FMC Board Member Nomination Period is Open

      Posted On: January 28, 2013

FMC is currently soliciting recommendations from its members for nominations for three Board of Director positions during the annual election this winter. This is an excellent

opportunity for leadership in a growing nonprofit organization dedicated to strengthening farmers markets.

Members of the Board of Directors are FMC member volunteers with demonstrated leadership experience in the field of farmers markets and local food, who support the FMC mission of strengthening farmers markets for the benefit of farmers, consumers, and communities. This year in particular, the board is seeking candidates with demonstrated experience and interest in fund raising.

Members of the Board of Directors must hold a committee chair or executive committee position, and must volunteer at least 50 hours per year. The Board generally meets via conference call eight-ten times per year, with at least one face-to-face meeting (Spring 2013, date tbd). Board members develop FMC’s policies, provide oversight, approve FMC’s budget, raise funds, safely invest funds, and are actively involved in strategic planning.

Board members commit themselves to furthering the goals of the Farmers Market Coalition, which are as follows:

• To serve as an information center for resources that communicate the importance and benefits of farmers markets;
• To foster strong state and regional farmers market associations that develop and provide educational programming and networking opportunities for farmers market managers and producers;
• To conduct educational programming that encourages best practices among farmers market managers, farmers, and farmers market organizations;
• To bring private and public support to the table to sustain farmers markets in the long term, for the benefit of farmers, consumers, and communities.

This year, the Board will be supported by a new FMC Advisory committee. The committee of roughly 12 members will be appointed by the President to better inform the efforts of the Board. The Advisory Committee will consist of a broad range of market managers, farmers and producers, food system practitioners, and other individuals invested in the growth and enhancement of farmers markets and related programs. Information about current board members is also available here.

The Recommendation and Nomination Procedure

We invite both self-nominations and nominations of other individuals you feel would be an excellent leader on the FMC Board of Directors. To nominate yourself, please download and complete nominee questionnaire.

If you are nominating someone else for consideration by the Nominations Committee, please at least include the name, phone number, e-mail, and affiliation information of that individual. If they meet the basic criteria of the Nominations Committee, they will be contacted and asked to further complete the questionnaire, pending their interest.

Board Members must be current members of the Farmers Market Coalition. The recommendation period will close on Friday January 31, 2013, at which point the Nominations Committee will review a list of recommended individuals and compose a slate of candidates based on the organization’s needs and interest in promoting geographic and representational diversity. A final slate of nominees will then be presented back to the membership in advance of the online annual membership meeting to be held in February. Stay tuned for more meeting information.

We urge you to devote some time in the next few days to thinking about this exciting volunteer leadership opportunity to make a difference to farmers markets nationwide. Please send your completed questionnaires/recommendations to

leadership@farmersmarketcoalition.org

.

Thank you!

Sincerely,

Bernadine Prince, President

Farmers Market Coalition