Time to Say Goodbye
My journey in Christian literature started a long time ago . My great grandmother and her sister both wrote Christian books . They were first published in 1864 , and my great aunt wrote until 1908 . My grandmother , Grace Livingston Hill , wrote 103 books and has been called “ The Mother of Christian Romance Fiction .” She started writing in 1893 and wrote her last book in 1947 . My mother , Ruth Livingston Hill ( Munce ) wrote five romances but is best known for founding Keswick Christian School , which just had its seventieth birthday .
In 1969 , my wife Marti and I began a Christian bookstore as a mission project in Africa . After 12 years , we returned home and started an export business to sell Christian books at wholesale to overseas bookstores . We dealt mostly in closeout and remainder books and Bibles so that we could give high discounts to our customers in Africa , Asia and the Caribbean basin . Our customers needed to sell books at a low retail price , since most of their customers had very little discretionary money to spend . To build this ministry , it required around-the-world selling trips for me and included some wanted and unwanted adventures , such as being in the middle of a revolution and experiencing a hotel fire . After more than a decade , we sold that business to a friend who was involved in a similar ministry .
Three years before we sold the export business , we started Munce Marketing Group . We began with 23 stores for the Christmas catalog in 1991 and went on from there to now service 150 stores and growing . One of the recent highlights was being able to quickly replace CBA when it closed its doors . God had prepared us for this , because we already had successful regional trade shows , so it was relatively easy to step up and take over the national show and to provide the other trade association duties . We formed the Christian Retail Association ( CRA ) with a board of directors consisting of retail store owners and managers and structured it as a 501 ( c )( 3 ) not for profit .
I have spent my life in Christian literature and am grateful for your delightful company on this journey .
As you may have heard by now , I made the decision to retire in 2023 and have sold the Munce Group to Palmgroup Marketing . The new owners are a great group of people all from the Christian book industry . You will love working with them ! Just as God had prepared us to take on the association , He is preparing the Munce Group to continue to grow with Palmgroup ’ s strategic direction . I have been in prayer regarding an exit strategy for some time now and know the importance of having a plan in place in order to make a smooth transition . I encourage any store or company that is considering retirement not to simply close your doors but to have a long-term exit strategy in place . This will help your retirement needs and ensure your staff is worry-free and prepared to continue operations . I was finally ready to retire and ready to pass on the baton to those at Munce Group because of the confidence I have in our team . Just as my great grandmother , grandmother , mother and now I have passed on our ministries to others , you have the opportunity to leave a legacy as your ministry continues .
Everyone ’ s story of service for God is different , but everyone has to deal with difficulties along the way . Romans 8:31b tells us , “ If God is for us , who can be against us ?” And 1 Corinthians 15:57 says , “ But thanks be to God , who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ !”
I look forward to seeing some of you again , since I hope to visit a CPE trade show in the future .
Yours in Christ ,
EDITOR : Andrea Stock CREATIVE DIRECTOR : Mike Solava ADVERTISING : Christy Dollins ACCOUNTING : Brooke Koroknay
BOARD MEMBERS : Jon Curtiss Christy Dollins Les Jones Dennis Lovvorn Rachel Savage
Karen Bilbrey Lori Bowdoin Michelle Brown Jeff Crosby Alyssa Fabik Krista Ferguson Abi Gilbreath Ann Kardos
CONTRIBUTORS
Donna McCollough
Tami Sarver Susan Titera Lorraine Valk Karen Welch Karen Whiting Charlene Wiggs
EDITORIAL OFFICES
200 West Bay Drive , Largo , Florida 33770
P : 727.596.7625 F : 727.593.3523
To submit comments , questions or suggestions , please email service @ munce . com
Copyright © 2024 Munce Marketing . All rights reserved .
Bob Munce
6 CRA today / www . christianretailassociation . org