Update on SNA Affiliate Agreement
Hello TASN!It is my hope you are all doing well and having a fantastic school year!
I am reaching out to you with information regarding the State Affiliate Agreement (SAA) with the School Nutrition Association (SNA). The purpose of the agreement is to formalize the relationship between SNA and all state associations.
The SAA was distributed to state associations in May 2017. At that time, SNA reached out to state leadership teams indicating they would work with us on any amendments we, as a state, deemed necessary. TASN had our moments of hesitation, questions and concerns regarding signing a formal agreement. After all, we have been a partner with SNA for many many years without direct oversight by SNA. Our major concerns were related to SNA's control of our Bylaws and Indemnification, meaning SNA would not hold TASN harmless if a legal situation should arise.
In October 2017, with guidance from our attorney, TASN submitted a list of amendment requests to SNA. SNA's initial response to our request came in February 2018, in which they declined every amendment request. TASN leadership, including the Executive Director and Board members, continued to have conversations with the leadership team from SNA. We also reached out to members for feedback. In July 2018, TASN leadership was able to meet with SNA in order to address our concerns and seek answers to our questions. The meeting proved to be positive and a step in the right direction, leading TASN to re-structure our amendment requests. The revised amendment request was submitted to SNA in late August 2018.
It took SNA quite some time to respond to the second amendment request. In fact, they held it until their October Board meeting. At the time of this Board meeting, Texas, California and Florida were the only hold outs to signing the SAA. These states have the largest and most organized state associations with very strong infrastructure.
TASN has compiled information for your review. See below for the following:
SNA's response to TASN's second amendment request (PDF) SNA Memorandum (PDF) Revised State Affiliate Agreement (PDF)TASN is a very strong state association. Does TASN need SNA in order to be successful…maybe not. However, we do need to ensure we make the best decision for all of our members.
The deadline for signing the State Affiliate Agreement has been extended to April 2019. This means TASN needs to make a decision at our Board meeting scheduled for February 2019.
At this time, we are seeking feedback from all TASN members. Please review the enclosed documents and email your comments to: info@tasn.net Comments are due by December 14, 2018.
I appreciate your input!
Shelly Copeland
TASN 2018-2019 President