Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/716988
STiR coffee and tea 25 With the positive results of the survey and the approval from SCAE membership to unify, the SCAA board moved forward to present the busi- ness case for unification to its members. SCAA conducted in-person meetings, sent emails, and hosted webinars to present their vision of the new association. A business plan, financial projections, and prospectus were published in ad- vance of the formal vote. The 11-member board led by Ben Pitts and immediate past-president Tracy Allen conducted an upbeat campaign using social media platforms, along with video and hash tags, all of which was intended to remind voting members to review the materials and to vote. Colleen Anunu, elected to SCAA's board as part of the 2015/16 class of directors, was one of many who participated in the process that led to the board's decision to move forward with explor- ing unification. Anunu said, "We didn't find nega- tive feedback in the member survey. This led to a conclusion to move forward, but it may have been based on a false assumption that we had received all of the information necessary to do so because there was obvious push back." She reiterated that approval of motions by the SCAA board of directors in the months leading up to the unification vote were unanimous. In May SCAE members (above) voted over- whelmingly (86%) in favor of merging with SCAA Late-breaking naysayers Then, in the final days of June just as voting was about to begin, came the letter "10 Reasons 10 SCAA Presidents VOTE NO On Consolidation" written by Don Schoenholt, president of Gillies Coffee Company and a former SCAA president, and signed by nine other past SCAA presidents. It was published to Schoenholt's Coffeeman's Diary blog and has also appeared in slightly differing vari- ations on the social media platforms of others, in trade publications, and in individual email inboxes.