Meet a New Board Member

from the Board

With New Board Member Mollie Lampi

In ordinary times, Minneapolis native Mollie Lampi might have espied fellow new Board member Chris Edwardson (profiled in August’s Honest Slate) in the hallway—or in a Board work session—and compared notes about both being from Minnesota.

But these are not ordinary times, so it’s more likely that the two will find common ground virtually, alongside their colleagues on the Board.

Mollie, a lawyer by profession, first came to New York State for college and moved to the Capital Region from Syracuse in 1978. A longtime HWFC shopper, she became an Owner in February 2014 and then a Member-Owner in March 2017, investing time seasonally in Plants and as a Front End courtesy clerk.

Encouraged by then-chair Rita Nolan to join the Elections and Nominations Committee (ENC), Mollie found herself actively engaged in governance by early 2018, taking over as chair in December 2019.

Only months later, COVID-19 forced the committee to meet the huge challenge of remodeling Honest Weight’s important elections process.

After working closely with the ENC in preparation for 2020’s first virtual Membership Meeting (ultimately postponed from April to June), Mollie was then asked to run for a seat on the Board by its president Janet Sorell.

How did that affect her place on the ENC?

“Rita had always said that while the ENC is good grounding for Board work, you can’t run for the Board while on the committee,” Mollie recalled. Because the committee itself oversees elections, Mollie resigned as chair to avoid a conflict of interest, ran and was elected in late June, and now serves as Board Vice President.

“I would encourage MOs to take notice of governance and [what] the Board is discussing, particularly if an issue is close to their hearts.”

Consistency

As an attorney, Mollie is focused on ensuring that governance is running “by the book, which we are” and establishing procedures that “allow us not to have to reinvent the wheel whenever a new situation comes up.”

To that end, she noted that the “new” Board has chosen to review some of its processes, and update the Board Manual to ensure uniformity. One recent step toward greater efficiency, for example, is using what’s called a consent calendar, which speeds up the voting process during Board meetings.

“Last month we were so pleased that the meeting took only 3 hours,” Mollie said (normally, Board meetings have been scheduled to be four hours). Mollie characterized recent Board gatherings as preserving the opportunity to speak while moving the meeting along at the same time in order to stay on schedule.

“I’m happy with the work we’re doing. We have a dedicated set of Board members.”

Clarity

Mollie also takes an interest in clarifying language specific to the Co-op, such as designating department names, management structure, and other terminology with precision. by Carol Ostrow

Cooperation

What’s the current mood? All Board members are working together well. “We’re rowing in the same direction; there aren’t any squabbles,” she reported. “We take each other’s opinions seriously, comment on them seriously, and are respectful.”

Additionally, an awareness of the need for flexibility has emerged. For example, an allowance for revisiting issues may be extended. “Even if we’ve made decisions on policy, it can be discussed again,” Mollie revealed, stating that transparency is critical.

Challenges?

“I miss the in-person relationship opportunities.” Phone calls and Zoom time fill gaps, but not completely. Because all Co-op Board work is currently done online, Mollie noted a lack of opportunity for in-person socializing.

Committees: changes on the horizon?

“Warren [Hamilton, Board Treasurer] is leading the charge to elevate the responsibility of committees…their visibility and their sense of belonging to the governance structure...Committees really need to be a resource and take themselves seriously. The Board is interested in buy-in.”*

What might encourage greater Membership Meeting attendance?

What differences do you hope for?

“I would love to see two or three times the number of MOs attend Membership Meetings.”

*buy-in: acceptance of and willingness to actively support and participate in something (such as a proposed new plan or policy) continued on page 3