Happy New Year to all of you from the staff at Premier Cooperative and welcome to 2022. I hope everyone was able to slow down over the holidays and spend some much needed time with family and friends. It’s always a little chaotic scheduling and planning for shorter work weeks around the holidays, but also well worth the extra effort once everyone can relax and enjoy their time off.
A little deeper into this month’s newsletter, be sure to check out the information regarding scholarships available exclusively to the children of Premier’s membership. As a part of Premier’s stewardship and community giving, our focus on youth, agriculture and education has awarded more than $100,000 over the past ten years to graduating seniors. If you have a high school senior this year with plans for college next fall, please don’t miss out on this opportunity for members only.
On January 26th we will be holding the annual meeting of the members of Premier Cooperative. Due to COVID, last year we were forced to only offer a virtual update in lieu of our traditional annual meeting. As I write this update late in December, we are planning to hold an in person annual meeting. In addition, with a recent spike in cases and heightened concerns over the new Omicron variant, we will also be offering a virtual option for the meeting for those unable to attend in person. More information can be found on our website with location, time, and virtual details.
While the calendar may have just rolled into the new year, your cooperative is already a quarter of the way through our next fiscal year. In addition to this time of year being very busy at your cooperative with feed and propane deliveries, conditioning and marketing this year’s grain, and preparing crop plans and securing inventory for 2022, we are also going over a long list of equipment, vehicles, facilities, and other investments we’ll be making in 2022 to serve you better. Whether these investments involve replacing worn out vehicles or equipment, upgrading existing systems, or perhaps new expansion projects, each year your cooperative reinvests millions of dollars back into its infrastructure. While some purchases are cut and dry, such as replacing a truck, others can be a bit more of a challenge to measure the value and future return on investment of our member’s equity. This is something your board and employee team look forward to reviewing each year. Of course, investing in new equipment and buildings would be a waste if it wasn’t for the quality team of employees we have ready to put it and other technology to work for you each day.
Thank you for helping to make 2021 a successful year at your cooperative. We rely on your continued support to allow us to invest in the staff and fixed assets needed to help meet your needs while providing a safe and rewarding environment for the employee team. It remains our goal to be the Premier company for our customers and employees. While this is our goal, we also know we will not always exceed your expectations or ours. We do hope, however, that the partnership our members/owners (you) and us have worked hard to build over the years will help all of us not only get through these challenges but will help us emerge as a better company to serve you in the future.
