maple street co-op

Co-op News
From "Maple Street Co-op News", Aug/Sep 2005

Successes, Actions and Contributions
by Alan Harrington, Co-op Manager

On matters monetary, the financial year has finished with your Co-op turning over in excess of $1 million for the very first time – a record and a 15% increase over last year. Our balance sheet has also improved substantially, with a significant increase in assets and an excellent profit result. The Co-op is in a very sound financial position (we are completely debt free) and this will stand us in good stead for the future, particularly in terms of investment, development and expansion of our activities. Precise financial details will be published in the next newsletter when our fully audited accounts will be available.

Directors, staff and a number of helpful volunteers undertook the compulsory 30 June stocktake. Under the firm control of secretary Mary Meadows and the watchful eye of auditor David Bromet, this exercise went smoothly and was completed in a remarkably short time. My thanks to all those involved.

Overall, the year has seen the Co-op expand its membership base (we now have over 650 active members) as well as business generally with the introduction of a variety of new product lines. Other highlights of the year include taking an active role in the community's opposition to the establishment of a Woolworths on the most inappropriate parcel of land in Maleny, a submission on the Draft SEQ Regional Plan, and our directors' continuing development of a corporate governance policy that will be beneficial to the long-term interests of Maple Street Co-op.

We continue to receive very positive feedback from our newsletter and are now pleased to report that our website (www.maplestreetco-op.com.au) is up and running and being added to on an ongoing basis. Our thanks to Ruth Parnell for her substantial efforts in these areas, as well as to our website designer/producer Jonathan Adkins.

My thanks to staff and directors for their invaluable contributions that make the Co-op the success it is. More particularly, I want to thank the "retired" Pamela Harrison for her contributions over the years, Lori Sturtz for her in-depth newsletter articles on Woolworths-related issues, and Sue Verstraten for her absolutely brilliant shopfront window displays.

I look forward to the 2005–06 year with the challenges it is sure to bring.

[From "Maple Street Co-op News", August/September 2005; published by The Maple Street Co-operative Society Ltd, 37 Maple Street, Maleny, Qld 4552, Australia, tel (07) 5494 2088, email maplest.coop@serv.net.au,
website http://www.maplestreetco-op.com.au]