Co-op News
From "Maple Street Co-op News", August/September 2008

"Welcome Karen: our new GM!
By Co-op Director, Peter Pamment

The Board of Maple Street Co-op and the UpFront Club is pleased to introduce to members and customers our new general manager, Karen Syrmis. In recent times, Alan Harrington indicated he wished to step back from the GM role and work part-time. At first we were apprehensive, concerned that the role would be difficult to fill, but we were pleasantly surprised to receive a number of good quality applicants for the position. After an exhaustive selection process, Karen was chosen.

Karen is a Scorpio woman who has lived in Maleny with her husband John for over 27 years. Their four sons attended local schools and are now grown with children of their own.

Over the past 10 years, Karen has managed an apprenticeship company in Caboolture (the largest employer of apprentices in north Brisbane). She started the business working from the back of her car and in schools, and turned it into a successful corporate company employing hundreds of apprentices and trainees and exceeding set targets.

She told me that "while my work had been extremely rewarding - supporting youth to achieve their career goals in Caboolture - something has been missing. I have missed the Maleny community. Maleny and the surrounding area is full of beauty, and seems to have a soul that spreads throughout its people and land. I am looking forward to catching up with old friends and making new ones. Filling Alan's shoes will be a hard call. Under his leadership the two businesses have grown into strong, viable, successful businesses. Thankfully, it will be a long, slow, hand-over and l will certainly use him as a mentor in the future."

A strong community background
Those of us lucky to have been around here for a while will remember Karen as one of the key drivers of the Mountain Fare Women's Co-op, which assisted women to develop their own skills and businesses. It was the first women's co-operative in Queensland and besides supporting the Maleny women, also ran the inspiring 'Spring Workshops'. This was a weekend event where the whole community could share, workshop and mentor our skills with each other in a wonderful, fun learning environment. Some of us even attended just for the lunch and morning and afternoon teas!

Another community organisation Karen helped establish is the Neighbourhood Centre. She was an active member of the steering committee and helped us all benefit from one of our most important community organisations. Back in the early 1990s, Karen and River School Deputy Principal and co-founder, Prabha Demasson, ran an a-la-carte restaurant where Malcolm's is today, catering for functions and weddings with up to 150 guests. From 1995-98 Karen worked at the Food Gallery (now Flavours), opposite IGA. This was the first cosy coffee shop and deli in Maleny. Karen, along with Co-op staffer Sue Verstraten and former Co-op staffer Cheryl Reed, kept it running as 'the place' to be seen having lunch in town, just like the UpFront Club is today. She managed the cafe and the delicatessen, while also doing the day-to-day rosters.

Karen has marketing and networking skills, together with extensive hospitality experience, and strongly believes a business' best asset is its staff. This fits in with the co-operative principles that have guided the Maleny co-operatives over the last 30 years. Karen has said she's excited to be joining an organisation where both the Co-op and Up-Front Club have talented, committed ethical staff.

"Ethics, democracy and integrity are not widely utilised qualities in business today," said Karen. "I am proud to have been selected as manager of the Co-op and UpFront Club, whose ethos, culture and goals reflect these qualities."

The Board is very excited that we now have a general manager with such a depth of hospitality experience. Alan was an outstanding GM, but his hospitality experience was limited to receiving it via a good coffee or glass of red wine!

The Club has been very lucky to have Kelly Robson and her staff, who have done a great job over the past few years to stem the drain on the Co-op, and bring us to a break-even position, along with Alan's financial guidance.

However, to survive and be sustainable, we need to improve this position to allow for expansion and renewal. The Board feels that Karen can drive us along this next phase of our evolution, and we are impressed by the way she articulates this: "While undertaking a huge workload, I am very interested in members' and community feedback. My management style reflects the belief that management comes from the head, which is directing and controlling the activities of others to achieve common goals, and leadership comes from the heart - inspiring others to direct and control their own activities."

The Board looks forward to working with Karen and on behalf of all members, welcomes her as the new general manager of our co-operative.

[From "Maple Street Co-op News", August/September 2008; 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]