What if the Hanover Consumer Cooperative Society decided that, as a result of the Co-op?s existence, the Upper Valley will have an economy that maximizes local ownership and minimizes the leakage of income, wealth and jobs to other places?

And what if, as a result of that decision, the Upper Valley became a zone of economic self-determination, no longer a place whose success comes largely at the whim of people and institutions who have no interest whatsoever in guaranteeing that our community continues to thrive?

Those are the questions I have, following this year?s Annual Meeting of our Co-op on April 27 and the business leaders? breakfast the Co-op co-hosted (along with Vital Communities and Local First Vermont) the following morning. Both events featured talks by Michael Shuman, author of The Small Mart Revolution: How Local Businesses are Beating the Global Competition...

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