Minutes of the Operating Committee of the America First Party
Thursday, November 7, 2002
BE IT REMEMBERED that the Operating Committee of the America First Party met on Thursday, November 7, 2002 at 9 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, pursuant to the previous resolution of the Operating Committee.
The meeting was called to order by the Chairman at 9:14 p.m. EST.
The Secretary called the roll of Operating Committee members:
Present:
- Dan Charles of Colorado, Chairman
- Gene Lovell of Georgia, Vice-chairman
- John Pittman Hey of Mississippi, Secretary
- Maureen McHugh of Illinois, Treasurer
- Romelle Winters of New Hampshire, Public Relations Committee Chairman
- Jon Hill of Massachusetts, Finance Committee Chairman
- James D. Jones of Tennessee, Party Building Chairman
Absent:
- James Edwards of Tennessee, Candidates Committee Chairman
- Ed Moses of Iowa, Rules Committee Chairman
The Chairman led the Committee in the Pledge of Allegiance.
The Treasurer gave the invocation.
Mr. Jones moved the adoption of the Agenda. His motion was seconded by Mr. Lovell. The Agenda was adopted by unanimous vote.
The Secretary delivered his report. He reminded the members that he had previously circulated draft minutes of the October 29th Operating Committee meeting and the November 1st "email vote".
The Secretary moved the approval of both sets of minutes. Mrs. Winters seconded the motion. The Chairman moved to amend the November 1st minutes to specify that the Chairman did not cast a vote pursuant to the Party Constitution. His amendment was seconded by Mrs. McHugh and adopted by unanimous vote. The minutes, as amended, were approved by unanimous vote of the Operating Committee.
The Secretary reported that the newsletter and associated materials have been sent to the printer. A discussion was had regarding the need to stockpile some copies of the newsletter to satisfy requests for literature until the next edition is published.
Mr. Jones moved that 500 copies of the newsletter be set aside for distribution later, and that the balance of the unused copies be made available to the state parties for distribution for the cost of shipping. His motion was seconded by Mr. Lovell and adopted by unanimous vote.
The Treasurer reported that the FEC reports have been filed. A discussion was had concerning coordination of distributing the mail from Boulder to the Secretary and the Treasurer in a timely manner. The Chairman stated that he would locate a party member in Boulder to volunteer to handle distribution of the mail.
Mr. Jones moved the acceptance of the Treasurer's report. The motion was seconded by Mr. Lovell and adopted by unanimous vote.
The Chairman delivered his report. He had traveled to Memphis to work with the Edwards campaign and to Ohio to visit the Traficant headquarters. He reported that the party's first foray into electoral politics had garnered excellent percentages for a very young party.
The Chairman reminded the members that he is to be a special speaker at the FAIR Tax Banquet Saturday in Atlanta. He will also be speaking at the Freedom Drive Rally on November 14 on the Mall in Washington, D.C., and his speech should be covered by C-SPAN.
A discussion was had regarding ways the party might be able to help Jim Traficant.
The Chairman reported that the credit card processing contract has been executed and the party should have processing capabilities by the middle of next week.
A discussion was had regarding the Agenda for the next National Committee meeting.
A discussion was had regarding state parties that will be affiliating in the next several weeks.
A discussion was had regarding additional advertising opportunities for the party. Mr. Jones reported on details of the party building strategy that has been developed and is now being implemented.
There being no further business, 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
