Buz Mills

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The Special Litigation Committee’s Two-Cents

August 20, 2024 by 3 Comments

Before dawn this morning an email went out to the NRA Board of Directors from NRA President Bob Barr on behalf of the Special Litigation Committee. It dealt with the six areas that Judge Cohen delineated in his interim decision.

Before getting into what was sent out, two realities need to be mentioned. First, the only reason this was sent out to the Board is because Buz Mills and Rocky Marshall submitted a letter to Judge Cohen on Friday, August 15th, that noted the leaders of the NRA who have “not accepted responsibility” for the problems, i.e., Bob Barr, Charles Cotton, and David Coy, do not speak for the rest of the NRA and especially the remaining elected leadership. Second, these three comprise the bulk of the Special Litigation Committee. The SLC has outlived its purpose as the conflict of interest has been resolved. That is Wayne has resigned and John Frazer is no longer the General Counsel. As such, the SLC needs to be dissolved and that was actually called for by Buz and Rocky.

The email from the Special Litigation Committee is below. Beyond the fact that these guys cannot count, I would wager house money that the bulk of the document was written by someone with Brewer, Attorneys and Counselors, and not Messrs Barr, Cotton, and Coy.

—– Forwarded Message —–

From: Daniels, Stephanie <sdaniels@nrahq.org>

To: Daniels, Stephanie <sdaniels@nrahq.org>

Sent: Monday, August 19, 2024 at 04:53:05 AM EDT

Subject: Special Litigation Committee Update on NYAG Consent-Judgment Negotiations

TO:        NRA Board of Directors and Executive Council

Please see the following message from NRA President Bob Barr.

Stephanie

Stephanie Daniels

Assistant NRA Secretary

Office of the Secretary

National Rifle Association of America

Phone: 703-267-1052

Fax: 703-267-3909

E-mail: sdaniels@nrahq.org

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________- 

Fellow Board and Executive Council Members:

As you know, when New York Judge Cohen denied the NYAG’s request for a compliance monitor on July 29th, he directed the parties to confer on a consent judgment (a settlement to which the parties have reached agreement and is then adopted and ordered by the court). In his oral ruling from the bench on July 29th,  Judge Cohen requested that the parties address six areas of concern.  This has been the task on which the Special Litigation Committee (SLC) has been fully and constantly engaged, in conjunction with our outside counsel and with input from numerous NRA stakeholders, including other officers.

The SLC considers it is in the NRA’s best interest to act quickly on Judge Cohen’s recommendations, but not without essential and timely input from key NRA stakeholders regarding reforms the NRA should consider and ultimately adopt.  As noted in my most recent update last Friday, our Legal Affairs Committee convened at NRA headquarters on August 10th in a meeting open to all Board members and that included a lengthy discussion of settlement options. Our outside counsel met with the NYAG’s lawyers on August 12, 2024, to get their feedback.

These settlement discussions, and the options included therein are extremely important, and all Board members should have opportunity to provide input. Changes to the governance of the Association should be “owned ” by the entire Board. 

The SLC will submit proposed settlement documents to the NYAG this week that reflect input from the Officers, various stakeholders, and the NYAG.   However, in accord with the importance of having full NRA Board input, we will make clear to attorneys for the Attorney General that our proposals are provisional, and that each item is conditioned on sign-off from a majority of the Board. 

It therefore is our intention that at our September meeting, the Board will vote for each item in the settlement package.  In the meantime, every reform the SLC proposes (with input as noted above) will be one we believe to be (i) in line with specific guidance from the Court, and (ii) in the best interests of the NRA.

Here is a summary of what we plan to propose (in line with the court’s expressed interests) :

  1. Implement the Compliance Commitments.  Most of these measures can be ordered by the Court.  One of the Compliance Commitments, which would make the Audit Committee an elected “committee of the Board” under N-PCL 712 and 712-a, has generated controversy and will benefit from robust discussion at the Board meeting next month.  The NYAG takes the position that the Audit Committee and other key committees must be “committees of the Board.”
  1. Expand the Board Candidacy Path.  The Court suggested that the NRA “expand, for at least three years, the path to candidacy for board elections; specifically, limiting the hegemony of the Nominating Committee for enough board cycles to cover all 76 members . . .  one option would be to mandate that, for the next three elections, at least, any proposed candidate who meets certain minimum qualifications would be on the ballot, full stop, without no need to rally for hundreds or thousands of signatures.” 

Because the NRA cannot alter the petition-signature requirements without revising bold, italicized, member-adopted Bylaw provisions, the SLC will propose to the NYAG that the Nominating Committee adopt a Director Nomination Policy, resembling those in use by major public companies, that sets forth transparent, merit-based qualifications for recruiting directors (emphasis mine).  The policy will also place an emphasis on finding “new” directors, possessing baseline objective qualifications, who did not serve on the Board between 2014-2022.   The Nominating Committee will aim to place as many new, qualified directors on the ballot each year as the available ballot slots feasibly allow.

3.    Compliance Consultant.  The Court suggests “Retaining a compliance consultant for three years to work with the NRA’s in-house Compliance Officer and staff to make recommendations to the board. The consultant would be advisory only and would provide an independent perspective to the board for implementing the Court’s directives as well as best practices.” 

The SLC will propose hiring a consultant on  a reasonable, fixed retainer to serve in an advisory role as the Court suggests.

4.    Altering Committee Leadership.  The Court suggested “changing the Audit so that it would not include people . . . at the very least not as chair or co-chair, that served on the committee during the violations found in this action,” adding that “similar decisions could be made with respect to other key committees, as well.”

President Barr is scheduled to meet Monday with the Vice Presidents to confer further on committee composition.

5.    Security for Chief Compliance Officer.  The Court suggested “creating more protections for the Compliance Officer position,” noting that “one option would be to provide that the position be for a term of three years.”

Because a three-year term for the CCO would require amending our Bylaws, and because we believe a severance agreement better protects and advances the needs of the NRA, the SLC will propose a market-standard executive severance agreement to protect Chief Compliance Officer Bob Mensinger.  The NYAG has indicated agreement with this approach.

6.    Member Referendum on Reorganizing Board.  The Court suggested “a bylaw referendum for members to consider at the next annual meeting on whether to reduce the size of the board or reorganize it to create a smaller, more focused group to oversee the key operations and finances of the organization,” noting that certain other nonprofits “have a very large advisory section and then a much smaller, tighter group that focuses on the core operational and financial aspects of the company.”

In the course of eliciting feedback for settlement discussions, the SLC heard many different ideas in this vein – a Board of Ambassadors, a Select Committee on Operations Oversight, and a smaller empowered Executive Committee.  Rather than rush into a wholesale change in the size and composition of our Board, we intend to propose that NRA members be polled on a menu of options, including those that would reduce the Board of Directors and create a non-voting Board of Advisors.

At the September Board meeting, the entire Board can vote on the  proposals made by the SLC.

It is time for our Association to heal and put the hostilities launched by and surrounding the New York litigation behind us.  That means settling with the enemy outside our gates, and coming together within. 

Thank you all for your continued service and support.

NRA-SLC

Bob Barr, President and Committee Chair

Charles Cotton, Past President and Committee Member

David Coy, Committee Member

The first item deals with the Audit Committee. What needs to be explained is the difference between a “committee of the board” and a “committee of the corporation”. A committee of the board as defined by Section 712(a) of New York Not-for-Profit Law says it “shall have the power of the board” and can bind the board by its decisions with some exceptions. The other limitation upon such a committee is its charter which in this case needs to be carefully drafted. By contrast, a committee of the corporation or standing committee as defined by Section 712(e) of New York Not-for-Profit Law does not allow it to bind the Board by its decisions. In other words, they may make a recommendation to the Board and it is up to the Board to act on it.

A current example of a committee of the board is the Executive Committee. Interestingly, the law notes that members of such a committee must be “made by at least three-quarters of the directors present at the time of the vote” provided there is a quorum. I do wonder if every member of the Executive Committee received a 75% affirmative vote at the May Board meeting.

The other “number one” or the actual second item deals with the dicta from Judge Cohen regarding the path for candidacy to the Board. He wants it relaxed for at least the next three years and had suggested candidacy should be open to anyone who met the minimum qualifications for election to the Board. The SLC is balking at this proposal and blaming the bylaws as not allowing something like this. Frankly, I think this is a specious argument as I do believe Judge Cohen has the power to force the issue. Moreover, I think a strong argument can be made that the Cabal uses the bylaws when it is to their advantage and ignores them otherwise.

The suggestion from the SLC is that the Nominating Committee adopt a policy that provides for specifying a transparent, merit-based qualifications for recruiting directors. How any such qualifications are specified is the critical issue. I am reminded of what Todd Vandermyde told me once when he was negotiating with the anti-gun Democrats in Illinois. They could write the law any which way they desired but so long as he could write the definitions he would win every time. It is the same thing here. The Cabal could draft so-called merit-based qualifications that would serve to eliminate candidates they find would challenge their status quo. If I may be blunt, I don’t trust them. Yes, as I am running for the Board, I do have a vested interest, but it is open to abuse.

The third item is not a problem and it appears the committee will go along with the judge on this.

The fourth item deals with the composition of not only the Audit Committee but other important committees of the Board. Judge Cohen was specific about the Audit Committee but went on to indicate those Board members on other important committees who allowed the problems to flourish ought to be removed from them. Obviously, this means Charles Cotton, David Coy, and others including Barr. I would hope that Bill Bachenberg and Mark Vaughn are able to make Barr see the light. If they can’t, then Judge Cohen’s hand will be forced.

If the NYAG is agreeable to a strong severance agreement in place of a three-year term for the Chief Compliance Officer, then that would be workable.

Finally, on item six, I can agree with a poll of the NRA members. However, in my opinion, an “empowered Executive Committee” as the new Board of Directors should be a non-starter. The current composition of this committee is loaded with the Old Guard, the Cabal, those who are most at fault. I have long held that a reduced Board of Directors with a Board of Advisors similar to what exists at most universities is the way to go.

I look at the last paragraph of the email and just shake my head. Of course it is time to heal the wounds to the organization caused in large part by grifting executives allowed to get away with it by directors who looked the other way and ignored their fiduciary duties. Referring to the NYAG’s Office as the “enemy outside our gates” is really trite. They seemed to be the only ones actually fighting for the rank and file membership of the NRA by forcing its cleanup. Moreover, to say the Board needs to be “coming together within” ignores the fact that it would have happened if Mr. Barr had not essentially spit on the reformers by appointing all the old Cabal members to the leadership and majority membership on the major committees. He needs to look in the mirror and look at his own culpability for divisiveness between those who want needed reform and those who are resisting reform like the segregationists of the 1950s and 60s.

If what I said above is harsh, it needed to be said. If it torpedoes any chance for the Nominating Committee to put me on the ballot, so be it. I’m running for the Board by petition regardless.

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NY Court Update And Some Suggestions

August 16, 2024 by 2 Comments

NRA In Danger reported yesterday evening that the meeting in the NYAG’s office between the attorneys for both parties would be continued. They will meet again on Monday, August 19th, to hammer out the consent decree. The goal is to present it to Judge Cohen by August 27th. If neither party can agree, they will each present their versions.

Much more interesting in the report was a joint letter that Buz Mills and Rocky Marshall sent to Judge Cohen. The letter states that the leaders of the NRA who have not accepted responsibility “misuse and malfeasance of NRA members’ donations” (Barr, Cotton, etc) do not speak on behalf of the NRA, the majority of its directors, nor its members. They go on to state that elected leaders such as Doug Hamlin, Bill Bachenberg, and Mark Vaughn are being kept out of the negotiations with the NYAG’s office. Finally, Buz and Rocky present what they feel should be in the final decree that would meet with the judge’s six dicta.

It is beyond obvious that the time for a Special Litigation Committee is over. Wayne is gone and John Frazer is no longer the General Counsel. Thus, the rationale for it being established is over. One thing being requested in the letter is that Judge Cohen order it dissolved. That said, this should have come from the Board the moment John Frazer was no longer the General Counsel.

A friend suggested to me yesterday that Doug Hamlin should fire Bill Brewer and his firm immediately. He went further to suggest that Hamlin order Sonya Rowling not to cut or sign any checks payable to Brewer or his law firm. If the Executive Committee were to suspend Hamlin as a result, he thought Andrew Arulanandam would serve as interim EVP. I pointed out that the position of Executive Direct of General Operations is vacant and the bylaws do not provide an immediate replacement for the EVP. Things could get interesting.

Giving it some serious thought, I would go further than my friend. If, as has been suggested by the letter from Buz and Rocky, that duly elected officers of the NRA had been kept out of the negotiations and thus unable to perform their fiduciary duties, then it is time for hardball. By hardball, I mean that they should file bar complaints with the New York State Bar against Bill Brewer, Sarah Rogers, Svetlana Eisenberg, and Noah Peters. Preventing officers and directors of a non-profit corporation from doing their legally required fiduciary duties under NY law is a serious offense. It certainly should be grounds for a bar complaint. I should note that a similar complaint currently exists with the Virginia State Bar against John Frazer from his actions while General Counsel.

I would not be surprised if Judge Cohen demands some answers sooner than later.

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An Interesting Day In Dallas

May 21, 2024 by 1 Comment

This is going to be short post because I’m tired. I have been watching and corresponding about the events surrounding the Board of Directors meeting all day.

First, just the bare facts. Bob Barr representing the Old Guard did win the Presidency. The vote was 37-30. Then the surprises began. Bill Bachenberg from the reform slate went head to head with Blaine Wade for 1st VP and won 36-31. Following that, reformer Mark Vaughan, president of the Oklahoma Rifle Association, beat Tom King 35-31. King really represented the Old Guard and his defeat was a sea change in attitude on the Board.

Second, and what I consider the biggest surprise, Doug Hamlin, Executive Director of Publications and the reformer’s choice for EVP, beat Ronnie Barrett for EVP/CEO. There is some talk that Hamlin is intended as an interim choice while a nationwide search is conducted.

For a bare bones, just the facts ma’am report on what has happened so far, the NRA-ILA did a decent job. Here is a link to it.

A more in-depth report is from Stephen Gutowski of The Reload which has some comments from Jeff Knox.

The last I knew was that the meeting was still continuing after coming back from a dinner break. The keys going forward will be membership on the Nominating and Executive Committee. As I noted this morning, there were no reformers nominated for the Executive Committee. That must change.

I hope to have more tomorrow.

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An Apology Demanded Of Charles Cotton

May 20, 2024 by 3 Comments

This seems to be the night for letters!

Buz Mills, Bill Bachenburg, and Mark Vaughan are demanding that NRA President Charles Cotton issue a public apology to NRA Director Amanda Suffecool. This is for the unprofessional and unbecoming way he treated her at the NRA Meeting of Members on Saturday. At about the 31:25 minute mark of the second video in this post, Cotton challenges the statement from Amanda by saying, “you’ve been on the board, what a year”, as if that made her any less knowledgeable or competent. Amanda was, after all, an engineer for almost 40 years and knows of what she speaks.

Fortunately, the NRA members at the meeting were not having any of Cotton’s crap and booed him quite loudly. Now, the three directors mentioned above have sent out an open letter to all Board members demanding the aforementioned public apology. I could say more about what I think of Cotton as a person and as a supposed leader but I’ll save that for another day.

The full letter is below:

Board-Letter
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It’s War! Plus A Warning

April 30, 2024 by 5 Comments

There is a war for control of the NRA going on within the Board of Directors. While one could say it started when Wayne LaPierre announced his resignation, it probably started as early as last year when Charles Cotton was given a third term as President and Willes Lee forced out as an officer.

It picked up speed in mid-January when Buz Mills and Marion Hammer within a couple of weeks of one another both called out Charles Cotton’s attempt to become the next permanent CEO and Executive VP of the NRA. This forced Cotton’s hand and he appointed a search committee. The committee as we’ve come to expect is filled with the Old Guard. Even Bill Bachenberg who stayed relatively quiet for years on the Board sent out a letter critical of the search committee.

What had been essentially a Cold War suddenly became a “shooting war” little more than a week ago. That was when Marion Hammer had her contract with the NRA terminated by Interim EVP Andrew Arulanandam. I don’t think anybody believes Arulanandam did this on his own initiative. While we will never know for sure, it more than likely was at the behest of Cotton and Bill Brewer. As “Bitter” posted in the comments to that post, this sent a message to the rest of the Board to back off and don’t question us. If they were willing to take down someone presumably as powerful as Marion, lesser Board members don’t stand a chance to oppose them.

Al Hammond, who is presumably Camp Marion, lobbed a bomb into Camp Cotton-Brewer this past Wednesday where he questioned the leadership of the officers and asserted they were not told the real consequences of the New York trial. The next day a new email went out signed by all three officers – Cotton, Bob Barr, and David Coy – which, among other things, accused Hammond on “peddling partial information and NYAG propaganda” and told recipients to go to the NRA’s own “legal facts” website. In my opinion, any Board member who relied solely on that website would have thought the NRA won the case when the reality is that they lost on most issues.

Willes Lee jumped in yesterday with a Facebook post concerning both Hammond’s email and the officers’ response.

The morning calm of the grazing flock was broken by the shrill clarion cry “Circle them wagons.”

Many NRA Board members (incl me) didn’t know of ‘the missive’ until The Three … NRA officers (gaily signed “Charles, Bob, David”) sent an email disparaging the author as ‘misinformation, disinformation, misled, manipulated, troubling, peddling partial information, distorted’ (whew, all in one email). The Three… told us ask THEM for “honest communications”(!) and directed us to our legal-spin blog & scripted legal affairs meetings. #nothingchanged

You can’t make up this stuff.

Marion Hammer was not done either. On Saturday, she sent an email questioning compensation at the NRA. This was followed on Sunday by a brutal article in the Washington Post concerning Brewer’s influence at the NRA. While no more missives have gone out from either Camp Marion or Camp Cotton-Brewer, with the NRA Annual Meeting just a little over two weeks away this is probably the quiet before the storm.

Now to the warnings. First it is becoming evident that Cotton and Brewer are trying to find out who is leaking their emails. At least two different copies of the Cotton-Barr-Coy response were sent out. There were possibly more but I do know of two for sure.

Second, and this goes for all critics of the existing Board, you must have the documentation to back up what you are saying about them. Not having backup documentation will only provide ammo to the Old Guard aka the Cabal. I am aiming this comment at a claim made by Willes Lee yesterday. He asserted a fundraising letter went out in March listing Cotton as EVP. While I have no problem with Lee pointing out the foibles of Charles Cotton and others of his ilk on the Board and am actually somewhat amused by it, you have to be able to prove it. Unfortunately, no one including Lee seems to be able to locate their copy of that letter. It would suck to have to take back such a damaging claim.

I am neither in Camp Marion nor Camp Cotton-Brewer but rather in Camp NRA Member. My hopes for the Board to do what is right faded a long time ago. It sucks to have to rely on a court in New York City to remedy things but it is what it is.

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More Thoughts On NRA EVP Search Committee

February 11, 2024 by 3 Comments

Since my post yesterday on Marion Hammer’s letter to the NRA-EVP search committee, I’ve received a copy of Charles Cotton’s announcement of the search committee and have spoken with others including a former board member.

Two hours before Marion Hammer’s email went out, NRA Secretary and General Counsel John Frazer sent this to the entire Board of Directors:

Dear Fellow NRA Board Members:

At the request of several NRA board members, during our last board meeting in January, I noted that we would soon form a search committee to assist with the recruiting and placement of a new EVP and CEO of the National Rifle Association of America.

In accordance with NRA Bylaws, I am pleased to announce the creation of this select committee, the EVP Search Committee. This Committee is charged with determining the process and timing of the selection of appropriate candidates to present to the Nominating Committee and, ultimately, the full Board of Directors.

The members of the EVP Search Committee are:

Congressman Bob Barr – Chairman
Professor David Coy
Carol Frampton, Esq.
Curtis Jenkins, Esq.
Sheriff Jay Printz
Barbara Rumpel
Chief Blaine Wade

Please join me in expressing our gratitude to our fellow Board Members for their dedication to the NRA and their willingness to serve in this important role.

Respectfully,


Charles L. Cotton
NRA President

Two things stand out in Cotton’s letter. First, this committee will control the process and timing of the selection of candidates for the permanent CEO and Executive VP position. Second, any person or persons selected will go to the Nominating Committee before being presented to the Board of Directors. In other words, while officially the Board selects the EVP, the Nominating Committee will select the actual candidate and present the Board with a fait accompli.

This committee is a selection of people that will represent the interests of what I call the Old Guard or my friend calls “the cabal”. You have David Coy who failed in his fiduciary duties as a member of the Audit Committee. We might not have a trial in New York if he and others had done their job properly. You have Jay Printz who, at least through last September, was a stout defender of Wayne LaPierre. You have Barbara Rumpel whose primary connection to the Second Amendment seems to be as a “Friend of Susan”. None of these people are change agents.

Reevaluating Marion’s email to this committee barely two hours after it was announced, it is evident that she is telling them that NRA staff such as Interim EVP Andrew Arulanadam and CFO Sonya Rowling are non-starters as candidates for the permanent EVP position. When she says, “reach out to Board members for information and advice”, she means listen to her and the Old Guard or Cabal on what constitutes an acceptable candidate. Her call to be “transparent” with the Board doesn’t really mean transparency for all but rather the committee should report each and every move to her and the Old Guard before they actually make it.

Going back to Marion’s original call for a search committee, in retrospect she was not calling out Charles Cotton but rather telling him what she and the Old Guard wanted. She wanted a search committee comprised of Board members responsive to the Old Guard. She was providing cover for Cotton to seemingly be responsive to the call for a search committee while keeping it under his and the Old Guard’s tight grip.

Contrast this with what was suggested by Buz Mills. He called for a search committee of Board members with business experience selected from the floor by the BOD. This group would then use the services of an outside executive search agency to recruit, evaluate, and screen suitable candidates. In other words, they would find people capable of running a large non-profit whose values were consistent with fighting for Second Amendment rights. This might be someone like a Mike Fifer who ran Sturm, Ruger for many years as CEO. The search committee would then present the candidates to the Board for a “meet and greet”. I have seen this many times in academia when a new dean or college president is being selected. You will notice there is not mention of interference by the Nominating Committee in the process. The Board as a whole would discuss the candidates and then vote on them. This would take it out of the hands of the Old Guard or Cabal and put it in the hands of the entire Board.

I don’t know the timetable for a selection. Would it be in time for the next Board meeting? Or would a candidate be selected before Judge Cohen could impose a special monitor assuming the jury finds the NRA failed in its duties to its members? Speed would be in the interest of Charles Cotton and the Cabal. Speed, like this whole committee, would not be in the interests of the members of the NRA. That would be served by the Buz Mills’ model of finding a new EVP.

To throw one more wrinkle into this, given the precarious state of the NRA’s finances it may be up to a bankruptcy judge to make the decision on an interim basis. You have to ask why did former President Trump make his speech at the Great American Outdoor Show instead of at the Annual Meeting in May. I’m sure Mr. Trump would not want to be making his speech to the NRA faithful while the organization was in the midst of a bankruptcy trial.

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I Endorse Four For Reform

February 3, 2024 by 1 Comment

The NRA’s trial in New York has provided more than enough evidence that many members of the Board of Directors ignored their fiduciary duties. Many thought loyalty to Wayne was the same as loyalty to the organization. It was not.

The ballots for the 2024 Board election go out to eligible voters in the March issue of the NRA official magazines. Not only has the Nominations Committee stacked the ballot with retreads, they are the same people that allowed the rot and corruption to grow. They include people like former NRA President Carolyn Meadows who currently is considered too ill to testify either in person or virtually in the NY trial. It also includes 2nd VP David Coy who served on the Audit Committee for many years who voted to approve questionable expenditures after the fact.

There are four people on the ballot who were not put there by the Nominations Committee. Dennis Fusaro, Judge Phil Journey, Jeff Knox, and Rocky Marshall are on the ballot by petition. In other words, enough of you who are voting members said you wanted them on the ballot. They are untainted by the corruption of the past and are running on a platform of reform. I wholeheartedly endorse all four and would urge you to give them your votes.

Four-for-Reform

The only two current Board members I might consider voting for are Buz Mills and Rick Ector. As evidenced by his letter to the Board exposing the backdoor shenanigans to make Charles Cotton the next EVP, Buz is not a go-along to get-along sort of guy. Rick Ector had done phenomenal grassroots work in the Detroit area introducing thousands of women to self-defense through firearms training. He also bucked the trend with his endorsement of Wade Callender for the EVP.

If it were me, I would not consider anyone else on the list of candidates. The four petition candidates plus the two that have bucked the system are the only candidates that I think will work day in and day out to restore and reform the NRA. We need an effective and untainted NRA. Now is the time to do it.

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Marion Calls For A Search Committee To Replace Wayne

January 29, 2024 by 2 Comments

You could have knocked me over with a feather when I heard that Marion Hammer was agreeing with Buz Mills regarding setting up a search committee to find the permanent Executive Vice President and CEO for the NRA. I had assumed – wrongly it seems – that she was in the camp pushing Charles Cotton to be the EVP/CEO for the next few years. Something along the lines of “a steady hand on the rudder” as the NRA transitions away from the Wayne era.

This is her email sent to the Board today:

It has come to my attention that another NRA BOD Member is making phone calls trying to gain support for yet another NRA BOD Member to take Wayne’s job.

Please, please, stop and think about this.  I personally believe we need a dedicated Search Committee to find someone who is actually qualified to take the helm at NRA.  

Any member of the Board who thinks he or she is qualified for the position can submit his or her name to a Search Committee to be vetted along with other candidates.

This is a turning point for NRA and a time when we need the most qualified, dedicated person we can find to lead NRA and lead the fight to save Second Amendment rights.

The NRA President can appoint a Search Committee at any time and I believe should do so immediately.  Search Committee members can be confirmed or rejected and replaced by the Board of Directors at it’s next meeting.

Please, this is a critical point for us and the future of NRA and it’s members is in our hands.  Let’s do it right.  Under our By-Laws we have a process to fill the EVP position on an interim basis while we search for the right person.

Please do not be stampeded into anything.

I know that there are a significant number of Board Members who agree that we need a Search Committee because they have told me so.  And, I also know that previously another Board Member has emailed you suggesting a Search Committee.  And while that particular Board Member and I rarely ever agree on what’s best for NRA, this time we happen to agree that we need a Search Committee.

Marion P. Hammer

Marion’s letter may also be seen as a way to head off those who are supporting Wade Callender to be the EVP/CEO such as Texas AG Ken Paxton, Utah AG Sean Reyes, and board member Rick Ector. However, while it is probably not her intent, I do think it could work in his favor as an honest Search Committee would have to consider him a candidate.

I think the person most disappointed about this letter beyond Charles Cotton has to be Bill Brewer. I got the feeling that Brewer was hoping to maintain the cozy relationship between the leadership and himself so as to keep the money flowing to his firm.

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Buz Mills’ Letter To The NRA Board

January 18, 2024 by 4 Comments

Owen “Buz” Mills is the owner of the renowned training facility Gunsite Academy and has been a member of the NRA Board of Directors for many years. He has called for change in the past and continues that with his letter to the NRA Board of Directors below. This letter was sent out yesterday and I do have permission to publish it. To put it bluntly, Mills pulls no punches in calling out the shenanigans of the Old Guard in pushing Charles Cotton as the next Executive VP and CEP of the NRA.

TO THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE NATIONAL RIFLE ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA

So, now we are all looking towards New York and Justice Cohen’s courtroom. Our attention is diverted here while chicanery continues in Fairfax.

The National Rifle Association of America (NRA) is at a watershed moment in its 153rd year. Our leadership has admitted in courts and depositions to misappropriation of donor’s funds and unauthorized use of assets. They have admitted condoning the misuse of donor funds by others employed by the NRA. The leadership has for years abused their position and trust placed in them by our members and benefactors. The Board of Directors (BOD) is solely responsible for this victimization of the members.

Thanks to the New York Attorney General, we are halfway to fixing our organization, bringing the NRA  up to par with other non-profit special interest groups.

The judge will hold the victimizers responsible, and they will have to account for their deeds.

Meanwhile, in Fairfax the selected leadership is scheming to continue the abuse suffered over the last few decades instead of following the bylaws for the succession of the Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer (EVP). The selected leadership wants a special election to install the enabler and facilitator of all the previous chicanery. None other than our duly selected President, he is the man more responsible than any other for permitting our selected leadership to rampantly run roughshod over our membership and benefactors.

As the chair of the Audit Committee for many years, Charles Cotton was responsible for holding our employees accountable and ensuring their conduct beyond reproach. Our chair and “moral compass” approved every single act of malfeasance brought to the committee for decades, multiple acts approved retroactively, months and years after the fact.

When restitution was mandated, a bonus was awarded the miscreants including enough money to pay the restitution. This bonus also included enough for the miscreant to have the cash to pay the taxes on his misappropriation. Talk about rewarding bad behavior!! 

Again, I emphasize, it was not miscreant’s money, and it was not the facilitator’s money! It was the MONEY OF OUR MEMBERS and the MONEY provided by the BENEVOLENCE OF OUR DONORS. There is something deeply wrong when you continually permit and encourage this serial abuse.

Also do not forget spearheading the deceit and lying to us about filing bankruptcy that the judge called “a fraud.”  The BOD was never advised we needed to file for bankruptcy, nor was it ever justified to the board. We read it in the papers.

As we violate the bylaws again – accepting, justifying, and participating in some kind of sham election to make the selected president our EVP.

Is the principal facilitator of the misappropriation of tens of millions of dollars (members and donors’ money) causing the hundreds of millions of dollars of legal fees (again members and donors’ money) really have any business with access to the treasury?

Does he have any right to represent any moral, honest person or organization?

NO!

The normal, conventional way this type of business is conducted:

  1. Select a search committee of business professionals from the BOD, selected from the floor by the BOD,
  2. Retain professional employment agencies to recruit, screen and interview potential candidates,
  3. Committee shall interview candidates,
  4. BOD meet and greet,
  5. BOD votes to select a candidate,
  6. Committee sets forth terms and conditions of employment contract.

Now we have a professional to run the business of a world-class organization, in accordance with applicable laws, customs and traditions. Oversight will be provided by a professional BOD congruent with the by-laws in effect prior to ceding all monetary responsibility to the EVP. (circa 2015)

Next we hire a celebrity “FACE” of the NRA as a spokesperson with no access to funds. Using a similar process as finding an EVP.

This is how a professional Board of Directors of a world class not-for-profit begins to heal itself.

We have an opportunity to carefully choose to correct the path we are on. We have the opportunity to recover all of the membership that has abandoned us over these issues (2 million members +/-). We have the opportunity to recover the trust of our most benevolent donors. We have an opportunity to recover the respect of our industry and of the American people. There is no downside to doing this correctly.

Let’s not squander this opportunity, we must move forward smartly and with all the courage of the champions of freedom.

Owen Buz Mills

Director

National Rifle Association of America

January 17, 2024

Uncategorized

NRA Ballots Are Arriving

June 8, 2021 by 2 Comments

I heard today that the ballots for the 2021 NRA Board of Directors’ election have started to arrive. It will come in the official journals of the NRA which include American Rifleman, American Hunter, America’s First Freedom, and Shooting Illustrated. If you are a either a Life Member of any category or a five-year continuous member, you are eligible to vote and should be receiving a ballot.

As I wrote back in November 2020, there are no petition candidates on the ballot. That means everyone on the ballot was selected by the Nominations Committee which is dominated by “friends of Wayne”. Of the people nominated, only Owen “Buz” Mills is worthy of your support. He had the fortitude to stand up for the members during the NRA bankruptcy proceedings. Everyone else on that list of nominees thought it more important to stay in Wayne’s good graces and not offend the powers behind the throne.

There are also two write-in candidates running for the board. It should be noted that no one has even been elected directly as a write-in candidate. Charlton Heston, as I understand it, was elected as the 76th Director because he did appear on a few ballots as a write-in.

The two write-in candidates are Frank Tait and Rocky Marshall. As Frank Tait notes, it is essential that their names be listed exactly as shown below or they will be disqualified. Rocky Marshall stood up when it was time to be counted and deserves to stay on the board.

I am a strong believer in bullet voting and these three are the only three I would encourage you to give your vote. Voting for 25 candidates dilutes your vote. You are giving equal weight to both your number one preferred candidate and your 25th preferred candidate.

There is one person on the ballot who should not get your vote. That is Carolyn Meadows. She has served as an enabler to both Wayne LaPierre and William Brewer and that is unforgiveable. As part of the Special Litigation Committee, she helped pave the way for the NRA to waste another $10 million on their abortive attempt at getting out of New York by way of bankruptcy. If only half of that money had been used in the Georgia US Senate run-off elections, perhaps there would not be a Senator Warnock (D-GA) nor a Senator Ossoff (D-GA). This would have been the bulwark needed to stop Joe Biden and his cronies plans to eviscerate the Second Amendment and our God-given rights to self-defense.

I will be voting for Buz Mills directly and for Frank Tait and Rocky Marshall by write-in. No one else will be getting my vote.