NRA Restructure

This is a cut and paste……….

NRAAM 2024 is a wrap. Attendance seemed down, which makes sense, but events occurred at the board meeting Monday that give me a lot of hope. 3/4 establishment candidates were defeated, including the EVP/CEO role. Doug Hamlin is the new EVP/CEO. Doug was formerly head of publications, and is as honorable and honest of a man as I’ve ever met. He’s a USMC infantry Colonel that I’m pretty sure wouldn’t take a pencil.

There’s a chance, right now, to get things back to where they need to be—to make the NRA the champion of 2A rights that its members deserve, to clean things up entirely, and to usher in transparency and accountability, and that’s exactly the intent. Thank you to the board members who survived the purges and still stood up and did the right thing Monday. Thanks to Doug for sticking his neck out to make this run. Thanks to Buzz Mills and everyone on the board that helped to make this happen.

As for me, apparently I’m now on the nominating committee, which controls who makes it on to the BOD ballots, among other things. This committee was previously used to purge the disloyal and make sure that there could only be a few anti-establishment candidates on the ballot that had run by petition, preserving status quo. My goal will be to work with the other committee members to ensure that candidates will be true 2A supporters that understand board responsibilities, are willing to put in the work, and who understand and are willing to serve in transparency and with accountability.

There’s a lot of work to do, and I’m not counting any chickens until at least the first steps beyond this momentous vote actually occur as promised.  But, for the first time in years, I think we can pull this out and get back to being the largest and most powerful civil rights organization in the country…with clean hands and a clear conscience.

It will require people coming back, industry coming back, and yes, donors coming back. But, if we’ve got principles back in the leadership, the rest will come. I’ll keep you posted on how things progress.

Who wrote that?

Terry

Who wrote that?

Terry

It’s not a public post and as such I don’t feel comfortable posting names publicly 

it is a long thread on this persons private Facebook page 

threads with no names……..

Comment:::

Glad to see you involved again!

I think it is a little early for the NRA ti be trusted with donations/membership fees yet… but, the stage is set for real reform.

It was a productive weekend.

Response by OP

I’m with you…if the right things happen in the coming months, I might be willing to endorse a full return…but those things need to happen. The house needs to be put back into proper order, and that’s going to require a lot of change and may not happen instantly. If the first steps out of the gate happen correctly, I’ll be quite optimistic, though.

Comment 

I for one will not ever trust the NRA, misappropriation of monies does not heal with a 'few' new faces. The organization needs completly dissolved and started from scratch. Just look at how Brownells is run...
Until Pete Brownell is dead or bought out nothing ever changes under his thinking.

Response

In this case, power was quite concentrated for the areas that were doing things wrong, and a few changes puts us on track to be able to do the bigger changes that need to happen. There’s a lot of work to be done…but until last Monday, it was completely impossible. Now, there’s a path.

Put me on the ballot. I'll write my intro paragraph for you, "ALL gun laws are unconstitutional".

Response by OP

First question on the list…”Just to make sure we’re using the same definitions when we say ‘pro 2A’…do you support mail order belt fed suppressed machine guns?” 😁

My disenchantment with the NRA started when saf and goa started getting aggressive in court. It seemed as though the NRA tried to discourage many of those actions because they were considered risky. When it looked like the lawsuits were going well, suddenly the NRA joined in. I viewed that as showing up to take credit after the hard work had been done. Later, the revelation of Wayne's wardrobe budget really turned me off. I understand the importance of looking spiffy as a lobbyist, but $400,000/year? What's that, a new brooks brothers suit every couple of days?

New NRA CEO and EVP Doug Hamlin sent out an email this morning to all NRA staff. It was part thank you, part what we need to do, part how he intends to manage, and part recognition that finances are tough.

There were some interesting points in what he said to staff that need to be emphasized. First and foremost, he said that he and all the NRA staff work for the members. That was nice to hear given the perception that many including Wayne only saw the members as sheep to be fleeced. Second, Hamlin emphasized that the NRA is not leaving Fairfax anytime soon. He encouraged employees in the Metro DC region to return to work in the headquarters building. Third, he said there would be new digital marketing initiatives to increase memberships and challenged employees to tell their friends to join. Finally, he said his objective was to restore trust in the NRA. He didn’t sugarcoat the fact that finances are tight.

The one thing I did disagree with him on is the assertion that the NRA is “the most significant conservative organization left on the battlefield.” I think we need to get away from the perception that the NRA is only for conservatives. While I am most certainly a conservative with libertarian leanings, I recognize that support for the Second Amendment and our civil rights is not limited to conservatives nor should it be. Regardless of where you are on the political spectrum, if you support the Second Amendment then you are my friend.

You can read the whole email for yourself as I’ve posted it below:

From: Hamlin, Douglas
Sent: Thursday, May 23, 2024 9:28 AM
To: #All NRA Employees <#AllNRAEmployees@nrahq.org>
Subject: Full Speed Ahead!

To All:

I’m humbled and honored to be sending you this e-mail as your new EVP/CEO. It has been a tumultuous 5 years as we have battled for the survival of our beloved National Rifle Association (NRA). Every one of us has been in the trenches as we have fought the good fight and kept the faith. We have stood strong shoulder to shoulder working together on behalf of our members. I want to emphasize – WE WORK FOR OUR MEMBERS!

THANK YOU for not wavering as we have withstood extreme pressure and disinformation from the media, left leaning political forces, and the State of New York.

I’ve been a proud NRA Staffer for over 10 years. I do not assume my new position for any other reason than I love my country and will not stand idly by as we see our freedoms diminished. The NRA is the most significant conservative organization left on the battlefield. We are targeted because we win…and we are right in our cause!

As we move forward my primary objective is to restore the trust of our members, our industry, our donors, and our staff. We are in a tough spot financially but are going to make it. I will be spending a significant amount of time fundraising to keep our 153 years + operation on track. Once our members see we are making progress with the changes resulting from the efforts of our Board of Directors, they will come back in significant numbers. I ask you to go out and recruit new members. Tell your friends to join!

There has been a lot of talk about moving our operations away from Fairfax, Virginia. We will not be moving at this time. I hope those of you in the DC, Maryland, Virginia region will come to our office as much as possible.

My leadership style is one of consensus building. I do not like to be micro-managed and that’s how I will interact with the leadership team. Having said that I’m not afraid to make tough decisions and get involved when and where needed.

We will be moving quickly on some digital marketing initiatives to stir up some positive public relations that will hopefully stimulate new memberships. Stay tuned for more information on our plans as we develop them.

In closing thank you for your dedication to our cause. Our mission to protect the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens is more important now than ever before. Hold your heads high as we continue to do the important work of the NRA…together.

Doug Hamlin

Executive Vice President/CEO

National Rifle Association

My disenchantment with the NRA started when saf and goa started getting aggressive in court.  It seemed as though the NRA tried to discourage many of those actions because they were considered risky.  When it looked like the lawsuits were going well, suddenly the NRA joined in.  I viewed that as showing up to take credit after the hard work had been done.  Later, the revelation of Wayne's wardrobe budget really turned me off.  I understand the importance of looking spiffy as a lobbyist,  but $400,000/year?  What's that, a new brooks brothers suit every couple of days?

Yep, you’re spot on 

up till 1975 the NRA was strictly marksmanship focused & the GCA of 68 finally forced the NRA into the gun rights camp 

We shall see if the NRA can be salvaged & turned around

I'll wait and see what they actually do and not what they say.

Terry