Prairie Sky Co-op making changes to equity payment process

Members of Prairie Sky Co-op will see a change in how they receive their equity payments this year. 

Rather than holding in-person Equity Days where members would pick up their equity cheques, the Co-op will be mailing the payments directly to members. The decision, according to General Manager Kevin Arthur, comes after reviewing past years and recognizing that many checks ended up being mailed out anyway. 

“What we found is that most customers didn't pick up the cheques, and we wound up mailing them out later, and this way we can get the cheques out to our customers faster,” Arthur explained. 

While the change may raise concerns given recent uncertainties surrounding mail delivery, Arthur said they are monitoring the situation closely. 

“Yes, when we planned this, that wasn't the situation, but we hope to get them out in the mail pretty soon to avoid that disruption,” he stated. “We will be watching that very closely, and if there needs to be a plan B, we'll communicate that quickly.” 

Despite the shift in how equity payments are distributed, Arthur emphasized that Prairie Sky Co-op still values the opportunity to connect with its members. He added they will continue to host customer appreciation events. 

“We've always had customer appreciation events in conjunction with our equity cheque handout days, and just because we're mailing the checks out, we are still holding events,” said Arthur. “They just will be at different times depending on the location, so stay tuned for a customer appreciation day in any of our locations.”