by NRA President Charles Cotton appointed a committee of insiders to search for an Executive Vice President and CEO back in February. This move by Cotton came after criticism he was seeking to circumvent the process in order to be named EVP himself. More importantly, as the letter from long-time director Bill Bachenberg makes clear, there was little to no input from the rest of the Board on this move.
Yesterday, an email came out that announced the EVP search committee would be meeting in Atlanta at the end of the month to hear from Board members on their ideas and insights about a new EVP. You can read the full email below:
As you know, on February 10th President Cotton appointed the Executive Vice-President Search Committee, which he asked me to chair. The Committee has been working diligently to fulfill the charge given it by President Cotton to “determin[e] the process and timing of the selection of appropriate candidates to present to the Nominating Committee and, ultimately, the full Board of Directors.”
An important part of the Committee’s work has been to solicit and consider input from all Board members regarding the procedures to follow in making recommendations to the Board, including suggested names of candidates to consider as EVP. The Committee has sent two emails to all Board members asking for input, and as noted previously, that invitation is a continuing one.
The Committee also specifically extended an invitation to all former NRA presidents and current President Cotton to appear personally before the Committee at the Committee’s next in-person meeting on April 13th to offer suggestions based on their unique perspective on the position of NRA EVP.
The Committee considers it extremely important also that every Board member have the opportunity to not only send ideas to the Committee, but to appear in person to offer their insights and ideas.
Board members are invited to attend a scheduled meeting of the EVP Search Committee on Saturday, April 27, 2024, beginning at 9:00 AM EDT. This meeting will be held at the Embassy Suites by Hilton Atlanta Airport Hotel located at 4700 Southport Road, Atlanta, Georgia 30337. Board members who attend will be provided a reasonable opportunity to make a presentation and engage in dialogue with Committee members.
Please note that Board members will be responsible for their own travel and accommodation expenses. The Secretary’s Office will make every attempt to reserve a room at the hotel at NRA’s negotiated rate.
The Committee respectfully requests that any Board member wishing to attend the April 27th meeting inform Committee Secretary Nick Perrine by Friday, April 20, 2024, in order to allow for appropriate scheduling of the presentations.
Thank you for your dedicated service to our Association, and for your support of the Committee’s important task.
Bob Barr
Chairman, EVP Search Committee
One must ask why the majority of the Board must travel to Atlanta at their own expense if they want to have a voice in the selection of the new Executive VP and CEO. They should have been heard from the very beginning as well as have been involved in the actual selection of the search committee. That they were not is another indication that the Old Guard aka the Cabal wants to maintain the status quo despite the jury in New York finding a breach of fiduciary duty. This presumably would include the continued employment of Bill Brewer and his firm.
Reading this email I was struck by the deference being paid to Charles Cotton and the past presidents of the NRA by the committee. They will be given a special opportunity on April 13th to make their voices be heard on the selection of the replacement for Wayne LaPierre. When Barr speaks of the “unique perspectives” of past presidents I would wager house money that he is not speaking about Ollie North or Pete Brownell. Rather he is referring to the Marion Hammers and others of the long-time “friends of Wayne” that allowed the problems currently facing the NRA to fester.
While it hasn’t been publicly mentioned, I have heard rumors that some of the Cabal are seeking bylaw changes that would exclude certain candidates from being considered. This would include the exclusion of former ILA General Counsel and Deputy Director Wade Callender who has the support of a number of GOP attorneys general as well as some on the Board itself. The rationale for keeping Callender out of the running for EVP is that he would be a change agent. The Old Guard’s desire is to keep everything as it is with them in charge regardless of how disastrous it is to the future of the NRA.
Rigging of the bylaws to exclude anyone should be a non-starter. It certainly is not in the interest of the members of the NRA which should be the primary consideration of this committee as well as the Board. However, what is in the interest of the members rarely seems to be given much consideration.
UPDATE: NRA In Danger has some very interesting comments on this meeting. Moreover, he (or she) notes that when the Legal Affairs Committee recently met in Fairfax they, too, had invited Board members to attend – at their own expense. They were there to hear from Brewer, Attorneys and Counselors, on how things went at the New York trial. One must wonder if anyone bothered to ask them how much it all cost and what the NRA was getting for its money.
I like the appeal for a reincarnated Harlon (Carter) and Neal (Knox) to return and lead the organization. Oh, how the Friends of Wayne would be howling like banshees if that were to occur!
The elephant in the room for the NRA is the general perception it is a corrupt organization run by a cabal of insiders who line their pockets with members’ dues and contributions. In the effort to regain the NRA’s membership numbers and revenue that perception is its deathnel. Around 2 million members already voted on that issue by leaving in disgust. If we are to regain the confidence of our brothers and sisters who left, and that of new prospective members, the NRA must make a clean break from the practices of the recent past. The forcing out of WLP prior to the first phase of the trial was the first step of a process that needs to continue. As long as people view the leadership of the NRA as simply rearranging the deck chairs on a sinking ship they will not join or rejoin us in the fight for the heart and soul of this great organization. This move by Cotton to anoint himself as EVP once again feeds the perception the leadership is corrupt. We must remember he is the leader of the cabal that , as a member of the Executive and Audit Committees, withheld information about “irregularities” in the association’s finances, reports from whistleblowers, and a decision to file bankruptcy from the rest of the Board of Directors. Some NRA directors are now publicly speaking out, and we need to support their efforts by expressing our concerns to each and every one of the NRA directors.
The decline in revenue is even worse than that. As a Life Member, I couldn’t non-renew. I could and did withhold additional contributions which I had previously made.
Where do I chip in $20 to help defray the travel expenses of concerned Board Members?
Well, I happen to know that the current board are not making money from the contributions of members. If those making complaints would actually attend the member’s meetings and read the actuary produced by the finance department instead of reading and believing information scrambled and manipulated by disgruntled individuals (Knox) they may make informed
decisions. Unlike people in the Congress, none of the Board members have suddenly become millionaires. It is hard to run an organization like the NRA that is governed by citizens without the citizen’s actual input. The biggest problem is the majority of members rely on the very few to run the organization and then bitch when it doesn’t fit what they decide is correct. We, as NRA member, need to remember what we are fighting for and not give in to the incremental degradation of our right to keep and bare arms.
Sharon, thank you for your comment. I must correct your misapprehension that none of the current board members are making money from the contributions of members. The contract with Marion Hammer for approximately $200,000 annually is still in effect.
I and others who want change have attended the Meeting of the Members. We have seen first hand how board members are instructed to argue against any resolution not previously approved by the powers that be. As to the financials, the data comes from reports that the NRA legally must provide to the IRS, the State of New York Charities Bureau, or to many Secretaries of State such as in NC. There is no financial data that is being “scrambled and manipulated”.
You may consider Jeff Knox a “disgruntled individual”. It is your choice to be willfully ignorant as well. I, on the other hand, consider Jeff to be a principled individual who was willing to point out the obvious despite being vilified by people like you.