This year’s AGM reported on the launch of our national energy business, the growth of our childcare division and a few awards, too!
The 2011 Annual General Meeting, held once again at the National Motorcycle Museum in May, came at an exciting point in The Midcounties Co-operative’s history. With the launch of national business Co-operative Energy under its belt, an almost five-fold growth of its childcare business in the bag, and a collection of awards to its name, there was lots to celebrate and plenty to discuss.
In his presentation, Chief Executive Ben Reid spoke of the move to brand-new offices, the fact that the number of colleagues with an NVQ level 2 qualification has doubled from this time last year, and that trade with members had grown significantly to almost 35 per cent. He also spoke of the growth of the nursery business (which now has 29 sites), the positive press from Which? our new energy business has received, and the planned expansion for our Employee Benefits business, which will look to offer exclusive deals on energy and nursery places.
Following Ben’s overview, an increase in member dividend from 1.5p to 1.8p per point was agreed, as well as a bonus for all eligible colleagues. Members then had the opportunity to ask questions of the Board and Executive team. After a hearty lunch, members were then invited to attend one of three afternoon debating events…
Discussion on drinking
Members had the chance to view Friday Night, a film sponsored by The Midcounties and produced by Fairgame Theatre, which discusses excessive drinking in young people. After watching the film, members shared their thoughts on the topics raised, from discussing whether the 24-hour drinking culture has had an impact, to considering what makes young people drink excessively in the first place. Members even had the chance to ask A Dott, the rapper on the Friday Night soundtrack, about the peer pressure young people experience, and how his life has improved by working with Fairgame.
New developments
This session was designed to inform our members of all the new developments within the business. Members wanted to know whether Co-operative Energy would feature on comparison sites. Although it does, we’re not paying the sites to promote us to its visitors as we don’t aim to be the cheapest, but to offer the simplest and most consistent deal. Members were also reassured that with the national growth of the nurseries business we would still place importance on parental input and community involvement, and they heard how the Employee Benefits suite of benefits would continue to develop.
Getting greener
After watching the Beyond the Brink climate change documentary, sponsored by The Midcounties and produced by a young member members discussed our green initiatives. Members asked what could be done with our food waste and we discussed food bank schemes and the anaerobic digester we use to turn food waste into energy. A Transition Town link in Stroud was suggested, as was using closed refrigeration for meat products in store to save energy. The team are looking into these ideas.