Cherries

Co-op Governance

Cooperatives are member-owned and member-governed. You elect our Board of Directors and they manage the business affairs of our cooperative.

Board Elections

Every spring, you can vote in our Board of Directors election… or even run in it! Check out these frequently asked questions about our elections.

The voting period for the board election begins May 1 and runs through our Annual Meeting in June. During the Annual Meeting, the Election and Credentials Committee performs the final vote tally and the winners are announced.

You can vote in one of three ways: online, by mail, or in-person. In-person voting occurs only at the co-op’s Annual Meeting. Voting instructions are sent to members in May.

The nominating period is the first day of March through 4pm on the last business day of March. All nominees must meet the director qualifications set forth by the Cherryland bylaws. Cherryland’s membership elects directors to serve three-year terms. Review our Board Candidate Information Packet for more information. If you’re interested in becoming a board candidate, complete our Board Candidate Interest Form.

The results of the last board election can be found here.

Yes, however, there are rules they must follow if they want to send you campaign information:

  1. Candidates can send campaign mailers and/or one (1) email to the membership (or a subsection of the membership).
  2. Candidates, under no circumstances, are allowed to have access to our membership list.
  3. Candidates must use a co-op-designated third-party to administer and send their communications. This third party must agree to our strict privacy data rules. Once a candidate communication is sent, the co-op-designated third party must destroy our membership list.
  4. Candidates, obviously, have to pay for their own campaign communications.
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View Annual Report

Check Out Our Annual Report

View the board president's annual message, co-op financial report, director information and compensation, candidate profiles, and more.
View Annual Report

Director Duties & Responsibilities

The board of directors is the governing body of the co-op and is responsible for establishing policies, providing strategic direction, hiring and evaluating the general manager, providing for a plan of succession, and overseeing all major corporate decisions. It has a fiduciary responsibility to represent the members of the co-op as provided for in state law and our bylaws. To accomplish this, the board must structure itself so that it has the knowledge and skills to carry out its duties in a manner that is efficient and cost-effective.

Meet Your Board of Directors

David Schweitzer

Director at Large
President
(231) 883-5860
[email protected]

View Bio >

Gabe Schneider

Grand Traverse/Kalkaska
Senior Vice President
(517) 449-6453
[email protected]

View Bio >

Valarie Handy

Benzie/Manistee/Wexford
Secretary
(231)492-4705
[email protected]

View Bio >

Tom Van Pelt

Melinda Lautner

Terry Lautner

Dean Adams

Emerging Leaders Program

Co-ops belong to the communities they serve. That’s why we wanted to engage our community’s up-and-comers and help them become co-op advocates.

Cherryland’s Emerging Leaders program gives budding community leaders a baseline understanding of the cooperative and the role of the board of directors. Over the course of several sessions, participants learn about…

  • Co-op basics
  • Distribution system operations
  • Co-op financials
  • Industry challenges and opportunities

If you’re interested in learning more or getting more engaged in your co-op, contact Rachel Johnson at [email protected].

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