2025 NRA Elected Committees And Appointees

One of the key agenda items on Monday’s Board of Directors meeting was the election of officers and election of members of various committees of the board. The latter is different from a regular committee because under New York Non-Profit Corporation Law, committees of the board have the delegated authority of the Board of Directors and can bind the Board. The committees elected during this meeting include the Executive Committee, the Nominating Committee, and the Audit Committee. Also elected were trustees for the Special Contribution Fund (aka Whittington Center) and the NRA Civil Rights Defense Fund.

NRA In Danger has covered the election of the officers so I would refer you there for more details. Suffice it to say, it was a good day there for NRA 2.0.

With the exception of the Audit Committee and the trustees of the NRA CRDF, all were highly contested and all involved multiple rounds of voting as each person elected must have achieved a majority during that round of voting. For example, if a round of voting had 64 ballots cast, only candidates who achieved 32 votes or more would have been elected. Thus, if the leading candidate got 31 votes, they were not elected. What usually happened is that the lower vote getters would voluntarily remove themselves from contention and we would have another round of voting.

Italics indicate ex officio and names in bold generally indicate they are and were part of NRA 2.0.

Executive Committee

  • Bill Bachenberg* – Chairman
  • Mark Vaughan*
  • Rocky Marshall*
  • Thomas Arvas
  • Bob Barr
  • Charles Beers III
  • Anthony Colandro
  • Todd Ellis
  • Al Hammond
  • Craig Haggard
  • Maria Heil
  • Charles Hiltunen
  • Robert Mansell
  • Buz Mills
  • Janet Nyce
  • James Porter II
  • David Raney
  • Barbara Rumpel
  • Amanda Suffecool
  • Craig Swartz
  • Linda Walker
  • Bruce Widener
  • Robert Wos

The Nominating Committee is composed of six Board members and three Non-Board members. All seats on the Nominating Committee were won by those proposed by the NRA 2.0 side. Italics indicate Non-Board members.

Nominating Committee

  • Cam Edwards 
  • Al Hammond
  • Maria Heil
  • Robbie Love
  • Mitzy McCorvey
  • Buz Mills
  • Janet Nyce
  • Susan Springhorn
  • Robert Wos

Special Contribution Fund (Whittington Center) Trustees for Terms Ending in 2028

  • Al Hammond 
  • Robert Mansell
  • Barbara Rumpel
  • Craig Swartz

NRA Civil Rights Defense Fund Trustees for Terms Ending in 2028

Finally, there is the Audit Committee which is now a committee of the board as specified by Item 7 in the Final Order of the New York trial. Each member of the committee was proposed, one by one, by President Bill Bachenberg. After each proposed member was named, the Board had the opportunity to accept or reject the candidate. No one was rejected. Once all five were seated, the Audit Committee officially became an elected committee of the board.

Audit Committee

  1. Charlie Beers
  2. Rocky Marshall
  3. Jonathan Goldstein
  4. Theresa Inacker
  5. John Richardson

Obviously, you will notice that I was elected to the Audit Committee. The best way I can put it is that I wasn’t looking for the Audit Committee but the Audit Committee was looking for me. I would also like to point out that while Charlie Beers has not usually been associated with “the reformers”, his was the first name proposed for this committee at a caucus of the NRA 2.0 team given the exemplary job he has done on the committee previously.

The reformers are firmly in charge and it is up to us to revitalize, reinvigorate, and reform the NRA. You saw it at the Meeting of Members and you can see the results from the Board meeting. It isn’t perfect but it is more than a good start. Last year was the start and now we are moving into the next stage where we solidified the leadership changes begun in 2024. We still have a long road in front of us and need, as Frank Tait has written, to show members and potential members that there is a value in being a NRA member again. I think there is or I would haven’t bothered running.

2025 NRA Board Candidates – Annotated

The combined list of candidates for the 2025 NRA Board of Directors’ election was sent out on Friday by Secretary John Frazer. This includes all of those who were nominated by the Nominating Committee plus those who were successfully added to the list by petition. There are two candidates, myself and John Sigler, who are “double nominated”. That is nominated by both petition and by the Nominating Committee. Additionally, James Gilmore and Grover Norquist who were nominated by the Nominating Committee declined their nominations.

Absent from this list are Charles Brown and Paul Babaz. Both failed to meet the October 8th deadline as they were impacted by the recent hurricanes. While not on this list of candidates, there is hope that they will be added one way or another.

Voting members may choose up to 28 candidates to fill 25 three-year terms that expire in 2028; one two-year term ending in 2027; and two one-year terms ending in 2026. This will be the year in which I will not be encouraging bullet voting but voting a complete ticket. More on that to come.

I have annotated the list of candidates below to reflect if they are currently on the Board, how they were nominated, where they stood with regard to the Special Litigation Committee, and if they are on the reform ticket of candidates. Greer Johnson and John Sigler replaced directors who resigned after the September board meeting where there was the vote on abolishing the Special Litigation Committee. While not a given, it should be assumed that they would have voted with the cabal to retain the SLC.

KEY

* = Petition Candidate

** = Nominating & Petition Candidate

Bold = Reform Ticket

+ = Current Board Member

@ = Voted to abolish SLC

#  = Voted to keep SLC

NOMINATING COMMITTEE & PETITION NOMINEES

1. Bob Barr +

Smyrna, Georgia

2. Sharon Callan

Tucson, Arizona

3. Anthony P. Colandro + @

Woodland Park, New Jersey

4. Larry E. Craig + #

Boise, Idaho

5. Isaac Demarest + #

Holland, Ohio

6. Steven Dulan + #

East Lansing, Michigan

7. Todd Ellis + @

Huntingdon Valley, Pennsylvania

8. Robert Scott Emslie*

St. Augustine, Florida

9. Richard Fairburn

Canton, Illinois

10. Richard Todd Figard*

Wadsworth, Ohio

11. Lawrence Finder

Houston, Texas

12. Jeff Fleetham

Mesa, Arizona

13. James Fotis

Lake Worth, Florida

14. Carol Frampton + #

Prosperity, South Carolina

15. Joel Friedman + #

Henderson, Nevada

16. Sandra S. Froman + #

Tucson, Arizona

17. Jonathan S. Goldstein*

Haverford, Pennsylvania

18. Philip Gray

Chillicothe, Ohio

19. Jack Hagan

Charleston, South Carolina

20. Al Hammond + @

Alachua, Florida

21. Charles T. Hiltunen, III + @

Indianapolis, Indiana

22. Theresa Inacker*

Tabernacle, New Jersey

23. Greer Johnson +

Duluth, Georgia

24. Tom King +

East Greenbush, New York

25. Lucretia Hughes Klucken

Loganville, Georgia

26. Willes K. Lee* + @

Arlington, Virginia

27. Howard Massingill*

Pueblo West, Colorado

28. Mitzy McCorvey +

Houston, Texas

29. David Mitten

Chillicothe, Ohio

30. James W. Porter II* + @

Birmingham, Alabama

31. Kim Rhode* + #

Monrovia, California

32. John Richardson**

Arden, North Carolina

33. Gene T. Roach

Shelbyville, Kentucky

34. Charles Rowe

Wadsworth, Ohio

35. Lane Ruhland

Lodi, Wisconsin

36. Ronald L. Schmeits +  @

Raton, New Mexico

37. James A. Sheckels*

Fayetteville, North Carolina

38. Mark Shuell

Auburn, Michigan

39. John C. Sigler** +

Dover, Delaware

40. Danny Stowers + #

Pearland, Texas

41. Regis Synan

Export, Pennsylvania

42. Frank Tait*

Wayne, Pennsylvania

43. Todd Vandermyde*

Yorkville, Illinois

44. Dwight D. Van Horn + #

Hayden, Idaho

45. Blaine Wade +

Bristol, Tennessee

46. James L. Wallace + @

Newburyport, Massachusetts

47. Knox Williams

Atlanta, Georgia

48. Jason Wilson*

Riverton, Wyoming

49. Cathy Wright + @

North Beach, Maryland

We Made It By Petition

I received notification on Tuesday that I qualified for the 2025 NRA Board of Elections ballot by petition. It was thanks to you that I made it.

According to an affidavit filed with the New York court on Wednesday by NRA Secretary John Frazer:

. As of the execution of this affidavit, 14 candidates have qualified for the 2025 ballot by submitting the required number of valid signatures as of the October 8 deadline. (Two of those candidates were also nominated by the Nominating Committee.) Three additional potential candidates submitted petitions, but
did not submit enough valid signatures as of the deadline to qualify.

First, I have no idea who the second candidate to be double nominated is. If anyone knows, please put it in the comments. Second, as of now, thanks to storm-related delays, neither Paul Babaz nor Charles Brown qualified. It is my understanding that each had enough signatures but did not make the October 8th deadline thanks to Hurricanes Helene and Milton. Judge Cohen may have other ideas about whether they will be on the ballot or not. The New York Attorney General’s Office amended proposal is requesting an extension to November 15th for those petition candidates who are residents of North Carolina or Florida. Unfortunately, that will not help either Paul or Charlie as they reside in Georgia and Ohio respectively.

One question that comes up is why I bothered to seek to run by petition when I was already on the ballot thanks to the Nominating Committee. My answer is quite simple. While I appreciated the nomination by the Nominating Committee surprising as it was, being nominated by petition reflects the will of hundreds of rank and file NRA voting members who took the time and effort to sign and mail my petition. To me, that is a great honor which also comes with great responsibility if elected. I will endeavor to be worthy of that support.

Guess Who Is On The Ballot For 2025?

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.

Running For NRA Board Of Directors (Updated)

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.

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.