News

Michael Perry visits the Co-op!

Author, musician and humorist Michael Perry was in Stoughton April 28. Before his performance of the Clodhopper Monologues at the Stoughton Opera House, Mike stopped by to thank the Co-op and visited with Board members Eric Borchardt (below left) and Laura Anderson. Other than online sales, the Co-op was the only outlet selling tickets to the sold-out show.

perry Mike lives in rural Wisconsin, where he remains active with the local volunteer rescue service. He is the author of author of Population 485: Meeting Your Neighbors One Siren at a Time, Truck: A Love Story and Coop: A Year of Poultry, Pigs and Parenting, as well as the essay collection Off Main Street. He can be found online at www.sneezingcow.com.

Members elect new directors and approve bylaws changes

At the 4th Annual Membership meeting January 20, the YRGC membership elected 3 new Board members and approved several changes to the cooperative's bylaws.

Deb Bicksler, Susan Greenlee and Tom Selsor will replace Deb Piper, Regina Hirsch and Steve Tone on the Board. To learn more about your new Board members, click here.

The bylaw amendments included changes in meeting quorum and Board members eligibility and terms of office. To see the approved changes, click here.

Deb-Pres Other business included financial and operational reports from Warren Kmiec, the Co-op's Treasurer, and Cindy Cwik, General Manager. Outgoing Board President Deb Piper (right) was honored for her outstanding leadership. In addition, outgoing Board members Hirsch, Tone and Spencer Warren received certificates of appreciation.

Thank you to Sid Boersma who provided pre-meeting entertainment including a new song about the Co-op. Thank you to Marlene Widra for operating the jewelry silent auction. And thank you to the Frolicking Goat Handmade Soap and Wildpeace Bakery for serving samples and discussing their businesses with members.

For more photos of the annual membership meeting visit our Facebook page.

YRGC Board elects officers

The YRGC's Board of Directors elected officers at its first meeting Jan. 27. Front (left to right): Laura Anderson was elected president and Wade Moder, vice presiden. Back (left to right): Eric Borchardt was elected secretary and Warren Kmiec, treasurer.

The Board meets every second Thursday of the month from 5 to 6:30 p.m. and every fourth Thursday from 6 to 7 p.m. in the lower level of City Hall. Members are welcome to attend the meetings.

In the news

Several newspapers have done news articles about the YRGC. To view the coverage, visit the following links:

Wisconsin State Journal, 10-29-08: "Struggling Stoughton co-op will get help from Willy Street Co-op" by Barry Adams
Wisconsin State Journal, 10-20-08: "Stoughton grocery co-op may have to close" by Barry Adams
Stoughton Courier Hub, 10-15-08: "Co-op in danger of closing down" by Rick Hummel
Stoughton Courier Hub, 10-01-08: "Viking Chili Bowl was hottest ticket in town" by Eric Nielsen
Stoughton Courier Hub, 9-24-08: "Co-op's chili cookoff will spice things up"
Wisconsin State Journal, 3-02-08: "New Yahara River co-op draws crowd"
The Capital Times: "Full co-op ahead: Stoughton market nearly set for March 1 opening"
Wisconsin State Journal: "In Stoughton, dream of co-op turning to reality"
Isthmus: "Stoughton welcomes a natural-foods cooperative"
Stoughton Courier Hub, 8-23-07: "Co-op meets its goal of $100,000" by Autumn Drussell
Stoughton Courier Hub, 7-26-07: "Co-op near funding goal; project manager hired" by Rick Hummell
Stoughton Courier Hub, 5-03-07: "Grocery co-op kickoff yields huge response" by Autumn Drussell
Stoughton Courier Hub, 4-26-07: "Grocery cooperative officials: ‘Make It Yours’ at Sunday’s kickoff event" by Rick Hummell
The Capitol Times, 4-23-07: "Stoughton food cooperative is moving closer to reality" by Karyn Saemann
Wisconsin State Journal, 4-21-07: "Grocery Co-op Aims For Stoughton Spot" by Barry Adams
Stoughton Courier Hub, 4-19-07: "Co-op launches new web site; parking restrictions hearing today" by Rick Hummell
WisBusiness, 4-13-07: "Yahara River Grocery Cooperative Announces Kickoff Event to Hear Product Ideas"
Stoughton Courier Hub, 4-12-07: "‘Make it Yours’ at co-op kickoff" by Rick Hummell
Stoughton Courier Hub, 3-15-07: "Downtown site eyed for grocery cooperative" by Rick Hummell
Stoughton Courier Hub, 2-1-07: "Survey respondents support grocery cooperative initiative" by Rick Hummell
Stoughton Courier Hub, 11-9-06: "Grocery co-op exploratory group to host public meeting" by Rick Hummell

Press releases

The YRGC has kept the community aware of its progress with regular press releases. All of releases are available below for downloading as PDFs. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view them.

10-15-06: Letter to the Editor about the Survey
11-06-06: Community Meeting Set for November 6
12-11-06: Yahara River Cooperative Grocery Exploratory Group Receives Check in Support of Its Mission
1-29-07: Customer Survey Results Indicate Strong Interest in a Grocery Cooperative for Stoughton
3-12-07: Yahara River Grocery Cooperative Looking to the Former Jensen Furniture Location for a Grocery Store
4-09-07: Yahara River Grocery Cooperative Announces Kickoff Event to Hear Product Ideas
4-16-07: New Yahara River Grocery Cooperative Web Site Answers Many Questions
4-23-07: Yahara River Grocery Cooperative Eligible for a $30,000 Dane County Agricultural Enterprise Grant