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An Example Of A Board Of Directors Doing The Right Thing

September 12, 2024 by 2 Comments

Norfolk Southern Corporation is the fifth largest railroad in the United States. It has 20,200 employees, 21,300 miles of track, and generated $12.2 billion in revenues in 2023. Its board of directors has 13 members including the CEO. When it needs to act in a hurry, it acts.

On September 8th, the company announced the Board of Directors had opened an investigation into potential conduct by its CEO Alan Shaw that contravened the company’s policys and its Code of Ethics. The release noted that the company takes all allegations of misconduct seriously and the Board’s Audit Committee had hired a law firm to conduct an independent investigation.

Picture courtesy of Norfolk Southern corporate website.

Alan Shaw joined Norfolk Southern in 1994 and became CEO in 2022. Prior to that he was an Executive VP and Chief Marketing Officer for six years and the VP in charge of Intermodal Operations prior to that.

Today, in an unanimous vote, the Board of Directors fired Shaw for having a consensual relationship with a subordinate. The subordinate, Nabanita Nag, was the Executive Vice President Corporate Affairs, Chief Legal Officer & Corporate Secretary. She was also terminated today.

Shaw was paid $13.4 million in 2023. However, since he was fired for cause, it is unlikely he will receive any severance or other deferred compensation.

I want to emphasize that Mr. Shaw was in a consensual relationship with Ms. Nag. He morever had not diverted any corporate funds for his personal use nor was it found that he had violated his fiduciary duties to Norfolk Southern or its shareholders.

This is an example of a Board of Directors acting as it should. They had credible allegations of misconduct in violation of company policy, they investigated it, and they acted expeditiously.

I bring up this example of board action to provide a contrast with the Board of Directors of the NRA. Many on that Board either knew or should have known that Wayne LaPierre was abusing his role as EVP and CEO for improper gains. The Audit Committee had heard from whistleblowers allegations of financial improprieties and did nothing. They had the Frenkel Report as early as 2003 showing financial abuses of credit cards by Wayne’s gatekeeper Millie Hallow. All of this was on top of the issues raised by Ollie North and Richard Childress in 2019. Instead of taking a positive stance and terminating Wayne, they defended him up until he resigned earlier this year.

There are two morals to this story. The first is that when presented with credible evidence of violations of company policy, a good board acted as they should have done. The NRA’s board did not. The second is that an effective board cannot have 76 directors if it is to be a viable board and do its fiduciary duty. The Norfolk Southern board had 12 independent members and they not only did their duty but did it quickly.

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Whistleblower Lawsuit Filed Against NRA In Virginia Court

September 10, 2024 by 2 Comments

Apryl Marie Fogel, former Director of the Women’s Leadership Forum, filed suit this past Friday afternoon against the NRA in Fairfax County Circuit Court. The lawsuit alleges the NRA violated the Virginia Whistleblower Protection Law, Va. Code § 40.1-27.3, by terminating her after she had made numerous reports about the misuse of monies in violation of the NRA’s own policies. She reported these violations to, among others, former Executive Director of Advancement Tyler Schropp and current NRA Director Janet Nyce. Nyce also serves as the co-chair of the Women’s Leadership Forum.

Representing Ms. Fogel is attorney Jane Lemley of the firm Harrison and Johnston, PLC of Winchester, Virginia. Lemley is an expert in employment and labor law who has been listed in multiple issues of The Best Lawyers in America.

The suit alleges:

  • Fogel reported to both Tyler Schropp as Executive Director of the Office of Advancement and to the co-chairs of the Women’s Leadership Forum Janet Nyce and Jane Brown.
  • Fogel had worked with other tax-exempt charitable organizations and understood that accurate records of both donations and donors must be kept under Federal and applicable state law.
  • Fogel understood that donor funds given to the NRA and WLF could not be used for “expensive services, lavish gifts, and personal gain.”
  • Fogel erroneously assumed that both Schropp and Nyce were as equally committed as she to “to ensuring that the NRA complied with applicable federal and state law with respect to financial management and use of donated funds.”
  • That contractor MC500 provided “black car services” to Janet Nyce in violation of NRA policy for which the NRA was charged $150 per hour.
  • That contractor MC500 often charged for work that could be done in-house at the NRA and that often was never completed. This included flying Jennifer Bridgeman, the Chief Marketing Officer of MC500, to take minutes at a meeting of the WLF Executive Council at Janet Nyce’s request notwithstanding that NRA staff could complete the same task.
  • Fogel reassigned much of this work to NRA staff as a cost saving and efficiency measure cutting out MC500. This led to Janet Nyce calling and shouting at Fogel as Nyce said it was “her prerogative to incur whatever cost she saw fit for the WLF program.”
  • Fogel reported this to Schropp along with her cost saving measures and was angrily told “to stay in her lane.”
  • After this and other incidents, Schropp and Nyce treated Fogel in such a manner as to create a toxic work environment. Nyce went so far as to convene “a meeting of the WLF staff and leadership at the NRA Annual Meeting in Indianapolis, but excluded Ms. Fogel, the Director of the WLF, from this meeting.
  • Fogel was ordered by Susan LaPierre to purchase a “$240 Baccarat crystal butterfly” as a gift to Indiana First Lady Janet Holcombe using her personal credit card. Upon investigation, Fogel determined making such a gift would violate Indiana law regarding the value of gifts. LaPierre was not pleased to be told this. Following this, she was retaliated against by Mrs. LaPierre, Jane Brown, Nyce, and the infamous former intern Megan Allen who had her apartment expenses paid by the NRA.
  • Fogel became concerned about a potential security breach involving donors due to a Dropbox maintained by MC500 entitled “WLF Shared Folder” that would allow former NRA employees access. Schropp dismissed her concerns but they were validated by NRA Security Manager Bob Jenkins.
  • There was improper and haphazard record keeping when it came to WLF member donations. Often donations would be credited to the wrong person including Janet Nyce.
  • Fogel had her probationary period extended another 90 days in retaliation for reporting these issues.
  • Finally, two days after she reported the security breach and soon after she had delivered a report on NRA-WLF financial mismanagement to Schropp, Nyce, Brown, and director Barbara Rumpel, she was terminated with no explanation.

Fogel is asking that she be reinstated to her former position or a comparable one, that she be paid $150,000 in compensation for lost wages and benefits, that she be awarded attorney costs, and that applicable interest should be paid on the lost wages. She is also asking for a jury trial.

Fogel has communicated to me that she did not want to bring this lawsuit but was facing the statute of limitations on time to bring the suit. Her hope is that a settlement can be reached.

I have had many conversations with her over the past year regarding the NRA and its issues. I believe what she has alleged in this lawsuit. One need only look at those mentioned in the lawsuit to come to that conclusion. You have Tyler Schropp who used the NRA as his personal piggy bank. You have cabal members Janet Nyce and Barbara Rumpel. You have contractors upset that someone interrupted their gravy train. Finally, you have Susan LaPierre herself. What more needs to be said about the veracity of Fogel’s allegations.

I have tried to summarize the case but read all 40 pages of it. It will both sadden and anger you.

Apryl Marie Fogel v. NRA Complaint Filed 9-6-24Download
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While I Was Gone…

September 5, 2024 by 2 Comments

I left for South Africa on the afternoon of Friday, August 23rd and only got back home to North Carolina around noon yesterday. As the Complementary Spouse was home alone (though well armed), I was reluctant to go public that I was out of the country. I had won an auction at the SCI Convention in February for a 7-day hunt at a ridiculously low price to go with a Delta “buddy pass” which had to be used by early September. Thus, my brother-in-law Larry and his son Alex joined me for a trip to Thabazimbi in Limpopo Province. I will have more on that trip in subsequent post but suffice to say it was pretty successful.

However, while I was gone, a lot of stuff happened and it is hard to blog about things when using just an iPad. Lets go over some of the things that have happened while I was gone.

Number 1: I was put on the ballot for the 2025 NRA Board of Directors election by the Nominating Committee. I did quickly post about this on August 28th. As I have said, this was not expected. Some have suggested with some justification that this may have been an attempt to shut down my news and criticism of the cabal and the NRA. I promise that if elected I will not stop exposing issues within the NRA while still being observant of my fiduciary duties. I should also note that I am NOT stopping my campaign to be on the ballot by petition. While it may seem redundant now that I am officially on the ballot, being placed on the ballot by petition to me is the Holy Grail as it comes from the members and not the insiders. My goal in running for the Board is to serve the members, the grass roots, and the cause of advancing our Second Amendment rights.

Number 2: NRA In Danger blog was taken down temporarily. I literally had 3-4 emails within an hour of it going down telling me about it. I had multiple back and forth emails with “NRALifer” over the issue after I was alerted to it. While the conspiracy theorist in me and many others pointed towards that lawyer we all love to hate, in the end it was some WordPress.com anti-spam algorithm that targeted the blog for supposed spamming. I hate to say it but in the old days of bulletin boards, listservs, and Usenet groups it was harder to suppress news and opinion. As social media has grown up, censorship has grown with it. I am an advocate for having and using private hosting services that are less likely to be censored than the corporate ones. For the record, I do not know who runs and writes the NRA In Danger blog.

Number 3: A blistering 8-page “Dear Board Member” letter went out on August 30th from NRA VPs Bill Bachenberg and Mark Vaughan. It took aim at the Special Litigation Committee, the original committee assignments, Brewer, and the cabal. More on this letter in another post.

Number 4: The cabal waited a few days and then issued their response officially (supposedly?) written by cabal member Don Saba. It accused Bachenberg and Vaughan of being “divisive” and “harmful” to the NRA as well as trying to coerce and browbeat the cabal. . The letter was full of innuendo about the reform elements cooperating with the NYAG’s office and how they had help from a “competing second amendment organization” to promote “discord, distrust, and confusion” on the Board and with gunowners. Of course, it is nonsense. I do remember well that Dr. Saba was one of the Directors who vehemently disagreed with my 2020 resolution on succession planning at the Annual Meeting in Tucson.

Number 5: I met and became friends with a member of the 2016 South African Olympic Team. Lindsay Hanekom is a field and track athlete who runs the 400m hurdles and was going to Atlanta for training. He, like Larry and I, got bumped from our flight to Atlanta on Monday night. Thanks to Lindsay, we were able to get a ride to a hotel near the airport with his friend Driaan.

Number 6: Our hunt with Tsala Safaris was mostly a success. While I didn’t get my cull zebra, I did get my trophy impala and blue wildebeest. I also saw giraffes, roan, zebra, golden wildebeest, sable, mongoose, nyala, kudu, waterbuck, eland, red hartebeest, warthogs, springbuck, gemsbuck, Cape buffalo, and probably others than I have forgotten to name. I still marvel at the ability of our trackers Sharma and Filomon to see animals amidst the tangle of the bushveld as they saw animals that even with binoculars I couldn’t see.

The backstrap from my impala was made into lunch a few days later when we had impala stroganoff. It was exceptionally good. For those that are into these things, that ram was taken with one shot at about 175 yards and his horns measure right at 24 inches.

Now it is time for me to try and shake off the jet lag and get to work helping the other petition candidates for the NRA Board. There are a total of 26 reform candidates running for the Board of Directors and only 11 are on the ballot courtesy of the Nominating Committee. Despite Judge Cohen’s suggestion that we have an open election with anyone who wished to run on the ballot, we are not there yet.

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McFadden caves on gun permit delays

September 3, 2024 by 2 Comments

Sheriff Garry McFadden of Mecklenburg County, NC had a disingenuous way of delaying the issuance of NC Concealed Handgun Permits. Under the guise of investigating an applicant’s mental health status, he would have all applicants’ names sent to the Veterans Administration for a copy of their records. Notice I said all. The VA would be getting requests for mental health records for applicants who had never, ever served in any branch of the US military. This created both a paperwork headache for the VA and a prolonged delay for the applicant.

Based on this, Grass Roots NC, Gun Owners of America, and individual sued in US District Court for the Western District of NC. It appears a settlement is in the works which still requires the approval of Judge Max O. Cogburn, Jr.

GRNC released the following last night.

In recent days, a press release from the Mecklenburg County Sheriffs’ Office (MCSO) has caused Charlotte news media to prematurely report a settlement in the lawsuit filed by Grass Roots North Carolina, Gun Owners of America, and individual plaintiffs against Mecklenburg County Sheriff Garry McFadden. 

Per advice from GRNC’s legal team, we have so far refrained from giving details of the settlement. Given MCSO’s public statement adding “spin” to McFadden’s defeat, however, GRNC is compelled to tell the truth about what has been tentatively agreed to by the parties.

At issue are what appear to be intentional delays in issuing concealed handgun permits (CHPs) by McFadden, who previously sent mental health record requests to the Veteran’s Administration for all permit applicants, regardless of whether they served in the military, flooding the VA with paperwork in order to create delays in permits.

This is the second lawsuit GRNC and GOA have filed against McFadden over permit delays. Between the two suits, GRNC and GOA have ended McFadden’s gun permit delays in the following ways:

  • Repealing NC’s Jim Crow-era pistol purchase permit law, used by urban sheriffs to delay handgun purchases;
  • Ending the MCSO practice of requiring CHP applicants to schedule appointments, often months ahead, to apply;
  • Ending the practice of sending mental health records requests to the VA for all applicants;
  • Requiring the sheriff to make mental health record requests only for applicants who have previously sought mental health treatment (tentative); and
  • Paying $5,000 toward damages and legal fees suffered by the plaintiffs (tentative).

Most amusing was McFadden’s statement that he will continue to “inquire of each applicant whether the applicant has sought mental health treatment.” In truth, he is required to do so. In fact, it is a part of the CHP application form stipulated by the NC Administrative Office of the Courts.

While we are disappointed that McFadden refuses to pay the full legal fees incurred by those denied their rights due to his malfeasance as a public servant, as a public policy organization, GRNC is happy that McFadden has capitulated on permit delays.

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Revamped NRA 2024-2025 Committee Assignments

August 31, 2024 by 3 Comments

NRA President Bob Barr had made a number of committee assignments that were, in my opinion, ill-conceived in light of Judge Cohen’s interim decision in Phase 2 of the NRA’s trial in New York. Many of the assignments had been in direct conflict with the judge’s decision. However, cooler heads prevailed and Barr has now made a revamped assortment of committee assignments. I understand he made these after discussing them with 1st VP Bill Bachenberg and 2nd VP Mark Vaughan.

Below you will find the new assignments for all committees. Most significantly, Charles Cotton and David Coy neither head nor are members of the Audit or Finance Committees respectively. Moreover, Cotton no longer heads nor is a member of the Ethics Committee.

Here are all the assignments.

(1) ACTION SHOOTING COMMITTEE
Dwight D. Van Horn, Chairman
Don Martin, Vice Chairman
William H. Allen
Clel Baudler
John M. Gordon
George Mowbray


(2) AIR GUN
Edie P. Fleeman, Chairman
Patricia A. Clark, Vice Chairman
Ted W. Carter
Clyde Furr
Amy James
Lisa Kelley


(3) AUDIT
Curtis S. Jenkins, Chairman
Charles R. Beers III, Vice Chairman
Rocky Marshall
Ronald L. Schmeits
Eb Wilkinson


(4) BLACK POWDER
David G. Coy, Chairman
Johnny Nugent, Vice Chairman
David A. Keene
Don Saba
Terri Townsend


(5) BYLAWS & RESOLUTIONS
Carol Frampton, Chairman
Scott L. Bach, Vice Chairman
Larry E. Craig
Phillip B. Journey
John C. Sigler
Danny Stowers
James L. Wallace
Judi White

(6) CLUBS & ASSOCIATIONS
Maria Heil, Chairman
Bill Miller, Vice Chairman
Donald Bradway
Charles L. Cotton
Steven W. Dulan
Rick Ector
Todd Ellis
Al Hammond
Antonio Hernandez
Charles T. Hiltunen III
Tom King
James L. Wallace
Michael O. Ware
Cathy Wright


(7) COLLEGIATE PROGRAMS
Edie P. Fleeman, Chairman
David Raney, Vice Chairman
Paul Benneche
Cathy Callahan
Ted W. Carter
David G. Coy
Isaac Demarest
Bruce Widener


(8) COMPETITION RULES & PROGRAMS
Dwight D. Van Horn, Chairman
Clel Baudler, Vice Chairman
William H. Allen
Thomas P. Arvas
Patricia A. Clark
David G. Coy
Edie P. Fleeman
Tom King
Jay Printz
John C. Sigler
Howard J. Walter


(9) DISABLED SHOOTING SPORTS
Clel Baudler, Chairman
Tom King, Vice Chairman
William Bachenberg
Anthony P. Colandro
Marco Delarosa
Matt Guedes
Graham Hill
Robin Kelleher
Edward Mays
Regis Synan


(10) EDUCATION & TRAINING
Ronnie G. Barrett, Chairman
Todd Ellis, Vice Chairman
Charles R. Beers III
Donald Bradway
Anthony P. Colandro
Charles L. Cotton
James Cozort
Rick Ector
Scott Johnson
Owen Buz Mills
Janet D. Nyce
Mitch O’Neal-Mitchell
Amanda Suffecool
Thomas Tuggle


(11) ELECTIONS
J. William Carter, Chairman
Don Saba, Vice Chairman
Rick Ector
Edward J. Land, Jr.
Steve Schreiner


(12) ETHICS
Blaine Wade, Chairman
Mark Vaughan, Vice Chairman
Ronnie G. Barrett
Clel Baudler
Maria Heil
Jay Printz
Barbara Rumpel

4
(13) F-CLASS HIGH POWER RIFLE
John C. Sigler, Chairman
Howard J. Walter, Vice Chairman
Dan Bramley
David G. Coy
Charles Rowe
Matt Schwartzkopf


(14) FINANCE (7-10)
Eb Wilkinson, Chairman
Patricia A. Clark, Vice Chairman
William A. Bachenberg
Joel Friedman
Curtis S. Jenkins
Bill Miller
Buz Mills
Don Saba
Ronald L. Schmeits
Amanda Suffecool


(15) GRASSROOTS DEVELOPMENT
Cathy Wright, Chairman
Amanda Suffecool, Vice Chairman
James Chapman
Richard S. Figueroa
Sandra S. Froman
Craig Haggard
Jeffrey Knox
David Raney
Mark Robinson
Don Saba
Steve Schreiner
James A. Tomes
Linda L. Walker
Judi White
Eb Wilkinson


(16) GUN COLLECTORS
Blaine Wade, Chairman
Robert J. Wos, Vice Chairman
Paul Babaz
Eric Beeby
Craig Bell
Allan D. Cors
Garry James
Mike Papac
David Prawdzik
Wayne Anthony Ross
Richard F. Shea
Bruce Widener


(17) HEARINGS
Larry Craig, Chairman
Charles Hiltunen III, Vice Chairman
Sharon Callan
Carol Frampton
Niger Innis
Scott Johnson
David Raney
Jay Wallace
Eb Wilkinson


(18) HIGH POWER RIFLE
Howard J. Walter, Chairman
Thomas J. Layou, Vice Chairman
Isaac Demarest
Dennis R. Flaharty
Tom King
Denise Loring
John C. Sigler
Brad Sutherland

(19) HUNTING &WILDLIFE CONSERVATION
Ward M. French, Chairman
Stephen R. Plaster, Vice Chairman
Tim Archer
Charles R. Beers III
Paul Babaz
Jefferey Crane
Carol Frampton
Aurelia Skipworth Giacometto
Mike Ingram
Andrew McIntyre
Mitzy McCorvey
Barry Partlo
Mark Peterson
Tyler Ruhland
Nick Wiley


(20) LAW ENFORCEMENT ASSISTANCE
Jay Printz, Chairman
Blaine E. Wade, Vice Chairman
William H. Allen
Clel Baudler
Sharon Callan
Louis Hunter
Wayne Ivey
Robert Rotter
Randy Sutton
Robert Vadasz
Dwight D. Van Horn
Mark E. Vaughan


(21) LEGAL AFFAIRS
Sandra S. Froman, Chairman
Scott L. Bach, Vice Chairman
Bob Barr
Steven Dulan
Carol Frampton
Charles T. Hiltunen III
Curtis S. Jenkins
John C. Sigler

(22) LEGISLATIVE POLICY
Kayne Robinson, Chairman
Larry E. Craig, Vice Chairman
Joe M. Allbaugh
Scott L. Bach
Bob Barr
Allan D. Cors
Dennis Fusaro
Sandra S. Froman
Graham Hill
Charles L. Hiltunen III
Niger Innis
Curtis S. Jenkins
David A. Keene
Matt Kilgo
Jeffrey Knox
Carolyn D. Meadows
Alan B. Mollohan
James W. Porter II
David Raney
Robert A. Rotter
Barbara Rumpel
John C. Sigler
Linda L. Walker
Eb Wilkinson

Federal Affairs Subcommittee
Sandra S. Froman, Chairman
Charles L. Hiltunen III, Vice Chairman
Allan D. Cors
Graham Hill
Jeffrey Knox
Allan B. Mollohan


International Affairs Subcommittee
Bob Barr, Chairman
Eb Wilkinson, Vice Chairman
Larry Craig
Dennis Fusaro
Niger Innis
David A. Keene
David Raney
Kayne Robinson


State & Local Affairs Subcommittee
Scott L. Bach, Chairman
John Sigler, Vice Chairman
Joe Allbaugh
Curtis S. Jenkins
Matt Kilgo
Rob Rotter
Barbara Rumpel
Linda Walker


(23) MEMBERSHIP
Blaine E. Wade, Chairman
Kayne B. Robinson, Vice Chairman
Paul Babaz
Dean Cain
Anthony Colandro
Todd Ellis
Dennis Fusaro
David E. Fitzmorris
Mitzy McCorvey
Jay Printz
James Schenck
Judi White


(24) MILITARY & VETERANS’ AFFAIRS
Leroy Sisco, Chairman
Jay Printz, Vice Chairman
Joe M. Allbaugh
Ted Carter
Lou Davis
Jack Hagan
Robin Kelleher
Jeffrey Knox
Edward J. Land, Jr.
Scott Neil
David Norcross
George Petersen
John C. Sigler


(25) NOMINATING
Jay Printz, Chairman
Robert Mansell, Vice Chairman
Scott L. Bach
Charles R. Beers III
Cynthia Flannigan
Duane Liptak
David Raney
Bryan Tucker
Judi White

(26) OUTREACH
J. Kenneth Blackwell, Chairman
Antonio Hernandez, Vice Chairman
Betty Cardenas
Chris Cheng
Rick Ector
Rick Figueroa
Lucretia Hughes
Niger Innis
Susannah Kipke
Mark Robinson
Thomas Tuggle
Norma Lee Valle


(27) PISTOL
William H. Allen, Chairman
Kenneth A. Boyd, Vice Chairman
Ted Carter
David G. Coy
Paul Pluff
Robert Vadasz
Tom Yost


(28) PROTEST
Clel Baudler, Chairman
Edie P. Fleeman, Vice Chairman
Ted W. Carter
John C. Sigler
Howard J. Walter


(29) PUBLIC AFFAIRS
Scott L. Bach, Chairman
Ronnie G. Barrett, Vice Chairman
J. Kenneth Blackwell
Dean Cain
Sandra S. Froman
Charles T. Hiltunen III
Greer Johnson
Tom King
Carolyn D. Meadows
Grover Norquist
David Raney
Kayne B. Robinson
Mark Robinson
James Schenck
Dwight Van Horn
James L. Wallace
Jay Wallace


(30) PUBLICATIONS POLICIES
David A. Keene, Chairman
Ronald L. Schmeits, Vice Chairman
Joe M. Allbaugh
Shad Ketcher
Robert Mansell
Owen Buz Mills
Kayne B. Robinson
Blaine E. Wade


(31) RANGE DEVELOPMENT
David G. Coy, Chairman
Ronnie G. Barrett, Vice Chairman
Donald J. Bradway
Anthony P. Colandro
Isaac Demarest
Al Hammond
Robert E. Mansell
Don Saba
Danny Stowers
Robert J. Wos

(32) SHOTGUN
Thomas P. Arvas, Chairman
Kim Rhode, Vice Chairman
David G. Coy
Lynn Gipson
F. Daryl Hayes
Tom King
John Nelson
Anthony Palumbo


(33) SILHOUETTE
Tom King, Chairman
Bill Miller, Vice Chairman
Charles R. Beers III
J. William Carter
Patricia A. Clark
Jim Kidwell


(34) SMALLBORE RIFLE
Patricia A. Clark, Chairman
Howard J. Walter, Vice Chairman
J. William Carter
David G. Coy
Todd Ellis
Edie P. Fleeman
George Harris


(35) SPORT SHOOTING
Jay Wallace, Chairman
David G. Coy, Vice Chairman
Charles L. Cotton
Susannah Kipke
Willes K. Lee
Amy Lovato


(36) WOMEN’S POLICIES
Carol Frampton, Chairman
Maria Heil, Vice Chairman
Amy Heath Lovato
Katalin Kadar Lynn
Mitzy McCorvey
Janet D. Nyce
Kathryn Hicks Porter
Brenda Potterfield
Lane Ruhland
Barbara Rumpel
Linda L. Walker
Judi White


(37) YOUTH PROGRAMS
Patricia A. Clark, Chairman
Janet D. Nyce, Vice Chairman
Todd R. Ellis
Edie P. Fleeman
Vito Germinario
Hilary Goldschlager
Amy Heath Lovato
Craig L. Swartz
Bruce Widener


(38) MEETING SITE SELECTION
Bob Barr, Chairman
William A. Bachenberg, Vice Chairman
Ronnie G. Barrett
Larry Craig
Mark Vaughan


(39) SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON SECURITY OPERATIONS
Kayne B. Robinson, Chairman
Jay Printz, Vice Chairman
Mark Vaughan
Blaine Wade


(40) SPECIAL LITIGATION COMMITTEE
Bob Barr, Chairman
Charles L. Cotton
David G. Coy

(41) SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON RELOCATION
Bob Barr, Chairman
Joel Friedman, Vice Chairman
William Bachenberg
Charles L. Cotton
David G. Coy
Tom King
Mark Vaughan


(42) EVP SEARCH COMMITTEE
Bob Barr, Chairman
David G. Coy, Vice Chairman
Carol Frampton
Curtis Jenkins
Jay Printz
Barbara Rumpel
Blaine Wade

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Guess Who Is On The Ballot For 2025?

August 28, 2024 by 1 Comment

Prepared to be as shocked as I was when I heard the news. I am on the ballot for the 2025 NRA Board of Directors election thanks to my nomination by Todd Vandermyde and the Nomination Committee making me one of the “official” nominees.

I understand thanks are due to committee member Bob Mansell, a reformer, who pushed my nomination. I wish to thank him for his efforts and will do my best to live up to his confidence in me.

As I am out of town – way out of town to be honest – I am going to link to NRA In Danger for the full list of those nominated.

Without diminishing the efforts of those who put me on the ballot through the Nominating Committee, I will continue to seek to also be on the ballot by petition. Being “double nominated” to me indicates that I am on the ballot, first and foremost, due to the efforts of the rank and file voting members. To me, that is supremely meaningful and I hope it will be to you as well.

There were many good people who did not get on the Nominating Committee’s ballot such as former NRA President Jim Porter among others. If he decides to run by petition, I certainly will post his petition and circulate it. There are other reformers who were not nominated and I’ll do the same for them.

If you are eligible to sign my petition, please do so. It can be found here. You can email me at jpr995 AT gmail DOT com for the mailing address. I must submit at least 398 good signatures on October 8th to be on the ballot by petition.

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Al Hammond Urges Hamlin To Fire Brewer

August 26, 2024 by 1 Comment

NRA Director Al Hammond has sent a letter to the members of the Board of Directors encouraging them to support NRA EVP Doug Hamlin and to encourage Hamlin to fire Bill Brewer and his law firm. From everything I’ve read and everything I’ve heard, Hamlin as EVP has the authority to hire and fire any and all vendors including Brewer. While some are strongly holding to the theory that only the Special Litigation Committee has that power, I think ultimately that they are in error.

From Al Hammond’s letter to the BOD:

Subject: Letter to Support Doug Hamlin to Terminate Bill Brewer

Fellow NRA BOD members,  We have come to a critical time in the history of the NRA.  Myself having worked for the NRA for close to 30 years and then joining the BOD I have never seen this association in such dire straits financially and continuing down a path dooming our beloved NRA. We have to take a stand and turn this organization around.  

The first step is to terminate Bill Brewer and his legal team and allow our elected CEO/EVP to do his job without constraint.  I have sent a letter to Doug Hamlin encouraging him to do so and I would ask you to consider sending one in support of Doug as well. My letter is below. 

Now is the time to stand and be counted and help rewrite history as being part of the patriots who saved not only the NRA but our Country. We owe this to our NRA members, our Country and our children to continue to protect these rights every day.  Now is your chance to be heard. Please send Doug Hamlin a support letter for all the good work he has accomplished and continues to do for our NRA everyday.

Best Regards

Al Hammond

NRA BOD

Hammond then goes on to release the letter he sent to Doug Hamlin in encouragement. You may remember that some of the cabal had referred to Hamlin as the “interim EVP” which he is not. I presume that was because they preferred a more compliant EVP and one not associated with the reformers.

From that letter to Hamlin:

Doug, 

As a member of the National Rifle Association Board of Directors my fiduciary responsibility is to represent our members and promote and protect this great association.

With the continuation and constant legal maneuvering by the Brewer law firm to keep the NYAG law suite and other lawsuits without a resolution it is time to terminate and replace our current legal counsel and replace them with our own internal legal counsel and/or another outside legal counsel firm who can get the job done.

We have paid the Brewer firm in excess of 190 million dollars and we can no longer afford this high priced counsel with dismal positive results.  We are cash strapped and the current legal counsel and our President, Bob Barr, along with the entire Special Litigations Committee seem to have turned a blind eye and insist we continue to use Bill Brewer for not only the NYAG case but other pending cases and any new legal cases we enter into.  Enough is enough.

As the duly elected CEO/EVP you have the full authority to decide on any legal counsel moving forward and termination of any currently being utilized.  I fully support and ask you to dismiss the Brewer Firm from any and all lawsuits currently and any moving forward. Our members have had enough of their hard earned money and the support they have given being squandered on poor legal representation.

Thank you for all that you have done and continue to do to bring back the NRA to what it should be and let’s build a bigger and stronger NRA  working together.

Best Regards

Al Hammond

NRA BOD

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Andrew Arulanandam Heads To Idaho

August 23, 2024 by 1 Comment

Andrew Arulanandam has officially submitted his papers to retire from the NRA effective September 1st. Doug Hamlin, CEO and EVP, sent out this announcement this morning.

Andrew Arulanandam – a valued member of our NRA team for the past 24 years, will be retiring effective September 1, 2024 to pursue a new opportunity.  Andrew has been an integral part of our organization consistently demonstrating dedication, expertise, and a commitment to professionalism and excellence.  Please join me in expressing the NRA’s deep gratitude and best wishes to Andrew.

Doug Hamlin

Executive Vice President/CEO

National Rifle Association of America

After being promoted from being the NRA’s head PR flack to the Executive Director of General Operations and then becoming Interim EVP after Wayne resigned, I was a bit surprised that that he was allowed to stick around after Doug Hamlin was elected EVP. This is especially true given how Arulanandam fronted for the cabal. That said, it was probably easier to return him to his position in PR with the understanding he would be retiring in a few months. I don’t know whether this allowed him to qualify for the NRA’s old pension but that is neither here nor there. I also don’t know whether his salary was reduced from $450,000 when he returned to the old job.

While the NRA hopefully has seen the last of him, the people of Idaho are getting him back.

Governor Brad Little announced the appointment of Andrew Arulanandam as the new director of the Idaho Lottery and the Idaho State Liquor Division. Arulanandam will take over following the retirement of Jeff Anderson, who had led both agencies until July….

In his new position, Arulanandam will lead two agencies that generate significant economic activity for Idaho. In 2023, the Idaho Lottery and Idaho State Liquor Division returned over $210 million to support state programs such as schools and infrastructure.

Arulanandam will begin his new role in September.

It should be noted that Arulanandam was the Executive Director of the Idaho GOP among other Idaho-based positions before he started working for the NRA. He is also a 1992 graduate of Boise State University.

The house cleaning at the NRA continues as now Arulanandam joins Tyler Schropp in the former NRA employee category. I certainly hope there will be more to come including a certain outside counsel.

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Running For NRA Board Of Directors (Updated)

August 21, 2024 by 9 Comments

Some people already know this but I am running for the NRA Board of Directors. For a long time I thought I could be most useful outside looking in and reporting on what I saw. I think that is still valuable. Nonetheless, after much discussion between the Complementary Spouse and myself, I decided to take the plunge.

As to why I would submit myself to this, the answer is simple. Someone has to do it and better that the one doing it comes primed for reform. We in the Second Amendment community need a viable NRA. By viable, I mean one that can still put the fear of God in politicians, that will train people in proper firearm use and safety, and that will, in conjunction with other 2A groups, litigate the hell out of gun control laws.

Thanks to my friend Todd Vandermyde, my name has been submitted to the Nominating Committee. Likewise, I have submitted his name in nomination. I have returned the documentation that they have requested and the committee will be meeting in the last part of August to review those names submitted. Obviously, with the parties meeting on August 12th to hammer out the final court order the entire procedure may change. One interpretation of the interim court order is that anyone who met the qualifications – a Life Member of five years – will have their name on the ballot. We shall see.

Regardless of what the Nominating Committee or the court decides, I plan to run by petition. Ideally, I would be a dual-nominated candidate. My rationale is that a candidate who gets on the ballot by petition is there because the members want him or her there. Given my goal is to serve the members to the best of my abilities, that is as it should be.

To have my name placed on the ballot, I need to obtain the signatures of 398 voting members. More is better as some signatures will be ruled invalid. As a reminder, voting members are those who are either Life Members of any level or are Annual Members who have at least five years of continuous membership. The closing date for me to submit the petition with my name and your signatures on it is October 8th. Thus, I would need to have them back in my hand no later than October 1st.

My petition form is below. Please download and print it out on 8.5×11 inch letter size paper in landscape format.

UPDATE: I understand some people have had an issue downloading the petition from Scribd. I am attempting another method of making it available. If you can’t get it one way or another, just email me and I will be happy to send it by email.

John Richardson NRA Petition Form Landscape 2024-2025Download

In addition to your name and dated signature, the petition requires your membership number and your address as listed in the NRA’s files. If you look at the label on your official magazine, you will find your membership number in the upper right corner (see the picture below). You do not need the leading “zeros” in front of your membership number. Alternatively, your membership number is on your membership card.

Any help you can give in obtaining signatures will be gratefully accepted. I don’t care if it is one signature or multiple pages filled with signatures, they all are needed to get me on the ballot.

If you will email me at jpr9954 AT gmail DOT com, I will send you the address where to mail the signed petitions. Normally, I’d just put my address here but I’ve been getting a lot of spam comments from Russia and China. I don’t want to give them any more leeway if I can avoid it.

Again, thank you.

UPDATE II: I have received a very good response from you the readers. In the last two days I have received almost 20 letters with petitions containing almost 40 signatures. When added to what I picked up at the Gun Owners of America GOALS event in Knoxville this past weekend, I am off to a good start

I need to keep the momentum going. If you belong to a gun or sportsmen’s club, ask your fellow members to sign the petition. If you own a gun store or manage a range, please consider placing my petition on your counter. If you have friends who are as fed up as you and me with the grifting and corruption that has occurred, please forward them my petition. If you are a regular on a firearms, hunting, or outdoor forum, please put up a link to this post there. I will be doing that as well.

Remember, you can email me at jpr9954 AT gmail DOT com for instructions on where to send the petition. Given many procedures of the NRA remain in the 20th Century, petitions are required to be mailed back and not scanned/emailed. If you need a short bio to pass on to your friends, I even have one of those. I will say that was hard to write as I’m not the sort sing my own praises.

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A Match Made In Hell

August 20, 2024 by 3 Comments

I received an email today from the Everytown Victory Fund which is their PAC. They are now have formed a coalition with the Planned Parenthood Votes PAC to produce a pro-Kamala, anti-Trump online advertisement. The ad touts how Kamala is pro-abortion and pro-gun control. This is juxtaposed against Trump on his appointments to the Supreme Court and speaking about his record on gun rights.

Now anyone who knows anything about gun rights and Trump knows he is not perfect on gun rights despite what they have him saying in this ad. The now overturned bump stock ban is evidence of this.

I don’t care what your position is on abortion but I am having a bit of cognitive dissonance seeing these two leftist organizations in a coalition. One promotes killing the unborn while the other thinks restricting firearms is a safety (sic) measure. Perhaps I should view Everytown as not so much as a gun control organization but rather an organization that is doing everything in its power to limit the basic human right of self-defense. Seen that way, this coalition does make some sense.

I do understand that if you want a free vasectomy or abortion pills, they are both available at the Democratic National Convention. I guess that is one way to limit the spread of leftism.