Sun Valley Co-op reviewed another successful year at their annual general meeting last week.
For 2023, the organization’s net savings finished at $3.6 million with an allocation of $2.54 million to their members. Over the past five years, $10.5 million has been allocated to members, with over $8 million being paid back in cash.
Throughout the year, Sun Valley Co-op has been implementing several technology changes in their operating systems.
“We want to thank our members for their patience during this time of transition,” said manager Brad Iverson.
A new EMV card reader has been installed at their Dominion City cardlock, creating the ability to purchase fuel via credit card versus a traditional cardlock card.
“This option will be expanded to our other cardlocks in time. It’s going to make it easier for customers to access fuel. And also, better for customers who don’t have cardlock cards. If you have a credit card, you’ll have 24-hour access at the cardlock sites.”
Sun Valley Co-op also recently acquired the 20-acre property known as RTL Transport, adjacent to their carwash and bulk petroleum site. While it’s too early to share the details, Iverson says the long-term vision for this property is to provide additional space for future retail growth and expansion.
Meanwhile, the gas bar locations continue to expand their food offerings to include everything from a mobile coffee cart to fresh pitas and chicken.
“That’s going extremely well,” Iverson said. “It continues to expand with new products all the time.”
Unfortunately, Federated Cooperatives Ltd. (FCL) went through a cyber system security incident last June. Systems were shut down immediately to protect data integrity.
“I’m happy to report the quick actions taken, although painful, prevented any customer data from being breached. But it was pretty rough. Some of the shelves were empty for a while,” said Iverson. “The good part is we were able to prevent any damage, but it was tough to go through the process. I want to thank customers for their patience and understanding during this difficult time. Now we’re in the recovery phase and going back to normal.”
Iverson added that, at the end of the day, cyber attacks are happening to everybody, so it’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when.
“But because there were plans in place, and we were able to enact those plans quickly, we protected the data. So I’m thankful the measures that were in place prevented any data leakage.”
He expressed his gratitude to the Sun Valley Co-op team for their patience and support throughout 2023, and for their vision going forward.
“I want to thank the employees and board for their hard work and dedication as they play a critical role in our success and thank our members for their continued support.”
Executive for the coming year include president Kevin Bell, vice-president Lionel Ewbank, secretary James Klaassen, Iverson as manager, and directors James Nickel, Eric Vetter, Donna Rosling-Wolters, and Bryce Groening.
