Former Board Members

Articles about persons who are no longer on the board

Board member interview: A. K. Vincent

Posted Mon, 02/01/2010 - 6:00am

—by Anne Holzman

When North Country Co-op closed its doors about two years ago, A. K. Vincent was a member of the board of directors. Now she finds herself again serving on a co-op board, this time at Hampden Park Co-op.

North Country had served Minneapolis’ Cedar-Riverside neighborhood since 1971 and had nurtured many other Twin Cities co-ops. “It was a large piece of history,” Vincent wrote recently in an e-mail. “Many of the other cooperatives sprang up out of North Country."

“Many hearts were broken when [North Country] closed,” she wrote. “I will never forget NCC; however it mends my heart to be here at HPC.”

Board Member Profile: Matt Hass

Posted Mon, 08/31/2009 - 2:52am

-by Anne Holzman

A shopper’s first glimpse of Matt Hass is likely to be around the corners of a box of vegetables, from behind which he might be calling instructions to a volunteer, answering a customer’s question, or exchanging quips with a passing acquaintance.

Assistant manager and produce manager Hass serves as Hampden Park Coop staff representative on the board of directors, a post he’s held for three years.

He shares with other managers the day-to-day buying, selling, recordkeeping, and coordinating of volunteers that keep the store running.

Hass grew up in Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin, where he didn’t have any co-op experience but did work in a grocery store during high school.

Interview with HPC Board Member Nicolet Lyon

Posted Sun, 02/01/2009 - 8:00am

—by Anne Holzman

Midway through her three-year term as board member and also halfway through three years of law school, Nicolet Lyon is spending a lot of time examining papers these days.

"It really is a sort of baptism in fire," she said of her experience on the HPC board. She learned early in her board term that the co-op might have an opportunity to purchase the building it has rented for decades. "I had no idea that was going on, but it was a great legal opportunity for me."

Former Board member profile: Sarah Matala

Posted Mon, 12/01/2008 - 8:00am

—by Anne Holzman

[Sarah served on the board through 2009]

In her work as an affordable housing consultant, Sarah Matala examines buildings and figures out what needs to be done to prepare them for their new use. She works with an architect and a contractor to develop a “work scope.” Then she and her team determine how to finance the project.

She also loves the dried fruits and nuts and enjoys stocking shelves and being part of the community at Hampden Park Co-op.

What a happy coincidence, then, that just as she applied for a spot on the board of directors, HPC was expanding and getting set to buy the building it has rented for many years. She agreed to fill out the term of a departing member, which expires in November 2009.

An Interview with HPC Board Member Karen Gill-Gerbig

Posted Sun, 06/01/2008 - 5:00am

Recently, HPC member Heidi Goar interviewed Karen Gill- Gerbig, who is serving her third term on our co-op’s board of directors.

Heidi: I’m going to conduct this interview in a rather unorthodox manner: I’ll ask about you and your board experience at the end of the interview, and start out with a more “sexy” topic: The Politics of Food. What do you think about America’s food situation?

Karen: It’s pretty interesting, especially with the major energy crisis we’re facing. The models for agriculture used by the federal government work best on a large scale. These models assume vast amounts of cheap energy to make them “cost effective.” But now these models are becoming difficult to sustain because of the costs of fuel.

Board of Directors Profile: Jay Dregni

Posted Thu, 02/01/2007 - 8:00am

[Editor’s note: Previous profiles have featured board member Kjersti Hanneman interviewing other board members. In this profile, Jay Dregni chose to writeabout his participation at Hampden Park Co-op.]

Co-ops are an important part of food distribution with an emphasis on locally grown and organic options. My first connection with the co-op movement was in the 1960s, the early days of the Lakewinds Co-op in Minnetonka. Hampden Park Co-op has been my place of choice during the past five years, which include one year as a board member.

Get to Know HPC Board Member Naomi Karstad

Posted Sun, 10/01/2006 - 5:00am

—by Kjersti Hanneman

KH: How long have you been a member of Hampden Park Co-op?

NK: Since 2002, and I have been volunteering since then. I live in Midway, and have been shopping at HPC since 1983.

KH: How did you get involved in the co-op?

NK: I was newly divorced and had been shopping here for years. After I got divorced, I needed to be doing something for the community. I needed to be doing something that would be part of the wider world—not just navel gazing.

KH: How long have you been a board member?

NK: Since 2003. I'm on the Finance and Physical Plant committees.

KH: Do you have family in town?

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