Dear SIBA membership,

This year has flown by! I can't believe that we will soon be living in 2024. It has been a privilege to serve as your SIBA board president this year and my only regret is that there wasn't enough time to get to know more of you better! The board has been doing some necessary (yet tedious at times) work on amending the SIBA bylaws to bring these up to date for our current organization and modern bookselling world. We will be putting these up to a membership vote shortly and I encourage you to participate. Though there is a lot of legalese throughout (as expected with such a legal document) the main things of note to point out to you are three items:

1. We have updated the definition of Core Member. The previous definition is as follows: "Independent, privately-owned, commercially-zoned bookstores with a retail storefront and physical headquarters in the Company’s region are eligible for core membership." We have changed this definition to be reflective of the more inclusive and highly creative industry we find ourselves living in today. The new definition is: "Core membership is open to any independent, privately-owned legal entity actively engaged in the business of bookselling in our region (AL, AR, FL, GA, KY, LA, MS, NC, SC, TN, VA). The bookselling venue may be physical, online, recurring pop-ups or mobile but physical books (including e-books and audiobook versions) must represent more than 50% of overall revenue. These membership requirements shall be subject to interpretation, in the event of dispute, by the Board of Directors. Only owners and authorized representatives and key staff (with owner permission) may serve as officers or directors of the Company. Core Members are entitled to one vote at meetings or in other official balloting procedures of the Company."
   
   
2. We have expanded the option to have a board of seven members rather than five. This will allow us to have greater representation of our region serving on the board level.
   
   
3. We have added the board officer position of Secretary-Treasurer in order to be compliant with North Carolina law.

If you have any questions about any of these changes, please let us know! We spent many months going through the bylaws line by line with legal guidance. Thank you in advance for weighing in.

I am delighted to turn over the Presidency to Julia Davis, owner of The Book Worm Bookstore in Powder Springs, Georgia. I have had the pleasure of serving on the board with Julia over the past couple of years and have found her to be brilliant in business and full of creative ideas. Between Julia and our fearless leader, Linda-Marie, SIBA is in great hands as we head into a bright new year. Thank you for allowing me to serve our membership.