Boundary Co-op hosted its 2023 Annual General Meeting Thursday, May 30 at the Boissevain Administration Office. Twenty-two members were in attendance.

Board President, Matt Heide, called the meeting to order and read the land acknowledgement, then introduced the current Board of Directors. President Heide welcomed members to the meeting and appointed Debbie Graham as Secretary. A moment of silence followed for members that have passed this past year. He then gave some opening remarks, explained the rules of motions, and the approval of the agenda was passed.

Secretary Debbie Graham shared the minutes of the last Annual Meeting. No business arose from the minutes and there was no old business to report.

Matt Heide delivered the Board Report and a quick overview of this past year. There were ten regular board meetings in 2023 as well as two special meetings. He and Jackie Mitchell attended the District 5 Meeting in 2023. Directors also attended the November Leaders Conference in Saskatoon, enjoying a tour of the Co-op Refinery Complex and hearing from speakers on such topics as the Future of Canadian Agriculture. Matt thanked General Manager Ryan Polnik and all the Boundary Co-op team for their hard work in 2023.

Director Jackie Mitchell presented the Delegates Report. Directors attended FCL's February meetings, the District Caucus Meetings, as well as the 95th Annual AGM for FCL.

Office Manager Tyler Gauthier followed the Directors' reports by reviewing the Boundary Co-op Financial Report. A copy of the full financial report is linked below.

General Manager Ryan Polnik provided his Manager's Report. He touched on some highlights from 2023; Boundary Co-op saw strong sales last year and provided $93,642 in donations and support to local groups, organizations and projects such as the Deloraine Grow Project, Boissevain Pool, Killarney's Canada Day Celebration and Hartney Hopper Days. Boundary Co-op introduced a tree donation and planting program in 2023 which saw great success, 39 summer camp sponsorships were provided, and $9,000 in bursaries was awarded to local high school graduates. In October, Boundary Co-op will provide a General Cash Repayment to its members in the amount of $2,247,933. The retail saw some great improvements in 2023, including; installation of Electronic Shelf Labelling systems in Boissevain, Deloraine and Killarney Food Stores, a new Point-of-Sale system at Deloraine and Boissevain Home Centres, installation of new ovens in the Bakery Departments at Killarney and Deloraine, and the retail continues to develop plans for a new gas bar in Deloraine. Ryan presented the list of Service Award recipients and expressed his appreciation to all team members for their hard work this past year, and to the Board of Directors for their support and guidance.

A proposal to amend by-law 4.22 (Remuneration and Expenses) was brought forward to members and a motion was passed on the proposed change.

No election was held this year. As current President Matt Heide was elected District 5 Director with FCL, this would be his last meeting as Director for Boundary Co-op. The Board now sits at six members: Debbie Graham, Jackie Mitchell, Keith Cassan, Elmer McCallum, Kirbie Cooper, and Sheila Lockhart.

There was no new business brought forward by members. Questions submitted by members in attendance were addressed and answered by the Board President and General Manager.

The 2023 Annual General Meeting was adjourned.

Following adjournment, the current board held a brief reorganizational meeting, electing Elmer McCallum as Board President, Jackie Mitchell as Vice-President, and Debbie Graham as Secretary. The Board of Directors presented a gift and certificate to Matt Heide and thanked him for his 19 years of service with Co-op.