Board Election Candidate Questions!

WHY WOULD YOU LIKE TO SERVE ON THE DAILY GROCERIES CO-OP BOARD? 

Abe Bocinec

I want to serve on the Daily Groceries Co-op board because I love Athens. As a member of the Athens community, involvement with local organizations and groups I care about has been crucial to my life here. I’m connected to Daily as a shopper and as an employee, granting me a perspective that will help the board as Daily grows and changes. As a board member I will work hard to make Daily an even more integral and community-minded business in Athens.

Jenny Gallucci

My passion for food in Athens brought me to the Daily Co-op. I would like to serve on the Daily Groceries Co-op board because I want to be more a part of advocating for a socially responsible, sustainable, food system in Athens. I feel that the mission of the Daily Co-op fits in well with my personal passion and work I do through Concrete Jungle. A position on the board of directors would be a unique way in which I can continue to serve my community and get more involved in the Athens food world as well as support my professional goals; there may be a day I need to get a board together for Concrete Jungle in Athens and insight into the board operations of Daily would be great experience for me. 

Amelia Herb

The Daily Groceries Co-op is an integral asset for Athens year round residences. The families of Athens (including my own) value being a part of the decision making of our community co-op. It is my hope to honor these community members through being on the board. 

Dawson Horah

The Daily Co-op is an institution with a history of sourcing healthy groceries and creating community. I want to participate more intimately in this organization with the hope of growing myself as a community organizer, learning about the food industry, and crucially, expanding the services of Daily Co-op to benefit more ACC citizens. Working consecutively at the University Math Department, UGA’s Bolton Dining Hall and The Grit, I learned about the ongoing financial inequities that have never been successfully solved from the top down. Although these circumstances are not unique to Athens, I believe that we at the Co-op are uniquely equipped to listen to the needs of each community in Athens and mobilize local resources to meet their needs. 

Sage Rios

I would like to serve on the Daily Groceries Board because I feel very grateful to the communities that are interwoven within Daily. I have met so many people inside this space and would like to contribute by cultivating a safe, loving, empowering environment to all. 

Caroline Singletary

Daily Groceries is the paragon of praxis – where theoretical ideas about building community, offering accessible local food, being kind and supporting small businesses and a cooperative model all meet in a tangible way at our friendly neighborhood grocery. I have spent many summer days walking with my kids to eat a Honeypop at the picnic table outside. picking up a sandwich on my lunch break or stopping to grab those two or three items that I forgot that I need for dinner at the end of a long workday. Daily Groceries has added so much to my life, and I would like to be a part of supporting and giving back to the Daily community.

Liz Solomon

I currently serve on the board of Daily Groceries in order to help Daily Groceries grow and be able to provide for a broader spectrum of the community. I aspire to support Athens in maintaining a unique and people-centered community by helping Daily persevere. Being on the board allows me to put into practice my belief in community engagement as a means to create the spaces you want to exist.

Patrick Wermert

I would love to serve on the Board the Daily Co-op because I believe that affecting locally is the best opportunity people have to positively influence the world around them. Local efforts like the Co-op help focus a community’s drive to better everyone within- especially important in the current global climate. 

Annaka Woodruff

I believe in cooperative organizations, and in their unique ability to serve their communities as well as just their customers. I also believe that every community deserves access to fresh, local affordable food options, and that local growers, food producers and artisans should have an outlet to sell their goods.

HOW CAN YOU AND YOUR LIFE EXPERIENCES BRING VALUE TO THE DAILY GROCERIES CO-OP BOARD? 

Abe Bocinec

Part of what I love about living in Athens is the amount of community building I’ve been able to do here. The project I’m most proud of is Quaint, which is an artistic approach to healing for LGBTQ+ survivors and advocates. I’ve been able to connect with and help amplify the voices of local queer artists by curating and marketing exhibits, organizing open mic sessions, and giving LGBTQ+ folks in Athens a place to talk openly about their art and their healing. As a gay trans man, this project means a lot to me and nothing has made me happier than seeing it thrive.

I also have experience working with Daily’s local farmers and local partners. I’ve had the opportunity to work on the land with Smokey Road Farms, one of Daily’s local produce providers. Getting to work with the owners to help develop their brand & expand has been meaningful as I pursue my longterm goals. Alongside working at Daily, I’m also am a manager at The Grit, one of Daily’s local partners. The first-hand experience I have as someone on the other end of the local partners program has allowed me to see the ways Daily is connected to so many of the places that make Athens what it is. The relationships I’ve been able to cultivate with the people who collaborate with Daily, or have potential to do so, are relationships I could bring with me to the board in a way that I am certain will benefit Daily and its partners.

Jenny Gallucci

My work with Concrete Jungle has equipped me with a unique perspective on food waste and our food system as well as leveraged me with a unique network of non-profits and community leaders including, but not limited to, those involved with food assistance and sustainability in Athens that I feel is valuable to the co-op. I also would bring with me my knowledge of local growers, experience working in the food waste/sustainability sphere, passion for locally sourced food, and general knowledge of food-related happenings in Athens. 

Amelia Herb

My career path has led me to own a business, travel the world and invest in people. These opportunities have given me a wealth of experiences in observing a growing community. Peoples day to day decisions can build a community that all walks of life benefit.  My value to the board would be one who brings a nomads perspective with a heart for connection. 

Dawson Horah

In college, I studied chemistry and mathematics, learning two different ways to think critically. Outside of the classroom, I worked in food service and studied and danced the historically Black dance Lindy Hop. These experiences grounded me with social awareness of the world outside of my technical studies. In my current occupation as a consulting adhesive chemist, I have found as much success coming from my intentional empathy as from my chemical knowledge. At RS Industrial, I regularly talk with the founding chemist to learn from his business acumen with the hopes of applying it toward a collective endeavor, such as the Daily. I will continue to lean on his mentorship for guidance if I am elected to serve on the Board. The Daily must continue to be financially secure if we want to succeed in an ambitious outreach.

Sage Rios

I think my experience as a cashier at Daily will allow me to understand the needs that Daily has not been able to meet for future owner-members thus far. I have worked at Daily for 2 years and have watched it change a lot since I first started my work here. Yet, I know for many people, it is still not a place that feels accessible. Daily's mission started with creating a space that is able to provide affordable, fresh produce to everyone. Now we are called to further our vision.  

Caroline Singletary

As a social worker, I have made social justice more than just a belief, but a career choice. Being a part of my local community, while also working to make it more accessible for all in our community is very important to me and the values I would bring with me to the Daily.

Additionally, I have worked for 7 years as a photographer and business owner, and I love being able to support local businesses through volunteering my photography skills. I have photographed for the Athens Farmer’s Market and Athens Forest Kindergarten to support their marketing and fundraising, and it’s something I find very fulfilling and would love to offer to the Daily as well.  

Liz Solomon

I currently serve on the board of Daily as well as Bike Athens. Bike Athens is a transportation equity focused group that provides bikes to those in need of bikes for critical transportation, advocates for safe streets infrastructure, and provides educational opportunities. I recently became certified as a League Cycling Instructor so I may teach classes on cycling safety. I see Daily and Bike Athens as complementary organizations in the sense that they both contribute to bettering community and environmental health. I have formerly taken leadership roles in DIY and Arts communities as an organizer, in which I co-created a womyn/trans/femme/non-binary skill-share group that provided education and community building to Denver, CO folks. I also volunteered to help start a Bike Co-op in Mobile, AL. As a professional, I recently completed a graduate degree in Landscape Architecture with studies in community planning. I also worked for the Carl Vinson Institute of Government as a designer for downtown revitalization projects in smaller Georgia communities. I am currently employed as a Landscape Architect and Cultural Landscape Specialist at WLA Studio in Athens.  I am dedicated in my personal, academic, and professional pursuits in working to democratize public space and help communities pull together for collective benefit.

Patrick Wermert

My time studying at the University imbued a strong focus on just how broken our current agricultural system is- especially when looking at environmental ethics, a number of ethical problems arise when economies of scale are applied to food- which was once exclusively a local product. I believe that bringing this local sense of food is tantamount to improving our neighborhoods, towns, and even globe. My experiences working at farm-to-table restaurants like Cakes & Ale in Atlanta have also inspired me to believe this is an achievable goal. 

Annaka Woodruff

I’ve spent my entire career working with rural governments, non-profit organizations and community groups that have coalesced to address concerns or gaps in their neighborhoods. I understand the value of collaborative work; and also have the patience and goodwill necessary to make group decisions to benefit a greater good.

DESCRIBE YOUR EXPERIENCES WORKING COLLABORATIVELY IN A GROUP SETTING. 

Abe Bocinec

The time I spent in Athens as a student was full of collaborative experiences that really set me up for the work I’m doing now. During my time at UGA, I served as a PR rep for one student board and as president of another. 

The PR position solidified my goal to ensure everyone’s voice is heard. It taught me how to create meaningful, accessible, and successful events that filled real community needs.

As a board president, the most valuable thing I learned is that leadership is just a role like any other in an organization. Leadership requires experience, knowledge, and most crucially, the ability to listen. I was able to learn how integral it is that every level of participation is regarded as equally important and equally necessary - whether you show up as an attendee or a board member. I was best in my role when I was listening to what my other board members found valuable, and was able to help them accomplish their own goals.

As I continue to grow as an organizer, what I value most is the sharing of information and ideas with those around me. Creating a space where people are able to speak and I am able to learn is something I hope to do for the rest of my life with passion and patience.

Jenny Gallucci

My history of work in group settings is diverse; I have worked in teams that vary from being a part of a software develop SCRUM team, a team of assistant gardeners at the State Botanical Gardens, and the leadership team I’m a part of now with Concrete Jungle and my internship through NASA. I value transparency, honesty, and inclusion and am comfortable navigating conflict and having tough discussions in a group context. Decision making by consensus is important to me—I value an environment in which everyone is comfortable speaking. 

Amelia Herb

Having been a previous owner of a salon and working with creative minds, I built knowledge and skills for listening to others viewpoints, hearing the underlying message and proactively determining a resolution that best fits the culture of the business.  

Dawson Horah

In 2017, I joined the Classic City Swing Board of Directors. This local organization was founded in 2011, is run by roughly seven staff and four board members, and hosts a Lindy Hop workshop for 200 out-of-town dancers every September. In this organization, the board sets the vision for the event, delegates responsibilities to individual staff members, and finalizes large decisions. Between January and September, we held planning meetings every other week where the staff would report on their goals, accomplishments, and needs. The whole staff was encouraged to voice their opinions during full-body meetings, and the board acted as trustees, voting on decisions in secondary meetings. This structure boosted the voice of the working staff members while also allowing the wisdom of the experienced board members to guide the large decisions, much like the staggered election cycle of the Daily board. During the following year of CCS, I performed the roles of Director, Treasurer, and Logistics Coordinator. In these roles, I devised a new budget structure, income projections, and a pricing scheme for our tickets, and planned the event and staff schedules. We also streamlined our communication by using Slack and updating rules regarding meeting minutes. My involvement with Classic City Swing trained me both to support and to lead a team. 

Sage Rios

I consider my time at Daily as collaborative. We work together to troubleshoot the random obstacles that happen during the day, we share thoughts and experiences that could provide an improved environment, and we support each other throughout the day.

Caroline Singletary

I took a social work class on Groups and group work, and through that class I observed community groups as well as led a group. It was insightful and really led me to believe in the possibility of mutual aid and the impact collaboration can have.

Liz Solomon

I work collaboratively on a daily basis as a designer in a collaborative studio. Landscape Architecture is a discipline that relies on successful working relationships across a broad range of disciplines. We must be able as practitioners to understand the needs of the communities we work with, as well as the language and work styles of disciplines ranging from engineers to ecologists to historians.

I have found working in a group setting to always have challenges, such as one semester, when half of the studio class had just joined the program from China. Differing educational styles, language barriers, and task delegation were significant challenges. But through patience and the taking on of leadership roles by some students, the projects we created ended up utilizing the skill sets of everyone involved. 

Patrick Wermert

In terms of collaborative efforts, my whole life I have been a participant in team sports, primarily baseball, and have worked on service teams in various restaurants and bars for a decade and a half. Most recently, my efforts have been put towards CCBC’s city hall- a group of volunteers who organize city cleanups, and have recently been working to orchestrate a movie night in support of Ciné.

Annaka Woodruff

Both in my professional career and my volunteer life, I’ve served in every group role imaginable. I’ve worked as the facilitator, group leader, worker-bee, and sometimes as the devil’s advocate.  My experience working with state and local governments has helped understand the collaboration process; my experience working with non-profits has helped me understand the power of group decision making.

HOW DO YOU SEE THE BOARD MAINTAINING AND EXPANDING ON THE BROADER VISION FOR THE CO-OP? 

Abe Bocinec

Nowhere else provides what Daily does, or has the potential that Daily has. I want to join the board in order to expand on the important community work Daily is doing to achieve its mission of being a welcoming place to shop and work, to intentionally source food, and to nourish a kind, engaged community. I will help Daily continue making strides in food accessibility and food justice. In order to accomplish this, I plan to focus on strengthening local ties between the Co-op, local farmers, local partners, and local orgs like the Community Fridge, Athens Mutual Aid, and Nuci’s Space to help Daily grow.

Jenny Gallucci

I imagine the board as a multi-use tool for the co-op to create and maintain community partnerships, listen to community needs and identify opportunities for daily to better serve Athens, and strive to continue to be as responsible, sustainable, and accountable as possible. In my mind, the logistics of this include being creative and engaged at board meetings and leveraging my pre-existing network of connections to support daily as a board member.

Amelia Herb

Identifying and guiding the mission of the co-op directly contributes to the culture of how the community supports this local gem. The Daily Groceries Co-ops vision depends on the boards insight and active communication. I see the board expanding the broader vision for our co-op by actively engaging with members and sharing this co-ops message of community support. 

Dawson Horah

Every employee that I know says that the Daily is a more welcoming place to work and shop than any other job they’ve held. I hope to continue the success of the previous and current board in this area, supporting a healthy workforce and paying them a living wage. Additionally, I hope to continue ongoing board initiatives to support local farmers and nurture the community of neighbors who shop at Daily. I think that we could begin an initiative where owner-members and casual shoppers advocate for individual people who need mutual aid, in the form of food or cash. It would be fantastic to offer opportunities for direct wealth transfers from loyal wealthy clients to the larger Athens community.

Sage Rios

I see an effective board that communicates and engages with the community. For Daily to properly serve its owner members and the greater Athens area, it requires the involvement of its community and pulling in more diverse minds to cultivate a shared dream for all for the future. As a woman of color who experiences Daily on a day-to-day basis I can offer insightful perspective. I wish to see the Daily Board become successful in providing an inclusive community for everyone in Athens and being in a stable place so that it is able to better support its community. 

Caroline Singletary

I think it’s important to keep in mind how the mission and big picture of the Daily and the board effects the day-to-day operations and how changing policies can ultimately impact how the Co-op runs, but without “getting in the weeds” of operations. 

Liz Solomon

I am used to working at the large scale in my professional environment. We work to take the concerns of daily issues and draw out the greater themes and meaning behind these concerns, and help create the structural framework to address the day to day issues.

Patrick Wermert

I believe the thrust of improving any community you are involved in starts with being a good neighbor. The Co-op board has a unique opportunity to do just that- I believe that by creating more and more partnerships with local chefs, pop-ups, etc. that there are great opportunities to better everyone in the food industry in Athens. This is especially true given the improvised and almost ad-hoc ways restaurants and the like have responded to the Covid pandemic. 

Annaka Woodruff

A good board acts as an umbrella, under which the day-to-day operates. Boards set the vision (after careful data analysis and seeking the needs/desires/wants of its membership) for the future – a board should constantly be asking itself where do we want to be in five years? Are the policies we’ve got in place going to get us to that vision? If not, what will we do to adjust?

HOW CAN BOARD MEMBERS BETTER REPRESENT THE OPINIONS OF THE MEMBERSHIP AND THE LARGER ATHENS COMMUNITY? 

Abe Bocinec

I feel the Daily Co-op board needs to be more diverse and more accessible for the board to be able represent the opinions of the membership and the larger Athens community. If the board is going to reflect Athens, it should look like Athens - which means more gender, race, and class diversity must be represented. A wider variety of experience and a more expansive set of perspectives would allow the board to better serve Athens. 

I would also like to see the Daily board become more accessible to members. As an employee and member the board has not felt very accessible to me, and I know that in order to best serve Athens we need a board that sees accessibility as a key part of its functioning. Boards need folks who are ready to ask members what they need and use their time and connections to make things happen for the people they represent, and I know Daily’s board could give me the tools and experiences to learn how to do this well for our community.

Jenny Gallucci

Board members can better represent the opinions of members and the larger Athens community by being creative in garnering feedback, proactive in reaching out to underrepresented audiences at Daily, intentional about valuing opinions of a diverse group, being open-minded, and open to criticism and new ideas.

Amelia Herb

It is my experience that Board members can better represent the opinions of the membership and Athens community by engaging in conversation. Asking neighbors about their involvement with this local co-op. The state of Ga has two co-ops, and Athens has one of those two. 

It is a privilege to represent Athens through the food community and more. The Daily Grocery is an asset that needs to be talked about with neighbors. 

Dawson Horah

Realistically, the Board can only represent the larger Athens community (e.g., Black, Latinx, queer, immigrant, working class, disabled, etc.) if it contains such people chosen by their representative communities.

Sage Rios

By having an inclusive Board, there will be more room for voices from different communities within Athens and this will also inspire more engagement from the community! I believe that all the people who are running for the Board care about the Athens community, Daily, and bring many ideas on how to strengthen the connection between Daily and its Owner-Members. We all want to see Daily thrive and everyone is willing to listen to what our community needs for that to happen.

Caroline Singletary

I think that almost everywhere in Athens can work to serve more people, and to be more accessible to all of the citizens in Athens, but especially those who find fresh food inaccessible to them, cost prohibitive, or socially prohibitive. I hope that as the Daily continues that it’s mission will continue to work towards supporting local farmers and businesses as well as the diverse citizens of Athens. 

Liz Solomon

Daily Groceries Co-Op often serves the members of the adjacent neighborhoods, but I would say that this tends to be a bit of a higher income group. This could be due to outside perception, location, price-point, selection, or a combination of all of these factors. I would love to see Daily Groceries be able to grow enough to reach a broader audience, and help address the perception that healthy foods are not accessible to all.

Patrick Wermert

The Co-op board is only succeeding and keeping the Athens community in mind when it is present in the Athens community. This means not simply believing that you know what is best for the people within, but instead being involved and aware of what needs exist. This is hard sometimes since needs are no always pretty- but being aware of every aspect of Athens, both good and bad (and how to improve them) is key. 

Annaka Woodruff

Actively seeking public input is time consuming AND essential. An effective board takes the steps to make sure it is addressing the needs and vision of its greater membership. The most effective boards I’ve worked with have generally set five-year goals, and then done annual evaluations on progress toward goals. These goals have been crafted AFTER listening to its members and other stakeholders. As the Cheshire Cat says to Alice, when she’s lost and asking for directions, “If you don’t know where you’re going, any old road will get you there.” It’s the responsibility of a board to know where it’s going.