PUTNEY — CCMA, the annual conference of over 400 retail cooperators from across the nation, was recently held in Philadelphia. Each year, awards are given based on peer selection, to honor individuals and stores for their service to the wider co-op community.
This year, the Putney Consumers Cooperative was presented with the Howard K. Bowers Fund Award for Cooperative Excellence, the gathering's highest honor.
This prestigious award was accepted by Robyn O'Brien, general manager of the Putney Co-op. For the past 10 years, under O'Brien's leadership, the store has come from the brink of closing its doors to achieve profitability, increase membership, and become an outstanding resource in its community.
Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin, a Putney Co-op member, wrote in his award nomination letter, “You might say the Co-op is a microcosm for our great state. We're in the middle of an agricultural renaissance in Vermont because more and more Vermonters care about where their food comes from, what's in it, and who grew it. The Putney Food Co-op is an obvious partner in this movement.”
Shumlin added that “although the Co-op is small, its impacts are innumerable.”
State Rep. Mike Mrowicki, also a co-op member, wrote in his recommendation: “While economic viability is essential for any business, the community actions of our Co-op - from regular community suppers, connections with our local schools and organizations such as Transition Town Putney - translate into a positive business model.”
Mrowicki added that the Putney Co-op “indeed walks the talk on how to be economically successful and do business, like (E.F.) Schumacher wrote, 'as if people mattered.'”
The award comes at an auspicious time for the co-op, as it celebrates its 70-year anniversary, making it one of the oldest food co-ops in the country. Worldwide, the United Nations has declared 2012 the International Year of the Cooperative, and co-ops across all sectors are raising awareness of their economic and social impacts in their communities.
Collaboration among co-ops is something the Putney Co-op continues to cultivate.
Peg Nolan of the National Co-op Grocers Association (NCGA) wrote: “This co-op has been and continues to be a leader in building the future of our co-op sector by continually fostering the spirit of cooperation, working with others to grow their local and regional economy, continually building community, cultivating a knowledgeable and engaged membership and running a great cooperative business.”
Erbin Crowell, director of the Neighboring Food Co-op Association (NFCA), said the Putney co-op “has played a key role in the development of our network of 30 food co-ops and start-up initiatives as well as our regional sourcing activities, which are focused on new product development and collaboration with farmers and their co-ops in the Northeast.”