👑 CROWN LETTER: MARY BETH LAUGHTON

Merchant Mentor, Lady Banyan of the Marketplace

First Steward of Let’s Go Shopping

Board Candidate, Liana Banyan Corporation

Dear Ms. Laughton,

You lead America’s largest consumer cooperative.

I’m building the next one.

REI has 25 million members who believe that outdoor recreation should be accessible, sustainable, and member-owned. Liana Banyan is a cooperative commerce platform with the same philosophy — applied to everything else.

When I researched who should lead our cooperative retail initiative, your name kept coming up. And what caught my attention wasn’t the scale of REI — it was the course correction. When members pushed back on political endorsements, you listened. You refocused on culture. You said: “If we don’t get the culture right, the rest doesn’t matter.”

That’s exactly what I believe. And that’s why I’m writing.

WHO I AM

My name is Jonathan Jones. I’m a 52-year-old father of eight, a U.S. Army veteran, and the founder of Liana Banyan Corporation — a cooperative commerce platform with fourteen charitable initiatives designed to be self-funding and sustainable.

I was a child of missionaries in Tanzania — no television until 13, so I read a lot, and I’m good at chess. I’ve spent 47 years thinking about cooperative economics and nine years building this platform. I’m not a billionaire. I’m not famous. I’m just someone who wants what SHOULD be good to ACTUALLY be GOOD.

WHAT I’VE BUILT

Liana Banyan is a cooperative platform in which three commercial divisions — .com, .biz, and .net — drive sustained funding for the .org charitable initiatives. All the time, by design, sustainable beyond our lifetimes because of the infrastructure we build that operates far beyond us.

The economic principle is simple: Cost + 20%. Creators keep 83.3% of every transaction. The platform takes 16.7% to fund operations, and 100% of charitable funds go directly to the people doing the work. Helping each other help ourselves.

We have fourteen initiatives — everything from meal delivery (Let’s Make Dinner) to music licensing (JukeBox) to microloans (VSL) to protection systems (Defense Klaus). Each one is designed to benefit those who need it most and be sustainably charitable.

Let’s Go Shopping is our cooperative retail initiative. It’s designed to:

• Connect consumers directly with ethical producers
• Eliminate the extraction that plagues traditional retail
• Build supply chains that benefit communities, not just shareholders
• Create a marketplace where member-owners set the standards

Sound familiar? It should. It’s REI’s model — applied beyond outdoor gear.

WHY YOU

You’ve spent your career at the intersection of retail and values.

Sephora. Ulta. REI. You understand that modern retail isn’t just about transactions — it’s about trust. And you’ve proven you can build that trust at scale.

But what convinced me to write was your response to the political backlash. When REI members said “focus on the mission, not the politics,” you didn’t dig in. You course-corrected. You said the culture matters more than the controversy.

That’s rare. That’s leadership. And that’s exactly what Liana Banyan needs.

We operate under what we call the Switzerland Rule: no politics, no religion. We incorporate principles that work — practical, not ideological. The platform serves everyone, regardless of which way they vote. The economics are apolitical. The mission is universal.

You already understand this. You’re already living it.

WHAT I’M ASKING

I want you to lead Let’s Go Shopping.

Not to run it day-to-day — you’re leading REI. But to guide it. To set the standards for what ethical cooperative retail should look like. To help us build the infrastructure that connects consumers with producers in a way that benefits both.

Every initiative in Liana Banyan operates as a council. The Crown is the First Seat — the leader, the tie-breaker, the voice on our Steering Committee. As the council grows with workers and members, they elect their own representative to the Board of Directors. In the early days, that representative would likely be you.

You’ve built trust with 25 million REI members. Let’s Go Shopping is the infrastructure that brings that same trust to the rest of retail.

WHAT YOU’D RECEIVE

THE ECOSYSTEM

You wouldn’t be leading an isolated initiative — you’d be part of an ecosystem of hundreds that lead thousands to benefit millions.

I’ve also written to:

• José Andrés for Let’s Get Groceries — food access
• Maneet Chauhan for Let’s Make Dinner — meal delivery
• Jessica Jackley for VSL — microfinance
• Dale Dougherty for Let’s Make Bread — business incubation
• Alex Oshmyansky for Lifeline Medications — prescription access
• Ruth Glenn for Defense Klaus — protection systems

If any of them are too busy or have other commitments, I’ve asked for referrals to others who might carry the torch. I’m asking the same of you.

Check out the structure and connections at the2ndsecond.com/The300.

These aren’t disconnected initiatives. They’re interlocking systems where the small producer might need a microloan, the artisan might need business incubation, the community might need affordable prescriptions. The whole system is designed to catch people where they are and lift them up.

That’s what you’d be shaping.

INCLUDED WITH THIS LETTER

I’ve included four documents for your review:

1. The Considered Approach — An academic paper outlining the theoretical and economic foundations of Liana Banyan. This is the “why” behind the architecture.

2. Let’s Go Shopping Overview — The operational blueprint for the initiative you’d be leading. This is the “how.”

3. The 300 Framework — The strategic allies structure you’d be joining. Shields, Spears, and Phalanx — and where you fit.

4. The Connected Keep — System-wide infrastructure showing how Let’s Go Shopping connects to every other initiative.

Please read them. Check out the implementations at LianaBanyan.org and pick them apart. Tell me what breaks with the feedback tool or contact me directly by email or phone.

THE CONNECTION

REI proves that cooperative retail works. 25 million members. $3+ billion in revenue. Member-owned since 1938.

But REI is one category: outdoor recreation.

What if that model applied to everything? What if ethical retail wasn’t a niche — it was the default?

That’s what Let’s Go Shopping is building. And that’s what you could help shape.

IF NOT YOU

If your schedule will not permit, or you are committed to other concerns, or simply do not wish to — no problem. I understand completely.

But if you know someone in cooperative retail who would be right for this, I would be grateful for the referral. The work matters more than any particular person doing it.

With respect for what you’re building at REI,

Jonathan R. Jones Founder & Crewman #6 Liana Banyan Corporation

“Help Each Other Help Ourselves”

Founder@LianaBanyan.com 406-578-1232 lianabanyan.com

🏰 FOR THE KEEP! ⚔️

Enclosures:

• The Considered Approach (Academic Paper)
• Let’s Go Shopping Overview
• The 300 Framework
• The Connected Keep