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Co-op Experiences A Year of Growth
Co-op Experiences A Year of Growth
Rosanne Fortier - News Correspondent
Vegreville and District Co-op has had a positive year! This statement was expressed to 43 attendees during the 95th Annual Meeting at Vegreville Elks Hall on May 22.
Lydia Lastiwka was the Chairperson for the meeting.
General Manager Glen McLay reported that Vegreville Co-op had a great year of growth in all commodities, but fuel definitely led the way. They had an increase in sales to over 20 million dollars, which was a real milestone mark for them to achieve. “This was up from $18.2 million the previous year. Food sales increased $215,000, and the Cardlock and Gas bar sales increased by $ 1,611,240. We led the province in low pricing at our Gas Bar for most of the last two quarters of the fiscal year,” McLay stated.
McLay went on to say that although the increased sales sounds fantastic and their Co-op was able to increase their own local savings by over $54,000 the net savings of just over $441,000 this year, it is $165,369 less than the previous year mainly due to lower margins on fuel and their patronage refund from Federated Co-operatives Limited being $219,283 less than the previous year. “The strategy of keeping our prices lower has led to an increase in sales and improved local savings. I am confident that this was just an off year for FCL, and we will be back on track going forward.
This year, we continued to upgrade our facilities by adding a new card reader at the Cardlock and retrofitting the freezers with new LED lighting, which is much brighter and far more energy efficient. We also upgraded our compressor monitoring system and did many small repairs that don’t really show, but are necessary to keep our store up to date.”
McLay then announced that this year they had 197 new members who signed up for memberships at the office, as well as 75 new online memberships for a total of 272, which is up from 212 last year, so this is very positive for the future of their organization.
“On marketing and social responsibility, our Co-op is able to give back to this community in many ways. We continue to support as many of the local groups as possible.
McLay closed by expressing gratitude to the board of directors, management, and all the staff for their hard work this past year.
After this, President Joanne Gorda said that they are in a very good financial position and that they will continue to consciously review all opportunities that come across their radar. “Until then, your money is being well take care of.
The board of directors is happy to announce this year's patronage dividends: One percent on food and Three percent on fuel. In total, we are returning $252,644 to our members. Cheques are scheduled to be mailed out in June.”
Following this, Lydia Lastiwka and Colleen Pizardko were elected to the board. Their positions will be decided at another meeting. McLay administered the Oath of Office for all board members, who also include: Joanne Gorda, Bonnie Litwin, Heather Foran, Mike Cooper, and Laura Danilak.
