Meet the Managers

Tuesday, 03 July 2012 14:35

Anngel Delaney, Grocery Manager

How long have you been in this position?

Two and a half months.

What does your job entail?

Wrangling all of the refrigerated, frozen, and dry grocery products in the store.

What did you do prior to your present job?

I was a manager at the 
(in)famous Park Slope Food Co-op in Brooklyn.

What attracted you to this particular job?

My partner and I wanted to move out of the city to more verdant surroundings and GreenStar is a great co-op with a long history of providing good food to Ithacans.

What do you like most about your job?

Working with the customers, members, member-workers, and staff here.

What are you most excited or passionate about in your job?

I love working with food and people and it makes me really happy when we can supply good, local food that enriches everyone in the community: the farmers, the customers, and the markets.

What are the goals you most want to accomplish in your work?

To help GreenStar grow not only in sales but in its impact on our community of shoppers and our local food system.

What do you find most challenging about your job?

Finding room for more products that people want to see at GreenStar.

What do you wish other people knew about GreenStar or your department?

That we really care about what we do and that sourcing groceries can be complicated in terms of what is good for health, the environment, and people's budgets.

GreenStar seems to be doing better than ever — why do you think that is?

We have great leadership. I also think there's a trend toward people thinking about where their food comes from and GreenStar is a place people trust to source their food.

How do you see GreenStar making an impact on the community?

By offering good food to shoppers, we impact people's health and well-being; by offering local food we do that plus make an impact on our local economies; and by growing and managing our resources we can support programs like our FLOWER program.

What's next for your department? What are you looking forward to?

Seeing us grow, and being able to reach more people in Ithaca and surrounding communities.

What do you love to do when you're not at work?

Cook, run, bike, frolic outdoors.

Bruce White, Oasis Assistant Manager

How long have you been in this position?

Three months.

What does your job entail?

I directly oversee the store and its staff during the afternoon hours. I'm also accountable for the salad bar, and take part in ordering supplies. My position allows me to float between every department in Oasis and make sure it's doing its best.

What did you do prior to your present job?

I was the Customer Accounts Manager and Assistant Store Manager for Aaron's Sales and Lease Co. There I directly oversaw all staff, sales, inventory and 900 customer accounts. Before that I was a General Manager for The Finish Line, served in the US Army, and I also held manager positions for eight years prior to this job.

What attracted you to this particular job?

Location was the first thing. I used to commute one hour to work every day. Also, I like to stay ahead of the curve and GreenStar Co-op is ahead of the curve when it comes to many factors of quality of life.

What do you like most about your job?

Every day it's a new experience. Even though I do the same jobs every day, it's always completely different.

What are you most excited or passionate about in your job?

Growing! I am very passionate about looking for areas of opportunity and making the best of them. A dollar lost today is $365 lost in a year, that's the motto I go by.

What are the goals you most want to accomplish in your work?

To continue to set records here at Oasis so if the opportunity arises I am able to be a Store Manager or, even better, General Manager of GreenStar!

What do you find most challenging about your job?

At this point I am very comfortable with my position and all that it asks of me. Sometimes sharing people between GreenStar locations creates challenges because some things are done differently at each store.

What do you wish other people knew about GreenStar or your department?

The FLOWER program! I feel that there is a huge percentage of Ithaca that just isn't aware of the program, therefore they don't shop here.

GreenStar seems to be doing better than ever — why do you think that is?

GreenStar is ahead of the curve when it come to quality of life and providing good sustainable whole foods. The public is becoming more aware of what actually is in a lot of the foods they're buying; we offer foods that are in line with others' eating choices or sensitivities. On top of that, the ambience of both locations makes people want to be here!

How do you see GreenStar making an impact on the community?

The Co-op in my eyes is the embodiment of Ithaca. When you think of GreenStar you think of Ithaca and vice versa. We give back and participate in basically every event Ithaca has, to the point where the community is family to the Co-op.

What's next for your department? What are you looking forward to?

Maybe a gelato stand for the summer months? I know this is an out-of-the-box idea but if we could offer something that the West-End store doesn't, we can have a main attraction. I am looking forward to the new A/C and continuing to reach plateaus that weren't thought of being achievable before.

What do you love to do when you're not at work?

I love to go hiking and spend time with my family, especially my son!

Joe Marraffino, Finance Manager

How long have you been in this position?

Three months.

What does your job entail?

I manage the Cooperative's financial operations: tracking sales, labor, expenses and the bottom line, and maintaining systems to keep the Cooperative efficient and financially healthy. Most of the work is the day-to-day coordination of money as it comes in from members and heads out to farmers and vendors, and to workers, but it also entails communicating the numbers meaningfully to managers and to Council so they can make informed decisions in pursuit of the Cooperative's mission and values. None of it would be possible without the terrific staff in the Finance Department.

What did you do prior to your present job?

I worked as a consultant helping cooperatives with business planning, 
organizational development and incorporation. Previous to that I organized worker-owned bakery cooperatives in the San Francisco Bay Area, and was both a bookkeeper and a baker as one of the member-owners.

What attracted you to this particular job?

I'm interested in seeing GreenStar and the cooperative movement thrive, and find the financial aspects of the business to be one of the most interesting places from which to work toward those ends. Bringing democracy, transparency, and ethical decision-making to commerce can mitigate and transcend a lot of the economic problems we face. The act of pooling commonly owned equity and using the market as an instrument for good is very powerful.

What do you like most about your job?

I am very impressed with the people at GreenStar — the members, the Council and the staff, who all have a diverse but overlapping dedication to improving the world around them. It's a very positive place to work in its balance of the utopian and the practical.

What are you most excited or passionate about in your job?

I get excited when I see sales growth. It means the Cooperative is increasingly meeting members' needs, and gives us the capacity to do more toward our shared goals.

What are the goals you most want to accomplish in your work?

I strive to protect the assets and financial health of the Cooperative, including the members' equity. I also want to give the staff, Council and members the information they need to make bold decisions in pursuit of building a more robust and sustainable local economy. My goal is to strengthen the financial foundation of the Cooperative so that we can take on carefully chosen risks.

What do you find most challenging about your job?

There's a lot to learn, but so far I feel in really good hands with the systems that have been created by the previous Finance Manager and the Finance staff.

What do you wish other people knew about GreenStar or your department?

I think one thing many people don't know is what a great return on your investment the average member is getting. Members currently contribute $9 in equity per year, and get more than ten times that back in the form of discounts annually. Try to find an investment that yields a better return! On the other hand, I think people may not realize what their equity investment really is all about, how it helps create physical infrastructure and also the capacity to leverage loans so that we can grow the store to meet members' needs.

GreenStar seems to be doing better than ever — why do you think that is?

I'm a fairly recent transplant to Ithaca, so I can't really speculate.

How do you see GreenStar making an impact on the community?

GreenStar has a history of strong relationships within Ithaca and Tompkins County, and I think we have a meaningful role to play in supporting the local economy. We need to continue to make our market accessible and welcoming to all, and also support other businesses and local infrastructure — the winter farmers' market, a loan fund for fledgling producers, local cultural centers. I think we can also have a role in helping other businesses to explore the democratic cooperative model. But in the end the most important impact we have is meeting members' needs through the sales of high-quality food — the everyday practice of the Cooperative has the greatest aggregate impact.

What's next for your department? What are you looking forward to?

We're gearing up for the possible expansion to a new satellite store. Going from two to three locations will require that our financial systems be especially clear and harmonious among the stores so that we can have efficiencies of scale. The department is also working with the Membership Manager to look at members' equity investments and how to use them over the long term to maximize the strength of the business.

What do you love to do when you're not at work?

I'm engaged in the cooperative movement, and travel to help young cooperative businesses get organized. I'm also enjoying all the great walks and swimming holes here in Ithaca; it's a great place to have moved to.

Sara Paulison, Operations Manager

How long have you been in this position?

I began in March of 2012.

What does your job entail?

I work closely with 
GreenStar's retail department managers to ensure smooth daily store operations and a well-maintained store appearance. I hope to provide leadership and vision to help achieve the Co-op's organizational goals.

What did you do prior to your present job?

I've been at GreenStar for close to 13 years. Most recently, I was the Grocery Department Manager. Before that I was the Deli Department Assistant Manager. During my years in the Deli I also worked as the Deli Counter Department Manager, baker, cheese cutter and chai maker.

What attracted you to this particular job?

I really felt that my experience at GreenStar has given me the skills to excel in this position. I love working at GreenStar and this position expands my role in our operations and our future.

What do you like most about your job?

I'm still finding out! I do know that I love working at GreenStar! I love my coworkers, our mission, our community, and Ithaca!

What are you most excited or passionate about in your job?

I'm really looking forward to working in more areas with more people at both of our stores.

What are the goals you most want to accomplish in your work?

I would love to see GreenStar continue to grow in our region. The cooperative economic model can bring so many benefits to a community; it really brings people together working for the common good. I hope to see GreenStar grow as a resource for meeting even more of our local needs.

What do you find most challenging about your job?

I think I'm still discovering all that my job entails. The Operations Manager position, while it's a newly created position, fits into our management structure where the Store Manager position had previously existed. So, while this position is not an entirely new concept for our store, there are some aspects of the job that are still evolving.

GreenStar seems to be doing better than ever — why do you think that is?

People care about what they eat, and what they spend their money on. As people become more aware of food justice issues and more concerned with where their food comes from, shopping at their local co-op and supporting their local economy becomes more important to them, too. GreenStar doesn't just sell food, it works to build local food systems and improve our community.

How do you see GreenStar making an impact on the community?

I think between our outreach efforts and the work of GreenStar Community Projects, we've begun to see some really tangible results in terms of the awareness in our community of our cooperative and the cooperative principles.

What's next for your department? What are you looking forward to?

Currently we're working on several air conditioning improvements in the stores. We hope this will help us survive the warmest months of the year with as few refrigeration issues as possible. Ideally, we will be an even more comfortable place to shop and work.

What do you love to do when you're not at work?

I love summer in Ithaca. I walk around with my dog, Curly. I love the gorges and the trails and the lake. Any sunny day between June and October I would love to go swimming. I enjoy cooking and eating with friends. I spend a lot of time reading while enjoying a nice glass of wine. And, most of all, hanging out with Curly! The best dog ever!