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First board elected September, 2005
Members of La Coopérative de Consommation de Dieppe Ltée elected their first
permanent Board of Directors Tuesday night. Members of the co-operative took
part in their organizational meeting and heard the provisional committee’s
report, received a copy of the by-laws and elected their Board of Directors.
The members who will form the board for the upcoming year are Paul LeBreton
as President and Calixte Losier as Vice-president, as well as Roger Boulay,
Darlene Doucet, Marc Lanteigne, Pierrette LeBlanc, Gilberte Nowlan, Léon
Richard et Wilfred Savoie. A secretary and treasurer will be named at the
next regular meeting of the board.
The board has a few issues to look at over the coming weeks and months.
Recruitment efforts will continue in order to reach the 1,600 members needed
to start construction of the store. Members of the provisional committee
announced their recruitment kiosk will return to the Dieppe Farmers’ Market
as of Saturday. People interested in becoming a member of the Co-op may do
so by dropping by the kiosk or by Co-op Express in Dieppe. They may also
contact Muriel Boudreau at 382-COOP.
The board will also have to decide on a method of financing to build the
food co-op. A study concluded that members have two options, both lease
financing, and the board will have to decide which one of the two will offer
a better return for members, mentioned Mr. LeBreton.
Another challenge for the board rests in the design and construction of the
building. The provisional committee already has a vision for the new
cooperative – a grocery store that reflects the people of the community. Now
it must make sure the co-operative stands by that vision.
At Tuesday night’s meeting, Melvin Doiron, director of La Coopérative de
développement régional Acadie, talked about the very successful Coopérative
Régionale de la Baie in Tracadie-Sheila. With sales of $23 million and
despite the presence of a big box grocery store across the street and very
competitive market conditions, the Co-op managed to pay out $750,000 to its
members over the last two years.
The 20,000-square-foot Dieppe Co-op will focus on fresh products and member
services. The advantage of co-operatives is that surpluses are paid out to
members in dividends based on their purchases. Also, as owners of
cooperatives, members have control of the business, ensuring that its vision
and direction are maintained.
Members of the Dieppe Co-op elected their first board of directors September 27. They are, front row, left to right, Paul LeBreton, president; and Calixte Losier, vice-president. Back row, left to right, are Darlene Doucet, Wilfred Savoie, Marc Lanteigne, Pierrette LeBlanc and Roger Boulay. Inset: Gilberte Nowlan. Absent for the photo: Léon Richard.