COMMUNITY CONVERSATIONS 2024: An opportunity for members to sit down with GM, Terry Tremblay

Melfort, SK (for immediate release) – For the third year in a row, this week, members will have an opportunity to sit down with Prairie North Co-op General Manager, Terry Tremblay in a series of community meetings. “As our finance team works with the auditors finalizing the numbers for our 2023 audited financial statement, I like to have these meetings to give our members a chance to ask questions. At this point in the year, we have a good idea of where the numbers are and we want to present those to our members,” explains Tremblay. “This year we will be in Kelvington on Monday, Melfort on Wednesday, and Spalding on Thursday.”

“Whether your role in our co-operative was one of trusting us to provide you with the goods and services that you need daily; or one of leadership; or it was one of showing up day in and day out with a co-op shield on your shirt and a smile on your face . . . better together has translated to a very successful year in terms of working together, community involvement, capital re-investment, and having assets that we can be proud of.”

Tremblay goes on to say, “Despite the many success stories that have come out of 2023, the economic impacts of the last year including Agro deflation and rising interest costs, have resulted in a substantial decline in the net savings of our co-operative. Our Board meets monthly and is well informed of our financial position but like so many Saskatchewan businesses, when it came to what was happening globally, there wasn’t a lot that could be done. The decisions that were made around capital re-investment over the last five years were not short game decisions . . . they were made for the long-term future of our co-operative.”

Prairie North Co-op by the Numbers

• Increase in sales from 2020 (first full year after both Archerwill Co-op and East Central Co-op joined Prairie North Co-op) 44%
• Capital re-investment (2020 versus 2023) 407%*
• Community investment (2020 versus 2023) 33%
*capital re-investment 2020 $1.84 million, and in 2023 that number was $9.34 million

For more information, or to arrange an interview, please contact:
Terri Larsen, Marketing and Communications Manager
Prairie North Co-op
C: 306.527.4792 | E: Terri.Larsen@prairienorth.crs | W: www.prairienorthco-op.crs

ABOUT PRAIRIE NORTH CO-OP

Prairie North Co-op operates out of 25 locations – from St. Brieux, Spalding and Naicam in the west; to Melfort and Brooksby in the north; and Archerwill and Kelvington in the east. We serve our members with products and services that help build, feed, fuel and grow the communities in which we live and do business. As a co-operative, we are a different kind of business; we are not only working for our communities, but we are also owned by our community. Co-ops embed sustainability in their business by planning and investing for the long term, with the community and environment in mind; they work to create jobs; and they partner with other organizations and local businesses. Prairie North Co-op profits do not leave the community, they go back into it – and back to our members. We take pride in our community involvement and our commitment to providing quality products and services.

Prairie North Co-op employs 320 and serves 13,426 members. We continue the tradition of giving back, not only in patronage refunds to our members, but also through financial support to several local organizations. In 2023, sponsorship and donations totalled $153,000 to over 200 different organizations in our trading area.

Locally invested. Community-minded. Lifetime membership benefits. We are Co-op.