The Royal City Farmers Market AGM was held January 28. For those who were unable to attend, we are posting the text of the speeches each board member gave to summarize our progress in the 2009 market year.

I had experienced the market for the inaugural summer season and immediately witnessed how it brought the community together.

While the vendors themselves were the experts at being a local, environmentally responsible source of food and the work of the market manager and society was doing great job promoting that link between consumer and producer, what I saw was my neighbors.

It was the way the market drew the citizens of our city to interact in one spacious, safe place. I saw how community groups were able to reach out and pursue the good works they promoted within the city.

Neighbours could come out of their TV rooms and talk, neighbourhoods could come together from across town and kids could play together outside of school with their families sharing that time with them. Local politicians could go right up to their constituents and find out what they thought but more importantly, the voters could talk with their elected reps to find out what they were doing!

So I found my place as a volunteer. I just showed up and started to help, to get a feel for the group and to find out what needed to get done. I soon learned that there is a lot of work behind the scenes (and kudos to the others on the board and the volunteers for getting this important event off the ground for the first season in 2008).

I quickly learned that a key element in attracting the neighbourhoods and civic liveliness to the events was the high quality of our vendors: their products, their expertise…..their spirit. I also learned that the reason that a relatively small market like the RCFM was able to attract such quality vendors was both the spirit that the city brought every week and the level of support that market staff offered the vendors.

Time after time, I hear from our vendors that this is their favorite market or that the RCFM staff was one of the reasons that they had made a recommendation to another vendor or booked more weeks in a month than they otherwise would have. So besides the heavy lifting that any volunteer for RCFM needed to do, I made a point to foster this level of support and respect between the vendors and the RCFM.

On the board at the time, as Vendor Rep, was Ilona from Vienna Treasures. She is many things, including a cherished member of New Westminster’s small business community, an expert craftsman confectioneer and baker, an entrepreneur from her shop, her booth at RCFM and other markets, but she was also a valued member and a crucial voice on our board, speaking from a vendor’s perspective. When she stepped down from the board during the summer we missed her perspective and her work but thankfully, we didn’t have to miss her or her baking because the Vienna Treasures booth remained a key feature for many market weeks.

I was invited to join the board to inexpertly fill her position and, as I am not a vendor at any market, I took the post of vendor liaison. Strictly speaking, I was to be a voice from the vendor’s perspective, engage the vendors on behalf of the board to ensure they were happy with the direction and features of the market, and be an ear for any complaints or suggestions that might come up that could not be handled by the market manager. Some positions on the board are thankless tasks; this is not one of them.

I am happy to report…happy vendors! RCFM remains a preferred venue for many qualified, in demand and sought after vendors. During the summer and even now during the winter monthly markets, our problem has been where to put all of the fantastic vendors who have chosen to make a home with the RCFM. Our expansion into the winter is a testament to how our vendors feel about doing business in New Westminster. A good portion of the support and direction for the winter market came from our vendors themselves.

I am triply lucky as a member of the RCFM. I have the pleasure to work with an outstanding group of citizens who have come together and, in 2009 invite me, to help run this market; I get to interact with my neighbours and colleagues from this wonderful city and, I am proud to say, I can work with our RCFM vendors and the farmer’s market vendor community that brings such authenticity and craft to our town each week or each month. Here’s to 2010!

The Royal City Farmers Market AGM was held January 28. For those who were unable to attend, we are posting the text of the speeches each board member gave to summarize our progress in the 2009 market year.

At the end of May 2009 I received an unexpected and timely phone call from Andrew. I was a stay at home mom trying to figure out how to stay at home when my mat leave ended, and in less than a week I was hired on as the market manager. I also wanted to say a special thank you to Will Tomkinson for mentioning my name to Andrew that fateful day back in May.

It was a race to get organized for the first week, and I don’t really think the pace slowed down until October, and even then it was full speed ahead to organize the winter market. By the end of the summer season, I think we were operating as a well oiled machine!

There were a total of 64 vendors approved to sell at RCFM throughout the season. My largest challenge during the summer and now during the winter is where to put all of the amazing vendors who wanted to come. The most vendors at any one market in the summer was 38, with the average at about 33, and the lowest at 29. We were fortunate to only have one rainy day – and rain it did – but there were two weeks in the height of summer where we baked in the heat and if you ask me, I’m not sure what was harder to work through!

We are on track for a spectacular 2010 season, I’m working on forms and applications for returning and new vendors alike and things will be full speed ahead once the new board meets. I want to say a few quick thank yous:

First, to the volunteers who came out week after week and did everything from taking surveys, putting up signs, monitoring kids activities, running the RCFM booth… you are an integral part of how this organization functions and week after week, you made me feel as though everything was in good hands.

Second, I am honored to have worked with such an energetic and committed board. You were all willing to pitch in your own volunteer time, and as a collective, you were a pretty decent boss. Thank you for your time and your faith in me.

Thank you also to the community groups, city departments, and other organizations that supported us by donating time and services to help the market run smoothly.

Finally, I wanted to point say a special thank you to Briana Tomkinson, who some of you may already know but may not know of her contribution. Briana has been an incredible supporter and volunteer behind the scenes – among other things, she has redesigned our website, has helped me write press releases, and handles all of the social media updates. Without her I simply could not have gotten as much done.

Not many people can say they love their job; I am truly grateful that I can say I do.

The Royal City Farmers Market AGM was held January 28. For those who were unable to attend, we are posting the text of the speeches each board member gave to summarize our progress in the 2009 market year.

We begin with the President’s Report from Andrew Murray, followed by reports from Market Manager Jen Arbo, Treasurer Sheila Rowswell and Vendor Liaison Will Tomkinson. Thanks again to everyone who came out in support of the Royal City Farmers Market!

Our 2009 summer market season proved to be as successful if not more so as our first season. Blessed with good weather for all but one market we saw significant increases in attendance and the number of vendors at the market. We averaged approximately 35 vendors/mkt. a 30% increase over our first year.

We were fortunate to become part of the Nutrition Coupon Program which allowed 50 low income families to come to the market and redeem coupons for fresh fruit and vegetables. The redemption rate was 88% and we’re hoping to be able to offer the program in 2010.

We also introduced Art in the Park this year which allowed local artists to come, set up and receive some valuable exposure in the community. Some were able to sell their work for the first time due to being at the Market.

We addressed our long term storage issue by purchasing a trailer mid way through the summer. Being able to store all our equipment in one place has saved us a lot of time as well as alleviating some aching lower backs.

Our website has been completely redone and is now a much more effective marketing tool. You can also find us on Facebook and Twitter. It’s clear that social media is a very effective way of increasing our core support.

The Board made the decision to go ahead with a series of Winter Markets on a trial basis. We based our decision on the over 250 surveys we did during the summer market season. From the surveys it was clear there was demand for us to have a year round presence in the community. Our first two markets to date at Holy Trinity Cathedral have been well received and we’ll be evaluating the decision in the spring.

From a financial perspective the RCFM is on solid footing, our revenues rose significantly this season and we were prudent in managing our expenses. The hiring of Jen Arbo as our Operations Manager has proven to be probably the best decision we made all year. Jen has done a wonderful job for the Market and has demonstrated amazing organizational skills – plus she makes a pretty mean cup of chai tea!

The 2009 Board of Directors have been a dedicated and passionate group who have worked extremely well together this past year. It’s been a pleasure to be involved with them and I thank them for all their hard work.