====== FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ======
America First Party
1630 A 30th Street #111
Boulder, Colorado 80301
http://www.AmericaFirstParty.org
Wednesday, 14 August 2002
AFNC OPENS FOUNDING CONVENTION WITH UNITY
Boulder, CO -The America First Party opened its founding convention on
August 8 in Orlando, Florida. The America First National Committee ("AFNC")
held its first in-person meeting and began business by affiliating the
America First Party of Massachusetts, the 19th state party to join the
America First Party since its founding on April 15, 2002. It is expected
that all 50 states will be represented at next year's convention.
Upon completion of the credentialing process, the National Committee members
turned their attention to the report of the Rules Committee. Before
recessing for lunch, and after several amendments, the body unanimously
adopted a party constitution, replacing the provisional rules that had
guided the party for the first 3 months of its existence.
Under the structure of the new constitution, almost all authority in the
party is vested in the AFNC, with the annual convention having the power to
nominate candidates for president and vice-president and adopt a platform.
An "Operating Committee", consisting of the 4 officers and 7 standing
committee chairs, is charged with implementing the policies and achieving
the goals set by the AFNC. Under the new constitution, each Affiliated State
Party is represented by three national committee members, who are chosen
democratically by their respective state parties.
The newly elected chairman, Dan Charles, stated: "I see only good things to
come in the next years as we work together to take back our country one
voter, one county, one state at a time. We are the vanguard of a movement
to unify conservatives, constitutionalists, populists, and all those who
would put America First."
The new party constitution also declares the purpose of the party. The
primary purpose of the party is the nomination and election of candidates to
office at all levels of government. Other purposes include the promotion of
the Mission Statement, Principles, and Platform of the party, assisting the
Affiliated State Parties and their candidates, and a commitment to require
the highest ethical standards of all party officers and public officials.
During the afternoon session, the AFNC completed adoption of the Rules
Committee report, credentialed the delegates to the Founding National
Convention, and heard the reports of other committees and interim officers,
before turning its attention to electing officers and committee chairs. Dan
Charles of Colorado was elected Chairman. O. Gene Lovell of Georgia was
elected Vice Chair. John Pittman Hey of Mississippi was elected to continue
as Secretary, and Maureen McHugh of Illinois was elected as Treasurer. The
National Committee also elected the chairs of the standing committees.
Following the completion of the business on the agenda, and after disposing
of all new business the members chose to bring, the first in-person meeting
recessed four hours ahead of schedule. The early recess is a testament to
the unity within the AFNC and the Party as a whole.
Mr. Charles continued: "Many folks who agree with us are either trapped in
parties that betray their principles, have no political party, or have given
up on the political process entirely. We seek to liberate them, to
reactivate them, and to bring them together to restore our Constitutional
Republic, so that it once more stands faithful to the wisdom of our Founding
Fathers."
Contacts:
Dan Charles, National Chairman, 1-866-SOS-USA1, ext. 4
Romelle Winters, Press Secretary, 1-866-SOS-USA1, ext. 2
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