Contrary to public sentiment—and against everything Garfield the Cat stands for—I actually like Mondays. When the week starts anew, I’m excited for all that is possible…what I can learn…what I can experience. The possibilities are endless and I’m looking directly into the eyes of opportunity. Carpe diem!
Given my perspective on Mondays, imagine how I feel about New Year’s Day. It is through this lens of excitement for what the future holds that I am filled with optimism for what 2016 holds for the Cedar Falls Food Co-op. And I have good reason to be optimistic for continued growth and success. Here are just some of the reasons:
- We are nearing 300 members.
This is a huge milestone, putting us nearly one-third of the way towards our goal. But more importantly, it gives of the power of leverage. If each member recruits just two friends or family members to join, then we’re at 900 members. We can accomplish this in a matter of days, not years!
- We have new energy behind the Co-op’s efforts.
The number of key people behind our efforts keeps growing, both on the board and in our committees. And our new outreach coordinator Amy Andrews is adding a lot of energy to the Co-op.
- We’ve accomplished a lot of infrastructure work.
The simplest gauge of how well we’re progressing is our member count, but there are many other ways to measure growth and progress. One gauge is our “systems,” the behind-the-scenes accomplishments, of which we’ve made many this past year, from establishing insurance to conducting our first board elections to creating a style guide. With these behind us, we can focus our efforts on new projects for 2016.
So, what does 2016 hold for the Cedar Falls Food Co-op? We hope to see member growth increase significantly this year. We are looking forward to hiring a consultant to conduct our market analysis and develop our financial pro forma. And we’re looking to start deciding on a location. Yes, big things for the Co-op will be happening this year.
Let’s do this!