Opinion
Tombstone, Arizona – Finally back home in Arizona from the Winter NRA Board Meeting in Northern Virginia.
I stayed for a few days after the meeting to pay my respects to my friend Phil Schrier, who passed away just before the meeting.
Phil was the NRA’s Director of Museums. He had a wealth of knowledge about the history of firearms, especially certain critical periods in which firearms were used extensively, and technology advanced. He and my father loved to debate the details of the first and second battles of Manassas (what the Yankees called Bull Run), while Phil and I shared a love of old west lore about cowboys and gunfighters. Many of you are probably familiar with Phil from his many appearances discussing the firearms of history or the history of firearms on the History Channel, the Discovery Channel, NRA TV, various YouTube programs, and, of course, in the pages of NRA publications. Phil really found his calling when he snagged an internship at the NRA’s National Firearms Museum some 35 years ago, and the Museum and NRA were blessed to have him. I’ll miss our all-too-infrequent chats over cigars.
Still, I like to imagine him and my father finally settling the debate over which specific hill near Dad’s house that Jackson had been standing on like a stone wall, and smiling down as we repair and rebuild their beloved NRA.
At the NRA meeting, the committees and the Board of Directors accomplished a lot.
I consider the meetings a success, in spite of the very troubling situation between the NRA and the NRA Foundation. I wrote about that last week, and I am constrained by lawyers and prudence from discussing it further. I can say that the Foundation did announce the funding of a number of grants to the NRA, but significantly less than had been requested or is typical. The whole mess is very frustrating, and I hope the issues can be resolved soon.
I also want to reiterate that, while there is disagreement between the NRA’s leadership and the NRA Foundation’s leadership, there is no concern about the misappropriation of Foundation funds or anything like that.
I’ve also been asked about the idea of canceling or boycotting Friends of NRA events as a way to show disagreement with the Foundation Board of Trustees. While I would advise folks to redirect any major donations away from the Foundation, for the time being, and toward some other aspect of the NRA, whether the Civil Rights Defense Fund, the Whittington Center fund, or direct contributions to NRA-ILA, or one of our PAC’s. I strongly oppose any idea of boycotting Friends events and instead encourage everyone to attend and have fun. This too shall pass. Express your frustration with the Trustees in some other way. Friends Committee members and members of the state fund committees, as well as major Foundation donors, should contact Foundation Trustees and urge them to work with NRA leadership on a quick solution to this situation.
For more information about what’s going on, I urge you to read my previous article on the subject here and the official NRA announcement here. Also, embedded in the NRA article is the actual text of the lawsuit. It’s long, but worth reading, and if you’re in a hurry, at least read paragraphs 60 through about 82. Lots of good information there.
Finally, it’s NRA election time again, and this is one for the record books.
The record number of resignations from the NRA Board recently means there are a record number of seats up for grabs this year, which will be filled by a record number of new candidates. At last count, there were 35 seats to be filled, and 37 candidates to fill them. That could easily change over the next month or two, while the election will be ongoing. Ballots should be coming out in the February edition of NRA magazines, and YES, you should be receiving a February magazine. The new printing schedule doesn’t take effect until after this next issue. There’s still one NRA Director who serves on the NRA Foundation Board of Trustees, so I’d expect him to resign from one or the other soon. There are also current NRA Directors who have not attended a meeting in years, and others who are experiencing serious health issues. I would hope that these Directors would act in the NRA’s best interests and tender their resignations if they’re unable to fulfill their obligations to the members.
Since almost all of the candidates are going to be automatically elected this year, and possibly all of them if there are at least two additional resignations before the close of the Members’ Meeting in Houston, I believe there will be at least a couple of people running write-in campaigns, mainly on the off chance of those additional resignations. Unfortunately, write-in candidates have little chance of winning a seat directly, and they are ineligible to be considered for the 76th Director election or to fill seats that might become vacant throughout the year.
With all of that in mind, here’s my list of “Must Elect” candidates for this year’s election, starting with my top pick for a write-in candidate, Charles Rowe.
Chuck is the Captain of the US Rifle Team, a world-class shooter, and an experienced businessman with extensive experience serving on and working with corporate boards. Chuck has long served on the High Power Rifle Committee and the F-Class Rifle Committee, and was one of the unsuccessful candidates from last year who were invited to fill recent vacancies. He attended the meetings in Virginia last week and proved to be a valuable addition to the Board. I urge you to start your ballot by turning to the back and writing in Charles Rowe, Wadsworth, Ohio.
Beyond that, here are the candidates I consider it essential that we reelect: Charles Hiltunen, David Raney, Amanda Suffecool, and Mark Vaughan. Additionally, I think it’s important that we re-elect Ted Carter, Richard Fairburn, Richard Todd Figard, Robert Mansell, Mark Robinson, Todd Vandermyde, and James Wallace. Additionally, I am endorsing the following new candidates for your consideration: Robert Beckman, James D’Cruz, Jacqueline Janes, Huey Laugesen, and Randy Luth.
I also want to point out that Eb Wilkinson has resigned from the Board, but remains on the ballot. I have no idea why he didn’t also recuse himself from the election, but he didn’t.
Some might wonder about some of the names missing from my list. My friend Bob Brown is running, but I frankly worry that Bob won’t be able to attend meetings. I believe he recently turned 94 and is beginning to slow down a little. Others on the ballot, I either don’t know well (or at all), or I haven’t noted any special tools they bring to the table. That’s not to say they don’t all bring something special, just that I’ve not worked with them enough to see something that would cause me to support them over other qualified candidates.
I believe there will once again be a big NRA 2.0 ad enveloping the ballot package, and I’m sure those candidates have been thoroughly vetted. Since almost everyone on the ballot will be elected, I’d encourage voters to only vote for those they really want to see on the Board. Bullet voting will help to ensure your favorites win. Also, with so many seats available, it will be particularly easy to overvote, making your entire ballot invalid. Voting for fewer than allowed is no problem, but if you vote for one too many, all of your votes will be tossed out, so err on the side of caution. Also, remember that any write-in vote counts toward your total. Don’t go over the limit!
In spite of the struggles and complications, the NRA is on a good and productive path. There are additional hurdles in front of us, but I’m confident we can overcome them with your help. The recovery is slow and painful, but it is a recovery. Things are getting better. I’m hopeful we can get this conflict with the NRA Foundation Board of Trustees behind us in fairly short order. Once that’s fixed, I think we’ll see the recovery accelerating pretty quickly.
About Jeff Knox:
Jeff Knox is a dedicated political activist and the director of The Firearms Coalition, following in the footsteps of his father, Neal Knox. In 2024, Jeff was elected to the NRA Board of Directors, underscoring his lifelong commitment to protecting the Second Amendment. The Knox family has played a pivotal role in the ongoing struggle for gun rights, a legacy documented in the book Neal Knox – The Gun Rights War, authored by Jeff’s brother, Chris Knox.
Founded by Neal Knox in 1984, The Firearms Coalition is a network of individual Second Amendment activists, clubs, and civil rights organizations. The Coalition supports grassroots efforts by providing education, analysis of current issues, and a historical perspective on the gun rights movement. For more information, visit www.FirearmsCoalition.org.
NRA Sues the NRA Foundation as Internal Power Struggle Freezes Program Funding
What a ridiculously high number of board seats. I suppose it’s not as ridiculous as 100 Senators and 435 Congressman, but it’s the NRA, not the United States. (At one time, I might have said they’re the same thing.)