CO-OP NEWS
From "Maple Street Co-op News", Aug/Sep 2007

Quick Bytes And New Bits At The Co-Op And Club
By Alan Harrington, Co-Op General Manager

The end of the financial year is a time of reckoning, when we of the managerial persuasion have to sit down and tell everybody how well the Co-op and the Club traded (or didn't), as the case may be!

I can report that despite increasing costs, the Co-op made a healthy profit. Turnover was up 16 per cent, and we are well placed for future expansion, particularly when the imminent re-development takes place.
Plenty of new lines have been introduced during the year, so our members now have a much wider range of products to choose from. Remember that if we haven't got it, we will try and get it in for you.

At present, the Co-op is upgrading all of the shelving so that we can increase our product range and better present the stock to customers.
After investing heavily in The Upfront Club's upgrade, members are now starting to reap the benefits. Turnover was up a very healthy 52 per cent and this indicates that more people are using the Club and that overall, they are liking what they are getting.

The Club's renovations have been in place for 12 months now, and after taking a while to iron out the initial hiccups, I can confidently say that operations are, in the main, running pretty smoothly.

The new winter menu has now been introduced, and soon the Club will provide a comprehensive range of cocktails complemented by a tapas bar.

Council funding for Maleny Unwired.net
Following representations from Co-op member Darryl Ebenezer to Councillor Dick Newman, Council has kindly provided some financial support to the Maleny Unwired.net project. This is the facility that enables members and patrons of The UpFront Club to connect to the Internet for free. This funding will cover the technical support costs and allow computer users to plug into the mains power supply.

Many thanks to Darryl and Councillor Newman for their much appreciated support. It is understood that Council is looking at ways of extending this service to other facilities used by the Council.

I would like to thank all staff (past and present) for contributing towards the financial well being of the Co-op and the Club in the last financial year. In addition, I would like to thank the Directors for their support, as well as newsletter editors past and present, Ruth Parnell and Leigh Robshaw, Board Secretary Mary Meadows, entertainment manager Danny Rose, and all the others that have put in an effort towards the livelihood of the two Co-ops.
Detailed and precise accounting information will be available as soon as our audit has been completed and will provided in the next newsletter.

New addition to the Co-op team
The Co-op's newest staff member is Kim Michelle, a Maleny resident bringing up three young boys. Kim has plenty of retail experience, as well as a keen interest in the health industry.

Kim's interests include holistic therapies, gardening, photography, yoga, dancing and art. She likes to bring creative and spiritual elements into her personal and professional life, so she's already fitting in very well at the Co-op.
Kim has qualifications in beauty therapy, dance (including classical and modern ballet), and kinesiology, and integrates these modalities with facial rejuvenation and sacred stone massage. She has also combined her love for dance with teaching Wu Tao, a dance-based therapy that balances Qi (life-force energy).

Kim loves to work as part of a team, focusing on human potential in order to help others grow and develop. On behalf of the staff and Directors, I would like to welcome Kim to the Co-op.

[From "Maple Street Co-op News", August/September 2007; published by The Maple Street Co-operative Society Ltd, 37 Maple Street, Maleny, Qld 4552, Australia, tel (07) 5494 2088, email maplest.co-op@serv.net.au, website http://www.maplestreetco-op.com.au]