By: David Lester, Co-op General Manager
Almost eleven years ago I accepted the position of General Manager (GM) of the Oneota Community Cooperative (the Co-op). I had previously worked at Luther College for thirteen years in college foodservice and as the Head Women’s Golf Coach. I became a member of the Co-op in 1996 after a move to Decorah from Iowa City. This move was heavily influenced by the people we met on the street, dancing at a Highlandville dance and conversations with members I met while shopping at the Co-op. Twenty-five years ago, it was obvious that hospitality and community engagement were things that our Co-op were good at, and I think we have expanded and improved in those areas the last eleven years.
When I took the position of GM in early 2010, you could saf
ely say that it was a turbulent time in our Co-op’s history. The store had just recently moved from a 2,500 sq. ft. location on Water St., to a 9,000 sq. ft. store front a block away. This was a big move. I had been on the board of directors for the Co-op in the late 1990s to early 2000s and we knew that our store was growing and that there were only one or two downtown 
locations that could accommodate our store needs. The Latham Furniture building was chosen as the next storefront and in 2007, member loans and other financing was secured to open the new store in 2008. The first year was not a successful one financially and after two GMs and two interim GMs within two years, I took over as GM on April 1, 2010. The Board at the time was looking for someone to align our Co-op’s key stakeholders: members, board members and staff.
My first priority was to align the spine of the organization. We all needed to be aligned to begin our strategic planning process and get our staff behind a vision to increase local and organic sales. In the last decade our board has approved two strategic plans and the management team and I have completed those plans with much success. After the turbulence of 2008-2009 within our organization, we focused on being great grocers, being more transparent with each other and creating a financially healthy business. I am proud to say that in 8 out of the past 10 years we have achieved a positive net income and this year, despite its major challenges, looks to be another year of positive net income for our store. Our commitment to our mission, Ends and the triple bottom line (people, planet, profit) has led our work and keeps me motivated to do better each day. Here is a list of some of the bigger store and personal milestones over the last decade:
2010: First positive net income for fiscal year 2010 I completed and received a certificate for a five-month long management program-Consumer Cooperative Management Intensive (CCMI). I was chosen as the Decorah Chamber of Commerce’s Business Professional of the Year.
2013: Installed a 20KWH solar array (85 panels) on our rooftop
2019: Completed a major renovation of our store. Funded the project 100% through member loans. Installed a new refrigerated rack system that reduced our electrical consumption by 25%.
2020: Progressive Grocer Magazine names us the Outstanding Independent Single Store
March 17, 2020: COVID-19 hits our community and we switch to an online/phone order format for two months
My spouse, Amalia, has been officially approved for ministry in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and will be finishing her studies in May 2021. In the coming months, we will be spending time researching congregations and deciding where Amalia’s first call as pastor will lead us. Both of us are open to new life adventures and excited about this transition. I am also looking forward to some much-needed weeks of rest after a very difficult year of managing a store in during a global pandemic. We are excited to take on the new challenges of this journey and to some degree are jumping into the unknown…but with smiles on our faces!
Just recently, the Board announced who will lead our Co-op into the next decade. It is someone whom many of you know and he knows our Co-op very well. Nate Furler will continue to increase our Co-op’s commitment to our local producers, organically produced products and especially our commitment to growing a healthy community. Nate and I have worked on many projects over the years and his twelve years of marketing knowledge balanced with a deep concern for community is going to be a good fit for our Co-op. We’re very lucky to have Nate on staff and he will be a leader that our members can trust and have an honest conversation about anything concerning the direction of the store.
When I had to make the difficult decision to close our doors on March 17 this spring and to prepare our store for online sales and phone orders, it was a scary time for our staff. The reason our store is still here today is because of our incredibly talented and resilient staff. And, our loyal membership has shown appreciation to them in so many ways. For example, in the early days of the pandemic, member Kristen Underwood asked me if there was a way that members could support our staff through the early days of the pandemic. I mentioned that it was difficult to find lunch options for staff with many restaurants and our own Deli closed for business. She organized a Co-op meal train where members brought us lunch every day for almost two months. It brought tears to many of our eyes every time a large casserole was delivered to the back door of the store. This gesture and dedication brought us much needed comfort during a very chaotic time.
As I write this last blog post of my GM career, I think about the words that I told our staff in closing during an emergency meeting on March 17 as we closed our doors and began to do business in a completely different way as a response to the pandemic: “We can’t hold or touch each other right now so give yourself a self-hug.” There is still a lot of work to do. Nate and I will be working together very closely as my final days in the store come to an end on January 31, 2021. Due to COVID and strict social distancing, I realize that I may not get to see some of your masked faces in the store any time soon, but you are all in my heart and I look forward to future days of conversation together. Self-hugs allowed.
In Cooperation,
David
