Minutes of the America First National Committee

Tuesday, November 19, 2002

BE IT REMEMBERED that the America First National Committee met on Tuesday, November 19, 2002 at 9 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, pursuant to the Resolution of the Operating Committee of October 29, 2002.

The meeting was called to order by the Chairman at 9:15 p.m. EDT.

The Secretary called the roll of National Committee members:

Present:

• Jess Bonds of Arkansas
• John Spooner of California
• Wanda Weatherford of Colorado
• George Radzwillas of Connecticut
• Martin McClellan of Florida
• Phil Anderson and Diane Lovell of Georgia
• Dave Doyle of Iowa
• L. Thomas White of Massachusetts
• Michael O'Brian and Gerald Duncan of Michigan
• Clint Muskopf, Ryan Law, and Leo Daley of Minnesota
• Nancy Blankenship of Missouri
• Trey Golmon of Mississippi
• Cleve Pate and Norman Kent of North Carolina
• Francis Winters of New Hampshire
• James Arft and Maureen Flannery of New York
• John Francis, Ward Chorpenning, and James Bunosky of Ohio
• Karen Faye Wilson and Patrick Wilson of Oregon
• George Stryker, David Thomas, and Sam Cross of Pennsylvania
• George Pangborn of Texas
• Rick Besanko and Chris Wenzel of Virginia
• Romelle Winters of New Hampshire, Public Relations Chairman
• Jon Hill of Massachusetts, Finance Committee Chairman
• James D. Jones of Tennessee, Party Building Chairman
• James Edwards of Tennessee, Candidates Committee Chairman
• Maureen McHugh of Illinois, Treasurer
• John Pittman Hey of Mississippi, Secretary
• Gene Lovell of Georgia, Vice-chairman
• Dan Charles of Colorado, Chairman

Absent:

• John Verser and Billie Deeter of Arkansas
• Ron Teal and Richard Horowitz of California
• Marcel Dietze and Larry Carroll of Colorado
• Helen Leka and Floyd Atchley of Connecticut
• Gaurav Ahuja and George Bashure of Florida
• James Monagan of Iowa
• Guadalupe Lynch and Brendan McCrudden of Illinois
• Philip White of Michigan
• Ray Cherry and Dennis Carriger of Missouri
• Ryan Walters and Candice Schmidt of Mississippi
• Gordon Ipock of North Carolina
• Ted Maravelias of New Hampshire
• Gary Grella of New York
• Wes Anderson and Blake Buffington of Texas
• Linda Muller of Virginia

Ed Moses of Iowa, Melvin Johnson of Oregon, and John Clark and Virginia Clark of Maryland joined the meeting after the roll call had been taken.

Mrs. Patricia Owens and Mr. Frank Hackl attended, first as guests, and then as members of the National Committee from Wisconsin.

Mr. Warren Baldwin attended, first as a guest, and then as a member of the National Committee from Tennessee.

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

The Secretary reported receiving a petition of affiliation from the America First Party of Wisconsin, chaired by Mr. Frank Hackl. The petition reported that Mr. Hackl, Mrs. Patricia Owens, and Mr. Scott Trindl had been selected as National Committee members for Wisconsin.

The Secretary moved the amendment of the Certified List of National Committee members to add Frank Hackl, Scott Trindl, and Patricia Owens as National Committee members from Wisconsin. His motion was seconded by Mr. Jones of Tennessee and adopted by unanimous vote.

The Secretary reported receiving notice of the election of Warren Baldwin of Tennessee to the National Committee. The Secretary moved the amendment of the Certified List of National Committee members to add Warren Baldwin of Tennessee. His motion was seconded by Mr. O'Brian and adopted by unanimous vote.

The Secretary reported receiving the resignation of Mr. Simmermaker as Platform Committee Chairman. Mr. Hey moved the amendment of the Certified List of National Committee members to strike the name of Roger Simmermaker. His motion was seconded by Mr. McClellan, and adopted by unanimous vote.

The Secretary reported on his attempts, pursuant to the direction of the National Committee, to contact members of the National Committee who had missed three or more consecutive meetings. The Secretary reported that Mrs. Deeter of Arkansas had not responded to his email or letter of inquiry. He reported that Mr. McCrudden, Mr. Cherry, Mr. Carriger, Mr. Walters, and Miss Schmidt had indicated their intention to resign from the National Committee.

A discussion was had regarding the duties of National Committee members and the qualifications to continue to serve as a member.

Mr. Lovell moved the amendment of the Certified List of National Committee members to strike Mrs. Deeter, Mr. McCrudden, Mr. Cherry, Mr. Carriger, Mr. Walters, and Miss Schmidt. His motion was seconded by Mr. Besanko and adopted by unanimous vote.

Mrs. Lovell moved the adoption of the Certified List of National Committee members as amended. Her motion was seconded by Mr. McClellan and adopted by unanimous vote of the National Committee.

Mr. Edwards moved the adoption of the Agenda. His motion was seconded by Mr. Chorpenning.

Mr. Besanko moved to amend the Agenda by striking all the Reports. His motion died for lack of a second.

Mr. Edwards moved that Mr. Jones' Resolution on Merger be moved up in the Agenda to follow the Treasurer's report. His amendment was seconded by Mr. Arft and adopted by majority vote.

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

Mrs. Lovell moved that the presentation of the reports be limited to ten minutes each. Her motion was seconded by Mr. Clark, and adopted by majority vote.

The Chairman gave a brief report. He reported on his trip to Tennessee, Ohio, Florida, and finishing at the Freedom Drive Rally in Washington, D.C. on November 14. Many contacts were made and there was enthusiasm for our Party. The Chairman reported progress in implementing the credit card processing capacity for the party.

The Vice-chairman exhorted the members to focus on building their respective state parties. A lesson learned during the past election is that it takes a strong, dedicated cadre of party members to campaign successfully for our candidates.

The Secretary reported that the National Committee is now composed of sixty-six members, making thirty-four members a quorum. He reported the attendance of forty-seven members at this evening's meeting.

The Secretary reminded the members that he had previously circulated draft minutes of two National Committee meetings for consideration and adoption.

Mr. Besanko moved the approval of the minutes of the September 28 and 29, 2002 meeting of the National Committee. His motion was seconded by Mr. White of Massachusetts, and adopted by unanimous vote.

Mr. Hey moved the approval of the minutes of the October 15, 2002 meeting of the National Committee. The motion was seconded by Mr. Francis and adopted by unanimous vote.

The Secretary reported the addition of a large number of new contacts and members, especially from mail received by the party and from lists turned in by the state party in Pennsylvania. He reported making improvements to the party web site, including the addition of a credit card donation form.

The Secretary reported that the newsletter was mailed today to about 4300 people.

The Treasurer gave her report.

Starting Balance: $3,105.18

Donations Received: $1,358.05
made up of Cash: $0.00; Checks: $775.35; In-Kind: $582.70

Expenses paid: $2,529.86
made up of Web charges: $19.95; Phone charges: $211.84; Postage: $100.91; Newsletter printing: $1,639.00; Fundraising letters: $308.16; Faxes: $250.00

Total Debt: $8,656.56
made up of Convention Attrition: $6,223.77; Convention AV/Setup: $2,432.79

Total Receivables: $420.00
made up of Echo Business System: $110.00; Unprocessed C-Cards: $310.00

Ending Balance: $1,933.37
including receivables: $2,353.37

Total dollar donations since debt resolution passed: $2,101.35

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

Mr. Jones moved the adoption of the Resolution on Merger that he had previously circulated. His motion was seconded by Mrs. Weatherford.

Mr. Lovell proposed an amendment which Mr. Jones and Mrs. Weatherford accepted as friendly.

Mrs. McHugh and Mr. White offered a substitute resolution as an amendment. After discussion, Mr. Jones and Mrs. Weatherford accepted the amendment as friendly.

A number of friendly amendments were proposed by Mr. Clark, Mr. Lovell, Mr. Hey, Mrs. McHugh, Mr. Jones, Mr. Pangborn, and Mr. Hey. These amendments were all accepted as friendly by Mr. Jones and Mrs. Weatherford.

The Resolution, as amended, reads as follows:

Regarding Mergers with other Political Parties

Resolved by the America First National Committee:

That, it is the considered judgment of the America First National Committee that the best way to grow our party and unify those who agree with our goals for our Party and Nation is to invite, encourage, and welcome all who agree with our Mission, Principles, and Platform and with the restoration of our Constitution and the rights of the American People; and

That, it is our considered judgment that merging with, or engaging in fact-finding committees regarding merger with other national parties, or discussions with such organizations will distract our party from achieving these stated goals, and therefore shall be rejected; and

That, we shall continue to seek cooperation with other organizations and political parties on issues of common interest and concern when it is in the best interest of our party and nation, safeguarding the interests and integrity of our party and its members, and our nation.

The above-titled Resolution was adopted by unanimous vote of the National Committee.

The Rules Committee Chairman reported a Resolution from his committee regarding the preparation and circulation of the Agenda for National Committee meetings. Mr. Moses moved the adoption of the Resolution. His motion was seconded by Mr. White.

The Resolution reads as follows:

RESOLUTION REGARDING AGENDAS FOR NATIONAL COMMITTEE MEETINGS HELD BY TELECONFERENCE

Whereas teleconference meetings of the National Committee may be called by several different methods; and

Whereas notice of at least seven days for a teleconference meeting is required no matter how the meeting is called; and

Whereas the National Committee is the supreme governing body of the Party; and

Whereas the members of the National Committee are expected to be capable of understanding the business put before the committee, and such requires time to study the proposed business prior to the meeting;

Therefore be it resolved that the Agenda for any teleconference meeting of the National Committee shall be provided to the committee members no later than five days prior to the meeting by the National Chairman, or in his absence or disability, by the National Secretary; and

Such Agenda as is forwarded to the Committee may include near the end of the Agenda an entry for "New Business"; and

Such Agenda as is forwarded to the Committee shall not be changed during the five days prior to the meeting, and shall be presented to the National Committee for adoption near the start of the National Committee meeting; and

The National Committee reserves the right to consider, amend, and adopt the Agenda.

After some discussion, the Resolution was adopted by majority vote, all members voting "aye" save one.

Questions were entertained by the Convention Committee Chairman regarding the scheduling of the 2003 National Convention.

The Chairman opened the floor for nominations for Platform Committee Chairman. Mr. Lovell nominated Mr. O'Brian, with Mr. Duncan seconding the nomination.

There being no further nominations, Mr. Moses moved that nominations be closed. His motion was seconded by Mr. Edwards and adopted by unanimous vote.

Mr. O'Brian was elected Platform Committee Chairman by unanimous consent.

The Chairman opened the floor for nominations for Ballot Access Committee Chairman. Mr. Lovell nominated Trey Golmon, with Mr. Jones of Tennessee seconding the nomination.

There being no further nominations, Mr. White moved that nominations be closed. His motion was seconded by Mr. Clark and adopted by unanimous vote.

Mr. Golmon was elected Ballot Access Committee Chairman by unanimous consent.

A discussion was had regarding the setting of the date for the 2003 National Convention. A motion was made to select the date by roll call vote, with members announcing their choice between the 3rd and 4th weekends of July 2003.

A roll-call vote revealed the presence of twenty-four members of the National Committee, being less than a quorum. The Chairman declared the vote void for lack of the presence of a quorum.

A discussion was had regarding the Traficant election and the illegal exclusion of the public and the candidates' representatives from the counting rooms at the close of the polls. The need for auditable, paper ballots was discussed.

A quorum being lacking, upon motion made by Mr. Hey, seconded by Mr. Hill, and adopted by unanimous vote, the Chairman declared the meeting adjourned.

Respectfully submitted,
______________________
John Pittman Hey
National Secretary
America First National Committee