Activities for All Ages and Interests Highlighted our
10th Year Celebration!
September 16 – 21, 2024 was the busiest week of the year at our Monashee Community Co-op, as volunteers and board members hosted a number of activities to celebrate 10 years of operation in the community.
Special Anniversary Events
Events included in-store samples and birthday cake donated by Nicole Winland, daily customer discounts, volunteer appreciation party and recognition events, workshops, Geoff Hannah’s delightful Bubble Wonders show and the Okanagan Regional Library Lumby Branch story walk.
Official 10th Anniversary Ceremony
On Saturday at the public market in an official ceremony, the Co-op gratefully acknowledged a $70,000 Community Works grant received via the Regional District of the North Okanagan from Rick Fairbairn, Area D representative and welcomed congratulatory comments from (then candidates) MLA Harwinder Sandhu MLA and Lumby Mayor Kevin Acton. The funding is earmarked for renovations in current location and vacated by Westland Insurance, and for exciting future expansion plans.
Honouring a Special Volunteer
Also, on Saturday, we had a very touching and special ceremony to honour Charlie Ashmore
who was a dedicated volunteer at the Co-op until his passing in 2023. In his honour, the Co-op along with Charlie’s daughters, commissioned the CBSS forestry class under the leadership of Nathan Bartel to construct a bench made of local cedar which will be placed in front of the store. Charlie’s daughters came from Halifax and Vancouver for the event.
Thanking our Volunteers & Members
The Co-op thanks all the volunteers who put on special 10th Anniversary activities including Director Brandi Smith of Bessette Creek Farms for pizza shells and butter tarts, and along with Director Khaylie Hazell for organizing the kids games; founding member Maureen Ziemer and Carolyn Sabell for staffing our booth at the market and Carolyn for her tarts, Co-op member Debra Holmes and Kathy Munz for hosting the Single Malt & Food Tasting event, Sonja Peters of Greenbush Greenhouse for the Winter Gardening Workshop, Lorelei & Randy Rauck for hosting the Volunteer Appreciation event and cooking pizza with all the toppings for dozens of our hard-working volunteers; and local vendors and members who donated door prizes for that evening including Jar Coffee, Eek Pottery, Bessette Creek Farm, Meadowlark Farm and Rauck Designs Jewelry.
Also thanks to Jeannette Wilding for coordinating our workshops; all our vendors and suppliers and volunteers who jumped in whenever needed. Finally, we thank Board President Chris Bauman and volunteer Lorelei Fiset for planning the week’s activities.
Thank you to everyone who shops and supports the Monashee Community Co-op. We are proud of
what we have done together over this past decade and look forward to continuing to serve our mandate by providing local, healthy, environmentally and ethically-responsible food and products.
