Candidates for the Board of Directors
This page presents candidates who filed Declarations of Candidacy and statements by April 1, 2011. There were TWO declared “write in” candidates in this election, as of 4/12/11. Please note that Candidates may or may not have added to these statements on the DavisWiki page about this election.
Voters will be selecting three candidates for Director. The top three vote-getters in the election will be seated to fill three-year terms as Directors, the fourth and fifth will be seated as first and second Alternate Directors. Alternates serve for one year and vote at Board meetings when a Director is absent. Alternates are appointed to fill out a term if a Director resigns or is incapable of serving. Please view "Election Central" web page or the 2011 Voter's Pamphlet for complete voting information.
Candidates are presented on this page in the order in which they are presented on the Ballot: in an order determined by random drawing, with write-ins added at the bottom. Please note that voting in this election has been extended to June 10, 2011. Results of voting will be posted here (on or after 6/14/11):
Janie Booth 760 votes, elected to a three-year term as Director
Stacie Frerichs 727 votes, elected to a three-year term as Director
Franklin D. Fox 392 votes, elected to a one-year term as First Alternate Director
Ben Pearl 572 votes, elected to a three-year term as Director
Travis Breckon (write-in) 41 votes, elected to a one-year term as Second Alternate Director
Sarah J. Palmer (write-in) 32 votes, not elected
I am the current Board President of the Davis Food Co-op; I ask for your vote for an additional term on the board. I have been a director since 2008, and in the last four years, my understanding of how our cooperative works, and how important it is, have steadily grown. As an experienced, seasoned board member, I vow to continue to work diligently to keep our co-op financially healthy, environmentally progressive, and actively engaged as a force for good in our community.
As president during the last (2010-2011) board cycle, I had many responsibilities. These included preparing monthly and special meeting agendas, planning workgroup meetings and retreats, responding to member comments, writing an article for The Vine, and coordinating numerous other internal board functions. I am proud to have spearheaded the creation of an internal Board website. This website will be useful for years to come, a place for the board to store and share documents, archive materials, and use a dynamic shared calendar. I also attended the 2010 Cooperative Community Management Association (CCMA) meeting in Bloomington, Indiana where I received training on co-op governance, marketing, and member linkage.
These are not easy times for the Davis Food Co-op. The economic climate and the recent arrival of Trader Joe’s in Davis have created a potentially precarious situation for our store. The co-op, guided by the Board, has worked diligently with management to deal with the challenges in a dynamic and creative fashion. We have strived to maintain our excellent customer service and staff benefits, while offering high quality food at a fair price. I am encouraged by the loyalty and support of the membership during these tough times.
When I am not working on Davis Food Co-op, I am the mother of two preschool age children, and work part-time at a locally owned solar energy company. I hold two biology degrees, and enjoy cooking, gardening, playing the violin, and swimming with Davis Aquatic Masters.
(530) 758-0807
Fellow Davis Food Co-op owners, I am asking for your vote in the 2011 election. I have served on the board for three years, including the last two years as a vice-president, and have been a member-owner of the DFC since 1999.
My primary goal, as a Director, has been to gain a clearer perspective of what is important to you, our owners and customers, and how to translate your values into the vision for our Co-op.
During my service on the board, we have worked on the following items:
• overseen the implementation of the major storewide remodel which included increasing the diversity of product selection and benefits to owners (e.g. local olive bar, fresh salad bar, improved cheese selection, and additional checkout registers)
• worked with staff to formulate a strategic plan which prepared the Co-op for the changing competitive grocery environment in Davis
• engaged with members to understand why you choose to spend your food dollars at the Co-op, and how we can improve to better meet your needs
• continued to support, through expertise and donations, our greater cooperative community (locally, nationally, and internationally) to help grow a sustainable business model
• overseen staff’s implementation of policies which help to keep the Co-op an inclusive and welcoming place to all members of our community
I love that the co-op is owned by so many local citizens in our community and that it continues to give back so much to the place where we live. I’m also extremely appreciative of DFC shareholders for continuing to support the co-op with your food dollars, especially during tumultuous economic times. If reelected, I will continue to represent you, as owners, in supporting a bedrock of the Davis community, and will continue to ensure that Co-op decisions are fiscally responsible.
Additionally, I graduate with my MBA from UC Berkeley in May of 2011 and I look forward to using what I’ve learned while getting this degree for the benefit of our co-op.
I would greatly appreciate your vote.
In cooperation, Stacie
(530) 753-8584 or (530) 400-8478
I am declaring my candidacy for the board of the Davis Food Co-op (DFC). My family has been a shareholder in DFC since 1983. I have worked on many occasions as a super worker. Last year, I ran as a write-in candidate in opposition to a potentially divisive political issue. With grateful community shareholder support, surprisingly I won the position of second alternate as a write-in. I am now seeking a full term as a DFC board member, with full voting privileges. In the past year I have learned about DFC’s leadership role in bringing locally raised produce and free-ranging animal products of the best quality to our constituents. Additionally I learned about the work of the board as it strives to support the DFC management, to keep the DFC profitable yet socially and environmentally responsible. Our owner-members deserve strong advocates on the board representing their needs and views, from seniors to students. The DFC is facing many external competitive challenges. Elected board members represent the over 11,000 member-owners. The new competitors (Trader Joe’s, Grocery Outlet, and Target) pose serious challenges to our economic viability. The board has a major responsibility to guide management and the DFC’s shareholders in making wise choices. As a member-owner serving on the board, I pledge to work hard with my colleagues to retain our competitiveness, profitability and continued unique services to our members and non-members. These services include responsible food choices, educational opportunities, and participation in the celebration of our DFC family and community. My main goal is to learn and contribute all I can to support our member-owned store in pusuing the best available products at the most competitive prices, in a user-friendly, community-oriented environment. I seek to promote and maintain our store as the exemplary marketplace that it is, abuzz with vitality and savvy shoppers who know the values of healthy living and eating.
(530) 753-7135
Since its inception in 1972, the Davis Food Coop has played a vital role in the Davis community and the Yolo/Solano region. By way of our partnerships with local farmers and food producers, innovative culinary and nutritional education, and as a place for our community to gather, we work effectively to fulfill our mission as a leader in our foodshed. We’re now looking toward our 5th decade…let’s keep up the good work!
In 2006, I was appointed by the DFC board to fill a short-term vacancy as an alternate director. During my first term, I was introduced to the ‘policy governance’ model we employ for strategic governance, in cooperation with our general manager and staff. I worked hard with fellow members to tackle tough questions regarding our Coop’s role within the Davis community, and strived to bring forward the concerns and aspirations of our membership and the broader Davis community. Since that time, I have served as a member of the Davis Farm to School committee, as Sustainability Coordinator for the Davis Farmers Market, and as project manager in the construction of Solar Community Housing Association’s innovative new housing co-op at 3rd & J streets in Old East Davis.
Returning to the board, I look forward to continuing the work of stewarding and expanding opportunities for cooperative community in Davis. I hope to employ the valuable experience I’ve gained in the service of our organization, especially in the realms of cooperative governance, finance, and strategic planning and development. Perhaps most importantly, I look forward to working with you to bring the hopes and aspirations of our community into reality.
Thank you for voting!
I am declaring my candidacy for the Board of the Davis Food Coop (DFC). I have knowledge of the grocery store business. I worked in a large grocery store chain (J.W.Weingartens) in Houston, Texas, while in high school. I also have lived and worked on a cattle ranch in New Mexico. After returning from the service, I worked at Stater Brothers in Southern California while attending college. I helped my father with his beekeeping business, and I still maintain several hives of bees and bottle my own honey. My goal as a Board Member is to contribute in any way to the success and profits of DFC while maintaining quality products and healthy produce at competitive prices.
Travis Breckon
I am approaching my second year in Davis and as a member of the Davis Food Co-op. Although a fledgling I wasted little time identifying the DFC as a pillar of the community, and jumped in head first! I am a chef/instructor at the Davis Food Co-op Teaching Kitchen and always look forward to my time with the amazing team that heads up the program. I have gotten to know many of the DFC members while teaching them the tricks of the trade that I gathered during my ten years in the restaurant industry.
As a chef I was involved in the farm-to-table movement and strongly believe in the importance of, whenever possible, purchasing local products to support our local foodshed. I am familiar with the challenges of managing food cost, especially in a delicate economic time. I am regularly thankful for the outstanding selection of bulk items and recognize that this is one of the answers to this challenge.
I believe that we have a responsibility to our entire community and admire the Co-op’s efforts to include a diverse product line that accommodates the needs of the entire socio-economic spectrum. As a single mother who is no stranger to a challenging financial situation- I find this to be one of the most unique characteristics of our Davis Food Co-op; also remaining true to the philosophy of cooperative organizations. I am constantly impressed by the various ways that the Co-op serves the community and am honored to be a part of that.
I am completing my undergraduate degree in Sociology with a focus on Public Policy and a passion for domestic food policy. I have experience with purchasing/sourcing and food cost, and an affinity for economics/budgetary issue. I am interested in the Policy Governance structure that the Board of Directors uses to navigate the many important responsibilities, which ultimately serve our members and our employees. It is with that in mind, with integrity and compassion, I would work to make the Davis Food Co-op proceed as one of the cornerstones of the community.