So how’d things go? Here are several reports.
There two, it should be noted were written by John Richardson, a new director.
This one’s from NRA Lifer, writer of NRA IN DANGER,
So what do I think? NRA’s in trouble. There’s about 3million members, people in the know estimate. The official count his 4million or so- says NRA.
Yet, if the numbers from these posts are correct, of the 2.5million voting members, that’s members with 5 consecutive years of membership or more, and of course life members, that means either 500,000 or 1.5million depending upon who’s membership tally is correct can vote.
Now, if the blog numbers from Richardson are correct, then only 70 some thousand members voted, that’s about 3%.
What are we to make of that? I think a lack of voting means a great deal. For one, no one’s been able to tell, so far as I know, how many life members still give donations. Obviously a life member’s dues are already paid, so no new dues coming in.
Also, what’s the point? How many candidates did you see campaign? Mark Shuell campaigned. Frank Tait campaigned. John Richardson campaigned. They made themselves know on various blogs.
The “reformers” had a website, as did the “old guard”. Both factions had ad’s in the ballot magazine.
It’s curious that of the three who did active campaigning, only Richardson won. And yet Frank Tait was a prior director.
Richardson says CEO Hamlin wants new money and new hires to go to hunting, competitions, clubs and associations, in an effort to draw in new members. That sounds nice, but with NRA’s track record on Negotiating Rights Away, and never ending corruption… I don’t think that’ll do much. Especially the hunting part. Let’s face it, less and less people hunt. I might just quit deer hunting myself if CWD gets any worse in northern Minnesota. I don’t want to eat a venison from a potentially brain rotted buck.
Personally I think the way to get people to join/re-join would be to end the corruption, bring forth total transparency, and make turn the NRA from Negotiating Rights Away and into NO COMPROMISE ON 2A.
Charlie Hiltunen getting the 76th’s spot on the board… Oh well. I never saw him on the various blogs making noise during his first term. Now he gets a one year term as all the 76th directors do. He did cream Tom King, according to Richardson’s numbers. If true, that’s something. King’s been in charge of the Foundation a long time, and has consistently failed to give me a clear answer on whether or not the Foundation is in compliance with its settlement with the DC AG. He’s also the president of the New York State Rifle And Pistol Association- which under his tenure went from an unpaid position to paid position.
So if there’s no wrongdoing with the Foundation, why’d NRA settle?
Is it good King’s off the BoD? Yeah. But whether he remains in charge of the Foundation- which NRA BoD controls via electing leadership positions, remains to be seen. Now’s a good time to mention Ron Schmeits, another long time NRA BoD who lost, and is also the long time leader of the Whittington Center, which has countless corruption allegations against it. Will NRA BoD vote to keep him on as chairman of Whittington? Again remains to be see.
In the end, none of this really matters. 76 directors. The corporate average is 12. There’s still too many directors to do anything good. 76 people, even if they’re all the best, most honest, forward thinking, no compromise type we want, still will never agree. And 42 committees? I don’t know what those committees are, and who’s assigned to what.
As Richardson notes Ron Andring got a resolution passed for them to make a strong bylaw amendment. Sounds nice, but I’ll need to read more to have an opinion.
Richardson got a resolution passed “transparency which called for a members-only webpage that had the bylaws, tax filings, board minutes, and a list of committees with their members on it passed. The resolution also asked that the Board of Directors consider the feasibility of livestreaming board meetings.”
That too sounds nice, yet, since we don’t have access to a working member to director email system… So what? We still cannot contact directors.
Until we get the board down to 12 or less directors, and until we get transparency and a functioning member to director email system, and a NO COMPROMISE on 2A, none of the above in my view really matters.
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