At our September Board meeting, The Merc Board of Directors invited the Steering Team (comprised of the General Manager and Managers of Store Operations, HR, Finance, Branding, and Education/Outreach) to participate in a discussion about our Ends. We don't often have joint Board-Staff meetings, but we felt that it was especially important given how important the Ends are to our co-op. The Ends are our visionary statements that describe the results The Merc strives to achieve. But sometimes, these broad visionary Ends can be too open-ended to drive strategic planning. Recognizing this, the Board and Steering Team decided to team up and work on prioritizing the Ends together. We had an exciting discussion about how we can best allocate our resources to focus on the Ends that set The Merc apart and contribute to our unique niche in the natural foods marketplace! We invite you to our October Board meeting where we will continue this discussion - working together to plan for a vibrant future for The Merc!