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History of the West Office |
By Roxanne Magnuson, West Sales Representative
The idea was hatched before my time. While Equal Exchange was creating the 1996-1999 Strategic Plan, the organization decided it could be a good idea to locate a small sales team out here in the West. Equal Exchange had been growing steadily on the eastern seaboard, reaching out into the Midwest, for a solid 10 years. Although most of the co-op stores were carrying Equal Exchange coffee, it was hard to spread the word out to the great western half of our country from so far east. And Fair Trade is a message worth spreading all across this continent.
Tom Hanlon-Wilde had been a worker-owner of Equal Exchange since early 1995. By 2000, he was ready for a change of view. Literally. He convinced his wife to move, and after the two spent a five-month sabbatical in Nicaragua living and working with the members of PRODECOOP, the two moved to Oregon. Tom began working out of a room in a rented house in August of 1998.
In 1998, Nature's Fresh Northwest in Portland, Ore., was the first new group of stores to sign on with a complete Equal Exchange program. Soon afterward, Town & Country Markets agreed to expand the selection of Equal Exchange coffee beyond the trial display at their store in Bainbridge Island.
Two years later, two willing Equal Exchange employees, Beth Ann Milardo and Todd Caspersen, also relocated and rented a tiny office in Gresham, Ore. Tom, Todd and Beth Ann were a dynamic team, excited and able to spread their wealth of knowledge about Fair Trade all around the west coast. The three of them worked well together and before long there were nearly 100 stores buying and selling Equal Exchange in the three western-most states.
Just over a year after they moved out here, Todd and Beth Ann were recruited to return to the headquarters in Massachusetts to form the Roasting and Quality Control teams. That meant room for newbies. That's when I came along.
Todd was my teacher, my trainer and my inspiration. I was astounded that he could, so fluidly, talk about the farmers/producers and their lives. I was astonished by the depth of his knowledge and passion for this mission. He was truly inspirational.
Todd and Beth Ann returned to Massachusetts in 2001. Beth Ann created and leads the Quality Control department. Todd took over roasting and green bean procurement. He now heads up the entire Purchasing department.
That left Tom with a couple of new kids on his hands. He helped us understand that we're owners of this venture and that we get to help choose the direction and speed of growth out here. The West now has 10 full-time worker-owners and three more people working toward that goal. We have distribution facilities in Washington and Oregon and people in all three western states. We have a successful café in Seattle. Hundreds of stores and cafés, schools and hospitals buy, sell and use Equal Exchange fairly traded coffee, tea, chocolate and snacks. And this is only the beginning.
We're still growing. We still own it. We still believe we can change the world. And we know we can't do it without each and every one of You. Together we really will make this blue marble a happier, more just place to live.
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