Specialty Food Association Inc

“Membership of the corporation shall be open to any corporation, partnership, limited liability company or other entity, or any sole proprietor that: (1) meets the qualifications adopted by the board of directors; (2) is engaged in any one or more areas of the specialty food, beverage and confectionery industry whose products or services meet the definition of specialty food products or services set forth in these by-laws or whose activities meet the other relevant standards adopted by the board of directors; and (3) is interested in supporting the purposes of the corporation.”

“All board positions are subject to annual elections of the general membership. The association's nominating committee is charged with selecting qualified candidates to be nominated for the chance of being elected to the board.”

“Specialty food association, inc. Has its form 990 prepared by an outside accounting firm and has established the following review process to ensure that the information reported is complete and accurate. When the form 990 has been prepared, reviewed by management and is ready to be filed with the internal revenue service, it is electronically sent to the board members of the organization for any comments. The outside accounting firm presents the 990 to the audit committee. After the presentation any comments are then grouped, summarized and provided to the outside accountants. Each issue is documented and addressed until the return is finalized and approved for filing.”

“Directors, officers and key persons ("interested persons") must disclose any potential conflicts of interest when voting on policy or transaction matters of the corporation and comply with the corporation's conflict of interest policy. They will be required to sign a conflict of interest statement annually. Additionally, the corporation shall not enter into a transaction with a "related party", as that term is defined in the corporation's conflict of interest policy, until all of the requirements set forth in the corporation's conflict of interest policy for approving a transaction with a related party have been satisfied. If the board has reasonable cause to believe a member has failed to disclose actual or possible conflicts of interest, it shall inform the member of the basis for such belief and afford the member an opportunity to explain the alleged failure to disclose. If, after hearing the member's response and after making further investigation as warranted by the circumstances, the board or committee determines the member has failed to disclose an actual or possible conflict of interest, it shall take appropriate disciplinary and corrective action. An interested person may make a presentation regarding the arrangement or transaction involving the possible conflict of interest to the committee. An interested person is prohibited from attempting to improperly influence any deliberation or voting related to the transaction or arrangement involving the possible conflict of interest. The interested person must leave a meeting during the discussion of, and the vote on, any such transaction or arrangement until the committee determines whether a conflict of interest exists. After exercising due diligence, the committee shall determine by a majority vote of the disinterested members whether a conflict of interest exists and whether the transaction or arrangement involving a possible conflict of interest is in the corporation's best interest, for its own benefit, and whether it is fair and reasonable. In conformity with the above determination it shall report to the board its determination regarding the existence of a conflict of interest and shall make a recommendation as to whether the board should approve the transaction or arrangement; provided that if the transaction or arrangement involving a possible conflict of interest constitutes a related party transaction then it must be approved in accordance with the procedures within the corporation's policies and procedures.”

“The compensation committee of the board of directors is the body charged with reviewing the compensation packages of the president and svp, finance & strategy (the "officers") and making recommendations to be approved by the board. The committee reviews market data and performance in determining what an equitable compensation package should be. The review and approval for the officers were documented in the meeting minutes. The organization engaged mercer to perform an indepth compensation analysis for the officers and key employees in 2023. The president of the association prepares evaluations and sets compensation for the organization's key employees based on each individual's performance during the current year. The board of directors engaged a third party to conduct an assessment on board compensation. The compensation assessment focused on similar types of 501(c)(6) entities to the association and determined a reasonable range of compensation for its directors.”

“The organization makes its form 990 available for public inspection as required under section 6104 of the internal revenue code. It is available on guidestar and other similar types of websites. In addition, the financial statements, conflict of interest policy, articles of incorporation and by-laws are also available upon written request.”

“Specialty food association, inc. Utilizes the services of extensis, a professional employer organization (peo), to manage its human resources functions. Under this arrangement, extensis serves as the employer of record for payroll and tax purposes, while the association retains full control over the hiring, supervision, evaluation, and termination of its employees. Extensis provides payroll processing, benefits administration, workers' compensation coverage, and compliance support. The association reimburses extensis for gross wages, payroll taxes, employee benefits, and an administrative service fee. Compensation reported in part vii and schedule j reflects the total compensation paid to officers, directors, and key employees through extensis.”

“Temporary help 295,843. Exhibit and trade show contractors 2,125,815. Janitorial services 15,848. Pension service fees 24,075. Freelance workers 92,410. Payroll service fees 68,276. Agency marketing services 21,145. Sales agents 265,163. Recruitment 59,375.”