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Owner Services
The Co-op’s Reincorporation in 2022
In preparation for relocation to downtown
Hancock, the Co-op needed to reincorporate under
Michigan law. The reincorporation transition
allowed for planned improvements to our
ownership structure and options for owners.
(From 2010-2022 we were incorporated in Ohio
because of more favorable cooperative law at
that time.)
Here is information that explains these changes.
Letter from the Board of Directors about
the transition:
In preparation for relocation to downtown
Hancock, the Co-op needed to reincorporate under
Michigan law. One new Michigan requirement is
that we issue a Membership Certificate
to all fully-vested Owners, which provides
important Membership information. As your
Initial Owner Investment is paid in full and
your Membership is in good standing, your
Certificate is linked below and also documented
in Co-op Membership records.
Working with legal counsel, the Board of
Directors has also updated our Membership
Agreement for compliance with Michigan law and
made other improvements, including addressing
certain problems that emerged in the last ten
years. Your completion of a new
Membership Agreement will bring your
Membership up to date and provide you with
better options to assure continuity of
Membership for your family and household.
As a Member in good standing, you can now
accomplish the following actions by completing
the new Membership Agreement:
-
Legally name a true joint owner for your
Membership and Member Capital*
-
Legally agree
to accept email/electronic communications for
official Member communications
-
Legally
designate a beneficiary for your
Membership/Member Capital
*Important
Note: your “Other Household Adult” is
currently NOT a legal holder of your Membership
or your Member Capital. That designation only
allows use of your Owner number at the register,
and provides no legal rights to the
Membership/Capital.
The Board of Directors strongly recommends that
all Co-op Owners complete the new Membership
Agreement. As a Member in good standing, the
following applies to you:
Strongly
Recommended:
Optional:
-
If desired, complete the Agreement Exhibit C
for Joint Ownership of your Membership
-
If desired, complete the Agreement Exhibit D
to name beneficiaries
Not needed:
You may find our online
Member Resource FAQs about Membership Transition
to be helpful, and we welcome your direct
questions and comments as well.
In partnership with our members, we are looking
forward to the Co-op’s relocation. We feel
confident that all of these improvements will
lead to a better Co-op for our Members and
community.
We sincerely thank you for being an Owner and
patron of the Keweenaw Co-op,
Roger Woods, President
On behalf of the Keweenaw Co-op Board of
Directors
Updating your Ownership and Keeping your
Information Up-to-date
It is an Owner’s responsibility to communicate
with the Co-op concerning changes to their
contact information. This can be done at the
store, by email, by phone, or by written
notification. Owner capital, including capital
stock, patronage refund, and capital credits,
will be forfeited if an Owner cannot be located
as described in the Co-op’s
Articles of Incorporation (4/5/2022).
NOTE: If your owner number is 6703 or higher,
you have already filled out the MI Co-op
Documents. (You may wish to add a joint owner or
beneficiaries as shown below.)
Owners # 1 through 6702: Bring your
Membership Agreement up-to-date with our
Michigan Co-op Documents (*Why? see below)
Membership Agreement Update Form
If your paperwork is already up-to-date
with our Michigan Co-op (Owners # 1 - 6702 with
updated Membership Agreement documents and
owners # 6703 and up):
Other changes, such
as removing or changing a joint owner or
reporting the death of an owner, please
contact
ownerservices@keweenaw.coop.
*Why would you
choose to update your documents if you're
already an owner (#1 through 6702)?
You must complete the new
Membership Agreement if:
-
You wish to name
somebody as a true “joint owner” of your
membership. Any current “Other Household
Adult” is not a true joint owner and has no
member/owner rights, they can only use your
owner number at the registers.
-
You are willing to
give us legal permission to communicate
official membership business with you via
email or other electronic means, which saves
resources and labor.
-
You wish to name one
or more beneficiaries for your Membership
and Member Capital.
Additional
Details:
If you have any questions
please contact Owner Services:
ownerservices@keweenaw.coop
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