The NRA winter board meeting held in Reston, VA has come and gone. Preceding the actual Board of Directors meeting were two days of committee meetings. This was reduced from the previous three days as was traditional in the past. Moreover, many committees held meetings online and thus were not holding in-person meetings in Virginia.
As one might expect, the relationship between the NRA and the NRA Foundation was a major topic of discussion in the Legal Affairs Committee, the Board meeting itself, and in the bar area where many directors gathered in the evening. I did attend the Legal Affairs Committee meeting on Thursday where virtually all discussion of it was held in executive session. Thus, I cannot go into the detail discussed there. However, the complaint filed in US District Court is a public document and lays it out in great detail. I would especially look at paragraphs 74 through 77.
Another thing I found especially noteworthy was the attendance to the committee and Board meetings by the runners-up who replaced those directors who had resigned in recent months. It is even more noteworthy in that only three out of the eight directors will be on the 2026 ballot. Many would have just blown it off given they had to disrupt their lives and fly or drive to northern Virginia just to attend one meeting when come April they would be off the Board. I loved their level of commitment and hope that they will run again in the 2027 election.
The newly seated directors included David Mitten, Mark Shuell, Lucretia Hughes Klucken, Steve Dulan, Charles Rowe, Todd Figard, Regis Synan, and Todd Vandermyde. The last three listed – the two Todds and Regis – will be on the 2026 ballot for the NRA Board of Directors election.
The other committee meeting I attended on Thursday was the Special Committee on Organization. It had been chaired by Ronnie Barrett and is now chaired by Amanda Suffecool given Ronnie’s resignation from the Board. The first discussion was about committee responsibility statements and key performance indicators (KPI) for each committee. The Final Judgment from the trial in New York required the NRA and this committee to study committee scope. While most committees have complied with this requirement, a few have not and this will be followed-up to assure compliance. The Special Committee wants each committee to have measurables such that their success (or failure) can be assessed.
One of the most common complaints heard about the Board is that it is too large and should be down-sized. This was also on the agenda of the Special Committee on Organization. There was much discussion on this within the committee and every one who attended was given a chance to offer their views. Judge Phil Journey offered a plan for a “bi-furcated” board which would split the current Board into a “business & political” board and a Discipline board. The latter would deal with all the competition, hunting, youth, etc. issues while the former would handle the management or political issues. Jeff Knox proposed a small management board of perhaps 12 or so with a large Board of Advisors to fill out the committee assignments and fund raising. It should be emphasized that there were many differing opinions and there is no consensus on what “right-sizing” the Board means. Thus, Amanda charged Gen. Jack Hagan with setting up a select sub-committee of three to further study the issue and report back in April.
Friday morning I did not have an assigned committee meeting so I attended the NRA Media Committee. That committee was formed from the merger of Publications Committee with the Public Affairs Committee. Like the Special Committee on Organization, it is chaired by Amanda Suffecool. Mike Sanford who is the Director of Publications presented the plan for going digital, the consolidation of publications, and the revenues from 2025 and what it will look like going into 2026. The good news is that advertising commitments have put anticipated ad revenue at almost 50% of the planned budget and it is only January. Some major advertisers like Silencer Central stopped in mid to late 2025 as they were absorbing the $200 NFA tax until the zero tax kicked in on January 1st. It should be noted that going digital will have an impact on the ad revenues.
There was extensive discussion regarding the plans to only publish print editions of the American Rifleman and American Hunter quarterly. There is a contingent of members who still want to hold the magazine in their hands. There was a suggestion to rotate the quarterly printing such that a print edition comes out monthly with each third of the membership getting a physical magazine quarterly. Another suggestion that will be studied is whether those that really want a monthly print edition would be willing to pay an additional amount to cover the cost of printing and mailing it. The good thing is that that issue is not being ignored and the NRA is listening.
On Friday afternoon I had a scheduling conflict. I sit on both the Membership and the Legislative Policy Committee. Given the importance of the mid-term elections, I went with Leg Policy. In open session we heard reports from the head of ILA John Commerford, Gordon Speed who directs Federal Affairs, Dan Reid who oversees State & Local, and James Baranowski who handles International Affairs.
With regard to the DOJ, Commmerford noted that the response to the NFA lawsuits was written by a Biden holdover. However, he was pleased with Asst AG Harmeet Dhillon and the role she has played on 2A issues within the Office of Civil Rights. Additionally, a Second Amendment office has been established in DOJ which currently has one full-time employee who just happens to be a former NRA employee. There was a lot of discussion regarding Virginia from both anti-gun legislative perspective and the managerial perspective of its impact on NRA operations. There are a lot of bad bills that will be coming out of Virginia. It was noted that Gov-elect Abigail Spanberger’s future aspirations – US Senate or more – will come into play to moderate some of this. Additionally, litigation in both state and Federal court is envisioned. Many Virginia circuit courts are headed by Republicans and the Republicans hold a majority on the Virginia Supreme Court.
On the Federal level, Speed noted that HB 38 – National Right to Carry – still has some potential to pass in the House but it is weak. The death of Rep. Doug LaMalfa (R-CA) and the resignation of Rep. Marjory Taylor Green (R-GA) do not help. The NRA is also working to keep veterans from having their 2A rights taken away just because they need assistance with managing their money. While an amendment in the recent National Defense funding bill prevents it, they are working on a more permanent solution. Also being studied is the impact of marijuana rescheduling along with the need for 2A protections in any crypto regulation.
There is more from this committee but I think I will reserve it for another day. One thing that has been decided is that the Legislative Policy Committee will be meeting on a monthly basis by Zoom/Teams in between the face-to-face meetings around the Board meetings. I think this is good news.
Now to the Board meeting itself.
It started at 9am and ended at just after 5:30pm. Given my first two Board meetings ran well into the evening, that was remarkable in and of itself! The meeting started with the usual formalities including the prayer, Pledge of Allegiance, National Anthem, adoption of the agenda, and approval of the prior meetings minutes. Along the way, the new members were sworn in and presented with their special lapel pins. Then came the reports from the officers and directors.
President Bill Bachenberg spoke about the implementation of zero-based budgeting, the reorganization efforts, and the use of technology to help implement our mission. He also said that the various committees meeting outside of this meeting are really doing the necessary work. First VP Mark Vaughan followed this with his report saying this meeting was dedicated to the memory of the late Museum Director Phil Schreier. He continued by recognizing the role of the new Board members and the expectation they will get involved. Then Second VP Rocky Marshall gave a short report that emphasized the we need to hold Friends of the NRA dinners and urged Board members to participate or even host dinners. These could also be fund raising events for ILA or for the 501c4 activities of the NRA. The bottom line is the need to raise money.
Following the reports of the elected officers came the reports from EVP Doug Hamlin, Exec. Dir. of General Ops Josh Savani, Exec. Dir. of ILA John Commerford, Secretary John Frazer, Treasurer Mike Erstling, and CCO Matthew Boyden. Of note was Hamlin’s report that the NRA has 5-6 major initiatives running simultaneously, that this was the first time in years with a balanced budget, that publications took a hit in the reorganization, and finally that the NRA v. NRA Foundation lawsuit was a last resort that was forced upon the NRA.
The meeting then moved to Executive Session. All I can say is that the directors had many questions about the budget and that CFO Mike Erstling and Finance Committee Chair Jonathan Goldstein provided comprehensive, in-depth answers.
Coming out of Executive Session, the meeting continued reports from numerous committees. First was the Executive Committee report by President Bachenberg in which the expansion of the number of trustees for the NRA Special Contribution Fund (Whittington Center) was noted.
The Executive Committee had two vacancies due to the resignations of Bob Barr and Barbara Rumpel. The Nominating Committee nominated BG Jack Hagan to fill the Barr vacancy and yours truly to fill the Rumpel vacancy. We were both elected unanimously. I should note that I did not seek this nomination, was surprised to be asked, and will do my best to fulfill this obligation.
Bylaws & Resolutions reported a number of resolutions. Some of these were withdrawn and reported back to committee for more work. Two bylaw amendments were passed. The first amended Article III, Sec. 11(d)(9) to require the inclusion of both dissenting and concurring reports (if any) of the Hearing Board. Members of the Hearing Board will now be required to sign the report and note their majority or dissenting opinions. The second bylaw amendment amended Article III, Sec. 13(g) to bar only those complaints that have been fully adjudicated in a hearing under this section and to remove the bar on complaints resolved in litigation, arbitration, or similar proceedings. Both of these resolutions passed unanimously. Following this were two memorial resolutions in memory of the late Robert Corbin, a former NRA President, and the late Robert Nosler. These were read in their entirety by Ron Schmeits and John Siglar respectively. As might be expected, they were unanimously adopted.
Following this were 22 committee reports. Unlike in the past, discussion was limited on these reports and any actions such as rule changes were adopted in whole blocks. Of note was the charge from the Grassroots Committee to Board members to be NRA advocates and to get involved in the legislative process in their states. The Law Enforcement Assistance Committee said that Sgt. Aaron Zaliponi of the Adams Township (PA) PD will be the Law Enforcement Officer of the Year. Sgt. Zaliponi through his decisive and life-saving actions stopped any further attempts by the would-be assassin of President Trump at the Butler Farm Show Grounds campaign rally in 2024. This nomination was adopted.
A few more committee reports of note. The Elections Committee recommended and it was adopted that no officer, director, member, employee, or agent of the NRA (other than ballot tabulation vendors) shall know the returns or results of the Board election or other ballot measures until after the end of all balloting. In other words, no more advance notice of preferred candidates needing help to win as may or may not have happened in the past. (cough, cough). The Women’s Program Committee requested that the Woman of Distinction Award be renamed the NRA Woman of Achievement Award and that was adopted. The Women’s PR Subcommittee is working to increase visibility of their scholarship awards and are working on a campaign to work with Turning Point USA to promote NRA programs that help advance shared goals. Finally, the Site Selection Committee reported that the 2029 Annual Meeting planned for Dallas will need to be moved due to construction issues. Cities west of the Mississippi especially closer to California are being considered. The dates for the Fall 2026 (Sept 17-19) and Winter 2027 (Jan 6-9) were set and the meetings are moving to the Hilton Dulles Airport Hotel as it was the most competitively priced.
The meeting concluded after a few Good of the Order comments including a farewell speech from past NRA President John Siglar who noted that he was 80, had served on the Board for 30 years, and that it was time for younger people to step up. That got a standing ovation. I followed that up which was hard noting the efforts of John Frazer, April Miller, Gary Dent, and Don Zimmer in getting the Governance Information online in a members-only page. Like my blog post on it, I called it a red letter day for transparency. The closing prayer was offered by Mark Robinson.
One final note. These meetings are being held to a tight budget. Our meals were always buffets. Lunches were more often an assortment of cold cuts and salads. Thursday’s breakfast were a continental breakfast. Reimbursements and hotel accommodations are only being paid for those days in which a member had committee meetings or the Board meeting. Thus, because I arrived a day early by my own choice, I paid for that extra night myself which I was happy to do given the importance of the committee meetings on Thursday. The days of wining and dining the Board to keep them blissfully ignorant as in the days of Wayne are over!
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