In February we reported that two board members had resigned, creating two vacancies for the board to fill. In March, the board moved to fill both of these vacancies by appointment until the terms expire in 2019.
Darin Short will be filling one of the two vacancies. Darin is a Goshen based business consultant and founder of In[ter]Sights, an intercultural consulting, training, and dialogue facilitation practice. He has served for over ten years on the supervisory committee of Interra Credit Union (credit unions being one of the oldest and most successful examples of co-operative business). Darin also ran for election to the MCM Board in 2017, when he stated, “I see MCM’s role in the community as being the leader of all things local and, in the realm of business, valuing community as much as profit. As the cooperative movement continues to grow, I hope this ultimately leads to more affordable pricing so that a broader cross-section of our community can participate in the cooperative movement. Additionally, with the emphasis that people from many non-native cultures have on community and collectivism I think MCM is poised to be one of the greatest assets of our diverse community.”
Brian Wiebe, current board chair, will be filling the other vacancy. The appointment is not effective until July 1st when his current term expires. Over the past eight years that Brian has served on MCM’s board, he has been a strong proponent and skilled practitioner of Policy Governance and a key player in developing the board’s capacity. Brian is Executive Director with Horizon Education Alliance and past and founding Executive director of Goshen College Music Center. Brian’s continued participation on the board will help provide continuity and guidance to the board’s process.
Board Expanding to Eight Members: The board further resolved that, with three seats currently up for election, they will expand to an eight-member board starting in July. This is somewhat unorthodox, as typically boards will maintain an odd number of seats to allow for clear majority for purposes of voting and quorum. The board chose to expand to an eight-member board in 2018 as a transitional step to toward the goal of expanding to a nine-member board in 2019.