Three Rivers Market is seeking qualified candidates to run in the 2019 Board of Directors Election. Serving on the Board is an opportunity to help us create and nourish a healthier environment, healthier people, and a healthier community for our nearly 10,000 co-owners!

Three of the nine seats on the Board are up for election. Each seat has a three-year term.

Governing an organization effectively is a serious commitment. Directors are expected to prepare for and actively participate in monthly Board Meetings, one full-day cooperative board leadership training in North Carolina, and two full-day retreats closer to home. Our Board meetings are efficient in that we stick to the agenda and finish on time. Board leadership training expenses including lodging are covered.

Prospective candidates are required to:
1. Be members for at least one year and in good standing.
2. Be free of inherent personal, … Read More »

Reflections on the value of membership in Three Rivers Market…

When I first moved to Knoxville in 2011, Three Rivers Market (TRM) was just taking up residence in its new location here on Central Avenue. At that time, the co-op had just navigated the challenges of moving the store to a new, larger location. By strategically growing our cooperative we invest in our core values including building the community and strengthening the local economy. I remember taking my Dad, who lives out of town, to my first TRM annual meeting in 2012. Jacki and her staff were sharing plans for shrubs and flowers that would line the parking lot.  When we returned the to the co-op later that week, my Dad remarked, Jill, how are they going to get any flowers to grow here?  I admitted the hardscrabble and concrete seemed … Read More »

Three Rivers Market Board of Directors met for our spring retreat Saturday, April 6, 2019. In addition to setting the board’s agenda for the upcoming year, we engaged in a great discussion about member linkage and increasing engagement from our members and the wider Knoxville community.

Along with Dave Penegar’s report, we hope you enjoy our reflections on what the retreat meant to each of us.

Report from Board Chair

Dave Penegar

The Three Rivers Market Board of Directors and general manager met at an offsite retreat Saturday, April 6 to plan the board’s for the 2019-2020 fiscal year. The day began with an awesome breakfast from Three Rivers Market and then members of the board conducted our April monthly meeting.

After a quick break, we set to work on refining the language of Executive Limitations – Board Policy B1 on staff treatment to help … Read More »

Once again, Three Rivers Market is leading the way!

The Board of Directors has recently made two innovative changes to our board policies that we would like to share with you. These revisions reflect an effort to put into policy current practices that we value.

Over the past year, the Board has been considering creating a Governance policy to protect Three Rivers Market’s Product Standards policy. Many of you participated in our discussions through our event Our Values, Our Shelves and at the Annual Meeting. We heard clearly how much you all value and trust Three Rivers Market’s current standards, and we appreciate that these standards reflect your values. At our March meeting, the board concluded that we should state in policy that our cooperative should establish Product Standards to ensure their existence into the future and that they should not change … Read More »

Did you know Legos make great financial
building blocks? I didn’t. I also didn’t know the first food cooperative opened
in 1844. Thanks to the Cooperative Board Leadership Program 101, I am now
equipped to serve you, members of the Three Rivers Market, as a newly elected
director on the board.

Cooperative Board Leadership Development
(CBLD) is an innovative program of the CDS Consulting Co-op and designed
specifically for members of cooperative boards that focuses on four pillars of
cooperative governance: Teaming, Accountable Empowerment, Strategic Leadership,
and Democracy.

Saturday, January 5, 2019, I joined three
of my fellow board members and Jacqueline Arthur, the general manager of Three
Rivers, for a one-day training hosted by the French Broad Co-op in Asheville,
North Carolina. Throughout the day, we learned what it takes to be an engaged
and effective member of a food cooperative.

The day kicked off with an overview of the
history, values, … Read More »