Today was my last full day at work in Wilmington.  I have a meeting to attend next Thursday, and then I am on to more and different things.

I worked at Tidal Creek for most of five years.  Well, I took a few months off in 2004 for a short lived veggie-oil fueled car trip, but other than that have been on the clock at the co-op.  Here is the notice that went into the latest co-op newsletter:

In December of 2003 I found myself working a register at Tidal Creek Cooperative Food Market.  I was happily unemployed up to that point, earning my rent and food money by finding things in the trash and selling them on eBay.  I also ran an organic produce buying club and converted a few old diesel cars to run on used vegetable oil, forming the idea that would become Cape Fear Biofuels.  It was an interesting life even after the point where I decided to hold onto a time card again.

A year or so later I was produce manager.

As manager I have had some profound experiences that have shaped my life and my philosophy of community and food.  I have met and talked to a great many of you.  Those conversations shaped the way the produce department evolved over the years and determined the priorities for bringing in products.  You wanted organic; you wanted local; you wanted trust in the food and the systems and people that provide it.  Hopefully I have given you what you wanted.

It is now time for me to move on and take on new challenges.  I leave for my land in Chatham County to start a farm and get back into the dirt.

Nicole, my long time right hand in the produce department, is also leaving at the same time as I am.

I leave the department in the hands of a new staff and manager who will lead you into a new era.  Please welcome Stephen Chu (manager), Buddy and Stephen K. Embrace them as you have me and all the other produce folks over the years – Mike S, Sasha, Matt, Peter, Nathaniel, Stacey, Daniel, Brad, Shannon, and Nicole B.

Just to add on a bit to this, Mike, my previous right hand in the produce department, has moved to Chatham to get into the sustainable agriculture program.  So there will be a bit of the old with the new…