Why I Serve: Kevin Duniho

There are so many reasons why I serve on the Onion River Co-op’s Board of Directors. It fulfills a sense of duty in my community.  It makes me proud to be associated with such a wildly successful organization. It makes me feel more connected to the food I eat. It allows me to meet and get to know many interesting and effective people as we head toward expansion. My service allows me to support the “Ends” of the Co-op in a structured way. And, I think it’s the best way to fulfill my Member service to the Co-op!

I’ve always tried to be involved in my community. I’ve built bicycle paths, chaired a political organization, and even ran for office. After becoming interested in serving on the Co-op’s Board, I re-examined why I’m compelled to serve the community. I thought that after my unsuccessful bid for office that I was done with this aspect of my life. I decided that serving on this Board was an excellent, low-profile way to help an amazing organization behind the scenes. Board work isn’t glamorous and at the time that I put my name in the hat there was not much interest among the Membership to serve. I thought I was helping just by giving the Membership more choice and to my amazement I was voted in!

It’s been amazing to watch and participate in an organization that, in just the few years I’ve been here, has virtually doubled its Membership to over 9,000 and has maintained enough profitability through all this growth to regularly distribute a sizable patronage refund to our Members.  It’s amazing to see the financial growth and impact City Market has on the community.  What we have loaned and given away to support local food systems, the cooperative movement, and our community totals well over $1 million per year. The list of recipients is too long for this space, but includes our various Members, the Intervale Center, HomeShare VT, the Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf, Hunger Free Vermont, Spectrum, American Red Cross, Women Helping Battered Women, Burlington School Food Project, VT Community Garden Network, Green Mountain Club, and Meals On Wheels. We support organizations that support a healthy community and meet our Global Ends. Through the decisions and actions of our elected Board and our fine staff, our Members are actually distributing what we like to think of as a local stimulus package!

When people find out that I’m a Co-op Board Member, I think it helps them understand right away what some of my values are. Just by looking at me you might not assume that I care about a thriving, healthy community where we have access to progressive environmental, social, and healthful food choices. I want to support the actions of our Co-op that enhance quality of life, strengthen our local food system and support the cooperative model. The Board, on behalf of our Members, has articulated these goals; and I, as a member of the Board get to lend my support to goals that align with my values.

The impressive people that I’ve met, from my fellow Board members to the leadership team of City Market to leaders in the co-op world at our national conference, are all people to glean knowledge from as I hold this position. Our recently-retired General Manager, Clem Nilan, tops the list of people that it’s been a pleasure to meet and work with. He treats everyone with genuine respect and is unfailingly modest as he gets the job done better than anyone in his position across the country. The numbers support his effectiveness and it was impressive (no, mind-blowing) to see the data supporting the Co-op's success shared with the Board month after month. As focused as he was on performance, his social consciousness was always at the forefront of his decision-making. I can’t imagine that I could be just like him, but hopefully my admiration will help guide my future actions. If I had never been a Board member, I never would have had this influence before he stepped down from his position. And now that Pat Burns has stepped into the General Manager role, I expect I’ll learn a lot from him, too.

The intangible benefit of knowing where my food comes from and the names and faces of people who grew it, processed it or harvested it helps give me peace of mind. Being on the Board helps me to be as closely tied into this world as I can be without changing professions.

Like I mentioned earlier, Board work isn’t glamorous, but it is definitely connected to the important values of our Members. I know that my small contribution makes the world a little better place for me and my family.