Greetings from Your New GM

Hello to all!

I am the new face at your favorite place. I am taking over for Todd Wood, your General Manager of over forty years. Yes, I hail from Back East! The accent you’ll hear around the store comes from growing up south of Boston on Cape Cod. My wife, Joan, and I relocated here from Portland, Oregon, where we had been residing in our floating home on the Columbia River for the last four years. It was a magical place to live, and we knew it would take something special to get us to move. The chance to work at Skagit was just that opportunity.

The welcome to the area by so many has felt wonderful. We especially enjoy the enthusiastic responses that come after telling them what my new job is. The love for Skagit Valley Food Co-op from the communities in the area is very evident. We have bought a home in Anacortes, and we are super excited to have landed in such a beautiful place. Our family consists of four grown children and seven grandkids. All, except for one son in Colorado, live in New England. We are looking forward to having them come visit us.

While living in Portland, I worked for National Co+op Grocers (a member owned co-op that Skagit is an owner of) as an advisor for co-ops across the West Coast. I assisted general managers and store staff develop plans to improve the operational performance of their co-op. It was great to have had the opportunity to work with some many amazing member owned co-ops in the West. However, during those four years, I realized how much I missed being involved with the daily routine of running a co-op. Running a co-op involves daily challenges, but there are also constant interactions with staff and members, two things I enjoy very much. I bring with me 22 years of co-op experience, most of those as the Operations Director of Hanover Co-op in the Upper Valley region of Vermont and New Hampshire. While at Hanover, I managed four stores, a commissary kitchen, and a gas station. In my time there, I also earned a Master’s Degree in Co-operative Management from Saint Mary’s University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. I truly believe that the world would be a better place with more co-ops!

I am so happy to bring my experience and co-op passion to Skagit. I feel privileged to be the new GM of Skagit Valley Food Co-op. We have a great place that is healthy and vibrant, and I intend to keep it that way. The staff is amazing and thrives on doing great work and serving our member/owners. As wonderful as our Co-op is, we still have room to improve the experience for both our members and staff. I plan to work with both stakeholder groups on doing just that. Over the next few months, I will be collaborating with staff, members, shoppers, and the Board to address issues and seek new opportunities in our store as well as C-SQUARE & Third Street Cafe. My overall plan is to make your Co-op even better than it already is! This will take hard work, as well as time. Before I take on too many new things, I still have a lot to learn about how things currently work here. I look forward to learning much through my future interactions with you all.

So, when you see a new face or here that Back East accent, please say hi! I look forward to meeting you all.

Tony White