Governance Update 2021-07-15In July, during SNA’s 2021 virtual Delegate Assembly, the Association’s House of Delegates approved eleven amendments to the Bylaws adjusting several facets of the Association’s governance structure. All except one of the amendments go into effect immediately. The amendments include: Article I. Membership, Section 1A - Removes the language “Persons engaged in teaching present or potential school nutrition personnel” from eligible fields because this section relates to school nutrition members who work in the school nutrition environments. Article I. Membership, Section 4 – Changes the SNA regions to align to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) regions. This amendment goes into effect on June 1, 2022 to align to the SNA membership year. Article II. Chartered Affiliates, Section 3 – Incorporates additional requirements for a state affiliate to be represented in the Delegate Assembly. The amendment requires compliance with federal and state laws and aligns with the requirements of the State Affiliation Agreement which has been signed by all states. Article III Officers, 2.D – Removes duplicate language of the same sentence “An officer may not serve more than one term in each office.Time spent filling a vacancy shall not be counted as a term.”, which is found in Article III Officers, Section 3. Election and Term of Office. Article IV. Board of Directors, Section 1, 2, 5 – Changes the Regional Director, At-Large Director, and the School Nutrition (SN) Employee/Manager Representative positions to all Director positions on the Board. Article IV Board of Directors, Section 8.B – Allows for the actions of the executive committee meeting to be communicated at the next board meeting rather than within ten days of the meeting. Article IV Board of Directors, Section 3, 8.C – Changes all communications of meeting notices to electronic means, reflecting current practice. Article V Delegate Assembly – Provides for more flexibility for the meeting to be held annually and not specifically at the Annual National Conference (ANC) in case ANC is cancelled or held virtually in the future. It also allows for electronic communications for all delegate assembly communications. Article VI, Committees and Advisory Councils, Section 1A – Allows for the President to serve on the Finance Committee. Article IX, Parliamentary Authority – Changes to the newest edition of Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised. Article X Amendment – Adjusts the due dates of amendment proposals to allow for more time since it faster and easier to share information with delegates electronically. It also allows amendments to be sent to the Delegate Assembly electronically. The SNA Bylaws are being updated and will be shared under the SNA Vision & Mission webpage and State Support Center shortly.