Sam Werbel

<< 2021 Board of Directors Elections

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Sam Werbel1. Why would you like to serve on the City Market Board? What excited you about becoming a Board Member?

I am a longtime Member, shopper, and champion of City Market. I believe it is a leading economic and cultural force in Burlington. Not only is it significant as a place of local spending and as a wage earner for so many employees, but it keeps itself at the leading edge of social and human issues ranging from diversity and gender equality to food access and environmental stewardship. The prospect of serving on the Board of this innovative and important local cooperative is exciting and intriguing. I’m very interested in immersing myself in the cooperative, consensus model of group leadership and hope to have the opportunity to learn from the other Board Members and contribute my own expertise and perspective.

2. Please describe any professional skills you have that will help you to be an effective Board Member. How would you help the Board to balance the business needs of a $50 million business with the need to meet our Global Ends as a community-owned cooperative?

As the owner of two small businesses (CrossFit Burlington and Active VT) I bring a wide assortment of pertinent skills. These include financial literacy, a grasp of legalese and data analysis and interpretation. My understanding of budgets, financial reports and income forecasting started with the use of Mint, YNAB, and QuickBooks, but has developed through experiences (both positive and negative) as a business owner trying to meet financial benchmarks while also honoring commitments to ethical, environmental, and socially responsible business practices.

Qualities that would serve me as a Board Member are my ability to work well in a group, to ask probing questions and to learn quickly. As the former Executive Assistant to the Agency of Agriculture, I developed organizational skills that helped keep a state agency of more than 100 employees, with an enormous scope of work, self-aware and unified in its direction and mission.

3. Describe your prior involvement with community organizations and/or cooperatives. What did you learn from these experiences?

While I have limited experience working with community organizations and/or cooperatives, I do have a wide variety of work experiences ranging from business ownership to state government to international development to waiting tables to driving a bike rickshaw. Each of these, in some way, has taught and enforced the value of teamwork and shared accountability. A group with a wide variety of lived experiences asks better questions, reveals better answers, and achieves better outcomes.

4. What opportunities and challenges do you see in the future of City Market?

I believe City Market (and its two locations) has a fruitful future that will continue to mark Burlington as a bright example of social, economic and food identities. City Market and Burlington have a symbiotic relationship, both benefiting from and perpetuating the best values of each other. However, this future won’t be without challenges. With increased ease and access to online shopping and meal subscription memberships (especially in this COVID climate) brick and mortar groceries must remain innovative and contemporary to keep up with the pace of the 21st century. City Market has thus far proven to thrive in the face of these challenges while strengthening our local systems, giving Member-owners a sense of pride, and supporting the cooperative model. I hope to have the opportunity to serve on a Board that helps this cooperative develop a strong response to these opportunities.