Board Connections + March
Anthony Lang, Board Member
In February, the Board of Directors for the Merc Co+op met virtually on Zoom for our annual co-op board retreat. In normal times, this would be a meeting to discuss the co-op mission, Ends Policies, strategy and goals for the upcoming year. But, given the fact that we have been meeting virtually monthly since April 2020, we used this retreat time to just get to know one another.
Michael Healy, the co-op’s consultant from Columinate, facilitated our meeting. In the past, he facilitated discussions that would help us set goals for the year or expose gaps in our policy governance structure. This year, Michael used a map and the interactive features of Zoom to help us all learn a little more about fellow board members and staff. Below are some fun facts about each board and staff member who attended.
Laura Marsh enjoys long road trips and has traveled to 34 states in the US.
Kelly Barth is an avid bird watcher who enjoys observing and reporting on birds. Last year, before the pandemic, she found her happy place while bird watching in the Grand Canyon.
LeAnne Richardson is an educator by profession and currently runs the Career and Technical Education Biomedical Pathway program for KCK Public Schools. She's also a dedicated mom who most recently drove to Waterloo, Iowa and back to swap out a car for her son, who’s attending school.
Sofía Galarza Liu was born in California but has lived in Lawrence since her youth. She's recently taken up open water swimming at Lonestar Lake for exercise during the pandemic.
Mark Sprauge hasn’t taken a long trip out of Kansas since 2018 when he last attended the Consumer Cooperative Management Association (CCMA) conference. He has 2 dogs and 4 cats that keep him quite busy and close to home most days.
Rita York Hennecke started out in Lawrence as a bread maker at Wheatfields. She still makes some of her favorite breads at home for her family when she isn't running two stores as the General Manager for the Merc Co+op.
Rachel Jefferson has lived in 3 continents and 5 different states throughout her life. Nowadays, she stays busy as the Executive Director of the Groundwork Northeast Revitalization Group in KCK.
Dorri Rowan grew up in Kansas City, Missouri. Her favorite place to vacation is Hilton Head, South Carolina.
Anthony Lang was rescued at sea as a Vietnamese Boat Person at the age of six. He’s been settled in the land-locked state of Kansas for 18+ years.
Judy Dutton spends her leisure time weaving and knitting when she's not serving as the Merc Board President and likes to visit Santa Fe when she can.
Deon Whitten is always happy when he travels. He’s planning to visit Israel after Covid travel restrictions have been lifted.
The board meets the first Monday of every month. All owners are welcome to attend. Please contact us at board@themerc.coop! You can find past meeting minutes here.