Owners, we did it! We've elected five new directors to join Chicago Market's board.

Thanks to everyone who voted -- honoring co-op Principle #2 (Democratic Member Control) and supporting these fine candidates who've volunteered their time, talent & energy to our community at a leadership level. They have all been active as volunteers and/or appointed board members now for some time, so they'll hit the ground running and we're excited about their current and future contributions.

We Welcome to Leadership..

Lizzy Appleby is Chicago Market Owner #518. Lizzy has been our Volunteer Recruiter and Trainer for over a year now, as well as active part of our Marketing/Owner Recruiting and Engagement team. We featured her in our very first newsletter's Volunteer Spotlight. She is a community organizer and youth worker, educator, and advocate for social and reproductive justice. She has a Masters degree from the University of Chicago, School of Social Service Administration. Read Lizzy's statement here to learn more about why she's part of Chicago Market and chose to run for our board of directors.

Linn Austin is Chicago Market Owner #633. Linn was temporarily appointed to fill an open seat on our board earlier this year. She has managed and grown our successful Pop-Up Market series, and is also an active part of the Marketing/Owner Recruiting and Engagement team. Linn was featured as a Volunteer Spotlight in January. She has extensive experience in organizing, event planning and providing content to both small local and large international events. Read Linn's board candidate statement here to learn more.

Larry Gast is Chicago Market Owner #697. Larry joined the Marketing/Owner Recruiting and Engagement team this spring and quickly became a second driving force behind Chicago Market's Pop-Up Market initiative. Larry is a former Owner at his beloved Park Slope Food Co-Op in Brooklyn, NY and he serves as VP of Development for Moishe House, a global non-profit. Read Larry's board candidate statement here to learn more about what motivates his co-op love.

Bill Petty is Chicago Market Owner #420. Bill has been an especially active volunteer with the co-op for over a year now: both the Site Selection team and our Grocery Logistics, Retail and Procurement team have benefited from his participation. He is a retired general contractor with expertise in construction and construction management, and also has extensive experience in non-profit board leadership. Read Bill's board candidate statement here to learn more.

Jen Vest is Chicago Market Owner #532. Jen was temporarily appointed to fill an open seat on our board at the end of 2015. She has been an active part of our Marketing/Owner Recruiting and Engagement team, helping us to define and communicate our co-op's #reasons2own with her own blog post on our site last year. She has also currently taken leadership of a project to update Chicago Market's website (no small feat!). She has over eight years of brand strategy and digital communication experience, as an Account Director at an independent marketing agency. Read Jen's board candidate statement here to learn more about her connection to our honest food community.

We Thank for their Leadership...

We also offer gratitude and good wishes to those Owners who will be stepping off our board of directors.

Esther Dairiam is Chicago Market Owner #690. Esther was featured in this month's newsletter, along with her culinary bookstore Read It & Eat. Esther's strategic, entrepreneurial and management background has been especially valuable to our board this year, as she took on the role of Treasurer and Finance team liaison, organizing spreadsheets and leading countless conversations that have been part of our business plan and financial management.

Malcolm Haar is Chicago Market Owner #14! With the co-op's original Steering Committee, he's been part of every aspect of our founding and direction. On our board of directors, he's been the IT and Database Liaison, has contributed to both the Organizational Development and Marketing teams, and he's always been the first to volunteer as a "pinch player" to help other teams work through strategy and get critical projects done. We're very happy that he remains an active part of our Marketing/Owner Recruiting and Engagement team.

Lance Rantala is Chicago Market Owner #515. He was appointed to fill an open position on our board in late 2015. As CEO of Blue Hawk, a purchasing/distribution co-op, and with experience across a number of other co-ops, he has been able to share practical knowledge, strategic insights and valuable contacts with Chicago Market. He's been part of the Site Selection and Finance teams.

These individuals have each patiently shared their time, skills and knowledge to making great things happen for Chicago Market. Their energy and thoughtfulness will be missed at our board meetings, but we know they’ll continue to contribute in ways big and small. We're so glad they are part of our honest food community!