Governance
The Co-op Difference
Cooperative governance is democracy in action. Elected democratically from the ownership, the Board of Directors guides the vision of the co-op, enabling all owners to have a say in how the co-op is run. The Grain Train's Board consists of five to nine directors who each serve three-year terms. The Board is responsible for protecting owners' assets by ensuring that the co-op is fiscally sound and viable. They establish and monitor the co-op’s governance policies, and hire, monitor, and evaluate the General Manager. Interested in serving on the Board in the future? Please read the Prospective Directors' Handbook for more information about eligibility, the application process, and what it means to serve on the Grain Train's Board.
Next Meeting Date: Tuesday, November 19, 2024
To contact the Board of Directors outside of a Board Meeting, please email board@graintrain.coop
Policy Governance
- Ends (the intended results for the customers): Ends policies all deal with ends, while all other categories of board policies deal with means.
- Executive Limitations (the limitations put on the General Manager): Executive limitations policies all deal with means, but they are written in the negative, telling what means the General Manager shall not use, instead of what means the General Manager shall use to accomplish the organizational goals (this avoids the two extremes of “micro-managing” and “rubber-stamping”).
- Board-Staff Relationships (how the board will interact with the General Manager): Board-Staff relationship policies all deal with means that the Board will use to interact with the Staff through the General Manager.
- Governance Process (how the board will govern itself): Governance Process policies all deal with means that the Board will use to govern and monitor itself throughout the year.
You can find the full Policy Register adopted by the Grain Train's Board here.
Bylaws
Board Meeting Minutes