The board members primary responsibility is to the members that elected him. One would think that mandate would require serving the members interest of which is building and preserving a healthy vital business to serve their interests. A commited business to serve the needs of their member owners.
As a previous board member I can tell you that some board members and employees view the coop as their own little piggy bank where all decisions are based on what is best for them. Viewing members as chickens to be plucked. Instead of focusing on potential savings as a path toward prosperity, they look to increased margins extracted from members as the path to profitability.
The coops obligation is to be competitive and provide the best value for their owner members. We don't need to pay help hundreds of thousands to rape ourselves. Your responsibility is to earn your paycheck by seeking and finding opportunities both in purchases and sales that offer value to owner members. Can't do it, then you are the wrong people for the job.
Having a noncompetitive coop as your asset s like having a cresent wrench that is frozen in one position. It may be of some benefit if nothing else to use as a hammer, but it is a rusty tool with little benefit to you. That is why management must recognize the need to be more than that.
Loyalty is a two way street and those that demand loyalty are those that cannot manage competitively. In other words they rely on your loyalty for their success but are unable to earn that loyalty.
Thus the best option for me was not to run again for the position as my participation was a fruitless exercise. I still do 90% of our business with the firm.
