Texas – -(Ammoland.com)- Every year, in the February issue of the NRA Magazine (arriving in January), voting members of the National Rifle Association (those with 5 or more years of consecutive membership and those with Life or higher-level memberships) are given the opportunity of voting for a third of the NRA’s 76-member Board of Directors.
This year, 4 Texans are running for the Board of Directors, and we wanted to highlight them. Here are the 4 candidates:
Charles Cotton
Charles Cotton is an attorney who resides in Friendswood, Texas. He is a competitive action pistol shooter and a life member with the Texas State Rifle Association (TSRA), an NRA affiliate organization. Cotton is also is the founder of the Youth Action Pistol League, a program for junior shooters. He has served on the NRA Board of Directors for well over a decade and was also elected to the Board of Trustees of the NRA Civil Rights Defense Fund.
David Carruth
David Carruth is nominated by the NRA Nominating Committee, NRA Benefactor Life Member, real estate developer, member of Texas Bar and passionate defender of the second amendment. Life long hunter and shooter, member of Texas State Rifle Association, Dallas Safari Club, Park Cities Quail, endorsed by the Dallas Arms Collector’s Association and former member of the Dallas Gun Club. Active in promoting the NRA in the Dallas area including coordinating fund raisers with NRA personnel.
Melanie Pepper
Melanie Pepper lives in Houston, Texas. A recipient SCI Diana Award for her hunting and conservation excellent. She’s a Founding Member and National Co-Chair of the NRA Hunters Leadership Forum, a Founding Member and Executive Committee Member of the NRA Women’s Leadership Forum. She co-chaired the NRA WLF 2013 Luncheon.
Melanie is a member of the NRA Hunting and Wildlife Conservation Committee, NRA Ring of Freedom and Heritage Society, a former President of the Houston Safari Club, and a Life Member of the Wild Sheep Foundation and the Texas State Rifle Association.
Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Leroy Sisco
Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Leroy Sisco served for 42 years in the U.S. Army. He runs the Military Warriors Support Foundation, which assists veterans with housing, jobs, and scholarships. In his business and private community activities, he has received many awards for his support, performance and dedication. He has several business interests from Texas Trophy Hunters TV Show, Ranching, Military Warriors Support Foundation (helping our Wounded Heroes with homes, jobs, activities and scholarships) and is part owner of several other companies.
All information was pulled from the candidate’s websites or the Internet and is not considered an endorsement by the Texas State Rifle Association.
Your NRA ballot package contains a comprehensive package of amendments to the NRA Bylaws. The NRA Board of Directors unanimously recommends a “YES” vote.
Key aspects of the NRA Bylaws—your Association’s fundamental rules—haven’t been updated for over 30 years. The proposed amendments are designed to protect the NRA’s democratic processes from those who might intend to harm the Association, while also reflecting the new world of high-tech politics.
Here are the key changes:
• Amendments to the recall election process ensure voting members’ choices are respected, by improving the fairness of the process for member removal of officers and directors. NRA officials could only be removed for good cause, such as violating the Bylaws or disrupting NRA operations. Allowing dismissal of frivolous or malicious recall would save NRA resources that could be much better used to advance Second Amendment rights.
• Repealing the Annual Meeting Bylaw amendment process ensures that changes in the NRA’s Bylaws are made either by the elected Board of Directors, or by the mail ballot process that reaches all of our voting members.
• The amendments update signature requirements for Board nominating petitions, recall elections, and Bylaw amendment proposals—raising the very small requirements set three decades ago to be more consistent with a membership that’s grown five-fold, and the greater use of online communications. To allow for future growth, the amendments include signature requirements based on percentages of valid ballots cast in the previous year’s Board election.
More information is available to voting members of the NRA at https://www.nrabylaws.com.
The following information was provided by the National Rifle Association about proposed by-law changes and is not considered an endorsement by the Texas State Rifle Association.