Dear Farming Friends,

Happy snow! Thanks for your patience with this process of confirming the 2010 WAFM Steering Committee. Only one objection to the nominees was presented, and I will share that with you below. Please consider this new information and if it changes your feelings or motion to consent to the slate of nominees, than let me know by next Monday. If this new information or objection does not change your feelings, there is no need to reply and the committee will be inaugurated automatically next Monday.

The objection submitted was in response to the fact that the majority of Steering Committee nominees reside outside of Wolfeboro. This objection is based on a concern that allowing non-Wolfeboro residents to occupy a majority of Steering Committee will lead to governance that is not in the best interest of the market. It was suggested that if the market was hosted on Wolfeboro Town property, than a majority of the Steering Committee should reside in Wolfeboro. No documents were submitted to support this objection as of late.

In order to reflect on this objection, I have included the physical address of each of the nominees below. Also keep in mind that there are other market vendors who reside in Wolfeboro who were simply not nominated to the Steering Committee. There are no stipulations coming from the Town in regards to the makeup of the Steering Committee. Lastly, all of these nominees reside within a 50 miles radius of Wolfeboro, which reflects the eligibility criteria laid out in the market Bylaws by this year's committee.

You have a week to consider this new info. Go for it. Again, if this objection does not change your mind than there is no need to reply. If you have a new feelings based on this info than please reply and we will open the discussion further.

Cheers,

Josh

Jenny Tapper - Brookfield
Art Wheeler - Brookfield
Brenda Lush - Wolfeboro
Barbara Laverick - Wolfeboro
AnnMarie Sargent - Ossipee
Paul Swegel - Ossipee
Barbara Fenton - Brownfield, ME
Sue Weeks - Tuftonboro

I think a 50 mile radius from Wolfeboro is local, regardless of what states are involved; it certainly isn't Florida, Mexico, California or South America, where the bulk of our store-bought produce comes from. Customers come from all over the region to the WAFM, they aren't just from Wolfeboro.
I don't think a farmer's market should be political - such as denying Maine participants because Maine denies New Hampshire participants. What is to be gained by that? Maine isn't going to change it's policy (if that is it's policy) because the Wolfeboro Area Farmer's Market is offended by it.
If the products are not good, the people won't keep buying them and it won't be worth it for the farmers to participate - no matter where they are from. I think that customers like having lots of choices and that fewer participants makes for fewer customers which ultimately hurts all the farmers.

I don't think it is necessarily political to limit vendor participation in farmer's markets or on steering commitees. The WAFM exists to serve a community and that community needs a definition. What might be gained by limiting participation is higher financial rewards for those who participate. I think that fewer vendors does not mean less customers. Customers like choices but the market expanded dramatically over the last year and the customer base did not.

The topic is whether or not the steering committee members should be from Wolfeboro;

I think the answer lies in who participated last year and in the name of the market: Wolfeboro Area Farmers Market!

The steering committee should be from the Wolfeboro area!

After thinking this through, it comes down to just a couple of things. There have been ample opportunities for WAFM members to throw their hat in the ring and to add MEANINGFUL dialogue to work towards altering this issue. The ones who make the most noise seem to be coming from the sidelines. Nothing will happen if this is their way to respond to this or any issue. Not being a Wolfeboro resident has nothing to do with my ongoing commitment to try to make WAFM a vibrant and fiscally strong presence in the community. I don't believe that it is in the best interest to be laying personal issues at the feet of those who live in Maine. They are just as committed to the health of this market as many of us are. Being part of a team does not mean that it is JUST about cornering a disproportionate share of the market's revenue. Competition is what will constantly push us towards being the best that we can be.

The WAFM terms and conditions and Steering Committee eligibility and responsibilities don't make any requirement that Steering Committee members be from Wolfeboro. I don't think there have been Wolfeboro volunteers who have been turned down from being Steering Committee members; instead it seems like there has been a search to find people willing to serve.
Going forward, the steering committee members need to be aware of the concerns and criticisms and figure out the best way to address them. If community concerns are ignored, the WAFM will eventually fail which very few people, if any, want to see happen.