Our Board of Directors
Meetings of the Board of Directors are currently held the fourth Thursday of every month starting at 6:00pm in the Co-op Café, or via Google Meet. Owners are welcome to attend, and there are ten minutes at the opening of the meeting allotted for comments from individual owners.
The Next Board Meeting will be Thursday, January 23
Current Board Officers & Members
Co-op Board representatives serve three-year terms and may stand for re-election.
Board President: Aaron Dority
Aaron Dority has been on the Board since 2011, and is currently the Board President. He served as the Co-op’s relocation committee chair for several years, working with the board and Co-op owners to select the architect and the contractor for the Co-op’s expansion. Aaron is also the Executive Director of Frenchman Bay Conservancy, the land trust serving towns from Ellsworth to Gouldsboro north past Route 9. Aaron lives in Blue Hill with his wife and three children. His favorite Co-op food is chocolate mousse.
Board Vice President: Deborah Evans
Born and raised on family farms, Deborah spent most of her adult life working in large cities. That is, until she moved to her husband’s family homestead, Bagaduce Farm, in 1987. In time, a desire to return to the food ways of her childhood was becoming difficult to ignore. So, in 2005 the first two piglets arrived; the rest is history.
Deborah has watched our Co-op grow and mature over the last thirty plus years. She wholeheartedly believes in our mandate to support our sustainable, regenerative farms that provide nutrient-dense, real organic food for our community, improving our health and the lives of future generations. Her favorite Co-op foods are the fresh raw dairy milks and cheeses.
Board Secretary: Jen Traub
Jen joined as a Board Member in 2019. She and her husband, Andy, have been active Owners of the Blue Hill Co-op for about twenty years. They are proud to be among the many community members who participated in the Owner investment campaign to ensure a strong future for the Co-op in its new location. The dedication of our Co-op Manager, staff, and Board in making the new store a reality inspired her to become part of this committed leadership team working on behalf of the owners to promote the continued growth and success of the Co-op!
At the old store, Jen did a stint making muffins in the café and, for several years, served as a working owner on the Newsletter Team writing profiles of some of the local farmers and producers whose offerings are essential to the Co-op’s mission. Her favorite Co-op snacks are the café’s egg sandwich on a scallion biscuit, homemade fruit tarts, and Go Macro protein bars.
Board Treasurer: Tim Tunney
Tim has stopped trying to figure any of this out, and is enjoying his work in commercial finance with Franklin Savings Bank; he has been a Co-op owner since 2009. Tim lives in Surry with his twelve-year-old son and their dog (he’d love a cat too, but allergies and litter boxes prevent him from taking that leap). They keep themselves busy with work and school, sailing and soccer, skiing and camping. And table tennis. Lots and lots of table tennis.
Tim has lived in Hancock County since 2003—but it took a dozen years for him to find his way to Surry in 2015—when he found a sweet little property near Morgan Bay. He and his son have been picking away at making it a comfortable home since. His favorite Co-op food? Tim’s a sucker for most of the Café prepared meals and loves the local dairy products and produce.
Jo Barrett
Jo’s introduction to the Co-op was via the loading platform and delivery door, through which she lugged thousands of pounds of King Hill Farm carrots and other veggies from the early 1990s through 2010. She became a Co-op owner in 2017 in order to be eligible to invest as an owner in the new store. She is excited and honored to serve on the Board of Directors and hopes to help support the Co-op’s commitment to healthful food, local farmers and the community.
Besides being a co-owner/-operator of King Hill Farm, Jo taught in public schools for fifteen years and at Liberty School for ten years. She has been a homesteader to greater and lesser degrees for over forty years. Her favorite product at the Co-op is Alvarado St. Bakery sprouted wheat bagels –OR- Organic Valley Butter. Who could choose between them?
Jenny Brillhart
Jenny has been an owner for six years. After vacationing in Stonington early in life, she began returning seasonally with her family in 2010. In 2016, she moved here full-time from Miami, FL, and now lives in Blue Hill. She works as a painter and graphic designer. She also volunteers at her children’s school, teaches art, and enjoys getting outside. She loves the Co-op and hopes to help expand its community reach. Her favorite foods are the homemade chili con carne and the cacao/nut/açaí energy squares. Her kids dig the chocolate mousse.
Anne Gilchrist
Anne and her husband, Peter, and their Labradors began spending summers on the peninsula in 2012. In 2016 they bought a cottage on Flye Point in Brooklin. She became a Co-op owner in 2016. Anne has had a lifelong involvement in fostering good food and cooking. She believes in the importance of growing and buying food locally and knows that the co-op makes a significant contribution in both of these areas. She wants to help the co-op continue to grow and thrive.
Annie Silver
Annie has been an owner of the Blue Hill Co-op since moving to her husband’s family land in Brooksville in 2006. Just before settling down in Maine, she graduated from UC Davis with a degree in sustainable agriculture. As a mother, small farmer and personal chef specializing in sustainably grown whole foods and dietary restrictions, her life revolves around healthy food. She is so pleased with the success of the co-op relocation project, and thinks we are lucky to have such a great co-op in this community. Annie serves on the Blue Hill Co-op board because she values sustainable food systems and would like to further the mission of the co-op.
Cheryl Boulet
Cheryl Boulet became a member of the Co-op when she and her young family first moved to the area in 2002, and the Co-op has been essential to her household ever since. She served on the Co-op board between September 2020 and December 2021, then rejoined the board in October 2023. Cheryl lives in Blue Hill with her husband Rich, and she is a CPA. When she’s not crunching numbers, she enjoys walking, hiking, reading, and trips to Montreal to visit her adult children.
Board Minute Taker: Julia Klein (Non-Member)
Julia has been taking minutes for the board since returning to Maine around 2010. Born to a back-to-the-land family on the Blue Hill Peninsula, Julia has childhood memories of snacking and playing under tables while parents divided orders in the early buying club days of the Blue Hill Co-op. She has enjoyed watching the Co-op expand, relocate, and blossom in her decade of record-keeping.
Julia homesteads in Sedgwick with her husband and 3 home-educated sons. She loves exploring trails, handcraft, and teaching her piano students. Favorite Co-op indulgence: Ines Rosales Sweet Olive Oil Tortas with brie and Turkish apricots.
Are You an Owner with a Desire to Serve the Co-op?
Download the application and instructions here and the nomination petition here.
Email ownership@bluehill.com for more information.
Board of Directors Job Description:
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Enthusiasm and motivation
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Computer skills and easy access to email
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Ability to read and understand financial statements (not required, will train)
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Experience in retail and/or business experience helpful (not required)
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Previous board experience preferred (not required)
Skills: Enthusiasm and motivation are very important attributes in a prospective board member. Computer skills and easy access to email are essential, as much information is exchanged between scheduled board meetings. While the following are not required, some experience is helpful in: ability to read a financial statement, retail and/or business experience, and previous board experience.
We also ask that directors be dedicated to the cooperative, its owners, and its mission, with un-conflicted loyalty to the interests of Ownership. Directors must be able to participate actively in discussions, adhere to the intent of established policies, and stand behind board decisions. Directors must be good communicators, able to make consensus decisions in a group setting while thinking in terms of systems and context. Also, it is important that directors exercise independent judgment, even as they collaborate in cultivating a working sense of the vision, values, and long-term goals of the cooperative.
Meetings are currently held the fourth Thursday of every month starting at 6:30pm at the Co-op Café.
If you have been a Co-op Owner for at least 6 months and would like to receive a board member application, please email board@bluehill.coop. Or call the Co-op at 374-2165. Thanks for your consideration!
