Minutes of the America First National Committee

Tuesday, July 30, 2002

BE IT REMEMBERED that the America First National Committee met on Tuesday, July 30, 2002 at 9 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 9:25 p.m. EDT.

The Secretary called the roll of National Committee members:

Present:

• John Verser of Arkansas
• Marcel Dietze and Wanda Weatherford of Colorado
• Helen Leka, George Radzwillas, and Floyd Atchley of Connecticut
• Martin McClellan of Florida
• Ed Moses of Iowa
• Phil Anderson, O. Gene Lovell, and Diane Lovell of Georgia
• Guadalupe Lynch and Maureen McHugh of Illinois
• Francis Winters of New Hampshire
• Ryan Walters and Trey Golmon of Mississippi
• James Edwards and James D. Jones of Tennessee
• 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
• Larry Carroll of Colorado
• George Bashure and Gaurav Ahuja of Florida
• Jim Monagan of Iowa
• Brendan McCrudden of Illinois
• Jean Martha Groves and Ted Maravelias of New Hampshire
• Phillip Carnaggio of Mississippi
• John Fey of Tennessee
• Ray Cherry, Dennis Carriger, and Nancy Blankenship of Missouri
• Blake Buffington of Texas

Dave Doyle of Iowa joined the meeting after its call to order.

Romelle Winters attended in her capacity as Public Relations Chairman.

Candice Schmidt attended the meeting, first as an observer, and then as a member of the National Committee from the State of Mississippi.

James Arft, Maureen Flannery, and Gary Grella attended the meeting, first as observers, and then as members of the National Committee from the State of New York.

John B. Clark and Virginia Clark attended the meeting, first as observers, and then as members of the National Committee from the State of Maryland.

John Francis, Ward Chorpenning, and James Bunosky attended the meeting, first as observers, and then as members of the National Committee from the State of Ohio.

G. Cleve Pate attended the meeting, first as an observer, and then as a member of the National Committee from the State of North Carolina.

A quorum being present, the National Committee meeting was opened with the Pledge of Allegiance. The Secretary delivered the invocation. He led the Committee in prayer for the nation and for Mr. Traficant's safety and release from prison.

The Secretary presented a number of amendments to the Certified List of National Committee members.

The Secretary reported receipt of a notice from State Chairman Ryan Walters of Mississippi, who reported the election of Candice Schmidt to replace Mr. Phil Carnaggio as National Committee member.

The Secretary moved the amendment of the Certified List to strike Mr. Carnaggio and add Miss Schmidt as National Committee member for Mississippi. His motion was seconded by Mr. Lovell and adopted by unanimous vote.

The Secretary reported receipt of the resignation of Allan Hampton as National Committee member from Arkansas. He further reported the resignation was confirmed by State Chairman John Verser.

The Secretary moved the amendment of the Certified List to strike Mr. Hampton as National Committee member for Arkansas. His motion was seconded by Mrs. Lynch and adopted by unanimous vote.

The Secretary reported receipt of a Petition for Affiliation from the America First Party of Maryland chaired by Mr. John Clark. The Petition submitted the names of Mr. Clark and Virginia Clark as the National Committee members from Maryland.

The Secretary moved the amendment of the Certified List of National Committee members to add Mr. John Clark and Mrs. Virginia Clark as National Committee members from the State of Maryland. His motion was seconded by Mr. 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 Ohio chaired by Mr. John Francis. The Petition submitted the names of Mr. Francis, Mr. Ward Chorpenning, and Mr. James Bunosky as the National Committee members from Ohio.

The Secretary moved the amendment of the Certified List of National Committee members to add Mr. John Francis, Mr. Ward Chorpenning, and Mr. James Bunosky as National Committee members from the State of Ohio. His motion was seconded by Mr. McClellan and adopted by unanimous vote of the National Committee.

The Secretary reported receipt of a Petition for Affiliation from the Ameri First Party of New York chaired by Mr. James Arft. The Petition submitted the names of Mr. Arft, Mrs. Maureen Flannery, and Mr. Gary Grella as the National Committee members from New York.

The Secretary moved the amendment of the Certified List of National Committee members to add Mr. James Arft, Mrs. Maureen Flannery, and Mr. Gary Grella as National Committee members from the State of New York. His motion was seconded by Mr. 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 North Carolina chaired by Mr. Cleve Pate. The Petition submitted the names of Mr. Pate, Mr. Norman Kent, and Mr. Gordon Ipock as the National Committee members from North Carolina.

The Secretary moved the amendment of the Certified List of National Committee members to add Mr. Cleve Pate, Mr. Norman Kent, and Mr. Gordon Ipock as National Committee members from the State of North Carolina. His motion was seconded by Mr. McClellan and adopted by unanimous vote of the National Committee.

Mr. Lovell moved the adoption of the entire Certified List of the National Committee Members as read and amended. His motion was seconded by Mr. McClellan and adopted by unanimous vote.

Mr. Golmon moved the adoption of the agenda that had previously been circulated by the Chairman. Mr. McClellan seconded the motion.

Mr. Jones moved to delete his proposed Resolution from the Agenda. His amendment was seconded by Mr. Lovell, and approved by unanimous vote.

The motion to adopt the Agenda as amended was approved by unanimous vote.

The Chairman delivered his report. He described the numerous media appearances he had made on behalf of the party, including an interview on MS-NBC that very morning, and a radio appearance just prior to the National Committee meeting.

The Chairman discussed briefly the Judge's misconduct in the Traficant sentencing this morning. Mr. Traficant is now in federal prison, and contingency plans have been made if he is not able to attend the party's Convention next week. The Chairman stressed the importance of the entire national party working together with the AFP-Ohio to assist in Mr. Traficant's reelection campaign.

The Secretary delivered his report.

The Secretary moved the approval of the minutes of the National Committee Meeting of June 26, 2002. His motion was seconded by Mr. Moses and adopted with all members voting in favor except Mr. McClellan, who abstained.

The Secretary moved the approval of the minutes of the National Committee Meeting of July 2, 2002. His motion was seconded by Mr. Lovell and adopted with all members voting in favor except Mr. McClellan, who abstained.

The Secretary reported a great deal of work adding new contacts to the Party Database, including the state party membership lists from several states and numerous contacts gathered from the party web site. He reported the creation of a party building web site which allows the party building leaders to access the prospect list on line. In addition, email contacts and web form contacts are now being forwarded automatically and immediately to the party building contact in each state.

The Secretary reported that he had provided detailed information on the National Convention to approximately 1100 contacts by email.

Finally, the Secretary reported that the web site is now up-to-date in its lists of state parties, state officers, national committee members, and delegates registered so far for the National Convention next week. He encouraged all state party leaders to check the information carefully and submit additions and corrections as soon as possible.

The Treasurer presented a short report. The second quarter FEC report was submitted and is now available for viewing on the FEC web site (www.fec.gov). In addition, donations of $225 have been received, and expenditures of $13.60 have been incurred since that report.

The Treasurer reported that 10,000 copies of a brochure are being printed, so there will be an invoice for the cost of printing received shortly. These brochures are to be delivered at the National Convention next week.

Mr. Dietze moved the acceptance of the Treasurer's report. His motion was seconded by Mrs. Lovell, and adopted by unanimous vote.

Mrs. Winters delivered a brief Public Relations Committee report. She stated that she was working on booking appearances for Mr. Charles on various television and radio programs. In addition, she is working on producing a media press packet for distribution by electronic mail.

Mr. Jones delivered the Convention Committee report. He described the method by which the Committee will ensure that the Party gets full credit for all rooms rented by delegates and guests at the convention.

A discussion was had regarding the number of places to reserve for the Celebration Banquet Saturday evening. The decision was made to defer this matter until the next National Committee meeting Sunday evening.

Mr. Charles reported that C-SPAN has confirmed they will be at the Celebration Banquet, but that they have not yet decided how much of that event to telecast.

Mr. Hey delivered a brief Rules Committee report. The Committee has voted out a draft Constitution and it is available for review on the Party web site. The Committee has almost completed work on proposed Standing Rules for the Convention and other Special Rules governing the submission of Resolutions from the floor of the convention.

Mr. Lovell gave the Party Building Committee report. He noted that in three months, the number of state affiliates has doubled from the original eight to sixteen this evening. He observed that the Party Building Committee has coordinated most of these new affiliations, and that there are twelve other states currently with organizing committees on line. He stated that there would be two or three additional states applying for affiliation before the Convention next week.

The Candidates Committee report was delivered by Mr. Edwards. The web site has been updated to include the candidates and their profiles. Mr. Charles reported another candidate from Colorado. Mr. Moses announced that he was exploring a possible run for County Supervisor. Mr. Francis reported that Mr. Traficant is on the ballot as an independent endorsed by the America First Party.

A discussion was held regarding the management of the party reflectors. Some members believe that only party members should be allowed on the Chat reflector, while others believe that we need a "recruiting" reflector for people who are interested in the AFP but who have not yet joined a state party. Mr. Charles requested that Mr. Doyle, Mr. Jones, Mr. Lovell, and Mr. Hey work together to come up with a proposal to solve this disagreement.

Mr. Lovell moved that the next National Committee meeting be held on Sunday evening, August 4, 2002 at 9 p.m. EDT. His motion was seconded by Mr. Jones and adopted by unanimous vote.

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

Respectfully submitted,

______________________
John Pittman Hey
National Secretary
America First National Committee