NRA Board Meeting

January 15, 2021 board meeting

One correction from the other day, Walt Walters reminded me that the discussion about Suppressors in the Hi-Power committee was only a sense of the committee, not a formal vote and that no action was taken by the committee and even if it was, it had to be approved by the Sport Shooting committee and then the full Board. He said that the NRA staff has the flexibility to permit suppressors as an approved exception in certain matches.

An item I missed in previous updates from Doug Hamlin’s presentation, the average age of NRA members is 55 (where the average age in the population is 38) and that 85% of NRA members are male. The age breakdown is (yes I know incomplete but this is what Doug said):

• 18-34. 21%

• 25-54. 43%

• 65+ 28%

On to the Board update - The board room was set for 42 people - there were 38 directors in attendance. Most not there were excused absences due to illness or family illness with some missing for schedule conflicts. As usual none of the ‘celebrity’ directors (Cain, Malone, etc.) were in attendance. I was the only non-board, board family, Brewer firm, or staff person in attendance.

Charles Cotton led off with a status on the ongoing litigation. He reminded people to refer to the NRA Legal Facts site for public details. He said they are doing well in the discovery motions. He said the judges are getting tired of the delaying tactics, particularly those by the NY AG, and expects the ACMAC matter to be at trial in the spring and the NYAG suit to be wrapped up by the summer.

Willes Lee’s report noted the hacker attack against the NRA and that the systems have been restored and protected. I checked with a couple of folks whose personal information was disclosed in the hack and they still have not been notified by the NRA that their information was disclosed. He encouraged all directors to step up to the Benefactor Life level.

Wayne LaPierre notes that finances are in good shape and that the organization is getting back to fundamentals. He said that the growing sentiment that people need to protect themselves and their families given the “defund the police” and the “no bail” trends align with the NRAs mission and we need to expand our outreach and messaging. He acknowledged that the Carry Guard program got the organization crossways with the NRA Instructors and that the Instructors are on the front line with firearm safety messaging and equipping people to defend themselves and their families. The Instructors are one of the major sources of new NRA members.

Joe Debergalis’s report covered the restarting of the LEO certification program with 300 newly credentialed and the Police championships slated for September 21 in Mississippi. Registration for the National Matches will go live in March for matches starting July 8. Joe also announced new Extreme Long Range championships with targets starting at 1 mile.

Jason Ouimet’s report noted that the NRA spent $2.8million in helping to defeat ATF nominee Chipman. He said that many congressional races were uncertain as states are still in the redistricting process. He expects a workable majority in the House and the Senate too close to call at this point. Ken Blackwell added to Jason’s report encouraging NRA members to get active at the precinct level as workers, not just observers to ensure a fair election process.

John Frazer announced that the next board meeting will be on May 30 at 9 am at the George R. Brown Center in Houston.

Treasurer Sonia Rowley said that her team is preparing for the Audit which will start on January 24, that the Balance sheet has strengthened by paying down $4.5 million of the line of credit, and that the proposed budget for 2022 will be “slow and deliberate growth.”

As expected the Board went into executive session about 10:15.

One other note - no security minder at all during the meetings this week.

It is well past time for the NRA to shift from a defensive mindset to an offensive mindset. We need new blood on the board that protects our members’ rights by advancing them, not just defending them.

I ask for your support when the ballot for the NRA Board election comes in the next issue of your NRA magazine. Please vote ONLY for Frank C Tait. Jeff Knox has a great article on bullet voting.

I am the only candidate on the ballot from a petition of the members and committed to being a true independent director providing accountability and transparency to NRA members.

I also ask that you share this message and ask your fellow NRA members to support my candidacy by only voting for board candidates that are committed to reforming the NRA.