CIBA CONVERSATION

A Newsletter for Members and Friends

OCTOBER 2005




Upcoming Seasonal Advertisements

Around Thanksgiving, The Gazette Times will be publishing an ad featuring CIBA members. We want to urge Corvallis residents to shop locally for their holiday gift giving. If you’d like to be included, contact your GT representative, or Cathy Holdorf at Sibling Revelry for more information. The ad will emphasize the local charitable contributions made by CIBA members throughout the year.



Socially Responsible Food Retailer of the Year

The First Alternative Co-op has been selected as a recipient of the Socially Responsible Retailer Award for 2006, by the National Nutritional Foods Association (NNFA). They will be awarded and recognized at the NNFA Marketplace and Convention trade show next July.



CIBA Member Health Insurance Survey

The Health Insurance Survey has been completed and the results were reported to our members at the September membership meeting. Here are some of the findings…

1. One fourth of members have no health insurance at all, one fourth have coverage for the owner only. An additional group has insurance through their spouse, and only 1/3 of our CIBA members provide any kind of insurance for their employees.

2. CIBA members are most interested in finding some way to reduce insurance costs. Some are canceling traditional insurance in favor of reimbursement plans, or some type of health savings account. Thirty percent of those surveyed would consider a change if they could find a cheaper option.



New Directory

The Directory is currently being revised and updated. New copies should be available for the holiday season. Thanks to Robert Best and Chris Hines for their hard work on this project.



EVP Survey

CIBA is part of a consortium called the Economic Vitality Partnership (EVP), made up of fourteen organizations in Benton County, dedicated to economic development. The EVP is embarking on a community-wide strategic plan focusing on planning for the economic future of Benton County. Information from the Community Survey will assist in guiding the direction of strategic planning efforts. Making the plan consistent with the values embraced by the community is an important part of this process.

Please help us!! Take fifteen minutes of your time to provide powerful input in this process. Go to http://www.InsightsNow.com/evp_survey.htm to find the interactive survey. What you think, feel and know about the community and its economic health is important to us.



Country Vitamins Anniversary

Time flies when you are having fun, and Country Vitamins has been doing just that for 23 years! Owners Pat and Glenn Sardell, their family and staff, are celebrating Country Vitamins' 23rd Anniversary with Customer Appreciation Days, Wednesday, November 9th through Sunday, November 13th. They invite their customers to stop by for discounts, samples, free products and opportunities to win gift baskets.



November Membership Meeting

Our next membership meeting is a holiday party at Big River Restaurant, November 30th, from 5:30 to 7:00 in the evening. We’ll have time to meet new members and discuss changes in our business services. If you know of a business that is interested in CIBA, this would be a wonderful meeting to bring a guest to.



Upcoming Meetings

Executive Board Meeting: Tuesday, November 1, 13:30 a.m., FA Co-op Meeting Room

Board Meeting: Tuesday, November 8, 2:00 p.m., FA Co-op Meeting Room

Philomath CIBA Group: Tuesday, November 15, 12:00 p.m., Janni Lou’s Creations

Membership Meeting: Wednesday, November 30, 5:30 to 7:00 p.m., Big River Restaurant