Minutes of the America First National Committee

Tuesday, February 4, 2003

BE IT REMEMBERED that the America First National Committee met on Tuesday, February 4, 2003 at 9 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, pursuant to the Resolution of the Operating Committee of January 28, 2003.

The meeting was opened by the Chairman at 9:08 p.m. EST.

The Secretary called the roll of National Committee members:

Present:

• John Verser of Arkansas
• Wanda Weatherford of Colorado
• Helen Leka and George Radzwillas of Connecticut
• Phil Anderson and Diane Lovell of Georgia
• Dave Doyle of Iowa
• John Clark and Virginia Clark of Maryland
• Leo Daley and Ryan Law of Minnesota
• Nancy Blankenship of Missouri
• Cleve Pate and Jeff Plott of North Carolina
• Francis Winters of New Hampshire
• Michael Illions of New Jersey
• James Arft and Maureen Flannery of New York
• Ward Chorpenning of Ohio
• Karen Faye Wilson, Patrick Wilson, and Melvin Johnson of Oregon
• George Stryker and David Thomas of Pennsylvania
• Warren Baldwin of Tennessee
• George Pangborn of Texas
• Chris Wenzel of Virginia
• Frank Hackl and Patricia Owens of Wisconsin
• Trey Golmon of Mississippi, Ballot Access Committee Chairman
• Mike O'Brian of Michigan, Platform Committee Chairman
• Jon Hill of Massachusetts, Finance Committee Chairman
• James D. Jones of Tennessee, Party Building Chairman
• James Edwards of Tennessee, Candidates Committee Chairman
• Romelle Winters, Public Relations 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:

• Jess Bonds of Arkansas
• Ron Teal, John Spooner, and Richard Horowitz of California
• Larry Carroll and Marcel Dietze of Colorado
• Floyd Atchley of Connecticut
• Martin McClellan, Gaurav Ahuja, and George Bashure of Florida
• Jim Monagan of Iowa
• Guadalupe Lynch of Illinois
• Gerald Duncan and William Lowry of Michigan
• Clint Muskopf of Minnesota
• Norman Kent of North Carolina
• Ted Maravelias of New Hampshire
• Allen Finger and Richard Rossillo of New Jersey
• Gary Grella of New York
• John Francis and James Bunosky of Ohio
• Wes Anderson and Blake Buffington of Texas
• Linda Muller and Rick Besanko of Virginia
• Scott Trindl of Wisconsin

Sam Cross of Pennsylvania and Tom White of Massachusetts joined the meeting after the roll call was taken.

Mr. Tim Lohrmann and Jim Cox were present, first as guests, and then as members of the National Committee from the state of Idaho.

Mr. Dan Morrison was present, first as a guest, and then as a member of the National Committee from the state of Michigan.

Mr. Vincent Wallgren was present, first as a guest, and then as a member of the National Committee from the state of California.

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

The Secretary reported receiving notices of the resignations of Guadalupe Lynch of Illinois and Jess Bonds of Arkansas from the National Committee. He moved that the Certified List of National Committee Members be amended by striking Mr. Bonds and Mrs. Lynch from the list. His motion was seconded by Mr. O'Brian and adopted by unanimous vote.

The Secretary reported receiving notice of the election of Mr. Dan Morrison of Michigan to replace Mr. Gerald Duncan on the National Committee. He moved that the Certified List of National Committee Members be amended by striking Mr. Duncan from the list and adding Mr. Morrison. His motion was seconded by Mr. Lovell and adopted by unanimous vote.

The Secretary reported receiving notice of the election of Mr. Vincent Wallgren of California to replace Mr. Richard Horowitz on the National Committee. He moved that the Certified List of National Committee Members be amended by striking Mr. Horowitz from the list and adding Mr. Wallgren. His motion was seconded by Mr. Jones and adopted by unanimous vote.

The Secretary reported receiving a petition of affiliation from the America First Party of Idaho, chaired by Mr. Miles Cunningham. The petition reported that Mr. Cunningham, Mr. Tim Lohrmann, and Mr. Jim Cox had been selected as National Committee members for Idaho.

The Secretary moved the amendment of the Certified List of National Committee members to add Miles Cunningham, Tim Lohrmann, and Jim Cox as National Committee members from Idaho. His motion was seconded by Mr. Jones and adopted by unanimous vote.

Mr. Clark moved the adoption of the Certified List of National Committee members as amended in its entirety. His motion was seconded by Mr. O'Brian and adopted by unanimous vote of the National Committee.

The Secretary reported that the National Committee now consists of 69 members, 43 of which were then present on the call.

Mr. Baldwin moved the adoption of the Agenda as previously circulated by the Chairman. His motion was seconded by Mr. Clark, and adopted by unanimous vote.

The Chairman gave a brief report. He reported on his trip to the East Coast now in progress. His appearance on the Ray Flynn radio program in Boston was a success, and he was kept on for two hours. The fund-raising brunch in Massachusetts was very productive last Saturday, and congratulations are in order to Mr. Hill, the state party chairman.

The Chairman reported meeting with several Congressmen and Senators to discuss issues the party is interested in advancing. He described his preliminary efforts to pull together a coalition of non-leftist patriotic leaders who will vocally oppose the war. He has also made contacts with various advertising and editorial representatives of various sympathetic media outlets in the DC area.

The Chairman closed by exhorting each of the members on the importance of building strong organizations at the state party level.

The Secretary reminded the members that he had previously circulated draft minutes of the January 14 meeting of the National Committee for consideration and adoption. The Secretary moved the approval of the minutes. His motion was seconded by Mr. Jones and adopted by unanimous vote.

The Treasurer reported that the written report she had circulated earlier in the day was up to date as of the meeting. Gross receipts for this calendar year are $3,589.18. Gross disbursements during the same period have been $4,268.70.

The starting bank balance at the beginning of the year was $8,001.96. The current balance is $7,322.44.

In addition, the Treasurer reported that the mail forwarding plan has been put into effect and mail is now flowing smoothly and efficiently from the Boulder address to the Secretary and the Treasurer. The Credit Card processing service, which has been plagued by difficulties and delays, is supposed to be operational by Wednesday the 5th.

Mr. O'Brian moved the adoption of the Treasurer's report. His motion was seconded by Mrs. Winters and adopted by unanimous vote.

Mr. Jones moved the adoption of a resolution proposed by the Party Building Committee to purchase classified ads in North and South Dakota. His motion was seconded by Mr. Edwards.

A long discussion ensued on the conflicts differences this resolution and an alternate resolution proposed by the Public Relations Committee to accomplish the same purpose. A question was raised whether the amount specified in the instant resolution would cover slight overages in costs that might occur.

Mr. Jones amended his motion to raise the funding limit to $400.

Mrs. Lovell offered a friendly amendment to insert the language from the Public Relations version of the resolution specifying the text of the two ads. Her amendment was accepted by Mr. Jones and Mr. Edwards.

The Resolution, as amended, reads as follows:

RESOLUTION REGARDING NORTH AND SOUTH DAKOTA ADVERTISING

Resolved, the National Committee:

Does hereby authorize the payment of a $139 each, to South Dakota Newspaper Association and North Dakota NDNA Services, to advertise the America First Party in a multitude of Newspapers in both States. The ad will consist of 25 words and have a total cost not to exceed $400; and

That the text of the advertisement in North Dakota shall be: "TIRED OF GLOBAL POLITICS TAKING AWAY YOUR COUNTRY? Join us and help restore national sovereignty. America First Party. 1-866-SOS-USA1 www.americafirstparty.org"; and

That the text of the advertisement in South Dakota shall be: "REPUBLICANS DELIVER WHAT DEMOCRATS PROMISE Help return our country to our Founding Father's vision. Investigate the America First Party. 1-866-SOS-USA1 www.americafirstparty.org".

On the ultimate question of the adoption of this Resolution, the motion was carried by majority vote.

Based upon the adoption of the foregoing resolution, the Chairman ruled the Public Relations Resolution on the same matter to be out of order at this time.

Mrs. Winters moved the adoption of a Resolution to print brochures reported by the Public Relations Committee. Her motion was seconded by Mr. Hill.

A discussion was had regarding whether the party needs a large quantity of brochures. Further, Mr. Hey reported that he had secured a quote for the printing of 15,000 brochures for $409, or a cost of 2.9 cents per brochure at that quantity.

Mr. Lovell offered a friendly amendment to increase the authorized expenditure to $450. His motion was seconded by Mrs. Lovell and accepted as a friendly amendment by Mrs. Winters and Mr. Hill.

The Resolution, as amended, reads as follows:

RESOLUTION REGARDING THE PRODUCTION AND APPROVAL OF GENERAL PURPOSE TRI-FOLD BROCHURES

Resolved by the America First National Committee:

That, Payment is hereby authorized for the production of up to 15,000 tri-fold brochures at a cost not to exceed $450.

The Resolution was adopted by majority vote of the National Committee.

Mrs. Winters moved the adoption of a Resolution reported by the Public Relations Committee for the purchase of advertising to promote the party's position against the war with Iraq. Her motion was seconded by Mr. Stryker.

Mr. Jones moved to amend the Resolution to require that donations be requested in the advertisements being purchased. His amendment was seconded by Mr. Pangborn. A discussion was held on the pros and cons of asking for money in party advertisements to the general public.

The amendment was adopted by majority vote.

Mr. Clark moved to amend the Resolution to cancel the ad if the war with Iraq has already begun before its publication. His amendment was seconded by Mr. O'Brian. After much discussion, Mr. Pangborn offered a friendly amendment to strike all mention of the ad's content in the Resolution. His amendment was accepted as friendly by Mr. Clark and Mrs. Winters.

The Resolution as amended reads as follows:

RESOLUTION REGARDING ADVERTISING IN THE AMERICAN FREE PRESS

Resolved, by America First National Committee:

That, payment up to $1000 is hereby authorized for the purchase of, at most, three 1/4 page ads in the American Free Press to advertise the America First Party; and,

That, final ad content is to be created by the Public Relations Committee; and,

That the National Committee directs that the ads include a request for donations; and

That, final ad content is to be approved by the Operating Committee.

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

Mr. Baldwin moved the adoption of a Resolution directing the purchase of a full-page advertisement in the American Free Press. His motion was seconded by Mr. O'Brian.

Mr. White made a friendly amendment to change the "due date" of the ad from "28 days" to "at the second meeting called" after this meeting.

Mr. Clark made a friendly amendment to change the due date to the first meeting of the National Committee in April.

A long discussion was had regarding whether the content of the ad should be approved by the National Committee before publication. Further, several members on the Public Relations Committee objected to the requirement to provide three different versions of the ad for consideration.

Mr. Stryker suggested that a quorum was most likely no longer present. The Chairman asked the Secretary to call the roll. The following members were present:

Mr. Charles, Mr. Lovell, Mr. Hey, Mrs. Winters, Mr. Hill, Mr. Jones, Mr. O'Brian, Mrs. Weatherford, Mr. Anderson of Georgia, Mrs. Lovell, Mr. Lohrmann, Mr. White, Mr. Clark, Mrs. Clark, Mr. Law, Mr. Pate, Mr. Winters, Mr. Arft, Dr. Cross, Mr. Stryker, Mr. Thomas, and Mr. Baldwin.

A quorum no longer being present, the Chairman declared the meeting adjourned.

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