LEADERSHIP OF THE CO-OP
Officers of the Board of Directors (Current as of the Date of this Disclosure Statement)
Brandon Otway, Chair: Brandon is a Grand Rapids import, originally from Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada, and has lived here for the past four years. He is married with a young child and sees Free Range Food Co-op as another step to making Grand Rapids a place where families want to move to and raise their families. He is the early childhood coordinator for the Hill City and Remer school districts and in his spare time enjoys growing and raising his own food on a very small scale and spending time outdoors with his family.
He is passionate about having the choice to shop for local, healthy food and personal care product options and sees the food co-op as the means for this becoming a reality for the greater Grand Rapids area. He also sees the co-op as a way to add to the local economy through support of local growers and producers. Brandon looks forward to using his ownership in the Free Range Food Co-op to be a part of the conversation and decision-making that will bring many more owners together to get this movement across the finish line. He is passionate about having the choice to shop for local, healthy food and personal care product options and sees the food co-op as the means for this becoming a reality for the greater Grand Rapids area. He also sees the co-op as a way to add to the local economy through support of local growers and producers. Brandon looks forward to using his ownership in the Free Range Food Co-op to be a part of the conversation and decision-making that will bring many more owners together to get this movement across the finish line.
Annaliesa McCartney, Vice Chair: Annaliesa is married to Nick and she lives in Blackberry. She has three children and one grandchild. She works for the Fairview Range Medical Center, Hibbing as a Registered Nurse on the Women's Health & Birth Center, Grand Itasca Clinic and Hospital as a Registered Nurse and Childbirth Educator for the Women's Health & Birth Center. She also works for the Hibbing Community College as an Adjunct Faculty member for the Nursing Program. Annaliesa attended Itasca Community College and Hibbing Community College to attain her Associates Degree in Nursing, Bemidji State University to attain her Bachelor's of Science in Nursing and she is attending the University of Minnesota, Moorhead for her Master's in Nursing Education.
Annaliesa has volunteered with FRFC for three years to increase access to local foods and goods for the community we live in. Sense of community is important to Annaliesa and she believes that cooperatives provide that need on many levels. Annaliesa enjoys talking to community members about the importance of cooperatively building Free Range Food Co-op. After her term, Annaliesa will remain with FRFC as a volunteer as others step up to serve on the board.
Jessie Clemens, Treasurer: Jessie was born and raised in a rural area about 20 miles from Bigfork, Minnesota. She was raised in a sustainable living environment with a variety of animals, and home grown and raised vegetables, meats and dairy products. Jessie holds Associate degrees in General Studies and Accounting from North Central Michigan College. She has worked in the accounting department for a local non-profit for the last six years and finds the help they are able to extend to families in our community to be extremely rewarding. Jessie joined FRFC because she believes that our community needs access to affordable, healthy, locally grown foods. She knows firsthand that many in our community are living at or below the poverty level and require state assistance just to put food on the table. She also looks forward to the day FRFC will have a space where community members can share their knowledge through classes like preparing healthy meals on a budget, baking bread, becoming more self-sustainable as a person, environmental stewardship, introducing different cuisines and along with it different cultures, and generally broadening our community's horizons.
Carrie Barsness Records Officer: Carrie is a life-long resident of the Grand Rapids area and currently resides in Cohasset with her husband and two children. She is employed at State Farm, Terry LaValle Agency. Carrie enjoys running, reading, cooking and spending time with friends and family. She is proud and excited to be a part of the efforts to bring a food co-op into the Grand Rapids area. What attracted her to the project is the sense of community this will bring. That is truly what a cooperative stands for: a group of people working together to reach a common goal.
Lois Bendix, Director: Lois has been a Grand Rapids resident for 50 years, raising her 2 daughters here. She retired after 30 years with the Minnesota Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, a program to assist people with disabilities to be employed. Lois is a University of Minnesota Master Gardener Emeritus. Her education in the chemicals used in food production started with that program and education on chemicals in household products when she joined a health and wellness company selling safe products for home use. Her father worked for the USFS, so she was raised to care for the land. A fan of our Grand Rapids Farmers Market, she is convinced if we support our local farmers and have a year round outlet for their food, we can give our area better food choices. She likes their approach to improving the soil naturally, rather than using chemicals. Her parents were owners and shopped at the Food Co-op in Ely. She likes the idea of the building of community a food co-op provides us. Lois can be contacted at loisb.frfc@gmail.com
David Setness, Director: David currently lives in Deer River after leaving the Twin Cities with his wife six years ago. He works at the Deer River High School as a Truancy Specialist. David brings with him experience working as a board member of a food co-op in Anoka and is excited to see the support for a food co-op in Grand Rapids. He loves having a hobby farm and raises goats, quail, and chickens. He also grows microgreens and enjoys teaching community education classes on farm subjects. David loves the “small town” community feel and people’s willingness to help out to improve the lives of those around them.
Sarah Verke, Director: Sarah lives in Grand Rapids with her husband and two children. She holds degrees in Paralegal Studies and Interactive Graphic and Web Design, and is currently attending The College of St. Scholastica to complete her Bachelor’s degree in Organizational Leadership with an emphasis in Business Management. Sarah is currently serving as an Americorps VISTA with the U of MN Extension, Regional Sustainable Development Partnership to build local food systems capacity in the NE Region of Minnesota. Sarah believes that food co-ops have a great potential to improve the quality of life in their communities. Specifically important to Sarah is building a stronger local food system, increasing access to organic and whole foods, strengthening the local culture of environmental stewardship, and the cooperative principles and values that lay a strong foundation for how cooperatives operate. Sarah is also an owner of Natural Harvest Food Co-op in Virginia, and Harmony Food Co-op in Bemidji.
Tom Williams, Director: Tom is a 1986 graduate of The College of St. Scholastica with a B.A. in Nursing, and a 1992 graduate of William Mitchell College of Law. His legal career focused on regulatory compliance with state agencies and a major health plan company. He retired in 2015 and moved with his wife Sandy to Grand Rapids in 2017. Tom joined Free Range Food Co-op as its 354thowner in 2017. Tom and his wife are also owners of Mississippi Market in St. Paul, Valley Natural Foods in Burnsville, and Whole Foods Co-op in Duluth.