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Timeline Announced!! And New Website, Too!

A note from the president...

So much has been going on to organize, establish and promote the market. First, the Board spent over 12 hours during a recent three-week period deeply focused on creating stronger alignment within our team to ensure we have the best structure, business processes and proven strategies in place as we begin "the big push" toward opening the market. To that end, we've calculated a timeline which outlines the major milestones to be hit before opening the doors...drumroll, please…in September of 2013! That's just around the corner, folks. Not very long at all, especially considering everything that needs to be accomplished between now and then! All of the dates are estimates, of course, since we cannot foresee every possible twist and turn that our many moving parts may throw at us. We are in deep analysis mode on site selection, we have aggressive ownership goals (see timeline) and lots of events to reach them (many of which rely on you!) and we've designed an infrastructure to handle all of it.

Your patience is being rewarded and, in order to cross the finish line, we need each and every one of you to step up and take action.

If you're already an Owner, thank you! We need your help recruiting more by inviting us to speak at your place of work, neighborhood block party, social event, whatever you can think of! We encourage you to host a house party--it's a fun and easy excuse to get your friends, family and colleagues together who, let's face it, will be much more interested to hear why you became an Owner and why this is important to you. (We'll be there to support you, of course, but your words and actions have so much more impact on your personal circles.)

If you're not yet an Owner, join now since it's our responsibility to create the community in which we want to live…and this is a great place to start. You'll be part of something so much more than a grocery store! If you don't understand what that means, spend some time at one of The Outpost's three Milwaukee locations. Or better yet, come meet us at any of our many upcoming events to find out more. Now's the time to invest in the future of our community. You know it's the right thing to do. Join today!

We invite you to visit our newly-designed website. Our deepest thanks to Owner Paula West and her team at Westwords Consulting for donating their time and talents in the redesign and to Board Member, Camela Langendorf of Images by Camela Studio & Gallery who supplied us with all the beautiful photography! Keep tabs on our growing number of Owners, stay up-to-date on events, opportunities to get involved, ways to spread the word and so much more. Coming soon:

• List of Founding and Pioneering Owners - be sure to Opt In on the Privacy Policy page of the website so we can include you here
• List of our Business Partners and the specials and/or discounts they are offering to Wild Root Market Owners. Please contact Heidi Fannin if you would like to have your local business considered as part of our Wild Root Market Partner program.
• Meet the Farmer page
• Online store with awesome Wild Root Market promotional products including shopping bags, t-shirts, travel mugs, etc.

As our newest Board Members can attest, the amount of work that's going into moving this project forward each and every day is somewhat mind-boggling. I feel so grateful and priviledged to have such a dedicated and talented team working together to bring the market to life. I know I speak for my fellow Board Members when I say we're investing such time and energy (outside our families, our jobs and our other enjoyments and responsibilities) because we know this is the best possible thing for our community. And now is the best possible time.

In this together,

Alida Harper Trocke
Board President, Wild Root Market Owner, Business Person and Co-op Enthusiast
 

Other stories

Spring "Friendraiser" Potluck

Wednesday, May 30th, 6 p.m.

Bring a Dish and a Friend!

Come meet, hang out and enjoy a wonderful potluck evening with other Wild Root Market Owners and their "Soon-to-be-Owner" friends!  Bring a delicious dish to pass AND a friend or two who would be interested in learning more about Wild Root Market and why this will be such an asset for our community. We'll be debuting our slick new slide presentation so this is a great opportunity to introduce your friends to Wild Root Market’s entire story.   Don’t be shy – ask your friends!  Really, who would pass up an evening of awesome food and interesting people in support of a great cause? 

Come one, come all!

In order to be prepared for how many people to expect, we are asking you to RSVP which will take you to VolunteerSpot, a new online portal we are using for event sign-ups.  You will need to enter your email address (but do not need to open an account) and then it will direct you to the potluck activity so you can sign up.

Details:     6:00-7:00 p.m. potluck

                   7:00 p.m. meeting & presentation

                   First Presbyterian Church, 716 College Avenue

Wild Rooter Training Classes

We Need You!

Are you wondering if there is any way you can help hasten the opening of Wild Root Market?  Absolutely!  Besides becoming an Owner, we urgently need Wild Rooters to serve on committees and to promote the co-op in the community.  Our community outreach plan includes appearances at local events throughout the summer and fall and we need you to staff tables, distribute literature and talk to prospective Owners about why Racine needs a co-op and how it will benefit us all.  Only 2-4 hours of your time a month will make a HUGE difference!

It's easy to become involved.  All you have to do is attend a Wild Rooter Training Session (so you'll be able to answer questions and promote us confidently), then use our online portal (VolunteerSpot) to sign up for the events and times that work for you!

Follow this simple procedure:

1. Choose where you want to help by clicking one of the links below. That will take you to the sign-up calendar for that event.  For events with multiple dates, please scroll through the calendar and sign up for the dates and shifts that are convenient for you.  You will also be able to see who else has signed up and which events still need volunteers.

2. Enter your email address and phone number, choose your spots, click CONFIRM and you're done!

3. VolunteerSpot will send you confirmation and reminder emails and we will have your contact information in one place.  Please note, you do not need to create an account on VolunteerSpot and they do respect your privacy so you should not receive any unsolicited emails.  The site is free for us to use but you will encounter some advertising.  We thought the advantages of using this system outweighed the slight inconvenience of the ads.

What opportunities to get involved are available? Just look at this line-up!

Wild Rooter Training
For any current or prospective Wild Rooters who would feel more confident representing Wild Root Market if you had more information to share, we have scheduled two comprehensive training sessions on Thursday, May 17 and Tuesday, May 22.   The link above will take you to the sign-up page. If you can't make it to either one, let us know as we'll be adding additional sessions and will be sure to notify you.

First Friday Events

Represent WRM at various locations on  First Fridays between May 4 and October 6.  Great way to connect with lots of people from all over the Racine area!

Mileager's Events

Mileagers has generously offered to allow us to have a presence at several of their fun workshops this year on May 15, May 16, June 28 and September 8.  All events will be at the Racine store on Douglas Ave.

Downtown Racine Farmer's Market

This event happens every Saturday from 8:00 - 12:00 through September 22.  Two shifts available.  Sign up for this event and do your shopping all in one stop!

West Racine Western Day

This fun event takes place on July 14.  (Shift times TBD.)

West Racine Farmers' Markets

From July 20 through September 19 there are two opportunities a week to participate in these events: Wednesday afternoons from 1:00 - 4:00 (two shifts) and Friday mornings from 8:00 - 12:00 (two shifts).  Farmers' Markets are a great place to meet like-minded folks who appreciate fresh, locally grown food.

Rockin' the Block!

Held every Wednesday from June 27 through September 19, Rockin' the Block is a summer concert series in West Racine.  The 3100 block of Washington Avenue will be the spot to be to listen to the tunes of local musicians and talk up Wild Root Market.  This event is completely free.  If you're a music lover, sign up fast!

Party on the Pavement

This fun end-of-season event takes place this year on October 6.  Many shift opportunities available!

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