Member Spotlight: Tara Sundt

This month’s Cedar Falls Food Co-op Member spotlight is Tara Sundt.

Tara Sundt grew up in Washburn with her parents and brother, attending elementary school in Washburn and then high school in Waterloo.  After graduation, she went into the Army where she was stationed in various places such as Fort Meade, Camp Jackson, Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah, GA as well as in Hungary.  After eight years of service, Tara attended the University of Northern Iowa and received her degree in Computer Science.  She went to work at DISTek Integration, Inc. and then on to the Electronics Enterprise group at John Deere where she is currently employed, working on the software for tractors. 

Tara loves the feeling of belonging and familiarity of the Cedar Valley community where she’s grown up.  She enjoys activities such as Movies under the Moon and Live to 9 in Cedar Falls.  Some of her favorite places to frequent are Cup of Joe, Sidecar Coffee, SingleSpeed Brewing, Montage and Whiskey Road – she adds, “anyplace on Main Street in Cedar Falls”. Continue reading→

Member Spotlight: Marguerite Pircer Harms

Marguerite Pircer Harms, a self-described “city girl” from Detroit, MI is married to Keith a “farm boy” from Bristow, IA.  Their family consists of two daughters Alex Pircer and Erin Colwell and a son, Josh Harms.  Marguerite is currently working as a realtor at Century 21 LSB RE and is also a blogger and workshop facilitator.  Keith is a teacher and football coach at Hudson High School. 

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Marguerite loves the quaintness of the Cedar Valley community and its people, in particular, the bike trails and local events that make this area appealing.  Her favorite place to shop is downtown Cedar Falls, especially Cup of Joe.  This is the place where she and her husband first met on March 5, 2000 and were married exactly ten years later.   She also enjoys Vintage Iron, Montage and has made many donations to St. Vincent de Paul. 

In their free time, Marguerite and Keith love to go biking, travel and just being out with their two dogs.  Their favorite season is fall, where they find the leaves and crisp clean air to be very refreshing.  They enjoy connecting with friends and helping with the Cedar Falls Food Co-op when they’re able to.  Marguerite also mentors a women’s center for change and runs a networking group.  In addition, she loves to cook and enjoys fresh, homemade meals.

As a Cedar Falls Food Co-op member, she says that she “is excited to belong to a community that is dedicated to local, fresh and organic”. Marguerite describes the Co-op as “an electrifying hub with classes, fresh food and a deli where you can meet up with friends and family”.  Another benefit she adds is that Co-op members are also given the opportunity to save at local businesses. 

From the Board President: Year End Updates: A Holiday Potpourri

Each month I struggle to decide what to write about in this column. There are so many wonderful things going on with the Co-op’s effort that selecting one topic or one activity is a regular challenge. So, in the spirit of giving oneself a holiday during the holidays, this month I’ll change things up a bit with a report on many details. That makes it easy on me!

The Co-op Branding 2.0

Our Communications Team is hard at work in refining the Co-op’s messaging and visual identity. We understand the importance of having a good brand, and while the Cedar Falls Food Co-op continues to get high marks from co-op consultants and other co-ops across the country, there’s always room for improvement. Don’t worry…The iconic carrot logo won’t change. But some of the visuals and messages will be tightened up and improved as we enter 2017. (If things like tag lines and style guides are fascinating to you, consider lending a hand with our dynamic volunteer team. These are some amazing people from around the Cedar Valley, and we’d love to have your talents included!)

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Change on the Board

The Board of Directors election results announced in last month’s Garlic Press indicated two new faces to the Board (Joy Thorson and Heidi Noonan-Day) and one returning member (Tom Wickersham). Since then, the Board has undergone an additional change.

In November, the Board officially accepted the resignation of Noonan-Day. Citing personal and professional commitments that would limit her ability to serve in the capacity that she felt was necessary for the Cedar Falls Food Co-op, Noonan-Day opted to resign while still offering future support to some of the committees’ work.

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The Board acted quickly, and, in accordance with the bylaws, appointed a replacement to fill the vacancy. The Co-op is pleased to report that Terry Stewart, who served for five months on the Board this year, is returning to serve out the remainder of the three-year term. Terry joins Thorson, Wickersham, and Jess Cruz, Brenna Griffin, Dan Heit, Sheri Huber-Otting, Amber Mann, and Kristel McClenahan to serve this next year. Wickersham will continue to serve as President, Thorson will step in as Vice-President, and McClenahan and Cruz will continue their roles as Treasurer and Secretary respectively. Please join us in welcoming Terry Stewart back to the Board!

 

Board Happenings: November 2016

  • The board is excited to welcome a hearty welcome to our newest members, Joy Thorson and Terry Stewart! We also extend an excited “Welcome Back!” to re-elected board member Tom Wickersham.
  • With new board members comes new officers! The board has elected Tom Wickersham to serve as President, Joy Thorson to serve as Vice President, Kristel McClenahan to serve as Treasurer, and Jess Cruz to serve as Secretary.
  • We had an excellent showing of Co-op board and committee members at the recent Small and Strong Conference in Bloomington, MN. Check out the article in the month’s newsletter for a full report.
  • We are getting our events for next year set up, so be sure to follow us on Facebook and keep up on our monthly newsletter to make sure you don’t miss any of these fabulous events.
  • We’re making great progress on our Financial Pro Forma and starting to get ready to launch our Capital Campaign in the next year.

Give the Gift of Membership

Struggling to find the perfect gift? Give the gift of Co-op Membership!

The holiday’s provide plenty of opportunities for stress, and finding the perfect gift shouldn’t be one more. There are a number of membership benefits that your giftee can start using immediately, like any of the discount offered by our 40+ business partners. You also get the peace of mind knowing that your gift benefits your community by creating a Co-op that will provide healthy and sustainable food options and keeps up to 15% of its revenue local.

Co-op gift memberships are easy to purchase and last a lifetime. They make an ideal group gift for the boss who has everything or the family member who’s impossible to shop for. Since membership benefits can extend to a whole household, they also make a great gift for a whole family. This holiday season go in with a group on a gift membership and spread the love of the Co-op!

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Sidecar Coffee Roasters and the Cedar Falls Food Co-op: blending partnership to benefit our community

Sidecar Coffee Roasters is offering a limited edition Cedar Falls Food Co-op Holiday Blend! When it comes to holiday gifts, one thing is for certain – everyone loves consumable gifts, and the Cedar Falls Food Co-op Holiday Blend is the ultimate consumable.holiday-blend-coffee-bag

Not only will you take a HUGE bite out of your shopping list, but with each bag of the co-op Holiday Blend sold, Sidecar Coffee Roasters will donate 10% to the Cedar Falls Food Coop. It’s like giving a gift twice (not to be confused with re-gifting). Do you need the perfect gift for friends, family or co-workers? Order 12 bags or more and they’ll add your own personalized holiday message on each bag!


Don’t forget to use your Co-op 10% discount off any online order of coffee. To do so, enter the coupon code CFCOOP10 and type your member # into the notes section when placing your online order. Go here to order: www.sidecarcoffeeroasters.com/cf-food-coop/

The Gift that Keeps on Giving

It may sound cliché, but it’s true. The partnerships that we’ve formed with our local businesses provide the Cedar Falls Food Co-op member-owners with savings that truly add up day by day & month by month for each year! What’s more is that our list keeps growing! This month we have 3 new local businesses that have graciously offered our members deals on their already fantastic services!Continue reading→

Member Mavens Make it Happen!

At a recent house party hosted by our October Member Mavens, Jen Christiason and Sarah Frederick (plus their spouses, Kyle and Bob), a neighbor lamented the closing of Roots Market several years ago and how much she missed the local produce. As the conversation turned to the Cedar Falls Food Co-op and what it would provide, this same neighbor joined on the spot. In fact, five neighbors became co-op owners that night while they dined together over homemade soup and local bread. “I learned that many folks walking their dogs past our home every day have proud agricultural roots,” mused Jen. “It was delightful to hear the stories of their grandparents’ gardens and the canned goods that came from those efforts.” After the event, neighbors talked about how thrilled they were to gather together and connect with one another while learning about the efforts to bring a community-owned grocery store to the Cedar Valley.

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