Board Corner: January 2026

By Tom Pandaleon, Board President

 

Annual Meeting

EEFC welcomed a larger-than-normal turnout of about 85 members at our 45th Annual Meeting on November 6, 2025. The meeting was held again this year at the East End Cooperative Ministries building in East Liberty.

Copies of EEFC’s 2025 annual report were circulated to members, who then heard from board president Tom Pandaleon, general manager Tyler Kulp, and finance manager Shawn McCullough on the year’s activities and financial performance. Members heard from the board election candidates, and got a chance to follow-up with them in a lively Q&A afterwards.

One of the main draws for the meeting this year was the submission to the board of a member petition seeking a boycott of “Israeli-sourced” products. The board acknowledged receipt of the petition and briefly addressed the commencement of the petition process under EEFC bylaw 3.2. While there was no formal time planned on the agenda for discussion of the petition, during the Q&A periods the subject was touched on in a number of questions to the board and the board candidates. As of this writing, the board is in deliberation on the process to be brought to consideration of the matters covered in petition. Update 1/12/2025: Special Meeting Notice Issued

Members enjoyed food that was provided for the second year in a row by Mana Meals Catering, whose proprietor Chetia Hurtt is a longtime EEFC member.

Members are reminded that copies of the annual report are available in the store and online. We urge you to take a look. An informed member makes for a stronger community institution.

 

Board Election

EEFC held its annual election between 10/19/25 and 11/30/25. Four seats were in contention, with five candidates. 238 members cast ballots, with the result that the board will be welcoming Tziporah Feldman and Jeremy Kahn as its newest members, Tziporah winning a three-year term, and Jeremy a one-year term. Frank Noll and Tom Pandaleon will be returning to the board, having garnered three-year terms. In addition, as a result of the resignation of Nico Demkin, the board will be appointing candidate Michael Vogel to serve out the final year of Nico’s term.

With gratitude for their dedication and their contributions to the hard work, the board thanks departing members Mike Murphy, Tyleda Worou, Nico Demkin and Dominika Blach for their service.

 

STRATEGIC PLAN    

After undertaking the task of drafting a new EEFC strategic plan during the year that has just closed, the board and management will begin the implementation phase of year one in January. Planning and dreaming and theorizing are one thing, implementation another. The coming year promises to be a challenging one, as EEFC transitions towards “building” the structures and programs envisioned in our plan.