Minutes of the America First National Committee

Tuesday, June 14, 2005

BE IT REMEMBERED that the America First National Committee met on Tuesday, June 14, 2005 at 9 p.m. East Coast Time, pursuant to the Resolution of the Operating Committee adopted on May 31, 2005.

The Chairman led the National Committee meeting in the Pledge of Allegiance.

Mr. Hey delivered the Invocation.

The Secretary called the roll of National Committee members.

Present:

• Dan Charles of Colorado, National Chairman
• Larry Carroll of Colorado
• Martin McClellan of Florida
• Peter Browning of Florida
• Maureen McHugh of Illinois
• Tom White of Massachusetts
• Jon Hill of Massachusetts, National Vice-Chairman
• Trey Golmon of Mississippi
• Romelle Winters of New Hampshire
• Jim Arft of New York
• Bradley Maurer of New York
• Joe Spitzig of Ohio
• Sam Cross of Pennsylvania
• David Thomas of Pennsylvania
• Frank Hackl of Wisconsin
• John Pittman Hey of Mississippi, National Secretary and Treasurer

Absent:

• Tim Lohrmann of Idaho
• Nancy Blankenship of Missouri
• Greg Roberts of Missouri
• Ward Chorpenning of Ohio

A Quorum being present, the Chairman called the meeting to order at 9:16 p.m. ECT.

Mrs. Winters moved the adoption of the Agenda. Her motion was seconded by Mr. Hill. Mr. Hey and Mr. Hill moved to amend the Agenda to swap the order of two Resolutions. The amendment was adopted by unanimous vote. The Agenda, as amended, was finally adopted by unanimous vote.

The Chairman delivered his report. He stressed the importance of more members of the Committee getting involved in the standing committee work and in party building efforts. The Party cannot move any faster toward its goals until more people become involved in sharing the load of the work that must be done.

The Secretary reminded the members that he had previously circulated draft minutes for the March 29, 2005 meeting of the National Committee. Mr. Hey moved the adoption of the minutes. His motion was seconded by Mrs. Winters and adopted by unanimous vote.

The Treasurer referred the Committee to the full Report that has been published on the Reflector and on the Agenda web page. The current account balance is $2026.54, and there are no outstanding invoices. The required monthly FEC reports have been prepared and submitted to the FEC; they may be reviewed on the FEC's public web site.

Mr. Hey moved the adoption of a Resolution submitted by the Party Building Committee. The Resolution was seconded by Mr. Hill. The Resolution reads as follows:

Whereas, the Party Building Committee of the America First National Committee has a duty under the party constitution, and in subservience to the relevant resolutions of the America First National Committee, to assist party members to form organizing committees in those states without an existing affiliated state party; and

Whereas, from time to time it may be necessary to expend funds to secure a meeting location for the founding meeting of an organizing committee;

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED by the America First National Committee:

That the America First National Committee does allocate $250 which may be spent under the authority of Resolution by the Party Building Committee to fund the securing of meeting facilities for the founding meetings of organizing committees in several states.

The Resolution was adopted by unanimous vote.

Mr. Hill moved a Resolution for printing newsletters referred by the Finance Committee. The Resolution was seconded by Mrs. McHugh. The Resolution reads as follows:

Be it resolved by the America First National Committee, that up to $1,800 be allocated to print, as soon as the funds become available after the mailing of the next quarterly newsletter, 2,000 copies of the generic newsletter.

The Resolution was adopted by unanimous vote.

Mr. Hill moved a Resolution to adopt a fund raising plan. The Resolution was seconded by Mrs. McHugh.

Several members spoke on the Resolution, which reads as follows:

RESOLUTION TO APPROVE AND IMPLEMENT THE "HOUSE-LIST DEVELOPMENT AND FUNDRAISING PLAN"

Whereas, in this era of big money politics, the development of the America First Party will be seriously hindered, and may stagnate, if timely steps are not taken to significantly increase the current level of funding; and,

Whereas, a successful and growing political party will inevitably result in increased costs of operation and communication with members, prospects, and the general public; and,

Whereas, activities related to membership development and growth are costly, such as the production and distribution of quality printed materials, multimedia, and promotional items; and,

Whereas, the party has a periodic need to hold in-person meetings and conventions, and the financial requirements of these have in the past caused the party to go into substantial debt, and,

Whereas, development of public awareness of the party, its issues, its candidates, and its events through advertisements and promotion to the media is both necessary and costly; and,

Whereas, there will be expenses associated with promoting and supporting candidates and securing ballot access for them; and,

Whereas, such activities as processing inquiries by the general public via phone, e-mail, postal mail, and so on will exceed what can be accomplished solely by volunteers; and,

Whereas, all of the above activities are essential to the party completing its mission; and,

Whereas, the process of raising funds is costly, and therefore low fundraising levels are an impediment to increased fundraising; and,

Whereas, the party currently has a donor base of nearly 600 donors; and,

Whereas, a donor base of 5,000 donors can conservatively bring the party $60,000 of annual revenue to fund operations and promotion, with a potential for significantly higher revenues; and,

Whereas, the industry standard cost for development of an in-house 5,000-person donor base is estimated at $50,000, or a cost of $10 for each donor added;

Therefore, be it resolved by the America First National Committee:

That, the presented "House-List Development and Fundraising Plan" for on-going development of an in house donor list with an initial goal of 5,000 donors and establishment of a permanent Prospecting Fund of $50,000 is approved; and,

That, the presented plan shall remain confidential to the membership of the America First National Committee and among the Affiliated State Party Leaders and shall not be publicly published nor included with the minutes of any meeting published on the Party website; and,

That, the Finance Committee is instructed to implement such plan, working with the other standing and special committees of the America First National Committee as appropriate; and,

That, the America First National Committee allocates $3,000 of seed funding for implementation of this plan; and,

That, the Finance Committee is authorized to make adjustments to the schedule contained within the plan as it deems necessary and is required to notify the America First National Committee of such changes; and,

That, the Public Relations Committee is instructed to produce Newsletters and other materials required for implementation of this plan in accordance with the plan; and,

That, the National Treasurer is authorized and instructed to take necessary steps to ensure the smooth operation of this plan, to enact accounting practices necessary for tracking of funds raised by this plan and expenditures taken for this plan, and establish any separate bank accounts needed to ensure the integrity of the Prospecting Fund created by this plan; and,

That, working with the National Treasurer, the Finance Committee shall issue reports on the progress of implementation to the National Committee on at least a quarterly basis and at the end of each phase; and,

That, at the end of each phase, the America First National Committee shall meet to evaluate the progress of the plan; and,

That, the America First National Committee does authorize the party officers to execute contracts related to implementation of this plan on behalf of and in the name of the America First National Committee; and,

That, if and only if it should be necessary and if and only if the criteria set forth in the plan have been satisfied, the America First National Committee does authorize the party officers to take out a loan on behalf of and in the name of the America First National Committee not to exceed $20,000, upon resolution of the Operating Committee.

The Resolution was adopted by unanimous vote, Mr. Maurer abstaining.

A general time of discussion was held. The Chairman described contacts from a regional group of state parties. Additional comments were made about the fund raising plan. A discussion was had regarding raising money using the internet as was done by Howard Dean last year. The scheduling of the convention was also discussed briefly.

There being no further business, Mrs. Winters moved that the National Committee adjourn. The motion was seconded by Mr. Arft and adopted by unanimous consent. The Chairman declared the meeting adjourned at 10:42 p.m. ECT.

Respectfully submitted,

______________________
John Pittman Hey
National Secretary
America First National Committee