Interested in Joining the Board? DOWNLOAD –> > 2009 Chatham Market Place Board Election Pack
All meetings of the Board of Directors are open to the public. They are usually held on the second Tuesday of each month from 4 to 7 pm in Pittsboro. Please email Board President, Kathleen Conroy, for more information.
The Chatham Marketplace Board of Directors uses a framework called Policy Governance to define the role and function of the Board and the General Manager. Policy Governance allows the Board to maintain complete accountability for the Co-op, but, insures that management decisions are left in the hands of the General Manager.
The principles at the core of the Policy Governance system are:
- Governance is a function of ownership, not management;
- Boards are the highest authority under owners;
- Boards operate by consensus and speak with one voice;
- Boards are accountable to owners for everything within the organization;
- Boards need to empower those to whom they delegate authority while remaining fully accountable for the use of that authority.
Under the Policy Governance framework, the Board has defined Ends Statements, policies outlining our Governance Process, policies outlining the General Manager’s role, and policies defining the relationship between the Board and the General Manager. All owners are encouraged to read and understand our Ends and Policies.
John Bonitz brings to his service on the Chatham Marketplace Board skills in policy development, marketing, and organization, as well as unique food-producer perspectives from his familyís farmstead goat cheese business. His career in various environmental professions began at his alma mater (UNC Greensboro) where he built an award winning campus recycling program. After establishing those systems, he spent a year with the NC Department of Environment and Natural Resources, followed by graduate studies in environmental policy at the University of Maryland School of Public Affairs. He has helped to oversee effective government expenditures at the US General Accounting Office, and worked to promote cost-effective energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. His experience in the private sector includes work as an environmental consultant, most recently in green building design and green project development in China. John currently manages a bed & breakfast inn on his familyís goat dairy farm. His parents are 15 year veterans in the rapidly growing field of sustainable agriculture and agri-tourism.
Kathleen Conroy is the president of the board of Chatham Marketplace. She grew up in Tarboro, North Carolina, graduated from Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York, and has a professional background in marketing and sales. Kathleen lives with her husband, Nathan and their two sons south of Siler City, where Kathleen and Nathan settled 10 years ago. There they maintain a productive four-season garden, assorted animals, and their patience and senses of humor. Kathleen also volunteers her time as a La Leche League Leader.
Mary DeMare is Chatham Marketplace’s General Manager and serves on the Board of Directors. Originally from Elba, a small town in Western NY State, Mary is the youngest of 7 siblings. Graduating at the top of her class of 32 people, she went on to receive a BA in Sociology from the College of St. Rose in Albany, NY. After trying out many jobs and many places to live, she found Newark Natural Foods. This thriving, 30 year old cooperative grocery store in Newark, Delaware was where Mary fell in love with the Cooperative business structure and the 7 Cooperative principles. Starting as a cashier, she quickly found her niche and became the Marketing Director/Membership Coordinator, a position she held for over two years. While in that position, Newark Natural Foods was voted “Best Health Food Store†in Delaware by Delaware Today magazine. Also during her tenure at Delaware, Mary was involved with the design and orchestration of a complete reset of the retail and warehouse space. Once the store reset was complete, linear shelf space was increased by 35 percent, a Customer Service Desk was added and store flow was greatly improved. In the fall of 2004 Mary took over as Interim General Manager, and ran the store while the Board did a national search for a new manager.
After about 6 months of Interim General Managing, Mary saw the help wanted ad Tami Schwerin and Melissa Frey had written for an exciting new opportunity…starting a Co-op in Pittsboro, NC. Well, heck, she couldn’t pass up the opportunity to give it a try, and all the stars were aligned such that she was offered the job! Mary started with Chatham Marketplace on June 1, 2005, and has been enjoying the store, the community and the biofueled-ride ever since.
Corinne Dunn was raised in Raleigh and has worked in Pittsboro since 1989. She has two children both of whom are grown now and give her the time to do some volunteering. Corinne volunteers with the SPCA of Wake County and loves being on the board of Chatham Marketplace. She believes in shopping locally and supporting small businesses. She has worked with Chatham Marketplace the last 3 years and look forward to the next 3!
David Misenheimer grew up in Raleigh and graduated from NC State with a degree in Chemical Engineering. He has lived west of Pittsboro for 24 years with his wife, Jan where they raised 3 sons, now attending college. David works as an environmental engineer with the U.S. EPA in RTP. In his spare time, he enjoys running, hiking, mtn biking, and gardening.
Kathy Mohr became a member of the board in 2008. She moved to NC in 1967 from western Pennsylvania and acquired land in Chatham County. She is an avid organic gardener and has enjoyed traveling to China and observing intensive gardening and agriculture in that country. Kathy works at UNC-CH and is a Technical Director of a national repository. She grew up on a farm and has an appreciation for supporting local agriculture and the availability of locally produced food. She is excited to be a part of the growing Chatham Marketplace.
Tom Morris is Vice President of the Chatham Marketplace Board of Directors and serves on the Finance Committee. He is a graduate of UNC Chapel Hill, and also has an MPA from NC State. Tom works as an IT Manager at UNC. He’s lived in the Triangle area since 1978, moving to Pittsboro in 2002 with his wife and their pets. What excites Tom about Chatham Marketplace is how our co-op strengthens the local economy and serves as a community gathering place.
Brian Peat moved from his home state of Connecticut to North Carolina in 2005 and has found a comfortable community and home here in Pittsboro. With a split background in food service and industrial distribution, Brian started at Chatham Marketplace lending his skills to the kitchen and now has found a nice little niche on the Board of Directors to put his business skills into play. After managing a small cutting tool distributor for ten years and spending the next two opening and growing a new branch in Raleigh, Brian has developed a unique perspective in many aspects of small business and plans to draw on all of his mental resources in his service to the the board, the store and our community.
Beth Turner has been the board of the Chatham Marketplace since 2008 and is the chair of the Ownership Committee. She has a B.A. from UNC-Chapel Hill in French, has lived in Pittsboro for 12 years and is a native North Carolinian. Beth is also the Interim Executive Director of Girls Rock NC, a non-profit she co-founded, that provides programming to empower young women through rock music. She is a musician and plays in local bands. Beth also volunteers time to local organizations, ChathamArts and the Abundance Foundation.