Minutes of the America First National Committee

Tuesday, July 2, 2002

BE IT REMEMBERED that the America First National Committee met on Tuesday, July 2, 2002 at 8 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, pursuant to the call issued by the Chairman and Secretary as provided for in the rules of the party.

The meeting was called to order by the Chairman at 8:28 p.m. EDT.

The Secretary called the roll of National Committee members:

Present:

• John Verser of Arkansas
• Marcel Dietze and Wanda Weatherford of Colorado
• Floyd Atchley of Connecticut
• Phil Anderson, O. Gene Lovell, and Diane Lovell of Georgia
• Ed Moses, Jim Monagan, and David Doyle of Iowa
• Guadalupe Lynch and Maureen McHugh of Illinois
• Francis Winters of New Hampshire
• John Fey, James Edwards and James D. Jones of Tennessee
• Blake Buffington, Wes Anderson, and George Pangborn of Texas
• John Pittman Hey of Mississippi, Secretary
• Dan Charles of Colorado, Chairman and Treasurer

Absent:

• Billie Deeter and Allan Hampton of Arkansas
• Trey Golmon, Ryan Walters, and Phillip Carnaggio of Mississippi
• Jean Martha Groves and Ted Maravelias of New Hampshire
• Pat Dolan of Colorado
• George Radzwillas of Connecticut
• John Wassenaar of Illinois

Helen Leka of Connecticut joined the meeting after its call to order.

Romelle Winters, Public Relations Chairman; Roger Simmermaker, Chairman of the America First Party of Florida; Greg Roberts, Chairman of the Reform Party of Missouri; John Francis of Ohio; and Jon Hill, Chairman of the Reform Party of Massachusetts also attended the meeting as observers.

Nancy Blankenship attended the meeting, first as an observer, and then as a member of the National Committee from the State of Missouri.

A quorum being present, the National Committee meeting was opened with the Pledge of Allegiance. The Secretary delivered the invocation.

Mr. Moses moved the adoption of the agenda that had previously been circulated by the Chairman. Mr. Lovell seconded the motion, and it was adopted unanimously.

The Secretary reported receipt of a notice that the America First Party of Illinois had elected a replacement for one of its National Committee Members, Mr. John Wassenaar. Based upon that submission, the Secretary moved that Mr. Wassenaar's name be stricken from the Certified List of National Committee Members, and that Mr. Brendan McCrudden be added to the list. His motion was seconded by Mrs. Lynch and adopted by unanimous vote.

The Secretary reported receipt of a notice that the America First Party of Colorado had elected a replacement for one of its National Committee Members, Mr. Pat Dolan. Based upon that submission, the Secretary moved that Mr. Dolan's name be stricken from the Certified List of National Committee Members, and that Mr. Larry Carroll be added to the list. His motion was seconded by Mr. Lovell and adopted by unanimous vote.

The Secretary reported receipt of a Petition for Affiliation from the Reform Party of Missouri chaired by Mr. Greg Roberts. The Petition submitted the names of Dennis Carriger, Nancy Blankenship, and Ray Cherry as the National Committee members from Missouri.

The Secretary moved the amendment of the Certified List of National Committee members to add Dennis Carriger, Nancy Blankenship, and Ray Cherry as National Committee members from the State of Missouri. His motion was seconded by Mrs. Lovell and adopted by unanimous vote of the National Committee.

The Secretary reported receipt of a Petition for Affiliation from the America First Party of Florida chaired by Mr. Roger Simmermaker. The Petition submitted the names of Martin McClellan, Gaurav Ahuja, and George Bashure as the National Committee members from Florida.

The Secretary moved the amendment of the Certified List of National Committee members to add Martin McClellan, Gaurav Ahuja, and George Bashure as National Committee members from the State of Florida. His motion was seconded by Mr. Lovell and adopted by unanimous vote of the National Committee.

The Secretary reported great progress in updating the Party database and identifying over 3000 prospects for membership in the various state parties. He stated that the lists would be available on-line for the use of the Party Building Committee shortly.

The Secretary also reported that he had posted to the web site an index of AFP candidates running for public office. The index will be linked to individual candidate information pages which are under development.

The Secretary reminded the members that the Delegate Registration process is underway, and a Directory of Registered Delegates is available for review on the web site. He encouraged all state party leaders to send delegate registration information to him as soon as possible.

The Treasurer reported that funds needed to be raised to cover the costs of the founding convention. Mrs. Lynch proposed soliciting pledges from the members, and a number of pledges of donations were made.

A lengthy report was made by Mr. Lovell on behalf of the Convention Committee. A multi-page check-list of Convention-related issues was circulated, along with a description of progress made on each item.

Mr. Jones underlined the need for the state delegations to bring state flags for display at the convention. There will of course be a number of American flags on display as befits the America First Party.

A discussion was held regarding the need for a master database of state party members, so that fundraising, press releases, and other organizing efforts can be made on a party-wide basis. The consensus was that the state parties would be encouraged to provide these lists to the National Secretary, who will fold them into the party database. This information needs to be collected within the next two weeks so that mailings promoting the national convention can be sent out.

A discussion was held regarding candidates for elective office who will be addressing the national convention. This is a great opportunity for them to gather support from the party as a whole, and the state parties are encouraged to send candidates to the convention to speak and network with the national party membership.

The pricing and availability of tables at the convention site were discussed. The Convention Committee will be making an effort to market these tables to interested groups.

The Silent Auction was discussed. Mrs. McHugh and Mrs. Lovell will solicit novel items for auction. A discussion was held regarding the need to focus on American-made items.

The Chairman moved that Mr. Simmermaker be elected to chair the Platform Committee. His motion was seconded by Mr. Jones. There were no other nominations. Mr. Simmermaker was elected chairman of the Platform Committee by unanimous vote of the National Committee.

There being no further business, upon motion made by Mr. Moses, seconded by Mr. Lovell, and adopted by unanimous vote, the Chairman declared the meeting adjourned.

Respectfully submitted,

______________________
John Pittman Hey
National Secretary
America First National Committee