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Member Worker
Profile: Toni Smith
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by Andrew Elder
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When I sat down with Toni
Smith at the picnic table just outside the Co-op, she was reading a
book called Brother to a Dragonfly. It's a true story of two brothers
in rural Mississippi in the 1950s, one of who becomes active in the
early civil rights movement and ministers to both sides of the
struggle, while the other's life is a downward slide of drug addiction.
She's reading it as part of a book club where each member recommends a
book. The catch is they can only recommend books they haven't read.
Nate Horwitz recommended Toni to me for this month's profile and
meeting her, I got the same sense of constant surprise. Toni was a
professional dancer for 15 years in New York City before moving to the
Capital District. She has been teaching dance at Skidmore (and has been
a member of Honest Weight) for the last two decades. In addition, she
maintains a private practice in Body Mind Centering® (she's one of
only three certified practitioners in the region), teaches adaptive
yoga at the Center for Disability Services, pioneered the Shopper
Assistant program and is a major part of the fund-raising effort for
the new building. Sounds like a lot doesn't it? Yet Toni is a master of
cool aplomb.
When she first became a member of the Co-op, she and her husband did
inventory night. "It was fun and relaxed," says Toni. "We could bring
the kids, breast feed, and leave them in carts to play while we
worked." Now she works in Grocery and runs the Shopper Assistant
program which aids customers with disabilities. "This is a
high-maintenance store," says Toni. "If you have physical, mental or
even cognitive challenges you might not shop here. And that's not okay
with me."
Shopper Assistant provides door to door service, from the moment a
shopper enters to getting them out and on their way. She also provides
even more complete assistant for those who can't get to the Coop at
all; taking a list over the phone, shopping for the customer and making
home deliveries when needed.
Toni's work with Body Mind Centering and adaptive yoga is also about
caring for others. "It's not about health and fitness," says Toni.
"It's about creating an environment in which all systems and tissues
can function at their maximum potential." Both disciplines focus not on
limitations but rather on an individual's movement potential,
regardless of disability.
Toni also works on the member loan program for the new building
fund-raising efforts. "I'm not afraid to ask for money," says Toni. "If
the economy was stronger it'd be easier but compared to stocks this is
a great investment!"
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