Candidate Statements Election:

Board of Directors Durham Central Market

October 23, 2011

 We have six open seats and six candidates in the running: Robin Arcus, Michael Bacon, Brian Burtram, Beth Fowler, Ben Romeiser, Frank Stasio.  Click on the candidate's name to review their application.

Robin Arcus

  1. Briefly describe your Professional Work and Community Involvement.  I work for a non-profit organization doing financial education, specializing in senior adult services. I hold two degrees, business and divinity.  With my first degree I worked in the credit reporting field, calling on banks and lending institutions to train them in reading and using credit reports.  After divinity school I worked as a clergy member in hospitals and churches. My current work in financial literacy in a non-profit setting is a fruitful blend of my training and calling.

Community Involvement: I serve on the Durham Central Market board of directors and have been active since its founding.  I have been active in the Old North Durham neighborhood association and currently serve as newsletter deliverer. I also serve as a docent at Duke Chapel. During the days of the Urban Hiker magazine I worked with Jill Cotter and Cullum Rogers to assist in the community publication.  I am a former board member of the Old North Durham neighborhood association.    

2. Briefly describe any experience you have had with cooperatives, grocery stores or the start up of any business operation. The majority of my cooperative experience has been this project, which began in 2007. I was a former Durham Food Co-op member and shopper.  I have not overseen a retail start up.  

3. Why would you like to serve on the DCM Board of Directors? As a current board member I would like to continue my service in order to fulfill our vision of creating a thriving cooperative grocery store for central Durham. Since I was one of the original people on the project, I also bring longevity and history of Durham Central Market.  My tenure includes serving on the Membership and Marketing committee, acting as board secretary, and share processor.  I currently serve on the Finance and Development committee.

4. What strategies have you used, personally or professionally, to bring about consensus when dealing with complex issues?  When the Durham Central Market board was in its earliest days, I remember we were trying to decide how we would decide matters, whether by consensus, by vote, by majority. We had to work at building consensus in order to decide on deciding.   

5. Include anything about yourself that others may like to know.  More than likely your welcome letter came from me as I tried to personally get to know a little bit about each of you, our owners.  I’m delighted that Heather Tunnell now has that honor and that we have crested 1100 owners in Durham Central Market.  Oh, and I love Durham.  I don’t ever want to live anywhere else.  

Back to Top

Michael Bacon

1. Briefly describe your Professional Work and Community Involvement.  I currently work as an IT specialist at UNC Chapel Hill. My previous work has included work as a geographic information specialist at RTI International.

Community Involvement: I am a member and a deacon at First Presbyterian Church, a member and past board member of Old West Durham neighborhood association, and for years was active with the Arts and Businesses Coalition of Downtown.  I was born in Durham and graduated from the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, after which I received a BA in Environmental Biology from Carleton College and a MA in Geography from UNC Chapel Hill. It's been 12 years since I moved back to Durham, and I bought my house in Old West Durham in 2004.

2. Briefly describe any experience you have had with cooperatives, grocery stores or the start up of any business operation.     In addition to being involved with DCM since the inception of the idea, I have operated my own consulting business. Beyond that, most of my experience is organizational rather than directly retail-related.

3. Why would you like to serve on the DCM Board of Directors?  Durham Central Market has been one of the most rewarding projects I've been involved in. From my time on the initial steering committee to serving as President of the Board, I've been thrilled to be working in the midst of an incredibly impressive array of people, including volunteers, board members, and of course our Project Manager Don Moffitt. It has been very exciting to see an organization grow from just a vague dream of a few initial organizers to an institution of over 1,100 members.

4. What strategies have you used, personally or professionally, to bring about consensus when dealing with complex issues?  Consensus is not always possible, but the most important thing in working in a ollaborative group like this is to listen fully to all dissenting opinions. My experience tells me both that when there is disagreement, most people are willing to have their views overruled when they feel like everyone has fully heard their side, and that often times when there is a strong minority opinion, those in the minority often have seen something that others have missed, and even if their guidance is overruled, it should be something for the majority to watch out for.

5. Include anything about yourself that others may like to know.    After serving as Board President since incorporation, I will not be standing for officer election this year. I greatly look forward to working with the great team of incumbent directors we have as well as some great new faces who will be joining us.

Back to Top

Brian Burtram  

1. Briefly describe your Professional Work and Community Involvement.  I currently work for Duke University Stores as the Associate Director.   Duke University Stores is a multi-million dollar department of Duke University and serves the retail needs across the campus and health system.  As the Associate Director, I directly oversee a staff of approximately 75 full-time employees in our retail and support areas.  In addition to operational oversight, I am also responsible for all aspects of our financial reporting to the institution.  I have been employed in this capacity at Duke University for approximately 11 years. My professional experience has primarily been in higher education auxiliary services management.  I spent a few years at a small liberal arts college in Georgia as the Director of Auxiliary Service and I began my retail management career at Virginia Tech Services in Blacksburg, VA.   

2. Briefly describe any experience you have had with cooperatives, grocery stores or the start up of any business operation.  I have been heavily involved in all aspects of business development throughout my career.  I began my career at Virginia Tech as a supervisor in a large convenience/grocery store that was opened shortly after I was hired.  In my capacity as the retail manager at Virginia Tech Services, I played a key role in the development of an off-campus retail outlet.  This development included site-selection, planning, construction oversight and subsequent development of new processes and procedures for the new location.   This experience was followed up by a similar experience at Georgia College in which I played the primary role in developing and coffee shop/convenience store in an unused area of one of our older dormitory facilities.  At Duke University, I have continued this business development role in helping to create a number of new operations both on-campus and in the community (Northgate Mall).  

3. Why would you like to serve on the DCM Board of Directors?  I seek to become more actively involved in this endeavor due to my belief in the overall objectives of the project.   I have been actively involved in working in hunger relief initiatives and have come to understand the devastating issues related to poor food options/choices that lead to such significant problems.  I see this project, with its focus on opening in an underserved area, as a viable solution to these kinds of choice issues.   With my professional experience, I see my participation on this board as a way to share some of my gifts in a positive way.

4. What strategies have you used, personally or professionally, to bring about consensus when dealing with complex issues?    In all honesty, I have not found it possible to build complete consensus in a business setting.  In my experience, there are always going to be individuals who cannot have all their needs (actual and perceived) met.  However, I have consistently worked toward consensus through effective and consistent communication.  Shortly after my arrival at Duke, I was tasked with converting our operation from a manual inventory system to an electronic system. This was a tremendous undertaking and represented significant change for all parties involved.   In moving our organization through this change, I worked diligently to ensure that all voices were heard to the extent possible and made plan adjustments where feasible and logical.  This was done through a series of group meetings and one-on-one interactions.  The project ended up being very successful considering the amount of change that occurred over a relatively short period of time and while all impacted individuals may not have been pleased with the final results, they could not deny that their issues had been heard and addressed to the extent possible.   This approach to addressing issues clearly and as completely as possible has led to continued success with additional projects that we have undertaken in our organization.

In addition to my professional experience, I also earned an MBA from Duke University. The MBA program, which I participated in as an executive, is based wholly on team concepts.  In this environment, consensus was required in nearly every project.  As with my professional experience, conversation and active-listening were paramount to creating consensus. 

Back to Top

Beth Fowler

1. Briefly describe your Professional Work and Community Involvement.  I work at the UNC School of Public Health for a service core that provides technical and design services to researchers who develop interventions for medical and public health research studies.  I’m responsible for internet architecture, usability studies, qualitative interviewing, and project/client liaison.  This work requires me to be the liaison between our clients and the graphic design and programming groups of our core. It has given me lots of experience with group problem-solving, finding ways to listen and accept input from team members in order to build consensus and move toward successful completion of the project goal.  

Community Involvement:  I have been involved with Durham Central Market since the summer of 2008.  I have been on the DCM Board since February 2009, have served as Treasurer since Feb. 2010.  In addition, I work on the Membership & Marketing Committee, and maintain the co-op website.  I also maintain the website for the 40 Acres house concert group.  Previously I have been involved in teaching basic computer skills in neighborhood community centers with RTPNet, and have worked on websites for a number of community non-profits over the years,

2. Briefly describe any experience you have had with cooperatives, grocery stores or the start up of any business operation.  Two and a half years on the Board of Durham Central Market with an experienced and knowledgeable group of fellow board members has given me a great opportunity to learn about the what goes into building a successful co-op, the requirements for a successful grocery store, and the challenges of starting a business.  Before that, my experience was as a member of the Durham Food Coop and Weaver Street.  

3. Why would you like to serve on the DCM Board of Directors?  I continue to be interested in promoting and supporting a local, sustainable food system, and a co-op that reflects Durham's unique culture and history.  Having interacted with DCM owners and with farmers at the Durham Farmers Market and our other events over the past three years, I am convinced that there is a lot of interest in creating not just the store, but a community nucleus with those goals.  I'd like to continue to work to make that idea become concrete and eagerly look forward to the day when I can walk into the Durham Central Market store.

4. What strategies have you used, personally or professionally, to bring about consensus when dealing with complex issues?  In my work, I often serve as the communication hub between our staff and our clients, who often have divergent agendas.  I have found that making the effort to really listen to all viewpoints, making sure that all voices are heard, and working to find a strong, clear, common goal are the most important strategies in working toward consensus.  Working on the DCM Board has also given me an opportunity to hone those skills.

5. Include anything about yourself that others may like to know.  I have a Masters in Information Science from UNC School of Information and Library Science. I have lived in the Triangle area since 1982 and in the Duke Park neighborhood for the past eight years.

Ben Romeiser

 1. Briefly describe your Professional Work and Community Involvement.  I am a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and have worked in the corporate tax field my entire career (12 years).  I specialize in advising domestic and foreign corporations and Private Equity/Hedge Funds in various US tax matters, including structuring and compliance issues to help them better compete in the marketplace.

Community Involvement:  While I have found myself traveling around the world for the better part of my career, in the past year I have taken a position to work locally to enable me to both spend more time with my family and involve myself more in the community I deeply care about.  In the past year, I have been involved in various charitable fund raising campaigns and projects (United Way, UCP, Habitat for Humanity) largely through my employer.  I am now looking to get involved on more of a personal level and specifically looking to get involved in the Durham community.  I have been excited about DCM since I first caught wind of the idea a few years ago, at which time I promptly purchased my Share.  I see this as the ideal organization to focus my efforts for the benefit of Durham and its residents.

2. Briefly describe any experience you have had with cooperatives, grocery stores or the start up of any business operation.  Admittedly, my experience with cooperatives and/or grocery stores is limited to that of a customer/consumer.  However, I believe my educational/professional background and experience lends itself well to the business/financial side of what DCM is trying to accomplish and in that regard I feel that I can make an immediate and lasting contribution in helping to continue to steer DCM in the right direction and meet its future goals.  Additionally, I have worked with various business start-ups and have an understanding and appreciation of the obstacles that can stand in the way of accomplishing those future goals and what is involved in working through these obstacles.

3. Why would you like to serve on the DCM Board of Directors?  I am interested in serving on the DCM Board of Directors, as I see this as an opportunity to have a direct and meaningful contribution to what I believe to be a vitally important project to continue the positive momentum that we have seen in Downtown Durham over the past 10 years.  Much progress has been made – and there is certainly a long way to go and I believe that have a Cooperative Grocery Store in Downtown could prove to be a tipping point in luring higher numbers of people to Downtown  to live, shop, eat, etc, thus continuing the growth of other residential, retail, and dining/entertainment in this area.  To be involved in this endeavor would allow me to help contribute to an organization – and a city and I truly believe in.   

4. What strategies have you used, personally or professionally, to bring about consensus when dealing with complex issues?  My philosophy in building consensus when dealing with complex issues is simply to listen intently to understand both what the critical issues are solve the complex issue at hand - and what the overriding concerns are for all parties involved.  Often personal circumstances and/or agendas can complicate and muddy the issues thus causing focus on the main issue at hand to become lost, however it is supremely important to understand the perspective of everyone involved to be able to come to a resolution that both accomplishes the original goal and ensures that the parties involved have a voice.

This is an area that I feel I deal with quite often, both in my personal and professional life.  Anyone who has children (I have 4) can tell you that gaining consensus with 4 children under 8 is a feat unto itself and certainly takes some practice – and I would submit that children can often times be tougher negotiators than adults.

On a more serious note, this is also a critically important part of professional life, as I am routinely negotiating with clients on a variety of issues, including fees for services provided, proposed budgets and tax strategies.  In each instance it is important to communicate a position, listen and understand the client’s position and concerns, and work to a solution that is mutually beneficial for both parties.  The ability to be creative in approach and flexible in execution can also prove to be important tools in dealing with complex issues in a manner that bring all parties involved together to accomplish a goal. 

5. Include anything about yourself that others may like to know. As previously mentioned, I have lived in Durham for the past 12, have been married to my wife Mina for the past 10 years and enjoy 4 beautiful kids (8yrs, 6yrs, 4 yrs, 6 months).  My wife is a life-long resident of Durham and she (and I) are continually amazed by how we see Durham growing and are extremely excited about its future.  DCM is important part of that future and I would be honored to even play a small part in bringing this great idea to fruition – so that the entire community may enjoy what is undoubtedly to be a boon to Downtown and the city as a whole.   Thank you for your consideration.

3. Why would you like to serve on the DCM Board of Directors?  I believe strongly in the need and desire for a coop market in Durham. And I believe strongly in the cooperative business model. I would like to work to bring the market into being.

4. What strategies have you used, personally or professionally, to bring about consensus when dealing with complex issues?  Our radio talk show is created by a team that includes four producers and me. All programming ideas are approved by consensus. No one member, not even the host has the authority to put a conversation on the air that wasn’t approved by consensus. This approach is unusual in an otherwise hierarchical profession in which the host reigns supreme and unopposed. I did not yield my customary power out of a sense of goodness. In fact I am ruthless in my demand for an excellent program. I have found that the surest way to achieve excellence is by listening to the wisdom of others and taking the time to build consensus. 

5. Include anything about yourself that others may like to know.  I am what I eat and I eat local.

Back to Top