STOUGHTON - The Stoughton Co-op held its 83rd annual general meeting April 25 at the Stoughton Royal Canadian Legion.
The meeting began with a meal and then went right into the meeting, with vice-chair Elwyn Helmuth being the MC for the evening.
Ed Young, president of the board, was in attendance, along with Zandra Slater, the board secretary.
Last year saw many changes for the three stores. The grocery store has a new manager, Laurie Nelson.
Some upgrades were also made with a fresh produce counter. It has helped with an increase of produce selection and gives more room for other products.
For 2023, they introduced an in-store cooked barbecue chicken program. It was an item that members had asked for. Their deli and bakery department have also expanded.
According to general manager Deric Reaney the home and building centre suffered from the soaring prices of lumber, although those prices have dropped in 2023 with some being at the price before the pandemic.
An upgrade was added to the cardlock and bulk petroleum area with the purchase of a new fuel truck. The old truck had seen many kilometers and was beginning to show its age.
A major project was done at the co-op convenience store with a newer version of fuel pumps. Reaney said they have innovative technology which will allow them to go to 24 hours with a pay-at-the-pump feature in the future.
The year finished with a guest accidentally running into the south side of the store, so they expanded 14 feet to allow for extra space for products on the sales floor.
Three employees received awards for their loyalty to the company. Derek Frederiksen, manager of the convenience store, received his 20-year award. Alisa Mizell works at the grocery store and received her 15 years award, while Colleen Andris has 10 years with the company.
Since no one was nominated to take on the two positions for directors, Elwyn Helmuth and Darwin Fenn were acclimated into the positions for another term.
Throughout the meeting prizes were drawn for the crowd of around 40 people.
In closing, Reaney feels more people are shopping locally, and he hopes the trend continues as the community has a lot to offer.
