The Bachenberg Letter

I know the title to this post sounds like a Cold War thriller set in a divided Berlin. However, it is about a long email sent out on Monday by William “Bill” Bachenberg to fellow members of the NRA Board of Directors.

He makes some interesting points in his message to the Board. They include the need for a well thought-out strategic business plan for rebuilding the NRA, deciding what they are seeking in a new Executive VP, expanding the search committee beyond Board members, and establishment of a non-Board Advisory Council. There are other points upon which I might disagree. For example, having Donald Trump Jr. serve as a National Spokesperson. While I like Don Jr. and I really like his Field Ethos publication, any person selected to serve as a National Spokesperson has to be dedicated solely to the NRA and no other organization or cause.

Bachenberg describes himself as a “board outsider” in his own words. Given he has served on the Board for almost 20 years, I was wondering about that. I reached out to some former Board members who said he was part of the Old Guard and not willing to rock the boat. Another said he thought Bachenberg was “part of the sheep team that follows the cabal.” I am not a conspiracy theorist but the copy of his email I got had first been forwarded by Marion Hammer. Notwithstanding his being part of the Old Guard, one former Board member allowed that he thought he was on the mark about the EVP nominating committee.

Looking to his business experience, Bachenberg was the founder and CEO of Data Base Services International until 2012 when it was acquired by Xand. Then he moved into a senior advisory role with the combined company. He and his wife Laura also own Lehigh Valley Sporting Clays in Coplay, Pennsylvania. Bachenberg also established Camp Freedom which is a 2,300 acre outdoor adventure camp for disabled veterans.

A quick search finds that Bachenberg has been quite involved with Republican politics in Pennsylvania and especially with the Trump campaign. The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that he and his wife had donated over $500,000 to support Trump, other GOP candidates, and PACs in 2020. He was the co-chair of the Sportsmen for Trump PAC. He is also involved in some political controversy. He chaired the slate of so-called “fake electors” submitted to Congress after the 2020 election. It may be why he was subpoenaed by the Democrat’s January 6th Committee. Of course, the fact that a NRA Board member member was subpoenaed was news in and of itself.

I would be remiss if I didn’t note that Bachenberg is on the ballot for the 2024 Board election. He was, as you might expect, nominated by the Nominating Committee. I would note that his committee service does not include anything related to the Audit, Finance, or Ethics Committee.

As I said earlier, he does bring up some interesting ideas. It is just a shame that they are only now coming out at this late date. From what I can tell, he never broached any of these suggestions prior to Wayne leaving.

Forwarded Message —–From: William Bachenberg <wab@nradirector.com>Sent: Monday, February 26, 2024 at 11:24:53 PM ESTSubject: EVP Search

Dear Board Members,

I have read the appointment of a search committee and believe the formation of a search committee is the “cart before the horse.”  I believe we need to do a lot of soul searching on the future of the organization and this process MUST not be rushed. 

As a “board outsider” I’m extremely disappointed to say the least with the current search process, it defies many business best practices.  While these are fine board members, here we go again with the same mistakes of the past, looking inward for solutions instead of looking outside the organization for greater experience and expertise. 

Being on the board for 20 plus years I have seen (and experienced) the alienation of many strong business leaders who were members of the board because leadership did not listen to us or leverage our business skills.  Hence, most of those board member business leaders have not run for re-election.  Every re-election I ask myself why run again since the organization has marginalized (no excluded me) in utilizing my 45+ years of business, technology and non-profit experience.  I question why have a board of directors that management does not leverage?  The only reason I keep running is a few board members convince me to stick it out because change is coming.  Well change has been now “force” upon the organization and I’m not a quitter. 

First, the organization needs to reflect on the past to plan for the future.  This requires evaluating the whole organization and then what a new organizational structure looks like for the future.  Our current organizational structure has been flawed for years after we grew past 50 million dollars, yet no one would listen or acknowledge it.  I had to completely reinvent my technology company four times over a 32 year span to survive or I would have joined the tens of thousands of technology companies that failed over those years.  As with any organization, it is extremely hard to make large changes.  I had first-hand experience with having to make massive changes and us humans are not that acceptable to change.

I believe we are rudderless in many areas due to the current financial difficulties and loss of great staff.  For the organization to survive, now is the time to re-evaluate and update our core mission(s) along with defining a new organizational structure for the future.  A well thought out written strategic and business plan for rebuilding the organization is mandatory at this time.  How can we develop comprehensive job descriptions without know what we are hiring for?  The new strategic plan needs to be done with open minds, with internal and external resources, and experienced individuals.  Hard decisions need to be made leaving self-interests at home on which programs survive for the good of the organization, the membership and the Second Amendment.  Many hard decisions are coming our way and we need a strong plan to guide us.  Next would be the review our Bylaws what might need to be considered/updated with any organizational changes and leadership duties.  This strategic planning also aids with evaluating building/office space needs if we are still planning on moving or right sizing the current headquarters building.

Second, this brings up what position(s) are we hiring for: Chief Executive Officer(EVP)? Chief Operating Officer? National Spokesperson? Who else?  All of the proceeding?  We need an updated organization chart that supports our strategic plan, not the other way around.  I believe at a minimum it will show we need a person that who is called a Chief Operating Officer in the business world (you can call that person the EVP if you want).  That person needs to be a proven business professional that runs the day-to-day activities of the organization.  This does not have to be a “gun” person, we need a seasoned business professional!!!  I also believe we need to hire a National Spokesperson to be the face of the NRA and will have no distractions of running the day-to-day operations.  A couple of years back Don Trump Jr contacted me if NRA was looking for a National Spokesperson, he saw the need.  He did preface, “I don’t want to deal with any of the operational bullshit.”  I’m not sure what he would say today, but when the time is right I can ask him if he might be interested if requested by the board.

Once we identify the positions we need to fill, we need to develop their job descriptions. What are the salary ranges? Where will they be based?  Travel?  What criteria will be used to evaluate and rank the candidates?  Then we can only begin a real search.  Then what search firm will we use?  I also do not believe that the additional hires beyond the COO/EVP should be solely left to a new leader at this time.  The board of directors must be involved in hiring them too.  The board finally needs to take charge and lead!!!

Third, it appears we have not learned from history that elevating/using board members for important positions/activities has not yielded great results.  Why is the search committee only composed of board members?  Do any of these individuals managed large multi-million dollar organizations?  Probably one.  Do any of these individuals have extensive experience in interviewing and hiring senior leadership positions?  Do these individuals have peers that can assist with the search?  We had a few past board members with extensive business experience, why were they not appointed to the search committee for their experience?  There are many allied very large organizations that have extensive experience with executive searches and hiring executive leadership.  Why are they not part of the process?  Our allied partners should also be part of the process of rebuilding our organization in order to begin rebuilding trust with this segment.

Forth, We need experienced business leadership advising the organization.  I’m tired of hearing over the years we are a non-profit.  NO WE ARE NOT!!!  We are a business that must have income and must have profit to survive.  We need to act like a business.   Now is the time to create a small group of “business professionals” made up of a few board members and outside business leaders to help guide senior leadership back to fiscal soundness and the prestige the NRA once earned.  Call it an Executive Advisory Council if you want.

I don’t have all the answers, no one does, but this should start the conversation for the future of the NRA.  Now is the time to consider these observations, challenge them, build on them and improve on them.

One of my favorite sayings “If you don’t have time to do it right the first time, you don’t have time to do it a second time.”  As I said earlier we have the cart before the horse with appointing a search committee with no direction.

We are sitting on the edge of a razor blade, NRA can become ten times more effect than we ever were or fade to be a minor league player.  Or worse, disappear altogether if we do not act with sound business solutions and practices.

Let’s put our differences to rest, let’s all work to build a strategic plan for the organization’s future and then staff for greatness.

The free world is watching, we can’t let our members, America’s gun owners and manufacturers down at this critical time.  LET’S GET THIS RIGHT, the stakes are too high and there will be no second chance.

Respectfully,

Bill Bachenberg

NRA Board Member Herb Lanford Passes Away

I received news yesterday that Herbert Lanford, Jr., a longtime member of the NRA Board of Directors, died on February 1st. He was 75 years old. He died in hospice care from Spartanburg (SC) Regional Hospice Home.

The notice from NRA Secretary John Frazer reads in part:

It is with great sadness that I share with you that NRA Board member Herbert A. “Herb” Lanford, Jr. passed away on February 1, 2024. He was 75 years old.  Herb served on and off the Board beginning in 1986.  He is survived by his brother, Tom; his sister, Joanne Hensley; and many nieces and nephews.

Graveside services with military honors will be held at 4:00 p.m., Thursday, February 8, at Greenlawn Memorial Garden located at 1300 Fernwood Glendale Road, Spartanburg, SC  29307.  Visitation will be at the graveside prior to the service.

Lanford’s death will leave the Board with only 75 Directors as all three of the non-elected candidates from 2023 have filled positions on the Board. Article IV, Section 2 of the NRA Bylaws makes no provision for filling a vacancy other than from those who had been on the ballot and not elected.

CORRECTION: I had assumed that James Chapman was already on the Board of Directors as he had received more votes than Rick Ector who is on the Board. I had forgotten Rick was elected as the 76th Director. Thus, James Chapman will fill the seat left empty by Herb Lanford’s death and the Board will still have 76 members. That is, for now. Things could change after the NY trial but who knows.

Buz Mills’ Letter To The NRA Board

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

Get Phil Journey On The NRA Ballot (UPDATE)

UPDATE: Time is running out for petition candidates for the NRA Board of Directors to obtain the necessary signatures. Judge Journey must submit all signatures by November 7th. This means he needs everything in hand ASAP. If you are eligible to vote in the 2024 election for NRA Board of Directors and you have not signed the petition, DO IT NOW!

As a reminder, the Nominating Committee has nominated 28 people for the 25 board seats up for election. A full 25 of these people are already on the Board. It is the same old, same old which has allowed the NRA to flounder, to be brought into court in New York, and which has allowed grifters like Wayne, Marion, and company to get away with it for years.

Judge Phil Journey is running for the NRA Board of Directors. I did send in his nomination to the Nominations Committee but I imagine that nomination will be sent directly to the circular file by them. While he was nominated by them in 2020, they refused to do so in 2023.

Why?

That is easy to answer. When he called for an independent examiner in the abortive NRA bankruptcy case, he outed himself as not one of the go-along, get-along Friends of Wayne. He also called for Wayne’s replacement as CEO and Executive VP. Thus, he became persona non grata to the powers that be and was a threat to their perks paid for out of the members’ dues. I won’t even get into the childish and contemptible behavior that some Board members have shown towards Phil.

Phil is also Judge Phillip Journey. He serves in Kansas’ 18th District Court, Division 1, and is currently assigned to handle Family Law cases. He told me in the past that as an officer of the court it would have unethical for him to ignore what Bill Brewer was attempting to do when he had the NRA file for bankruptcy protection.

Since the Nominations Committee will ignore Phil Journey, he needs to get on the ballot by petition. This year, thanks to the abysmal voter turnout in 2023, one only need approximately 375 valid signatures to get on the ballot.

So what is a valid signature? It would be that of a Life Member of any level or that of a five-year continuous member. If there had been any break in your annual membership during that five years, the clock starts again. It also has to be an original signature. I suggest signing with blue ink so there is no question that it is not original.

Completed petitions need to be sent back to Phil by October 15th. He must submit all petitions to the NRA by November 7th and this gives him to time to verify membership numbers, etc.

Send the signed petition to him at:

Phillip Journey, PO Box 501 Haysville, KS 67060

Share this post and especially Phil’s petition with friends. We need people like Phil and Rocky Marshall working for us on the inside where there is a chance – slim though it might be – that they can have an impact.

I have embedded both the official petition form and Phil’s bio below.

Pjourney-Petition

BODbio2019

Willes Lee Out; Bob Barr In

Just before noon, I received a press release from the NRA. At first, I expected it to say what a success the Annual Meeting was and how the officers had all been re-elected. Instead the first paragraph contained a shocker. Willes Lee had been replaced as 1st Vice President and replaced by former Congressman Bob Barr (R-GA). Whoa!

From the release:

The National Rifle Association of America (NRA) announces the election results from its Board of Directors Meeting held in Indianapolis, IN. Charles Cotton was reelected NRA President, former Congressman Bob Barr was elected as First Vice President, and David Coy reelected Second Vice President.

In recognition of his extraordinary leadership these past two years, the NRA Board of Directors  voted unanimously to amend its bylaws to allow Cotton to succeed himself for a third term. In addition to his responsibilities as NRA President, Cotton is Chairman of the Audit Committee and a transformational leader.

LaPierre was re-elected by the NRA Board of Directors, who annually elect the CEO/EVP. The Board of Directors are elected by NRA members. This followed a vote at the NRA Members Meeting on April 15, 2023, where members expressed confidence in Mr. LaPierre.

I have to laugh when they said Charles Cotton was a “transformational leader”. That would be true if you meant the leader who helped make the NRA a defunct organization. As to the members expressing “confidence” in Wayne, about 1/3 or so of those in attendance at the Meeting of the Members including me voted FOR the resolution offered by Jeff Knox expressing “no confidence” in LaPierre.

As to why Willes Lee was dumped, it is speculated that his resignation from the Special Litigation Committee was considered “disloyalty”. As a Florida politician who had voted with Marion Hammer 95% of the time noted, she considered him a “traitor”. I had understood that he felt blindsided when the move to let Charles Cotton have a third term was floated. He was not consulted nor told in advance of this move. I heard other speculation that his resignation from the Special Litigation Committee could have been due to a disagreement with Bill Brewer on litigation strategy.

Lee found this under his hotel room door on Sunday night prior to Monday’s Board of Directors meeting.

Again, the friends of Wayne blindsided Lee. A former director told me that Bob Barr was a true, blue supporter of Wayne. I was also told by another former director that he was surprised that it wasn’t Ronnie Barrett who also supports Wayne. What is surprising is that David Coy was not moved to the 1st VP position with Barr becoming the 2nd VP. This makes Barr as the presumptive nominee for President of the NRA in 2024.

The Facebook page of Lee contains some interesting stuff. He even included an article by Jeff Knox criticizing the Special Litigation Committee. Mind you it was Jeff who offered the resolution of no confidence in Wayne at the Meeting of Members. Normally, something like Jeff’s article would have been ignored as if it never happened and not worthy of comment. Lee also said that he believes in transparency and will never “keep secrets” from the Board.

In other Board news, Carrie Lightfoot reportedly has resigned and will be replaced by Charles Beers. I understand her resignation was due to a need to take care of a family member and to give more attention to her business.

In an ironic twist, Lee reports that the best text he has received today was one that said, “Oh. No. They Ollie’d you, at annual meeting, in Indianapolis. lol.” He even acknowledged how he was part of those who did it to Ollie in 2019.

I’ll put this out there. If any member of the Board of Directors wants to contact me, either on or off the record, my blog email is gunsandmoneyblog AT gmail DOT com.

A Wake-Up Letter To The NRA Board

Note: I want to emphasize that I did not obtain Frank Tait’s letter from Frank nor any member of the Board of Directors. He also did not give me permission to publish or quote from it. However, he was willing to answer questions about the letter for which I was appreciative.

Frank Tait sent a wake-up letter to the NRA Board of Directors a week ago. It asked for answers to many tough questions especially with regard to the NRA’s finances. Almost immediately, Marion Hammer went into “enemy within” mode and told the rest of the Board to delete the email. She also suggested they block Frank who is a member of the Board. In one of his few instances of showing a spine, NRA Secretary and General Counsel John Frazer had to step in and remind everyone of the existing records retention order.

Frank starts by saying:

Dear Fellow Directors,
I am humbled and honored to serve the members of our great Association. As I come to the end of my brief term on the NRA Board of Directors, there are observations and recommendations to share with the entire board. I attended the January Board meeting and made 4 visits to headquarters requesting and reviewing a wide number of documents to fulfill my obligations as spelled out in the NRA Director Reference Book and in the Right from the Start: Responsibilities of Directors of NOT-FOR-PROFIT Corporations issues by the Office of the New York State Attorney General Charities Bureau. I encourage you to familiarize yourself with the document and encourage you to review underlying documents to what management presents to assure yourselves of the health of our Association.
My overall impression is that Directors willingly serve in the area where they are asked to focus. And that only a select few long-term insiders such as the Executive Council members, focus on the overall financial health of the Association. Directors are ‘kept busy’ with outward facing activities and that Directors assume that “someone else” is handling the overall financial health of the Association. Only the officers, Executive Council members and management have a complete picture of the health and status of the Association. Directors need to recognize that it is THEIR responsibility to look at the overall
financial health of the Association IN ADDITION to their Committee assignments.

Two years ago I wrote a post about fiduciary duty and the responsibilities of the NRA Board of Directors. Every member of the NRA Board as well as the employed officers (CEO, CFO, Secretary, etc) is a fiduciary. As such, under New York law they have three duties that they must fulfill as a fiduciary. They are the duty of care, the duty of loyalty, and duty of obedience. Summarizing these duties, the duty of care means providing reasonable time, attention, and care to providing organization oversight. Loyalty means acting in the best interests of the organization and its members rather than their own self-interests. The duty of obedience means the board is fulfilling its fiduciary responsibility to ensure that the organization is abiding by its stated mission and is complying with all state and federal laws. New York law goes even further to include internal governing documents and policies such as the bylaws.

To assist board members in understanding their fiduciary duty, the New York Charities Bureau publishes a short booklet called “Right from the Start”. Frank referenced that publication in his letter to his fellow board members. Another publication from the Charities Bureau not referenced by Frank deals with internal controls and financial accountability. Both publications make reference to financial reports and the obligation of board members to review them. For example, in Right from the Start, it says one should “Obtain the current year’s budget and cash flow projections. Find out how they compare to actual income and expenses and what processes are in place to monitor these comparisons.” This was suggested to be done even before someone is seated on a board. After becoming a board member, Internal Controls says procedures should be in place “ensuring that timely and appropriate financial reports are distributed to all directors and officers and reviewed by them, as well as the president, chief executive officer, treasurer and chief financial officer.

Frank points out it is the responsibility of all Directors to look at the overall financial health of the NRA and not just those of a specified committee such as the Finance Committee. He then makes recommendations on records transparency including a suggestion of a way to provide documents to the Board through a secure, electronic site. Since the Special Litigation Committee is a committee of the Board, it should be required to keep minutes and report out its decisions. One need only look to how they handled the abortive bankruptcy filing to see how they failed at providing transparency of their actions to the Board. That is, the Board didn’t know a bankruptcy filing was in the offing until after it was filed.

He then makes recommendations regarding compliance and cybersecurity. With regard to compliance, he says to move forward with appointing a Chief Compliance Officer and to bring that resolution to the members. I agree with Frank that the members would approve this move. Given it is adding an officer to the NRA, it must be approved by a members’ vote. That cannot happen until ballots go out in 2024. Also with regard to compliance, the lines of authority needs to be spelled out in a Delegation of Authority Matrix. Currently, these lines of authority are in various documents some of which have not been provided to the Board.

On cybersecurity, Frank notes the NRA has a significant amount of information on individual members including credit card numbers. He and Judge Phil Journey have submitted a resolution to the Board requesting a Cybersecurity Committee be established. You may remember that Russian hackers hit the NRA with a ransomware attack in the fall of 2021. Frank suggests a full Systems and Operation Control audit be part of the annual audit to keep members’ and employees’ data secure.

I spoke with Frank this afternoon after he attended the Finance Committee meeting. He and Judge Journey will be retracting their proposed resolution on the establishment of a Cybersecurity Committee. He said the NRA has taken some measure to improve cybersecurity including locking out thumb drive access to all computers and watermarking financial documents so that the recipient is known for each copy. They also have all computers emptying “trash” automatically as this was the way the hackers obtained some of their data.

Now to the meat of Frank’s letter – Financial Oversight. This is where Directors need to become involved in order to fulfill their fiduciary duties. Sec. 717 of the New York Consolidated Laws, Non-Profit Corporation Law outlines the duties of officers and directors. The law considers that directors, if acting in good faith, may rely on reports from officers, qualified professionals, and designated committees of the board. However, it is conditioned on officers being “reliable and competent” in the matter presented, the professionals having the professional expertise, and the committee “merits confidence.” It then goes on to say, “Persons shall not be considered to be acting in good faith if they have knowledge concerning the matter in question that would cause such reliance to be unwarranted.” The bottom line is that the Board cannot rely on “well, Wayne assured me” or “Charles and David said it was OK” anymore. That would not be consistent with the care that a ordinarily prudent person would exercise under these circumstances.

Frank continues:

Tait-membership

Membership is down as is membership revenues. From 2021 to 2022, new memberships fell by 35%. The budget adopted assumed growth in both members and membership revenue. The actual numbers are going in the opposite direction. When Frank asked for a management response to this, he got a response from John Frazer that just infuriates me. It was arrogant and rude in my opinion.

John Frazer replied “your requests for responses to questions about budget projections and the NRA’s ability to meet its budget, outside the scope of a meeting of the Board, are redundant and therefore unnecessary. The NRA addresses directors’ questions of this type in the appropriate time, place, and manner-i.e., during meetings of its Board and duly appointed committees, rather than through ongoing, ad hoc responses to individual directors between Board meetings.”

With that type of response, is it any wonder that Frazer is a named defendant in the New York Attorney General’s lawsuit?

Tait-balance-sheets

The balance sheet information above is from the annual reports. As with any balance sheet, it is for a spot in time unlike a cashflow or income statement.

As I noted above, I spoke with Frank after he met with the Finance Committee. He got some answers but not everything. The NRA will be starting a campaign to raise membership and membership revenues. However, they will be using extensive discounting which reduces the revenue impact of the campaign. He said the NRA is working hard to reduce costs by not filling positions and renegotiating contracts.

There is a saying that you cannot shrink yourself to prosperity. The cost cutting measures help but are not enough. Hypothetically, the NRA has a $50 million problem which new programs that generate revenue are the key. It would be next to impossible to come up with one $50 million program so it would be more likely to have 10 $5 million programs to generate the needed revenue. Realistically, you really need 20 as some programs will fail to generate the needed revenue. Where to find those 10-20 programs that can generate revenues is the issue. This weekend’s expo in Indianapolis will generate revenue but not in the $5 million range after expenses.

Frank went on to say in our conversation this afternoon that the two key factors are membership (revenue growth) and legal costs (cost reduction). While Frank won’t say it, I will. Bill Brewer and his team are sucking the NRA dry with their overpriced legal services that have continually failed to produce any results. A $12 million settlement with Ack-Mac, a ludicrous attempt at bankruptcy, $8 million in fees to avoid paying Chris Cox his $2 million severance package, and the list goes on.

I should make clear that I am only posting excerpts from Frank’s letter per his request. I did review what excerpts I would be publishing with Frank. Parts of this post were drafted before Frank met with the Finance Committee. Those specifically after I spoke with him are in bold italic.

A Precursor To Selling The NRA HQ Building?

A good friend was sent a listing for leased office space in the NRA headquarters building by a commercial real estate broker. The broker suggested that it was the precursor to selling the building. That confused me a bit so I did some more digging.

I found the leased space listing on at least five websites serving the commercial real estate market in the Metro DC area. It was on Loopnet.com, Propertyshark.com, Cityfeet.com, and CommercialCafe.com in addition to CommercialSearch.com. The listings in all five were virtually identical.

From CommercialEdge:

There is currently one space available at 11250 Waples Mill Road. The building’s general use is office. The space listed for lease is described as general office. Current availability totals 8,977 square feet. Of this, minimum divisible area is 8,977 square feet. The listed lease rate is $30.00/SF/YR.

The space is on the 3rd floor. According to the FAQ, this is the only space available for lease in the NRA headquarters building. All five of the listings note that the building was updated in 2022 and emphasize its location. However, none of the listings nor any of the photos indicate that it is the NRA headquarters building. The big red NRA letters are on the other side of the building.

I reached out to a commercial real estate broker with a large firm here in North Carolina for his opinion. Lee was aware of the listings above. He took note that it was the only space available for lease in the building. Given that, he said, having a full occupancy makes a building more attractive to buyers. Or as he put it, “Lease it up first to then sell.” I mentioned the building’s condition and he said the tenants will make them fix the roof before they’d lease it. I imagine a seller would do the same or use it to really whittle down the price.

As can be seen in the photo below of the ceiling of the building’s atrium, there is still damage left from the leaking roof. While the powers that be assert they have fixed the roof, I think that is questionable. The photo below was taken within the past month or so (update based on metadata – May 2022)

I submitted a resolution at the 2022 Meeting of Members to address the issue of the headquarters building’s condition. I was told an independent inspection would be a waste of money by director Ron Schmeits and the problem was being addressed. The resolution went down to defeat as might be expected. I asked for an independent inspection because I frankly didn’t trust the majority of the board to do more than pay lip service to it. Obviously, I was correct.

The board has authorized a search committee to explore a move to Texas. They may even vote on finalizing a move at the board meeting after the conclusion of the NRA Annual Meeting in Indianapolis. Selling the Virginia headquarters building would certainly fit into that move. However, the question remains how they can afford to fix the building, buy or lease a new one in Texas, move everything, and do it given the state of their finances. Even if they can sell the building, the monies realized would only pay off the existing over-extended line of credit. Unlike the gun control lobby, there is no sugar daddy billionaire waiting in the wings to rescue the NRA.

UPDATE: I was told by Frank Tait that the Board of Directors voted in January 2020 to sell the Headquarters Building. If memory serves me correctly, that meeting was before the Covid-19 pandemic hit its stride and everything shut down. (Correction – the vote to sell was not the HQ building but adjacent 2-story brick office buildings located at 11244 Waples Mill Rd. They are also owned by the NRA. Their combined assessment is $2 million. Frank reports it has now been taken off the market. The HQ is 11250 Waples Mill Rd.)

The normal thing to do when trying to sell a house – or a building in this case – is to spiff it up and get it in top-notch shape in order to receive the best offer. While I grant you that the pandemic shut-down was in full force, building maintenance workers and contractors were considered essential employees. Unfortunately, maintenance of the Headquarters Building was obviously put off and damage resulted. This is mismanagement at its worst because it is letting a valuable asset erode in value.

UPDATE II: I was wrong on the date of the atrium photo. Checking the meta-data on the original, it was taken in May 2022. A friend who visited the NRA HQ on business within the last two weeks assures me that while the atrium is closed, the damage to the ceiling has been repaired. It was also noted that the roof is in much better shape.

It has been brought up that the building has had a number of outside leasees. That is not denied. However, it was the ad that in the professional opinion of a commercial real estate broker was to be considered a precursor to a sale. I confirmed this with another broker with whom I have a trusted working relationship.

Frank Tait To Be On NRA Board

Dave Butz, longtime NRA Board member, passed away earlier today. He played on two Super Bowl champion football teams for the Washington Redskins. He was 72.

As a result of Butz’s passing, Frank Tait will now serve on the NRA Board of Directors until the next NRA Annual Meeting. Frank was notified this afternoon by NRA Secretary John Frazer of Mr. Butz’s passing and his ascension to the board. Under the bylaws, vacancies on the board are filled by the next highest candidate not elected. Frank was the last remaining candidate not elected to the board.

So what does this mean for NRA members. By himself Frank will not be able to do much given the size of the board. However, he will have access by law to the books and records of the NRA. Even if Judge Cohen in the New York AG’s suit would not allow him intervenor status, he would be obligated to force the powers that be at the NRA to grant Frank access to this information.

I assume that the Friends of Wayne will give Frank the same cold shoulder that they have given Judge Phil Journey. Their petulance is actually rather pathetic as they would rather stay in the good graces of a hireling than those of the members.

I wish Frank the best in this position and hope that some good can come from it.

Wit Davis Resigns As NRA Board Attorney

Wit Davis who replaced Steve Hart in 2019 as the counsel to the NRA Board of Directors has resigned. The announcement was made in an email to the Board this evening. NRA President Charles Cotton announced it and he had NRA Secretary John Frazer email his announcement to the Board.

To My Fellow Board Members:

I am writing to inform you that Wit Davis has resigned his position with the NRA.  I am sure he would want you to know he noted that “it has been an honor to serve this remarkable organization” and that he is available to help the transition to a new attorney.

The plan is for the Association to hire an attorney who will serve through the conclusion of the NYAG case and, if necessary, thereafter until a permanent replacement is found.  We do not want to rush into hiring counsel to provide advice to the Board. Therefore, an interim solution will allow us to conduct a more comprehensive search.

Please join me in wishing Wit the best.

Charles L. Cotton

There can be many explanations for Mr. Davis’ resignation. It could have been that he was forced out by Bill Brewer, Alternatively, it could have been they just didn’t have the money to continue to pay him. Another alternative and one any sane person in his position should have concluded was that life is too short to deal with this crap anymore. I’m sure whatever the reason we will find out more in the coming days.

Allen West’s Letter To NRA BOD

I am a little late posting this but I wanted to get it up prior to this week’s NRA Annual Meeting starting on Friday. It is an open letter from Lt. Col. Allen West to the NRA Board of Directors. He is asking for their vote when they meet on the Monday after the Annual Meeting to elect the Executive VP and CEO.

Now do I think Allen West will be elected? The answer is a resounding no. Wayne LaPierre has so stacked the Board with his loyalists that it is near impossibility. Nonetheless, it shows Judge Cohen in New York that some within the NRA are trying to change things for the better.

We’ll see.

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