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Conference 2009 Friday, October 9 Workshops Keynote Event Demand Organic: A Solution to Global Warming Tim LaSalle, CEO Rodale Institute In the midst of our evaporating 401(k)s, vanishing banks and struggling automakers, it is easy to lose sight of an even larger looming challenge: our ability to feed ourselves will make the collapse of Wall Street look like a day in kindergarten. Yet the answer to the most pressing challenges of our time—worldwide hunger, climate change and human health—lies literally beneath our feet. By using organic agricultural methods and eliminating petroleum-based fertilizers and toxic chemical pest-and-weed control, we build - rather than destroy—the biology of our soil as just one example, while improving the health of the soil we also enhance its ability to diminish the effects of fl ooding. In some laboratory trials, organically farmed soils have provided 850 percent less runoff than conventional, chemically fertilized soils. This is real flood prevention, not sandbag bandages for life-threatening emergencies. Workshops: Session I • Facilitated by Don Nordness, Past Owner, Northwest Specialties Our little cottage industry of natural foods has grown into a multinational corporation industry. There's a time for competition and a time for cooperation. Provender offers that time for cooperation. Let's get together and discuss our successes, our methods and our challenges. We can talk about MCB vs Oi vs scandown, forward buying, value and variety of retail and distributor ads, broker motivation, and more. Maybe we can all learn something to further our umbrella goal of making the world a healthier place while also making a successful living for all of us. This session will be geared specifi cally to manufacturers. MANAGING MARGINS TO MAXIMIZE GROSS PROFIT • Mel Braverman, Consultant, CDS Consulting Learn what margin is, the difference between margin and gross profi t, margin formulas used in the industry, understanding what weighted margin is applied to a category when using variable margins, what impacts our achieved margin and margin minus labor. This session is primarily for retailers and those seeking to gain greater understanding of retail margin management. ADD SOCIAL MEDIA TO THE MARKETING MIX • Matthew Domingo, Outreach Assistant, Ashland Food Co-op Social media is creating a new kind of community based on the same core values our industry believes in: authenticity, sustainability, and concern for community. The key to success is to listen and inform, so that the conversations your community is having about you refl ect your brand personality. This workshop is for everybody who wants to discuss ways to use social media and get a few new tools to make site administration effi cient. ARE WE LOVING OUR HERBS TO DEATH: CONSERVING OUR WILD MEDICINAL PLANTS • Tim Blakley, Aromatherapist/Herbalist, Frontier Natural Products Co-op/Aura Cacia Over-harvesting of medicinal plants has been going on for thousands of years. Today we continue to harvest some wild plants to the point they become rare or even endangered. We'll cover all the key plants that are threatened and discuss ways that we can all insure they are not picked to death. In the US we have Ginseng, Goldenseal and Black Cohosh being over-harvested, but around the world other plants are being over-harvested including Sandalwood, Spikenard and others. YOU NAME IT: HOT TOPIC WORKSHOP • Lysbeth Borie, Group Facilitator, Alpha Institute Does your group ever get stuck in recurring problems? In this session, we will demonstrate Dynamic Facilitation (DF), a method designed for energetic and creative problem solving. DF, a cross between a conversation and a brainstorm, is a freewheeling, unstructured approach that allows groups to reach breakthroughs to “impossibleto- solve” problems, generating curiosity, energy and enthusiasm in the process. In this session, we will tackle a hot topic chosen by conference attendees during the conference! Vote for your favorite hot topic, join us for an exciting session, and help solve a nagging problem in the natural foods and products industry! • Tim LaSalle, CEO, Rodale Institute Join Tim LaSalle as he facilitates a discussion based on his keynote. This will be a roundtable brainstorm conversation where insightful people of the natural products industry share ideas and join minds. Together we can and will affect the future, but we'll have to be sharp to keep on the cutting edge. Workshops: Session II BUILDING A SERVICE CULTURE FROM THE GROUND UP • Colleen Haskell, Vice President, Pacific Natural Sales To survive in today’s business climate we must provide superior service to compete. In this session three service experts will share with you how they have built service cultures at their companies. They will share how they have inspired everyone in their business to embrace the service mindset. The session will be a panel format with 3 presentations and plenty of time for discussion. • Mel Braverman, Consultant, CDS Consulting This workshop will focus on the components of labor, how we measure labor effi ciencies, what impacts labor effi ciencies, tools to assist you with managing your labor effectively and what others are doing to manage their labor. Geared to retailers who currently manage labor and all interested in tools for labor management. DOMESTIC FAIR TRADE ASSOCIATION • Sarah Belfort, Department Manager, Domestic Fair Trade, Equal Exchange Domestic Fair Trade marches on! We will update you on the pilot projects occurring throughout North America with the Agricultural Justice Project folks, Equal Exchange, NCGA/Coops and others. We will review the principles, the application to join the Domestic Fair Trade Association and the progress on certifi cation. Become a part of the next great movement within the organic/natural food business. GLOBAL ORGANICS: INTERNATIONAL COMPLIANCE AND THE ORGANIC LABEL • Brenda Book, Organic Certification Coordinator, Washington State Department of Agriculture Organics is going mainstream. Growing market demands coupled with efforts to remain cost competitive have prompted some companies to source organic ingredients and fi nished products from a global food supply chain. Highly publicized incidents of contamination and fraud has raised doubts about the legitimacy of the organic label coming from foreign producers and manufacturers. What mechanisms are in place to ensure the organic certifi cation process is applied with the same rigor and control to both foreign and domestic suppliers? This session’s panelists will discuss the importance of maintaining organic integrity within a global food system. IN SEARCH OF THE PERFECT GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE • Carolee Colter, Consultant, CDS Consulting, Principal, Community Consulting Group CDS Consulting Co-op created a task force consisting of a board president, a general manager, two HR managers and two nonmanagement employees to develop a model grievance procedure for use by co-ops. Join us to discuss our proposed solutions. They won’t be perfect but you may get good ideas for your own organization. This session is for anyone from a co-op or other organization that grapples with issues of internal fairness • Tim Blakley, Aromatherapist/Herbalist, Frontier Natural Products Co-op/Aura Cacia Spices are well known for their food properties, which we'll also discuss, but they are also excellent therapeutic agents. Recent research has verifi ed the strong antioxidant properties of spices and we'll discuss which are the best and easiest to use for this purpose. Conference main page
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