The Farmcolony Annual Meeting will take place Saturday, August 1 following a special board meeting at 12:45 p.m. called to address pending board business.
12:45 – Special Meeting of the Farmcolony Board of Directors
1 PM – Meeting and Voting
Soft Drinks and Water Provided
The community dinner that usually follows our annual meeting is cancelled this year due to the pandemic.
A field of four candidates are running for four open seats on the Farmcolony Board of Directors. Those running include (in alphabetical order):
Kathy Arbour
Barbara Brecht (incumbant)
Matt Hodges (incumbant)
Bruce Sopher
To help you learn more about the candidates, The Farmcolony Times reached out to the four candidates to ask them the same set of questions. Three accepted the invitation.
Q1: Why do you want to be on the Board and what do you bring to the table to help the association in these tough times?
Q2: What do you think are the three biggest issues facing Farmcolony and how would you address them?
Q3: What is your top priority if elected?
Here’s what the candidates had to say.
KATHY ARBOUR
Q1: Why do you want to be on the Board and what do you bring to the table to help the association? I would like to run for the board because I see an opportunity to contribute not only because we are facing hard times, but also for the exciting possibilities for the farm. I have previously served on the board of the Riverdale Housing Cooperative for six years. As a board member, we are charged with the responsibility of creating a vision for the coming year. It is a great time to explore our options, brainstorm possibilities and see what we can accomplish together. While this is not our only charge, it is an exciting and creative endeavor.
Q2: What do you think are the three biggest issues facing Farmcolony and how would you address them?
- Sustainability- brainstorm creative viable ideas that increase our potential, develop revenue streams and bring our community together.
- Communication- explore our communication challenges.
- Participation – explore the ways in which our members are encouraged and appreciated for their participation.
Q3: What is your top priority if elected? Sustainability- Incorporating Communication & Participation.
BARBARA BRECHT
Q1: Why do you want to be on the Board and what do you bring to the table to help the association? I have lived in Farmcolony for ten years now. I was on the Board for 3 terms and served as secretary for two terms and vice president for one. I am now part of the Chicken, Goat, Farm House, and Social committees. I loved my time n the board, helping to update the FCOPs. I have a good working knowledge of the Farm. There have been bumps and grinds on the Board which are difficult to overcome. We are in a difficult time now because finances set emotions afire. But I believe we all have in common a love of the Farm and a new understanding of how it shall be governed. The exciting thing for me is the new members who have moved here recently. We now have six families with children. They will bring their energy, enthusiasm, and labor to our beautiful farm.
Q2: What do you think are the three biggest issues facing Farmcolony and how would you address them?
- We have to address our finances. Dues need to be raised!!! This will probably make me unelectable, but we do not pay enough dues. Our bylaws state that dues may be raised by no more than 25% from year to year. I believe there has been one raise of 10% in the ten years I have been here. This is entirely unrealistic.
- There is no method in place for people to learn how they can contribute. We need to make available a list of committees and committee members and meeting dates. The chairs should be charged with recruiting and training new members. This list can be frequently and widely circulated.
- More diverse social activities. After the pandemic is over, we can have game nights at the farmhouse, outside sports/games on a weekend day. Especially with so many more children on the farm, there should be more opportunities to get together. The Gano’s Friday night movies in the orchard are wonderful. The Hodges and I sponsored two musical summer nights which were a big success. Angel’s pig roasts are a definite bash. Again, with new young families here, we need to come together more often.
Q3: What is your top priority if elected? Has to be for the farm to become solvent again. After that is for the Board to figure out ways to get more participation. This would obviously include better communication around the farm.
BRUCE SOPHER
Q1. Why do you want to be on the Board and what do you bring to the table to help the association? I feel it is the duty of every member of the community to be involved with the farm in some way, and since I’m not a big gardener or farm hand, serving on the board is probably the best option. I have years of experience as a project manager and in other leadership roles, working with diverse groups to reach common goals. I have business and engineering degrees and am ready to help where I am most needed.
Q2. What do you think are the three biggest issues facing Farmcolony and how would you address them? The farm is in a time of transition in both the beef market and in the demographics of the member community. Some of the things that have always been done on the farm will probably need to change to adapt to new realities, and these changes are tough because people have strong feelings about their areas of interest. To reach solutions that will work will require a considered hearing of the hopes and desires of the community. It has also recently become apparent that certain practices required of homeowners associations by Virginia law have not been attended to as closely as they need to be. I want to help get us back on track in this area with structures and practices that will help keep us in compliance.
Q3. What is your top priority if elected? My top priority is to see that there is open and civil discourse on the issues facing the farm in this time of transition. I don’t have a particular outcome as a goal. I feel it is the role of the board to put into practice what the community desires, in accordance with the bylaws and constrained by a reasonable budget.
