PORT TOWNSEND — The director of a food co-op in Moscow, Idaho, will become the new general manager of the Port Townsend Food Co-op in March.
“We are pleased to announce the hiring of Kenna Eaton as general manager,” the co-op’s board of directors said in a statement.
Eaton “brings a wealth of experience from her long tenure at the Moscow Food Co-op.”
Eaton, who was a founding director of the Moscow Food Co-op in 1982 and has acted as its executive director since 1992, was selected over two other finalists to replace Briar Kolp, who resigned in March.
She will move to Port Townsend with her husband, who is a nurseryman, and plans to arrive in town about a month before starting the job.
The couple’s two children are in college.
“We are at a shift in our lives as our kids are all grown,” Eaton said.
“We are looking to explore a new community and are very excited to be living in Port Townsend.”
Eaton, 52, was born in England, moved to the United States as a child and became a citizen in 2000.
Deb Shortess has served as interim general manager, a post she will relinquish when Eaton comes on board.
Shortess has been acquainted with Eaton for 20 years.
“We are very excited that Kenna took this job,” Shortess said.
“She is well-spoken and very knowledgeable.”
Eaton said she was impressed with the Port Townsend Co-op’s integration into the local community and its support of local farmers.
“Farmers need money, support and a place to sell their product,” she said.
“And the role of a co-op is to make the food choices in a community more diverse as it helps local vendors to have a visible presence.”
Eaton said she will spend her initial time in Port Townsend getting acquainted with the facilities and staff.
The co-op’s board rejected a proposal to boycott Israeli goods in September, deciding that while boycotts of companies were appropriate actions against countries, the proposal was not in the purview of the board.
Eaton gave no opinion of the action but said she was “pleased that the co-op had rules in place to deal with this type of action.”
The Port Townsend Food Co-op, 414 Kearney St., has more than 5,000 active members and employs about 85 people.
It began operations in 1972 and moved to its current location, a converted bowling alley, in 2001.
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Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
