Monday is turning out to be a big news day. I was just sent an email that said Interim NRA EVP Andrew Arulanadam had terminated Marion Hammer’s contract. The email was from Marion Hammer to John Frazer bitterly complaining that her contract had been terminated with four years left to go.
From the email:
From: marion hammer <mphammer1@aol.com>
Date: April 22, 2024 at 12:07:03 PM CDT
To: John Frazer <john.frazer@nrahq.org>
Subject: NRA has dumped meToday Andrew Aarulanandam called me and terminated my retirement contract with NRA.
Earlier, Randy Kozuch, ED-ILA suddenly quit providing grants to pay my monthly salary (last December 2023).
That leaves me totally without employment or retirement income.
I was hired by NRA in September 1978 by NRA CEO Harlan Carter and the NRA Executive Director of ILA — over 45 years ago I was instructed to set up and run Unified Sportsmen of Florida (USF) as the Florida arm of NRA and to also lobby for USF/NRA. I was promised that a grant would be provided to USF to pay my salary as long as I was employed by USF.
Every ED-ILA since then has honored that promise. Until last year when Randy Kozuch broke that promise and simply quit providing the grant to pay my monthly salary. He didn’t fire me, he just quit paying me.
In other words, I have not had a monthly paycheck since November 2023.
Nonetheless, I have continued to work for NRA and train the NRA designated replacement lobbyist. Who, by-the-way, is a fine young man and who works for Randy Kozuch, and to my knowledge, is not a part of this.
I have survived on the retirement income contract that Wayne LaPierre put in place for me in 2018,
Today, April 22, 2024, Andrew Aarulanandam, with Vanessa Shahidi in the room, called and informed me that he had decided to terminate the retirement contract that Wayne LaPierre put in place for me in 2018.
The 10-year contract was actually a replacement for the NRA retirement program which I had not been allowed to participate in. The contract (with 4 years remaining) was to provide retirement income since I had never been included in NRA’s retirement program.
I have faithfully served NRA and NRA members for well over 40 years. As of today, I am no longer being compensated for the work NRA hired me to do. I have not been fired, they have just quit paying me.
I just thought you’d like to know what those in charge are doing to those who have faithfully served NRA and our cause.
Bottom line, as of today, I have no employment income and no retirement income.
Later this week (April 26th) I’ll be 85 years old. So much for over 40 years of dedicated service and work for NRA.
Respectfully,
Marion P. Hammer
I sincerely doubt that Arulanadam unilaterally made this decision on his own. It leaves me to wonder if this was Bill Brewer’s doing or whether NRA President Charles Cotton was behind this. It could have been the two in combination.
You will remember that Marion called out Cotton’s EVP search committee in February and earlier in January had called for a search committee to fill the spot. The January missive was a shot across the bow of those who were trying to install Cotton as the successor EVP. Marion’s February email to the Board also said she didn’t think any internal NRA candidate, e.g., Arulanadam, was qualified to fill the EVP spot.
I really could not be more surprised by this contract termination than if you told me Kris Brown of Brady was going to be the next EVP.