Co-op’s general manager these last 18 years. There have been so many amazing accomplishments. I have worked with so many wonderful people. I am proud of what our co-op community has been able to accomplish.
In total, I have had the pleasure to serve our co-op for over 25 years. I started at the original store at 2201 East Franklin in 1992. I was a director for four years, first as an employee director in the 1990s and again as a director at large at the beginning of this century. I had a ringside seat as our co-op grew: from the decision of the board in the 90s that the co-op needed to relocate and grow or it would not survive, to the first decade of my tenure as GM when we rode the wave of exponential growth to become a multi-location co-op.
We have also lived through some immense challenges. The community conversation when building the Friendship store compelled many internal and external changes on the way to becoming a multi-location business. We redefined our co-op and broadened our sense of what it means to say that everyone is welcome, and our staff decided to unionize. The COVID-19 pandemic started in March 2020 and the murder of George Floyd six blocks from our Friendship store tested our co-op, our community, and our world in unimaginable ways. There is no ignoring the deep divisions in our body politic wrought by these crises. And, in these dark times, a renewed enthusiasm for mutuality and cooperation emerged.
The past two years have been a period of recovery for our co-op. We reached an amazing milestone celebrating 50 years of cooperation. With our exit from the Friendship New Markets Tax Credit financing this past year, we booked a significant profit. For the first time in seven years, the co-op is issuing a patronage refund. Owners will receive their share of the $789,565 that is being distributed. By receiving significant investments from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, the co-op’s cash position is really strong. and after a few years of decline, the co-op is seeing growth again. The co-op is in a good position to face future challenges.
Milestone anniversaries can have a way of grounding us in purpose, and I am grateful for everyone who was able to celebrate with us throughout 2022. On the co-op’s website and in this report, we have a great collection of photos from gatherings this year, including a film screening, the CSA Fair, and our block party at Open Streets Franklin. Find them online at www.seward.coop/celebrate-50-years-of-seward-co-op/. I invite you to spend some time reflecting on this anniversary year and the value our co-op brings to our community.
I am also thrilled that Raynardo Williams has stepped in as Interim General Manager. I have had the pleasure to work with Ray since he was hired as the Friendship Store Manager in 2017. For the last five years, Ray has been in charge of co-op operations across all business units as Senior HR and Operations Manager. Ray is dynamic, committed, talented and an overall wonderful person. Our community is so fortunate to have Ray's strong leadership to take the co-op through this next transition.
While I may be leaving the helm at Seward Co-op, I am excited about the opportunity to help co-ops around the country grow. We need co-ops now more than ever. Small-scale, local producers need access to market and they need to be paid a fair price. Employees need a workplace where they can be valued. People need a place to come together over delicious, healthy food. And, most importantly, we need to change the systems that care more about concentrating wealth for a few than creating greater equity for many. Cooperatives as mutual associations create commonwealth. By owning Seward Community Co-op, committing to it, and shopping at it, we will all help ensure our next 50 years.