Outline of the Planning Process:
1. Review / Develop Mission Statement
2. Develop / Articulate Values (Governing Principles)
3. Develop Vision Statement (5-10 years out). How will we be positively impacting the world?
4. Collect Data (SWOT - audit - employee survey, etc.)
5. I.D. Major issues something that needs more discussion - should end up in goal statements.
6. Develop goals (3-5)
7. Translate goals to Ends statements and / or Exec Limitations if needed.
8. Adopt a monitoring plan…Who reports to whom? When?
a. Reports by GMJ or other managers
b. Internal inspection (Board member looks @ __?__ and reports back
c. External inspection (audit)
9. Revitalize annually…How are things going? Right path? What's changed? What changes are needed? New directions?
10. Repeat (or remind of) SWOT data (audit, staff survey, etc.)

Mission Statement
Are we satisfied with our Mission Statement or does it need reworking? No problem with the mission.

General discussion of the meaning of the words "cooperative workplace" contained in our mission statement and how that statement is defined and articulated to staff and owners.

Strategic Planning - Initial Brainstorming.
1. Outreach
o High School
o Growing and preparing food at School
o Continue to define and prioritize outreach
o Percentage of Operational Profits allocated to outreach.
o Hispanic Community
o Broadening Participation
2. Education about FA
o What are we?
§ Staff
· Staff participation in a "co-operative workplace" (definition & clarification) in our policy/limitation statements or a guideline document similar to the product selection guidelines
§ Public
§ Coops
o Education audit
o Local Context
o Philanthropy PR
o Reaching Youth
3. Expansion
o Neighborhood Center vs. Larger Central Development
o Physical Constraints
o Geographic Diversity
o Monroe St. Store
o Funding for Expansion vs. Patronage Refund
o Beyond Groceries
o Looks
o Demo / Participation
o High School
4. Financial
o Contingencies / Realities 2-5 years
5. Profit Allocation
o Patronage Dividend
o Capital Improvements
o Outreach & Education
o Debt Reduction
o Reserves
6. Community Building
o Maintain a Democratic Look and Feel at the coop
7. Self-Monitoring
o Evaluation Criteria
o Effective Communication
o Target Sample

Revised List for consideration
1. Expansion
2. Education about FA
3. Outreach
4. Profit Allocation
5. Contingencies
6. Self-Evaluation
7. Community Building

Top 3 Priorities after voting - Ranked by number of votes
1. Expansion
2. Education about FA
3. Outreach

Discussion of the Top 3 Priorities
Discussion
1. What's the look / feel that is the Co-op?
2. Define the customer experience - visually, service, access, space, etc.
3. Customizing each store to its individual community.
4. What size / scale / location for store expansion
5. Community creates owners
6. Location decisions - How to Decide
7. Expansion costs that we can support
8. Out of area support?
9. Saturation of the natural foods market in Corvallis?
10. National and local economies & contingencies
11. Professional input or design options for south store and transition to new stores.
12. Pete Davis evaluation on Monroe Street or alternatives
13. Impact of a Monroe Street store on the Kitchen
14. GM to bring other location possibilities
15. Customer surveys for interest in Monroe location
16. What is the feasibility of food in the High School
17. Have more of our staff, shoppers, owners, owner-workers, and the community to know more about co-operatives, organic, natural foods, First Alternative, a cooperative workplace, and healthy sustainable eating.
18. The community would know about First Alternative and our philanthropic activities.
19. Board vision about who we are.

Goal Statements
1. Determine what is the ideal expansion goal in terms of both size of individual stores and geographical boundaries for just food.
2. Do an audit of education processes in term of resources, processes, projects, areas of need that we currently have and define areas that need to be worked on.
3. Develop guidelines for a cooperative workplace.
4. Articulate who we are and get that message out and determining what gaps we have in our communications

Day One (Sept 17) Adjourned 5:20pm

Day Two (Sept 18) Begin 9:00am

Board Present: Sandra Helmick, Max Jones, Margaret Jack, Chris Bentley, Joanne McLennan, Toni Hoyman, Colin King, Steve Albright, and Dave Hockman-Wert
Board Absent: Esther McEvoy
Staff Present: Michele Adams
Board Advisor: Marcia Shaw
Scribe: Kevin Oder

Future Visioning (cont'd)

General discussion regarding financial management, outreach and financial reporting for the Co-op and how we allocate profits each year.

Discussion of the Top 3 Priorities

1. Expansion

Discussion of what a third location would look like; what criteria would we use for expanding, what is capacity and potential of our current locations. What is the process used for expansion decisions - finances, customer count, owner approval, board approval. What would a survey of the owners or potential new customers, include both general and specific. A survey is just one part of the information that would go into an expansion decision, but it is a good tool for testing the opinions of the owners as well as the potential market.

Expansion Defined:
· Values
o Community Relationship
o Sustainable (Environmental)
§ Access
o Align with Vision Mission / Guiding Principles
o Helping other businesses
o Financially responsible to FA owners and FA
o Product Guidelines
· Expansion Means
o Extending to more people (market)
o Addressing needs in terms of people and the business
o Change distribution model
o Just FA or Relationships with other Food Co-ops
· Criteria / Issues
1. Visibility / Access
2. Size / Scale ratio - Sense of belonging
3. Strong owner base
4. Not a franchise
5. Sales per sq. ft.
i. Loss of Sales / Opportunity
6. Market share in Corvallis
7. Opportunity / Common Sense
8. Demand within the Community

Expansion Goal Statements
1. Develop guidelines for growth that support values and meet criteria
2. Refine our definitions to clarify the guidelines for planning for evolution and growth.

2.Education & FA

Education Goal Statements
1. Develop a communication / education plan for First Alternative.
a. Audit and evaluate current situation.
i. Youth
ii. Hispanic
iii. Co-op's goal
iv. Cooperative Workplace
v. Philanthropy
vi. L-14
b. Specify the outcome and measure success
c. Develop an action plan to increase awareness amongst owners, staff, and the general public about First Alternative.
2. Develop guidelines for program reporting (for both education & outreach) such that a measure of value (to the Co-op and the community) can be assigned to that program.

General discussion related to how education and outreach programs are currently evaluated and funded. Pondered possibilities for the future evaluation and what the goals of this funding are.

Discussed the work of the calendar committee. The first step will be consolidation of the policies. The second step will be review of the newly consolidated policies to be sure nothing has been left out or changed in the process. The final step would be any desired revisions after the original consolidation. Discussed possible timelines and goals for the Calendar committee to help its progress.

Evaluation of the process

What worked well?
· This meeting space worked very well
· Having the full Board here was great
· No scheduled evening work was good.
· Informal discussions were important
· Opportunity to get to know the other Board members on a more personal level.
· Packets were helpful
· Lack of structure was helpful to sort out some of the issues.
· Good work about current issues as well as going beyond that.
· Storming opportunity was productive.
· Lots accomplished on Sunday after Saturday scramble.

What could be improved?
· Have the Board meeting a different day - not part of the retreat.
· Difficult to prepare and know what was going to come up at the meeting - stick closer to the agenda.
· More structure - the first day in particular was challenging.
· Clearer guidance for the facilitator
· Take "outside" breaks every couple of hours
· Retreat is too late in the process after the elections
· 1st Meeting team building after the election

Day Two Adjourned: 3:00pm