Prairie Sky Co-op held their annual general meeting Tuesday night and had a look back at 2017. The year saw changes for the company, including the amalgamation with the co-operatives in Milestone and Lang. It also saw sales for the year return to levels seen prior to the downturn experienced in the region in 2014.

“It’s been a slow process getting that to come back to where it was but it does bode well, and especially bodes well for the future,” said Del Croissant, the president of Prairie Sky Co-op. Sales for the year totalled $78.9 million. Similar numbers were last seen in 2013 and 2014.

For many of the nearly 10,000 members of Prairie Sky Co-op, one of the big highlights of the AGM is finding out about the allocation for the year. This year, $2.9 million is being allocated to the membership, with $2.3 million being paid out in cash.

“Our payout on our allocations was virtually the same as last year, so we’ve got to be really pleased with that,” Croissant added.

It was also revealed during the meeting there are changes being made to the cash payout portion of the allocation for new members. Those who have less than $200 in equity will now see a cash payment of 25 percent of their allocation.

There was one new face added to the board of directors. Steve Robertson was named to the board, replacing Ted Hillstead who is stepping down after 18 years with the board. Robertson was an associate member of the board last year, coming on as the representative for the Milestone Co-op. Leanne Anderson and Stella Swertz returned to their seats.